A Pilgrim's Progress

If You Desire an Interesting Conversation...

2012-02-01T06:45:00.000-05:00

If you desire an interesting conversation all you have to do is call into question any one of several key components of the institutional church. I did this last night on Facebook when I posted this comment, "If you've been told that you should tithe to your church, you've been told wrong."

My purpose in the comment was just to make people think and start a conversation. While most of my Facebook posts get little discussion going, whenever I deal with issues like this the comments start flowing in.

Specific institutional traditions to question to generate conversation: the church building, the worship service, the tithe, the clergy, the salary for the clergy, the sermon, and Christmas and Easter. If you question these, be ready to both listen and talk.

The answers you will receive will almost always be based on one of three things: tradition, Old Covenant practices, or supposed freedom we have to do whatever the bible does not prohibit.

Of course, we should always take a look at our own motives for beginning conversations. Winning an argument is not a reason to start talking. However, if the desire is to help folks begin thinking through some of their man-made traditions, then go ahead. Be ready to talk for a while. These are not quick conversations. Rather, they are paradigm shifting and often very uncomfortable for those involved.

Be ready. When you challenge a pillar of the institution it will require a long talk.

Over $1 Billion for Missions from the SBC

2012-01-29T15:08:00.000-05:00

I've figured out a relatively simple way for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to raise well over $1 billion dollars for international missions every year.

The way to raise this money is simple: all pastors give up their salaries and work regular jobs. The churches then give the amount of the salaries directly toward international missions work.

The SBC has about 45,000 churches. Being conservative in our math, let's say that the average is one full-time pastor per church. Some churches have more pastors than this while others have less (bi-vocational). Continuing to be conservative, let's say that the average salary is $30,000 per year. Some pastors make far more than this while others make less. The math, then, is 45,000 pastors multiplied by $30,000 each. The total is $1,350,000,000. That's well over $1 billion.

I've used only the SBC because that's the denomination I'm most familiar with. If all churches in the USA did this, I imagine the total would be well over $20-25 billion. All for missions.

The interesting thing about this is that it doesn't require churches to give any more than they are already giving. It doesn't require them to alter anything about their buildings or programs. It simply asks the churches to dramatically change who or what is receiving a big chunk of the church income.

The pastors don't have to resign. They can remain pastors at the same churches. The only change is that they will have to obtain regular jobs.

An additional benefit to all this is that the church people will have to do much more ministry because the pastors will have to cut back on what they are doing. This will force the body to become more active, which can only benefit the church as a whole.

The only truly difficult aspect to this is that it will make the pastors' lives more difficult and less comfortable. Jobs do that.

A few years ago the IMB was not able to send as many new missionaries to the field as it desired. The reason? Lack of funds. Each Christmas time the IMB has to put forth great effort to raise money for missions. This past year the goal was $175 million. With the solution I propose here, the IMB would have nearly eight times that amount.

For the good of reaching the nations for Christ, I'm asking all pastors to strongly consider sacrificing your salaries and getting normal jobs. This will be a challenge. I can testify to that. However, the benefit will be much more money for the Great Commission task.

Culture Shock India

2012-01-29T04:30:00.001-05:00

I've written a bit on this blog about our time living in India. To sum up: it was quite an adventure. For much of our short stay there we were smack in the midst of culture shock. In a funny way, the following video shows some of the things we experienced. In the end, we realized that Indians don't do things better or worse than we do. They just do many things very differently. Additionally, over one billion of them still need Jesus.

No Time for Organic Church

2012-01-27T21:24:00.000-05:00

Life is terribly ironic sometimes.

Over the past couple of years, God has graciously opened my eyes to his plan for a vibrant yet simple church. Of course, this is just the church we see in scripture. It is a church that is a united family. It is a body and a bride. It is organic.

This is the type of church life that I deeply desire to be a part of. I know many other Christians have a similar desire (probably you as well if you bother to read this blog). While some fellow believers struggle to find others who want this sort of church life, God has blessed Alice and me with wonderful friends who hold to similar beliefs about the church.

The irony is that I have no time for organic church. When I resigned from the professional pastorate, I prayed that God would provide me with a regular job. He graciously did that here in Savannah at JCB. However, for the past few months I've been working about 65 hours per week. The job is in a warehouse and requires me to be on my feet for most of the day. Because of this, I'm tired most of the time. I don't mean this to be a complaint; rather, these are the reasons that I have little time for church life.

Many Christians cannot find organic fellowship. I've got the friends, but don't have the time.

Because of this, our Sunday gatherings are extremely special to me. This is about the only time I get to see my friends. This is not by choice. It is a consequence of schedule. When we get together on Sundays, I find the time to be a wonderful, refreshing time of fellowship. I wish this could happen throughout the week, but right now that is not a possibility.

For most of the week I look forward to Sunday. Of course, this week I will probably have to work on Sunday so I may not be able to make it to fellowship. That's going to hurt.

You may be in some sort of life situation that is keeping you from what you hope for as far as church is concerned. I want to encourage you. God's grace is immense. He knows our hearts. He will also provide for fellowship in ways we don't often expect or understand. However, as I'm learning, God's timing is often far different from ours.

As I long for more time with my church family, God gives himself to me all the time no matter what the situation. I believe God at times restricts our church involvement so that we are forced to lean more fully on him. This is our current situation.

Organic church life will have to wait. For now, Sundays will have to be emphasized more than I would like.

Christ is sufficient. He will carry us through this time.

Translation Need

2012-01-25T20:25:00.000-05:00

Ever since I learned to read, I've enjoyed searching through the pages of the bible. Since English is my first language (and only fluent one, he said sadly), the scriptures have always been easily accessible. We English speakers have an embarrassing abundance of translations to choose from (click here to see an example of this).

What if I or you had been born with no access to the bible in our heart language? What if this was still the case? What a sad situation that would be! I cannot imagine.

Bible translation is a critical aspect of getting the gospel to all the nations. I thank the Lord for organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators. I encourage you to look at their website. Two interesting pages caught my eyes. The first is entitled The Worldwide Status of Bible Translation (2010). The Second is called The Areas of Greatest Need.

Missions in John

2012-01-24T04:30:00.001-05:00

John 1:14 is the most critical verse for missions in the book of John. It teaches us about God’s mission of salvation that he brings to humanity in his Son, Jesus Christ.

John 1:14 does not primarily inform us in how to carry out missions work; rather, John tells us about God’s amazing, almost unbelievable incarnation to save his people.

In John’s prologue (1:1-18) we immediately learn that Jesus is God. John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John’s first verse shows us that this Word is God. But who is the Word? Verse 14 makes it clear: Jesus the Christ.

John instructs us in three critical aspects of Jesus’ mission to the world. First, Christ “became flesh.” He literally took on humanity. This is stunning. The God of the universe humbled himself to become part of his creation, being born into and residing in a fallen world. This is a sobering reminder to us that missions is service. Paul writes of Jesus’ service in Philippians 2:6-7, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

I’ll admit it: it’s difficult for me to comprehend how God became as human as I am. He did it with all the trials and temptations we face. And he did it without sin. We’re told in Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus not only took on flesh, but second he “dwelt among us.” Christ did not hide out away from people, only to foray into town once in a while. Rather, he was with people all the time. He lived with his disciples 24-7. Even when he occasionally tried to get away he didn’t have much success. For example, in Mark 1:35-37 we read this, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he (Jesus) departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’”

The literal rendering of “dwelt among us” is fascinating. It means that Jesus “tabernacled” or “pitched his tent” among us. As God’s presence was with the children of Israel in the tabernacle in the OT, Jesus was God’s presence with his people in the NT. Almighty God lived with sinful man.

Third, Jesus shows us the glory of God. Since Jesus is fully God (1:1), and we have seen his glory (1:14), this means that we have seen the glory of God. Part of Christ’s saving mission was to show the world the magnificence of the glory of God himself. Jesus did this through his life of loving service and his death of atoning sacrifice. Jesus came to teach us all we need to know about the Father. John concludes his prologue in 1:18 by telling us that Jesus has “made Him known.”

John 1:14 sums up the incarnation as well as any other single verse in scripture. The incarnation is critical because it makes the crucifixion and resurrection possible. John explains to us that Jesus took on humanity, pitched his tent with us, and showed us the glory of God.

Jesus is the God of missions. He lived it out himself.

Previous Posts in this series:
Missions in...
Missions in Matthew
Missions in Mark
Missions in Luke

How Big Is Too Big?

2012-01-21T22:26:00.000-05:00

Church size is an interesting issue. We’ve had some good discussions about this previously on this blog. I’d like to revisit the issue because of a real-life situation my church family finds itself in.

Last week we had 39 people at our church gathering. That’s a lot of folks to fit in a living room. It was wonderful to spend time with everyone, but I wonder if we’ve gotten too big. In fact, one of my good friends brought up the very issue as we met. We’ve decided to pray about it and not make any hasty decisions. However, we’ve sort of been avoiding the issue for some time. That’s not to say that we have to or even need to multiply/divide/split in some way; rather, we simply haven’t really talked about it.

This question, of course, immediately leads us to scripture and forces us to ask why we even meet in the first place. Ideally, Christians get together throughout the week so that the Sunday gathering is not the epicenter of church life. Despite this, with work schedules being what they are the reality is that the Sunday gathering is very special. That said, why do we meet?

Biblically speaking, followers of Christ normally gather to honor God through mutual edification. This is not to say that every gathering must be for this purpose. Rather, this ought to be the norm.

We’re all familiar with Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” I believe the most significant aspect of these verses is that they tie together the assembling with meeting for the purpose of edification.

In order for edification of all by all to take place, everyone must feel free to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. This usually involves at least talking to others. In fact, edification almost always involves speaking of some type (along with other things).

A body of believers should, therefore, be a size that is conducive to people talking with one another. If the group is too large for this to happen, then “Houston, we have a problem.”

Last week as we gathered, I noticed times of freedom in speech. I also noticed times when only some seemed comfortable talking. Not surprisingly, the differences depended on the structure of what was happening. When we were all sitting together sharing with one another as a full body, the group just felt too big for everyone to share. In fact, although we had solid participation, many of the folks didn’t say anything at all. However, when we were all just hanging out in smaller groups (ranging in size from roughly 2 – 8), everyone appeared comfortable talking.

Our group’s size has also reduced the number of homes we can gather in. For example, our family simply cannot host anymore on Sundays. Because of my current work schedule (65 hrs. per week), it is very difficult to have anyone over during the week. Therefore, we aren’t really hosting anyone right now. I wish that could be different. As for Sundays, only a few families are now able to host; this puts an unfair burden on them.

Have we as a body reached the point of being too big? I’m still not sure. I’d like to hear your thoughts on this issue. Additionally, I’d appreciate hearing about if you have gone through a church division (in the good sense), how it happened, and what the result was.

Communion Funny

2012-01-20T19:58:00.000-05:00

World Missions and Church Reform Are Friends

2012-01-18T22:12:00.000-05:00

In perusing the Christian blog world, you might get the idea that world missions and church reform are two separate endeavors that somehow work against one another. Some Christians seem to focus all their efforts on reaching the lost with little interest in reforming problems in the body. Others spend so much time in striving for a more biblical church that they focus little on the Great Commission. My desire and hope is to be actively involved in both.

World missions and church reform should not be separated. They go together. Simply put, they are friends.

All we have to do is read the New Testament to see that church reform and world missions go together. In the gospels Jesus instructs us in how to live (reform) and in the importance of taking the gospel around the globe (missions). In the book of Acts we see the church live holy lives in the midst of pagan societies (reform) and preach the good news of Christ in ever expanding areas (missions). In the epistles we read much exhortation to holy living. We also read about what the church is, what it should do, how it should be shaped, and how it should function. The letters are seeking reform among the recipients. The epistles also have missions themes running through them from beginning to end.

Church reform and missions go hand-in-hand today as well. For example, when churches decide to reform the way they spend money to come more in line with scripture, they will likely have much more money to give toward world missions. This is a huge benefit to the cause of taking the gospel overseas. Also, when churches decide to obey all aspects of scripture, they must take the Great Commission seriously. When churches are deliberate about following not only what is commanded but also what is modeled, they will take a simple form of church life to the new converts overseas.

New believers, regardless of where they live, need to unite with other Christians. The best way to do this, especially in countries where Christians face persecution, is the simple way. Simple church concepts, which we see modeled for us in the bible, make forming a church easy (at least as far as the structures and forms are concerned). Most lost people overseas are very poor. They cannot afford big buildings or salaried clergy. If they follow simple church ideas, they won't have to be bothered with these things.

Ultimately, both church reform and world missions honor God by being obedient to what he has shown us in the bible. The two go together. When the church comes more in line here with what we see in scripture, the church can be more effective overseas in spreading the gospel and planting churches.

Let's be a part of both conversations and actions.

Two Good Posts

2012-01-18T21:31:00.000-05:00

Worth reading:

Felicity Dale - How Are Simple/Organic Churches Financing Mission?

Milt Rodriguez - 10 Myths About Organic Church - Part 8

Interesting Map

2012-01-18T04:30:00.002-05:00

As the church, we have the responsibility of taking the gospel to all peoples. I believe maps like this one can help us achieve this task. Always following the lead of the Spirit, we must be wise in how we go about decision making. India and China should be target areas because of the vast numbers of people there. However, we can see that some other countries of smaller populations have a great need for the gospel as well. In fact, India and China have a larger percentage Christian population than many others within the 10/40 Window. Regardless, the sad fact is that millions remain who have never heard of Christ's salvation. This map is a stark reminder of our task.

Click here to see many more fascinating maps from Global Mapping International.

The "10/30 Window"

2012-01-17T19:05:00.000-05:00

Danny Akin, president of SEBTS (where I attended), has some insightful and interesting thoughts about reaching the "10/30 Window." He's referring to the millions of people on earth between the ages of 10 and 30. Take a look.

Missions in Luke

2012-01-15T17:30:00.002-05:00

It is no surprise that Luke, who at times traveled with Paul, presents us with much information that deals specifically with the importance of missions.

Key passages include the shepherds’ response to the birth of the Messiah (2:15-18), Jesus’ sending out of the twelve (9:1-6), Jesus’ sending out of the seventy-two (10:1-12, 17-20), and the chapter 15 parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.

Despite the critical nature of the above passages, I believe one other exists that exceeds them all in importance for our understanding of world missions. That passage is 24:44-49. This is Jesus’ “Great Commission” passage from the book of Luke. It supplements nicely the commands of Christ in Matthew’s G.C. in Matthew 28:18-20.

Luke 24:44-49 reads:

Then he (Jesus) said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

These verses are full of important truths for us to digest. Seven stand out:

1. Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament promises.

The OT writers speak much about who was to come. They also tell us what was going to happen. Jesus fulfills all the promises. He did not come to invent a new religion; rather, Jesus came to keep the promises of God. I’m reminded of Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

2. Jesus enables his followers to understand the scriptures.

It is only through the supernatural work of God that we can even begin to comprehend the wonderful truths of his word. As Christ opened the minds of the early disciples, so he does with us at salvation. According to Paul in I Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

3. The scriptures teach that the Messiah will be killed but rise the third day.

Jesus does not tell us what OT passages he is talking about, but his point is nonetheless that the OT prophesies that these things will occur (Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 come to mind). Jesus is, of course, the fulfillment of the promises. His death and resurrection are two of the core truths of the gospel; when we read the gospel presented in various ways, these truths are always present.

4. Repentance and forgiveness of sins must be proclaimed in the name of Christ.

Repentance and forgiveness of sins are key components of salvation. If we repent and believe, our trespasses will be forgiven.

From the beginning of his ministry Jesus stressed the need for repentance. In Matthew 4:17 we read Christ preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus desires that those who follow him herald his salvation. It is all to be done in his name because he alone has accomplished it.

5. All the nations need to hear the gospel.

God’s plan is for all nations to follow him. We see this in Revelation 7:9-10, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”

Luke uses the exact same phrase Matthew uses in 28:19 – “all nations.” The church has a wonderful responsibility to take God’s message of hope to all peoples.

6. The early disciples were eye witnesses to these truths.

The wondrous truths of our faith are attested to by multiple eye witnesses. The early followers of Christ had the great responsibility to make sure that these truths were proclaimed and defended.

The apostle John was certainly present when Jesus said these things in Luke 24. John later wrote in I John 1:1-3, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

7. The Holy Spirit, as the promise of the Father, will come upon all Christians.

Just as understanding the bible is a gift of God, so too is the power to effectively and boldly proclaim the gospel. Christ instructs his followers to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. We later read this occur in Acts chapter 2. Today the Spirit comes upon us at the moment of salvation. We can and should trust him to empower us to do what Christ commands. He will not fail.

This truth corresponds highly with what Jesus promises in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

God is a God of missions. Luke makes this plain for us to see. How will we respond?

Previous posts in this series:
Missions in...
Missions in Matthew
Missions in Mark

What Scripture Says and How We All Often Act:

2012-01-15T08:10:00.001-05:00

What scripture says:

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:24-25

How we all often act:

"And let us do what we think is wise and good, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but doing what we want and like to do, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

WorldMAP Interactive Mapper

2012-01-14T23:25:00.000-05:00

I continue to be amazed by technology, and I'm thrilled that it can be used for much good. In the case of world missions, computerized mapping provides us all with a veritable boatload of information.

One example of this comes from worldmap.org. Take a look at their Interactive Mapper. This function allows you to easily search for information on countries, languages, people groups, etc. In particular, I find the "Select Missions Info." and "Identify" functions to be helpful.

At this stage in history we really have no excuse for not taking the gospel where it's not. What a privilege!

Communion and Fellowship

2012-01-13T05:11:00.000-05:00

I find it terribly ironic that most churches do not celebrate Communion in their Fellowship Halls. Instead, the sanctuary/worship center is the place.

The irony is that the words "communion" and "fellowship" are nearly synonymous. Additionally, most times in life a supper is held in a room for eating. In light of this, a room designed from free-flowing fellowship and robust eating seems like a perfect spot for Communion.

Choose Your Religion Flow Chart

2012-01-11T04:40:00.000-05:00

Let's take this for what it is and not be offended. We need to be able to laugh once in a while.

Different Views of the Supper

2012-01-10T05:04:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Justin Taylor posted a quote by J.I. Packer about the Lord's Supper. He entitled it What Should You Be Thinking About During the Lord's Supper. The quote and most of the comments stem from classic Reformation ecclesiology.

I decided to leave a comment describing what we do as a church family eating the Lord's Supper. One person responded by asking about kids and unbelievers. I then responded to that. The tenor of the conversation is a positive one. I encourage you to read the post and comments, and then leave your own thoughts on the matter.

The Supper is very important to the life of the church. The better we understand God's plan for his meal, the better we can celebrate it in a manner that pleases him.

Missions in Mark

2012-01-09T05:00:00.002-05:00

As with all the gospel accounts, we learn much important information about missions in the book of Mark. We see Jesus on the move in this book (the word "immediately" is used frequently). The Lord travels from place to place proclaiming and healing. His example of spreading the gospel permeates this book.

Mark 1:38-39 is significant: And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out." And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Certainly Jesus' commission in this book instructs us: And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." Interestingly, this is somewhat different than what we read in Matthew because proclaiming the gospel is related to but different from making disciples.

However, I believe the most important passage in Mark as it relates to missions is 7:24-30:

And from there he (Jesus) arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Why is this text significant for missions? The reason is that we read of the Jewish Messiah leaving the predominantly Jewish region around Capernaum and traveling northwestward to a Gentile area. If his mission was simply to the Jews then he would have remained in Israel. Why go to the Gentiles if they aren't part of God's plan?

Mark recognizes the importance of this woman being a Gentile. He purposefully writes "Now the woman was a Gentile" to ensure that there is no lack of understanding about this.

When the woman asks for help from Christ, he responds with a sort of test. She answers in great faith. We see Jesus respond very positively to her faith, healing her child.

The key is that Jesus accepts her because of her faith. Her ethnicity has nothing to do with it.

What do we learn here? God's plan is for both Jew and Gentile (for which I'm thankful since I'm a Gentile). Christ went out of his way to a Gentile area and accepted a Gentile woman's response of faith.

As part of the church's mission, we must go to all peoples. The gospel is open to any and every people group. All who respond to Jesus Christ in faith will be accepted (saved).

I'm reminded of this familiar passage from Acts 16:30-34. We see Paul and Silas proclaim the gospel to the Gentile Philippian jailer:

Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Previous posts in this series:
Missions in...
Missions in Matthew

Why the Map?

2012-01-08T15:38:00.002-05:00

I've placed a small map of the eastern hemisphere on the right side of my blog. The purpose is simply to remind all of us about the desperate need for the gospel among those who have little to no access to it.

The rectangle on the map highlights the 10/40 window, the area of the globe with the most lost people and most unreached people groups. If you click on the map it will take you to a Joshua Project page dealing specifically with the 10/40 window.

Our task is before us. May Christ's church work together to take the gospel where it isn't.

Tired but Gathering for Joy

2012-01-08T07:21:00.000-05:00

Like many of you, I'm tired from working this week. I'm tempted to stay home and rest this morning, which I do on some Sundays. However, I also want to meet with my church family.

Our church usually gets together on Sundays because this is the day that is easiest on the schedules. We will occasionally see one another during the week, but since we don't all live close together it is almost impossible for everyone to be there.

My point in this short post is this: I'm going because I want to not because I feel I have to.

There is a big difference between those two motivations. We should not get together with other Christians because guilt drives us to do so. God's not angry with us if we stay at home some of the time. Instead, we have the privilege of gathering with brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a joy to do so.

My hope for you is that you are in a situation where you want to spend time with other believers. I'm guessing that you are likely going to meet with them today. What drives you to do so? Is it joy or is it guilt? Regardless of the form or length of your gathering, I hope it is joy you are seeking.

Missions in Matthew

2012-01-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

In Matthew’s gospel account the apostle’s focus falls primarily upon the coming of the promised Messiah. This book has a decidedly Jewish flavor. Matthew repeatedly returns to the OT to show how Jesus Christ fulfills its promises.

Because Matthew aims his focus on the coming of the Messiah, the book by its very nature has much to say about missions. Passages that stand out are the genealogy and birth narrative (chapters 1-2), John the Baptist’s proclamation (3), Christ’s sending out of the twelve (10), Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ (16), the Triumphal Entry (21), and of course the crucifixion and resurrection passages (26-28). There are others as well.

One passage in particular strikes me as the most critical for our understanding of and participation in missions. It will not surprise you. I’m referring to Matthew 28:18-20, what is often called the Great Commission.

Matthew writes:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

These verses are critical because they sit at the conclusion of the book and act as marching orders for Christ’s followers. This does not mean that this is all we are to be doing, but it certainly suggests that at least one of the most important things is to be making disciples.

What do we learn specifically from this passage?

1. Jesus Christ has been given all authority everywhere by God the Father.

Jesus has the authority to tell his followers what to do. In fact, he has authority over all creation. As Thomas said, Jesus is Lord and God. He has the power to carry out this mission. It is our duty and joy to follow him in it.

2. As we go about our lives, we are to make disciples.

This is Jesus’ primary command. We have a great task: disciple making. We do this by proclaiming the gospel liberally, and then helping those who come to Christ continue to mature in Christ. God does the saving. We are his instruments in getting his message out and in assisting others in getting to know him better.

3. We are to make disciples of all the nations.

It is not enough for us all to stay at home and make disciples here. Some of us must go to the parts of the globe where the gospel is not to proclaim the gospel to those with no access to it. We likely won’t all do this, but God will call some to go for months or even years (see Acts 13). We all have a part to play in this venture.

4. Part of disciple making is baptizing and teaching.

Jesus expands on his concept of disciple making by mentioning the importance of baptizing and teaching. We are to baptize in the name of the Trinity. This is the God we serve; we are all baptized into him. The content of the teaching is critical: to obey all Christ has commanded. Teaching is not primarily facts but obedience.

5. Jesus will be with us as we carry out his mission plan.

Jesus uses very forceful language in 28:20 to ensure his followers that he will never fail to be with them as they make disciples. Jesus literally says, “Behold, I with you I am all the days until the completion of the age.” As the one with all authority on heaven and earth, Jesus’ constant presence with us gives great comfort. He is powerful enough to be successful in his mission, and is determined to lead us in doing so.

Matthew teaches us that the Messiah has finally come. We have the commission to take this wonderful news to all the nations and make disciples of all those God saves.

Missions in…

2012-01-06T22:14:00.000-05:00

The bible teaches us many things about God. One of the passions of God that we read in his book is his passion for missions. His desire for the nations spreads throughout the pages of scripture.

In light of this, I’m going to write a series entitled “Missions in…” This series will take a while since it’s going to be made up of 27 posts. Why so many? It’s one post for each book of the New Testament.

What I’m going to do is select the passage from each NT book that I believe is most significant for the application of missions to the church. My focus will not mainly be on the content of the gospel but rather upon passages that describe and/or instruct in proclaiming the gospel. For example, I’ll talk less about Christ dying for sins than I will about heralding the fact that Christ died for sins.

This is a somewhat self-serving series. Frankly, I just want to see what I find, share it with you, and discuss it online. I hope it will be beneficial.

Why the New Testament? Why not the Old? For right now my desire is to focus upon the church’s mission, which I believe is described more fully in the pages of the NT. If this series ends up being a positive thing, then I’ll probably eventually write one on the OT books.

I’m going to move in the order of the New Testament canon, with Matthew up first. "Missions in Matthew" will appear (I hope) sometime tomorrow.

You will likely disagree with me some of the time about which text is most critical. Every book, especially the gospels and Acts, has multiple passages that have much to tell us about missions. My purpose is not so much to cheer for a particular passage as it is to look at that passage to see what we can learn together.

Missions is at the heart of our wondrous God. Since this series looks at the NT, I’ll conclude this introductory post with some verses from the OT.

Psalm 96:1-4, “Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.”

An Interesting Greek Variant in John 1:18

2012-01-06T06:03:00.000-05:00

I don't generally spend much time looking at NT Greek variants, but one I recently stumbled across in John 1:18 intrigues me. In this verse some versions use "Son" while others use "God."

A few that use "Son":

"No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." (KJV)

"No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." (NKJV)

"No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son - the One who is at the Father’s side - He has revealed Him." (HCSB)

"God no one hath ever seen; the only begotten Son, who is on the bosom of the Father - he did declare." (YLT)

A few that use "God":

"No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." (ESV)

"No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." (NASB)

"No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us." (NLT)

One that tries to use both (even though the original does not support this):

"No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." (NIV)

What, then, is going on in John 1:18? It is clearly an important verse, sitting at the conclusion of John's prologue. Why the discrepancy?

The English translations stem, of course, directly from much older Greek manuscripts, some of which use "Son" and others that use "God." There is a good amount of fairly technical, yet important, information about this. I encourage you to look at it if interested (the NET Bible online has good textual notes on this variant), but I'm not going to get into that here.

The great part about this particular issue is that Jesus is both "Son" and "God". John has shown us this in other locations. In John 1:1 the author settles Jesus' divinity for us by making it clear that Jesus is God. John 1:14 shows us that this is obviously who John is referring to in 1:1.

As for Jesus being the Son of God, the author provides us with the eyewitness testimony of John the Baptist in 1:34, "And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

We see, then, that regardless of the reading of 1:18, Jesus is both fully God and the Son of God. These truths point us to the beautiful wonder of the Trinity, something which we will never fully comprehend with our limited, fallen minds.

Variants like what we read in 1:18 should not cause us to doubt scripture. Rather, they show us that the bible is a real book of history written and copied by real people. None of the significant truths of scripture are lost or even called into question by variants.

John 1:18 tells us wonderful truths regardless of which word John originally wrote. We can be confident that Jesus is both the Son of God and God himself.

Another Myth About Organic Church

2012-01-05T19:54:00.000-05:00

Milt Rodriguez has added a seventh post to his series entitled 10 Myths About Organic Church. In this new entry, Milt addresses what organic church is and what it is not. His creative title is Organic Church is All About Eating Granola and Cage-Free Eggs!

To look at any of Milt's previous six posts, click here.

"Bloodlines"

2012-01-04T14:53:00.002-05:00

I’ll admit it up front: John Piper is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read most of his books. That confessed, I don’t necessarily agree with all he writes. In fact, I disagree with much that he says about pastors and leadership. Simply put, I’m not what some refer to as a “Piper-ite.”

The purpose of my above admission is that I don’t want you to think I am recommending Piper’s book entitled Bloodlines simply because he wrote it. Instead, I think highly of the book because it is well written, needed, and beneficial.

In Bloodlines, Piper addresses the often ignored issues (at least in the church) of racial strife and disharmony. Piper takes the issue head on, admitting that he grew up as a racist in Greenville, SC (in spite of his parents' example). I appreciate the author’s transparency as he discusses his teen years as a motivation for writing this book.

Bloodlines has two distinct halves. We could refer to them as diagnosis and cure. Piper calls the first half “Our World: The Need for the Gospel.” This is where he talks about his early years in the South. He also deals with the history of black-white relations in this country. Although race relationships certainly go far beyond simple black-white, Piper focuses on that particular interaction both because of the stain of slavery on this country and because of his own personal experience. Another interesting topic in the first 50% of the book is that of personal responsibility vs. systemic intervention.

The second half of Bloodlines carries the title “God’s Word: The Power of the Gospel.” I greatly appreciate that Piper suggests only one cure for racial strife. That cure is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The author goes into biblical depth to show that one of the benefits of the gospel is the bringing together of Jew and Gentile into one people for God. The gospel overcomes sinful attitudes and prejudices and allows for healing between the races to occur.

My favorite part of the book comes toward the end; it is a short chapter where Piper deals specifically with interracial marriage. He not only shows that scripture approves of interracial marriage, but also writes about the benefits of it.

This is not a politically correct book. Rather, Piper just deals in a straightforward manner with a real but often ignored issue of the day. He hits the proverbial nail on the head in proposing that the gospel is the one and only solution to racial strife and racism. I recommend it.

The Great Commission: To Whom Does It Apply?

2012-01-03T18:08:00.000-05:00

Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

To whom do the above verses apply?

Felicity Dale skillfully answered this question in a recent post.

I’d like to throw my thoughts out there on this issue:

The "churchly correct" way to answer the above question is to say that of course the Great Commission, as the verses are frequently called, applies to all of us. This answer usually stems from a loving desire to see as many people saved as possible. However, personal desire does not determine what the bible means. We must look at other places in scripture to correctly understand who Jesus intended to obey his command.

Matthew is generally narrative. Within narrative literature we cannot always apply all commands to ourselves. For example, Jesus does not want us to go into Jerusalem and find him a donkey to ride upon. However, he does seem to want to us to love our enemies. That said, does he expect us to obey Matthew 28:19-20 or was it aimed only at the original disciples?

The epistles can help us a tremendous amount in this. These were letters generally written to churches about what they should believe and how they should live. Because of this, we can more easily make application from epistles than gospels (although they all clearly contain much applicable material). Since Paul wrote the most letters, I’m going to briefly discuss one of his verses that helps us better understand Matthew 28:19-20.

We know that Paul had a personal desire to spread the gospel where it wasn’t. He famously writes in Romans 15:18-21, “For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience - by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God - so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, ‘Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.’”

That is Paul’s personal ambition. However, what does he expect from the church? Does he think Christ-followers should be spreading the gospel where they live and abroad? Or, is the duty of only a select few in the church?

We find an answer in some of the first words Paul pens to the Thessalonian church. In I Thessalonians 1:8 Paul says, “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.”

The word of the Lord (the gospel) has “sounded forth” from them like a trumpet. The NLT renders it, “ringing out from you.” The good news has spread and continues to spread.

The message has gone throughout the surrounding region of Greece. More than that, it has gone everywhere (Paul uses hyperbole to make the point that it has gone great distances).

They have done so well in this that Paul has no admonition for them. They have done what he expects.

While some people naturally heard of the goings-on in Thessalonica simply because of the changed lives within the church, we can safely conclude that the Thessalonian Christians were proactive in advancing the spread of the gospel. It would not sound forth like a trumpet if they were simply going about their lives as usual.

This does not mean that everyone in the church was traveling abroad. It may simply have mean that those in the church were faithfully sharing the gospel where they naturally went. In light of Paul’s knowledge of Christ’s commands, we can surmise that the Thessalonians were not only hearing the gospel but also making disciples.

Paul is pleased that the Thessalonians were sharing the gospel to such great effect. He praises them for this using strong language. They were living as they should be living. A large area around them had heard of Christ because of their witness.

What can we deduce from this? Paul expected the Thessolonian church to spread the gospel. He loves that they did so. This shows us unmistakably that the Great Commission applied to them. Therefore, Jesus intended for Matthew 28:19-20 to apply to all believers, not simply his original disciples.

And if it applies to all believers, it applies to us.

An Utterly Inappropriate and Self-Serving Link

2012-01-03T15:29:00.000-05:00

It would be completely and utterly inappropriate to link to someone else's blog post that speaks highly of my blog. Just to be a rebel, I'm going to do it. My friend Alan Knox linked to this blog, referring to a few recent "thought-provoking" posts. Thanks Alan!

Of course, my link is absurd because if you are already here it means that either you came from Alan's blog or directly to mine. Additionally, it goes beyond the bounds of appropriate social behavior to link to something like this. It reminds me of that saying, "Humility and how I attained it."

Semi-Interesting Link

2012-01-02T05:04:00.004-05:00

CNN's Belief Blog offers 15 Faith-Based Predictions for 2012 by fifteen folks from varying religious backgrounds. I link to the post not because its all true, but rather because it gives a glimpse into what people are thinking mostly outside of the evangelical bubble.

The quotes I found the most interesting:

"The year will see an increase in the number of people 'coming out' as nonbelievers. Major events like the Reason Rally in March will be a catalyst for more people to publicly declare their secular worldview." -Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association

"There's no question the worldview of most younger Christians already differs from previous generations regarding social justice, cultural engagement and politics. The next issue of probable divergence? The conflict in Israel and Palestine." -Cameron Strang, publisher of RELEVANT magazine

"Significant numbers of millennials (young people born in the 1980s and 1990s) will continue to walk away from socially conservative religious traditions. Bringing them back will be tough, especially for religious organizations deeply invested in brick-and-mortar and bureaucracy." -Joanna Brooks, Mormon author and columnist for Religion Dispatches

"More churches will lose the moat dragon mentality, lower the drawbridge and dispatch members beyond the church service to church SERVICE, applying their faith in the community through volunteerism and outreach." -A. Larry Ross, Christian communications executive representing clients like Billy Graham and Rick Warren

Jim Elliot on the Church

2012-01-01T09:57:00.000-05:00

Christian missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote, "The pivot point hangs on whether or not God has revealed a universal pattern for the church in the New Testament. If He has not, then anything will do so long as it works. But I am convinced that nothing so dear to the heart of Christ as His Bride should be left without explicit instructions as to her corporate conduct. I am further convinced that the 20th century has in no way simulated this pattern in its method of 'churching' a community.... it is incumbent upon me, if God has a pattern for the church, to find and establish that pattern, at all costs."

Elisabeth Elliot, Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testimony of Jim Elliot

(This is a re-post that seems appropriate for the beginning of a new year.)

Question: Is the Calendar Year Significant to the Life of the Church?

2011-12-31T15:56:00.001-05:00

As one year ends and another begins I'm compelled to ask: Is the calendar year significant to the life of the church?

On the one hand we could easily answer "No." The church is the church regardless of time of year. It has the same God, the same joy, and the same mission.

We could also easily answer "Yes." The ministry of the church is affected by the time of year. For example, weather plays a part in the needs of the church and broader community. Additionally, some within the church celebrate certain days on the calendar (Christmas, Easter, etc.).

This is probably a question that does not have a simple "Yes" or "No" answer. However, generally speaking do you think the calendar year is significant to the life of the church?

In looking in scripture, I can't find any indication that specific dates mattered much to the church. They seemed to celebrate the Lord's Supper fairly frequently. However, they may have also celebrated the Passover, which would have fallen on a specific date.

On today's calendar, the days of the week are an interesting issue. Many within the church view Sunday as a sort of Sabbath. It is often referred to as the "Lord's Day." We know the church in Troas came together to break bread on the first day of the week (at least one time when Paul was with them). That said, we also know that the church in Jerusalem met daily. We get no general sense that Sunday was any more significant than any other day of the week.

Our culture, whether we like it or not, impacts the life of the church. Generally speaking, more people have Sunday off from work than any other day. Because of this, larger church gatherings (over 10-20 people) are easier to schedule on Sunday than any other day. Does this make Sunday special in and of itself or do we just gather that day for pragmatic reasons?

All these factors and many more must be taken into account when answering the question at hand.

What do you think? Is the calendar year significant? If so, how and why?

I'm Not Saved Because...

2011-12-31T12:13:00.001-05:00

The passing of another year makes me think back on my life. The most important person in my life is Jesus Christ. What matters most is the gospel.

I'm saved because of Jesus alone.

I'm not saved because I was born into a "Christian home."

I'm not saved because most everyone in my extended family is saved.

I'm not saved because I've been "in church" for as long as I can remember.

I'm not saved because my dad taught at a Christian college.

I'm not saved because I was raised in a town where most everyone goes to church.

I'm not saved because I can't remember when I gave my life to Christ.

I'm not saved because several of my family members are foreign missionaries.

I'm not saved because I won a memory verse competition in Sunday School in first grade.

I'm not saved because I was a Boy Scout (never made it to Eagle).

I'm not saved because I went to youth group some of the time (and survived).

I'm not saved because I went to Christian camps in the summer.

I'm not saved because I went to a Christian high school.

I'm not saved because I didn't get kicked out of my Christian high school.

I'm not saved because I attended a Christian college.

I'm not saved because I married a Christian woman who was an MK (missionary kid).

I'm not saved because we have more than two kids.

I'm not saved because we were Southern Baptists.

I'm not saved because I attended seminary.

I'm not saved because I'm ordained (or if I wasn't).

I'm not saved because we went to South Asia as missionaries.

I'm not saved because God healed our son from Lymphoma.

I'm not saved because I was a pastor.

I'm not saved because I resigned from being a pastor.

I'm not saved because I'm now part of a simple church.

I'm not saved because we reside in the "Bible Belt."

I'm not saved because I now work a regular job.

I'm not saved because of this blog.

I'm not saved because of any good works I've done.

I'm not saved because of anything I've done.

I'm not saved because of me.

I am saved because of the grace of God alone through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross alone.

Praise the Lord!

My guess is that you have a list something like this. What's yours look like?

On Speaking a Different Language

2011-12-30T07:02:00.000-05:00

If you take time to read this blog then I'm guessing that church-related issues are important to you. I'm also guessing that when you try to talk about the church you often realize that those you are talking with have no idea what you are saying. They simply don't understand. This happens to me frequently.

Regardless of whether or not I'm talking with a follower of Christ, I find little comprehension on the part of the person with whom I'm having the conversation. It reminds me of our time in India. India is an interesting country for many reasons. One of them is that since England colonized India, many Indians speak English to one degree or another. When in South Asia, we could talk with a good number of the people about basic issues. However, when it came to more in-depth discussions we often struggled to communicate. In particular, conveying Christian truth was difficult. The reason? English was not their first language. That's why we were beginning to learn Hindi before we had to come home.

Back to the present. What should we do if others do not understand? The fleshly temptation of course is to feel pride and/or disgust. However, those are not the responses Christ would like us to have.

So how should we respond? We need to take the responsibility of speaking in ways that others will understand. We need to meet them where they are. This is not condescension; it is rather servanthood. It is trying to humbly talk in a manner that will bring about understanding.

Up until just a few years ago I had never thought about church issues outside of the institutional box. If I had stumbled into a conversation such as we often have on this blog I would have had no framework for understanding. I simply hadn't thought about it before.

It's sort of like when I hear people talking about things like knitting, European literature, music from the 2000's, ancient Cambodian architecture, wigs, and Twilight. I have no idea what's going on.

We have a responsibility to talk with others, both Christians and non-Christians, in ways they understand. As for non-Christians, the best thing to do is talk a lot more about Jesus Christ than the church (at least at first). As for other Christians, let's humbly talk using terms and phrases that make sense. Let's continue to ask hard questions and point out inconsistencies in the church, but let's do so in a way that brings about solid dialog.

This does not mean that everyone who understands will agree with what we say. I know this about this blog. For example, one blogger who understands what I write at the same time takes me to task on his blog every few weeks. That's fine; he disagrees with me. But at least he understands. I'm glad about this.

Let's go out of our way to help others understand what in the world we are talking about as far as the church is concerned. We cannot control whether or not they will agree with us (they probably won't). We can't even really control whether or not they comprehend (but we can try).

Let's humbly and lovingly do our part.

The Church Imprisoned

2011-12-29T06:56:00.000-05:00

Millions within the global church face the possibility of imprisonment during their lives. This possibility becomes reality for more than we in the West ever know about. I'm grateful for organizations like VOM that help us be aware of what is happening.

The church in the West is imprisoned in a different sort of way than those who are literally behind bars in places like North Korea and the Middle East. The Western church is for the most part mired in a self-imposed imprisonment. This is a prison of its own making that it is largely unaware of, is satisfied with, and has no desire to escape.

It is an imprisonment brought on by suffocating forms and structures that keep it from being the living, vibrant, truly organic body that we see in scripture. These structures have largely been in place for many years and are thus largely unquestioned. However, they have no new covenant basis; therefore, they act as large roadblocks to the church's mission.

The church in this country does accomplish some good for Christ's kingdom. However, it could do so much more if it would realize that its man-made structures are both suffocating and imprisoning what it is trying to do. Eight structures/forms/practices stand out as part of the jail that the Western church finds itself mired in today:

1. The clergy system

The existence of the clergy creates are artificial "expert" class within the church, stifles the gifts of the "laity," and does great harm to the priesthood of all believers. Despite largely good intentions, today's pastors create more problems than they solve simply by their existence. The church would do well to jettison the idea of the clergy and instead look to one another as equals in Christ. Elders are part of the body as opposed to a different class. They lead by being godly examples of servanthood.

2. The sermon-focused gathering

Regardless of music style, most church gatherings end up focusing on the sermon. This is a lecture/speech given in monologue style from a podium on a stage, usually by someone who is part of the clergy. This practice tells the church that a small group of people have expertise that they need to share with the majority. It forces most of the people in the church into silence. It brings about passivity and captivity. On the flip side, the church benefits when it is free to hear from all. The church needs teachers, but it also needs to be taught by everyone in proper order. We must all have the Spirit-led freedom to minister to one another according to our gifts as we come together.

3. The worship service

The weekly gathering amounts to a routine religious ceremony/ritual that is largely the same every week. A few of the same people lead each week (mostly the clergy). The order is set - see the bulletin. Most of the people are silent except during pre-selected songs. Close to half the time is taken up by the clergy giving a sermon. A better way exists. Church gatherings should be Spirit-led. They are free according to his leading. When each member is expected to contribute actively it brings about a vibrancy and excitement that grows the body in Christ.

4. "Communion"

I'm describing the ceremony that the Lord's Supper has become. Instead of a joyous, full meal, communion has been transformed into a funeral-like snack. Instead of a real meal it has become symbolic. Instead of people sharing with one another while eating, the church is expected to sit quietly and dwell upon how sinful it is. Instead of being fulfilling, communion simply makes you want to get to the real lunch. The church can do so much better. Just eat together with the loaf and the cup. It's easy.

5. The tithe

The tithe is an old covenant concept that has no place in the church. Despite this, pastors preach over and over about the importance of tithing. January, I'm told, is the common month for the guilt-inducing "stewardship sermon series." This is, simply put, wrong. Instead, as the church we should be free to give without compulsion. When we see a need, we can and should give joyfully. When we give in this manner, we can take care of real needs both inside and outside the church.

6. The church building (size)

Modern church buildings are large to hold all the people. What this allows, however, is for church bodies to become too big. The large size stifles real relationships and keeps most of the people at a surface level in how they know each other. It also forces the gatherings to be ceremonies since you cannot have truly participatory gathering with hundreds of people. A better option is meeting in much smaller (and cheaper) locations. Homes are the best and cheapest. However, other relatively small locations such as store fronts are often available.

7. The church building (structure)

The physical form of most large church buildings, especially the sanctuary/worship center, is imprisoning to body life. The big room is full of pews or chairs pointed at a stage. The message is that when the church comes together the people will do a lot of quiet watching and listening. The form conveys a direct, inescapable message of passivity. We can do better. Let's sit in a circle so we can all see one another and all share with one another. It's simple.

8. Age-segregated gatherings

Sunday School classes and youth groups take children from the ones who should be their primary disciplers: their parents. Many churches even offer segregation during the worship services. This is artificial. It lets the parents off the hook. It tells the kids that someone else should teach them. It's foreign to scripture. There's a simpler and better method. The church stays together. When we gather, we're all there. It really is as simple as that.

The church in the West is imprisoned by the above forms and structures. They stifle what the church is trying to accomplish. Let us pray that God will bring about a new reformation in his church in the West. Let's hope that more and more of our brothers and sisters in Christ will throw off these fetters to live as the church we see in scripture.

I believe the church does much good. However, it can do so much more. Shedding man-created structures and walking out of prison is one of the ways this can happen.

Let's fervently pray that it does.

What Matters Most

2011-12-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." I Cor. 15:1-4 (ESV)

"For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience — by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God — so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.' " Rom. 15:18-21

On this blog I write quite a bit about the church and various issues related to it. I suppose this is because of the path my life has taken over the past decade or so. Church issues are both important and worth writing about. We need to ask hard questions and be willing to seek out answers - even if they are uncomfortable.

That said, as Christ-followers we must always keep in mind what matters most. Simply put, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that matters most. Paul makes this clear in the above I Cor. 15 passage. The apostle uses the phrase, "of first importance" to describe the profound basics of the gospel.

In Romans 15 Paul tells us that his desire and goal is to see the gospel spread around the world. He wants to take it where it isn't so that those who have never heard will see and understand. Paul's primary concern is that the lost hear and comprehend the good news of Christ crucified.

When we lived in India in 2006-2007 it was easy to see what matters most. Each morning when we woke we were immediately confronted with a society with little Christian influence. Hinduism dominated daily life. Islam ran a distant but significant second. We were constantly reminded that about 99% of the people in our city not only needed the gospel but had probably never heard it. We were not distracted by what we might refer to as secondary doctrines. It was the gospel and the gospel alone that mattered most.

Back here in the USA it is somewhat easy to lose sight of this. We have church buildings all over the place. We have Christian schools, colleges, radio stations, and TV stations. Christianity remains, at least according to unscientific polls, the dominant belief-system in our culture. Because of this, we within Christian circles can get caught up in discussions and activities of lesser importance than the gospel.

Paul helps redirect our focus. Because of the gospel, we who are in Christ are united in one big family: the church. Although we should heartily discuss important church issues (such as definition, form, function, leadership, gatherings, etc.), we must remember that we can only have these discussions because of something much more significant - the gospel itself.

We all, myself certainly included, must remember that the gospel is a divider. It separates those who are Christ's from those who are not. However, the wonderful thing is that this gospel is powerful enough to save any and all who repent and believe. And stunningly, our Savior has decided to use sinful us to be the heralds of this wonderful news.

Some of us will have the privilege of being heralds overseas in today's Illyricums. However, most of us will stay relatively close to where we are. That's fine. Fewer and fewer Americans have any substantive clue about what the gospel really means. There are enough lost folks for all of us. Even if we are busy preaching forgiveness in Christ we will never run out of people who need to hear.

This blog post is a little selfish and personal. I need to remind myself of these things more frequently than I do. You likely need to be reminded as well (maybe not as much as me). While church issues are worthy of discussion, the church would not exist without the gospel. No atonement = no forgiveness = no salvation = no church.

Since the gospel is of most significance, it should also be what we talk about the most. Apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ, we have nothing.

Jesus Christ and his gospel matter most.

Names and Forms

2011-12-27T04:30:00.000-05:00

The church has through the years come up with special names for its various people, places, programs, events, etc. These names fall into the "church-ese" language that most Christians speak almost fluently and without thought. New converts are expected to master these terms relatively quickly or they will have no idea what's going on.

One problem with Christian terms is that they frequently cover up, well, problems. This happens because the special names do not match what they actually describe. Simply put, the names do not match their form. They do not describe what's really going on.

What would happen if we replaced the "church-ese" names with terms that describe the forms? What if we called them what they actually are? Let's do so:

Church-ese Name: Actual Form:
Church Building Temple
Sanctuary/Worship Center Auditorium
Platform Stage
Pulpit Lectern
Altar Railing/Steps
Pews Seats
Pastor(s) Priest(s)
Deacon(s) Levite(s)
Sermon Lecture/Speech
Bulletin Order of Events
Worship Service Ceremony/Ritual
Lord's Supper Lord's Snack
Tithes/Offerings Income to Meet the Budget
Youth Group Christian Entertainment
Sunday Sabbath

I admit that some of these forms do not line up perfectly with the names. For example, today's deacons do not help with the Jerusalem temple. However, many deacons are exceedingly concerned with their own church buildings, which are usually thought of as "God's house."

My purpose in this post is to point out that "church-ese" names often camouflage problems in the church. When we peel off these names and call things by their forms, the problems become much clearer. For example, when we refer to a sermon as what it is (a lecture or speech), we begin to see the difficulties inherent in the practice.

Let's watch out for ways we use "church-ese" language to cover up practices in our own lives that need further examination. Special language does not mean a practice is valid. It's just a name. When we put form with name, we see the reality.

Myths About Organic Church

2011-12-26T05:31:00.002-05:00

Milt Rodriguez has much experience in organic church life. He offers sound advice on his blog for those seeking authentic church according to biblical principles. For this reason, he's on my blogroll.

Milt is in the process of writing a series entitled "10 Myths About Organic Church." So far in the series he has penned six of the ten entries. I encourage you to read all of them. While I don't necessarily agree with everything Milt has to say, I almost always find his thoughts to be both informative and challenging. Below I've included links to the six entries followed by my favorite quote from each:

Myth #1 – Organic Church is a New Method for Doing Church

“Why is it that we don’t come seeking life instead of more information and knowledge? Why don’t we come seeking Christ instead of other things? Organic church is really only about one thing – the Lord Jesus Christ Himself! It’s about His life and living by His life with a group of believers.”

Myth #2 – Organic Church is a New Movement

“So we can see by the scriptures that God’s church is something that is founded upon none other than Jesus Christ Himself and not all of man’s ideas about Him. So it’s very clear by these definitions that actually the new movement is the institutional church itself, not the organic church. The organic church is the attempt of modern day believers to return to their ‘roots’ in primitive Christianity. These ‘roots’, of course, are nothing new, but rather a return to something very ancient.”

Myth #3 – Organic Church is a Spontaneous Free-For-All

“It’s not that we throw away structure in the organic, but rather that structure comes to have a whole new meaning for us. Of course there is still structure in organic church, but this structure is not mechanical as in the system, it is organic. That means it has a totally different nature. The essence of organic structure is based upon the indwelling life of Christ, not any man-made mechanism that is external.”

Myth #4 – Organic Churches Do Not Have Leaders

“We are ALL called to lead and to minister. Our Christ is the ALL in ALL (of us). But the key is that we all (hopefully) desire his Headship and his Centrality and to live by his Life. But all of these things or aspects of Christ are expressed THROUGH US! But this can only happen as we all learn to live by Him and abide in Him. This comes by mutually submitting ourselves one to another. He is our only Head and we discover his direction and leadership by submitting ourselves to the members of the body. This will happen in different ways at different times. Different members of the body will lead in different areas at different times depending upon what the Head wants for that particular season.”

Myth #5 – Organic Church is All About Rapid Multiplication and Discipleship

“Fruit only happens because there is much transformation (pruning) that goes on as the branches realized that apart from Him they can do nothing! All fruit comes in season. And the idea of seasons in the church (which is organic) has been abandoned for church growth principles, programs, and agendas.”

Myth #6 – Anyone Can Plant an Organic Church

“The record (New Testament story of the early church) shows that true biblical church planters are not made overnight. It also shows that not everyone is called to this work. It also shows that it takes years of preparation. It never has been, nor will it ever be a quick and easy task. At least, not if we do it His way.”

I'm anticipating Milt's final four entries in the weeks to come.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T15:15:00.000-05:00

As a family we've chosen not to celebrate the "Christian" side of Christmas. Instead, we just treat it as a winter holiday. In that spirit, enjoy this song:

"What Have We Been Doing?"

2011-12-24T08:55:00.000-05:00

My wife Alice is a blogger too. She hasn't written much lately because of the current busyness of our lives. However, she had a bit of time yesterday to electronically pen some thoughts about what our family is doing these days.

Her post is entitled, "What Have We Been Doing?". I've linked to her because she is a good writer and a great lady. Alice somehow manages to keep our home running well with me working almost all the time. I cherish her and am thankful for her industriousness for the cause of Christ.

A Question That Is Rarely Asked

2011-12-23T05:13:00.003-05:00

The question is a simple one. However, it is often ignored even at this time of year. The rarely asked question is, "Does God want us to be celebrating the incarnation?"

Most churches today desire to "Keep Christ in Christmas." While the culture celebrates Santa, presents, and parties, the church focuses on the incarnation of Christ. However, does God want this to be our focus?

On the one hand, the bible says nothing directly about the church celebrating or not celebrating the incarnation. Therefore, there seems to be some amount of freedom in this.

On the other hand, the early church's lack of an "incarnational focus" is a deafening one. More importantly, Jesus and his apostles never taught that we should celebrate his incarnation.

If the incarnation is not the focus, then what is?

We learn much from this familiar I Corinthians 11 passage:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (I Cor. 11:23-26)

This passage obviously focuses on the Lord's Supper. It falls within the context of the Corinthian church's abuses of the supper celebration. However, we also know that it was natural for the church in general to come together to eat (see Acts 20 in Troas). When they ate they were to remember Christ. In particular, his death was the focus.

What, then, has God told us to remember (and celebrate)? It is the death and by implication resurrection that ought to be what the church parties about. If we read through the book of Acts we see that this is Paul's consistent message in his gospel proclamation.

Is the incarnation wonderful? Yes it is.

Is the incarnation to be celebrated at this time of year? The bible gives us no hint that it is. Christ's death and resurrection, as always, are the focus of his church.

$$$$$$$$ and Missions

2011-12-22T05:06:00.000-05:00

Felicity Dale at Simply Church has written another great post entitled, "When Western Finance Does More Harm Than Good." The reality is that many American Christians have a deep desire to give toward missions but do not know how to best go about this. Sometimes the giving, if not directed appropriately, does more damage than good. Felicity's short piece is a great reminder that we need to be aware of cultural contexts before we begin working there.

Sometimes Blogging Feels Like This...

2011-12-21T21:01:00.001-05:00

Service is Supreme

2011-12-20T05:01:00.000-05:00

Matthew 23:1-12 tells us the following:

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you — but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (ESV)

In the past I've held the titles of both "missionary" and "pastor." While well-intentioned, titles of this sort create an artificial caste system within the church. They divide people into groups of "who is qualified" and "who is not." Instead of equality in Christ, special names within the church bring man-made hierarchies.

For this reason, Jesus in the above passage tells us not to use titles. Christ is specifically denouncing the practices of the Pharisees. However, his commands are clearly statements to those who would follow him. We see in these verses that only one person deserves titles: God himself.

Instead of titles, our goal should be service to one another. The greatest in God's kingdom seek no titles but instead serve the body and broader community. It is these who "will be exalted."

This passage informs how we should think of the biblical term "elder." If elder is an office or title to hold, then this passage is difficult to understand. However, if elder is simply a recognition of godly behavior and attitudes on the part of older men in the church, then it makes sense.

Christ permits no titles. They give no benefit and only bring harm to his church.

Instead, Jesus is looking for servants. Let's be that.

Sola What?

2011-12-19T04:30:00.002-05:00

One of the well-known cries of the Reformation was "Sola Scriptura!" This at least meant that scripture was the highest authority in decision making. For some, it meant that scripture was the only authority. Sola Scriptura was an outright rejection of Roman Catholic abuses of the day.

I have no trouble with the concept of Sola Scriptura. In fact, I embrace it. What I struggle with is those who say they adhere to Sola Scriptura but blatantly violate it in church life.

I include the above picture of Luther and Calvin in a stained-glass window to make a point. It is my Reformed brethren, who descend from Luther and (especially) Calvin, who cry "SOLA SCRIPTURA!" the loudest. The problem is that while they are correct about the gospel, their church practices far fall from what Sola Scriptura suggests.

One common belief in Reformed churches is that the three characteristics of a biblical church are right preaching of the word, right administration of the sacraments, and right church discipline. The disconnect is that the way these three things are generally practiced today fails to follow scripture. Let's briefly look at each of these.

Preaching in scripture was almost always evangelistic in nature. Someone in public heralded the gospel message to the lost. In church gatherings there was teaching by multiple people to one another. In today's churches, preaching is usually one man on a platform giving a lecture to a silent audience of mostly (I hope) saved folks.

In scripture, baptism (immersion) always happened to newly saved people. In Reformed churches, most baptisms are of infants by sprinkling. As for the Lord's Supper, in the bible it was a joyful, full meal. In almost all Protestant churches of any sort in this country it has been transformed into a depressing ceremony with only a small snack to eat.

As for church discipline, among the Reformed today the focus is those within the "membership" of the local body. In scripture, the church was to perform discipline within the church as a whole. The only boundary was the gospel.

I bring all this up to illustrate how easy it is to think we are biblical and yet be blind to unbiblical practices. It may be best for us to simply say that we strive for Sola Scriptura but that we have not achieved this goal. It would certainly be honest.

I'm sure that I am blind to areas where my life does not conform to scripture. Where we all likely need the most change is in how we actually live out the Christian life. For example, we could all probably love others more than we do, love ourselves less than we do, sacrifice more, indulge less, and cherish Christ more.

Let's all try to keep reforming to come more in line with what increasingly honors Jesus Christ. Let's also recall that we've got blind spots.

As for Sola Scriptura, it is a good goal for us to have, but not a destination we will ever reach.

One Thing I Don't Respect About Roman Catholicism

2011-12-18T11:39:00.000-05:00

In my previous post I wrote about respecting Roman Catholicism for honesty about its sources of authority: both scripture and tradition.

In fairness, I think I should mention something that I don't respect about Roman Catholicism. That thing is the tendency to allow tradition to trump scripture in various church beliefs and practices. Frankly, it doesn't bother me when Catholics (or anyone else for that matter) do things according to tradition when these things do not violate scripture. The problem rises when the traditions transgress in some way what scripture teaches/shows us.

I've included a photo of the pope for a reason. The Roman Catholic tradition of having a pope flies in the face of all scriptural evidence. The bible nowhere at all in any way whatsoever suggests that one man is the head of the church (other than Jesus Christ of course). Nowhere in scripture is there any hint that the Bishop of Rome will be the leader of the church. There is no "Vicar of Christ." To suggest that the apostle Peter was the first pope strains biblical interpretation to an absurd degree.

I've met many Catholics in my life. Their thoughts about and attitudes toward the pope ran a wide spectrum. Regardless, they still admitted that he is the head of the church.

This is a tradition that plainly violates what we see in the bible. Scripture tells us that Christ is the head. We are all equals within his body. There is no hierarchy. Those who are elders are called upon to lead in living Christlike lives for all of us to emulate. To be great in the church is to be a servant.

Within Roman beliefs and practices, there are many that violate scripture. There is of course the pope. Other violations include the Mass/Eucharist, the Vatican, Cardinals, priests, nuns, monks, Lent, infant baptism, penance, confirmation, holy orders, extreme unction, confession to priests, veneration of the saints, praying to saints, and various beliefs about Mary such as her being the queen of heaven, a perpetual virgin, and the co-redemptress who ascended into heaven. Not all Catholics believe and/or practice all these things. However, they are very common within the Catholic church.

All of the above stem directly from allowing tradition to trump the bible in belief and practice.

My purpose in this post is not to bash Roman Catholicism. Rather, it is to focus on the danger of allowing our traditions to reign supreme in decision making. We would all do well to examine ourselves to see where our own traditions, whatever they may be, violate what God has shown us in the bible.

One Thing I Respect About Roman Catholicism

2011-12-15T19:43:00.000-05:00

In a word the one thing I respect about Roman Catholicism is honesty.

I'm referring specifically to honesty as it relates to sources of authority for both belief and practice. Roman Catholicism has, at least since the Council of Trent, made it clear that both scripture and non-written tradition are legitimate sources of authority in what to believe and how to live this out.

Roman Catholics are honest about this. They do some things according to the bible, and other things according to their traditions. I realize that I'm speaking in generalities, but overall what I've stated is true. It is up to Catholics to determine what aspects of tradition and what parts of scripture to follow. When the two come in conflict, I'm not sure how they determine what to do. The popes past and present have dealt with many of these types of issues. Regardless, in the end Roman Catholicism is consistent and honest: both tradition and scripture are authorities.

(As a brief aside, I'm not suggesting that I agree with Rome in this; I'm simply stating that that Rome practices what it preaches.)

Now we turn to the broad segment of Christianity known as Protestantism. That's a big tent to be sure. However, a few things bind Protestants together. One of these is the declaration, like the Reformers, that scripture will be the highest authority in belief and practice (Sola Scriptura!). Some today go so far as to say that the bible is the only authority, but that's not what the Reformers thought. The key is that scripture takes the highest spot.

This is where most Protestants simply aren't honest. I'm not suggesting that Protestants are purposely lying, but rather that they have largely deceived themselves into thinking that they actually treat the bible as their highest authority.

Part of the difficulty is that Protestants in general actually are biblical about beliefs related to salvation. The gospel of grace, as taught in scripture, is well beloved and embraced by the vast majority of Protestantism.

However, and this is a big however, most Protestants do not actually adhere to scripture as their authority when it comes to church life. A cursory glance around American evangelicalism makes this fairly obvious.

It's interesting to look at the church we see in scripture, the church we see in Reformation days, and the church we see today. If scripture was actually Protestants' highest authority, then today's churches would look more like the first century church than the church of Luther's and Calvin's time. However, that's not the case. Today's Protestant churches in this country look, with modernization, much like the church from 500 years ago. There is some resemblance, but only some, to the first century church.

Protestants would do well to do one of two things. Either they should embrace scripture as their highest authority for both salvation and the church, or they should be honest (like Rome is) and state that both bible and tradition determine why they do what they do. What we have today is a dishonest ignorance on the part of most Protestants.

Let's at least be honest. We all, even if we aren't part of the institutional church, still do many things because of man-created tradition. It's healthy to admit this. Then we have a decision to make. We can either change to conform to biblical teachings or we can stay as we are. Let's at least be honest and not delude ourselves.

Rome is honest about this issue. For this I respect them. What about the rest of us?

The Church Anywhere, Anytime

2011-12-14T05:59:00.000-05:00

There is a discussion/argument that some Christians have about what constitutes a church gathering. You've heard the question before: "If two Christians meet in a coffee shop, is that church?" The focus of the question is "what counts."

The problem with the above discussion is that it suggests that whether or not something is church depends on what we do. In other words, the specific activities determine if a church gathering is actually a church gathering. This is, in a word, preposterous. In scripture, the only determining factor for whether or not a gathering is a church gathering is who is there.

If those in Christ get together, it is a church meeting. This may look like a whole lot of different things, but in the end when Christians meet, it is a church meeting.

The church meets anywhere, anytime.

This is becoming more of a reality for me everyday. Since I work so much now, and in a secular environment, I cherish any conversation I can have with a fellow Christian. I wish they were more frequent. When we do get to talk, it's a meeting.

This issue comes back to the importance of accurate (re: biblical) definitions. The bible always describes the church as God's people, not as any sort of activity - even a meeting.

God has, in his grace, shown us why he wants us to gather (mutual edification leading to Christian maturity). He has also given us examples of things we can bring to gatherings that honor him (prayers, songs, testimonies, teachings, etc.). Although these things are important, they do not determine if a meeting is, in fact, a church meeting.

Ultimately it is God who determines if a church gathering occurs. He is the one who sovereignly saves; therefore, he determines who his children are. Whenever his children get together - anywhere, anytime - it is a church gathering.

In a way, this whole conversation is redundant. Asking if Christians getting together is really a church gathering is sort of like asking whether or not an apple is an apple. If Christians get together it is by default and definition a church gathering.

We can and should meet anywhere and anytime. God is pleased when we do. The actions don't determine whether or not it's church, God does.

Back to a Simple Blogger Template

2011-12-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

I've made the executive decision to return to an older Blogger template. The reason for this is simple. The primary purpose of this blog is to have conversations about the Christian life. The new template was preventing some folks from commenting. I suppose it is another example of newer not necessarily being better. Anyway, my desire is that we will all be challenged and edified through mutual discussion. This, quite obviously, should include anyone who wants to leave a comment. My hope is that this simpler template will allow just that.

God's Work Provision

2011-12-11T20:37:00.000-05:00

Most of you know that I used to work as a salaried pastor. Then I made the "mistake" of reading passages like this:

Acts 20:32-35, "And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

As I was in the process of resigning I knew that God would have to provide some sort of work for me to do. A few months later the Lord gave me a job with JCB. I've mentioned it a few times before but not in much detail. I work in JCB's North American headquarters near Savannah. The factory produces skid steer loaders, which are one-man vehicles designed to serve many purposes around construction sites, manufacturing plants, etc.

After working in the assembly section for about six months, I was by the grace of God recently promoted to an inspector position in the Quality department. Now I inspect the vehicles after they come off the assembly line and then run them through a small obstacle course to ensure proper functioning.

Last week I worked 65 hours. Same for the week before that. I prayed for work and the Lord very much provided. What a wonderful God we serve. If you prayed for me and my family, I thank you.

As Paul worked with his hands, I now do so with mine. It truly is "more blessed to give than receive."

I've included a video to show what the skid steer looks like. Although it is a sales video, it's still interesting. BTW - no surprise here: Larry works in the sales dept.

Church Gatherings Fight Hunger

2011-12-10T22:50:00.000-05:00

When the church gathers together, one of the main purposes is to eat together.

Acts 20:7 provides us with one of the clearest purpose statements for a church gathering in scripture. Luke writes, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight." Notice that the church got together "to break bread."

Numerous benefits come from eating together. One that we don't often think about is that the Lord's Supper provides everyone with a significant meal. It is a spiritual meal, but at the same time it is a real meal. The body gets to eat. This fights hunger.

Paul was greatly concerned that the Corinthian church was abusing the Lord's Supper. The apostle wrote in 11:20-21, "When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk." One of Paul's main frustrations was that some were going hungry.

We live in a country of plenty. Most of us rarely think abut truly feeling hungry. When our family had the privilege of living in India for a few months I was confronted for the first time with real poverty. We saw many people who, based on their ultra-thin appearance, usually had little to eat.

God is the provider of food for his people. When the Hebrews wandered in the wilderness for forty years God provided manna and quail for them to eat. He then sent his son, Jesus Christ, to save us and feed us spiritually. Christ is in every way the bread of life. We read the following in John 6:32-35:

"Jesus then said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.' They said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.' Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"

God provides his church to one another for both spiritual and physical care. We feed on Christ together. We feed one another. Part of this is literally feeding each other. For some poor Christians around the globe the best meals they may get are the ones they take part in at church gatherings. I'm sure everyone tries to bring some food, but the wealthier would and should bring more.

When the church eats, people get fed. This fights hunger. We shouldn't discount the significance of this. Jesus took time to feed the 5000 and 4000. We must care for the well-being of others, too. We can relatively easily do this by eating a meal when we gather.

Tomorrow we'll be gathering with our church family. The theme is Italian. I can't wait.

This Might Not Work Out So Well...

2011-12-10T20:57:00.001-05:00

Are You a Preacher Man?

2011-12-08T04:58:00.000-05:00

While at work I get some form of this question fairly often, "Are you a preacher man?"

I still struggle with how to answer. The problem is the expectations and assumptions that accompany the question itself.

It really is one of those questions that requires a sit-down conversation. Unfortunately, I never have time for that at work. Additionally, the people who ask the question don't usually want a lengthy answer. They simply want to know if what they have heard is true - that I either was or still am a "preacher man."

I'd like to be able to have a cup of coffee with my co-workers and explain what "preach" means in the biblical sense. In some ways I always hope to be a preacher man if that means someone who spreads the gospel. This, of course, would require an explanation of what the gospel is. Believe me, most of my co-workers are in desperate need of Christ, so that opportunity would be great.

I'd also like to explain to them that the modern idea of the "preacher man" is something that is a man-made tradition. If that is what they mean when they say "preacher man," then I certainly am not that.

In the end, there is just no time for more than a few sentence answer. Because of that, I now respond in a short way unless it seems that the one asking the question really wants more of a conversation. When asked if I'm a preacher man, I tell them that I follow Jesus Christ, but I'm no preacher man.

This is just another example of trying to live out our faith in a world that doesn't understand it. My hope is for the chance to have a few good conversations that will allow me to tell them about Jesus. He, after all, was the ultimate preacher man (in the biblical sense of course).

Romans 14 - The Application

2011-12-04T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here's the rub. How do we apply Romans chapter 14?

I've previously blogged about the Romans 14 issue, the Romans 14 context, and what Paul says in Romans 14. Now I'll tackle the place "where the rubber meets the road." What significance does it have for us?

I encourage you to again read Romans 14:1 - 15:13.

The key to understanding any passage is the context. We must remember that Paul was writing to a church that was likely a mix of Jewish and Gentile believers. There appears to have been some conflict within the body about how to deal correctly with the OT law. Specifically, how were they to handle various aspects of the ceremonial laws related to eating/drinking regulations and special days, especially the Sabbath?

The tensions arose over differing interpretations of how to live out what they read in their Hebrew bibles (translated into Greek) in light of what Christ had accomplished.

Paul tells the Roman church that each believer must be convinced in his own mind of what is right. They are not to pass judgment on each other about the conclusions they come to. Instead, they are to welcome one another in unity. Paul desires that they think of others before themselves so that they won't become stumbling blocks to one another. The Roman Christians are to do all for peace, following the example Christ had left them. All is to be done for the glory of God.

Let's return to the issue of context. This is critical for our accurate understanding. In this passage, Paul is specifically discussing how to interpret what has been written. He is pointing back to the scriptures that they already have. The issue is how to handle what they have read in the pages of the Old Testament. The context, then, is God's word.

Since we now have the New Testament, this would fall within context.

If that is the context of this passage, what then falls outside of the context? What's outside is anything that scripture does not address. If it's not in the bible, then Paul's certainly not dealing with it in this particular passage.

This is important because Romans 14:1 - 15:13 is often used by some Christians to justify various church practices that have no biblical basis. The problem with this, as we have seen, is that Paul is not dealing with those sorts of practices in this passage. Therefore, Romans 14 is in no way a sort of "trump card" to allow us to do whatever we may think is right in the life of the church.

Paul is addressing something specific in Romans 14:1 - 15:13. In order to be fair to what Paul meant, we must be accurate in understanding what he was talking about. The issue was and still is what had already been written. Only when we apply Romans 14 to what has been written in the bible do we correctly apply it.

47 and Counting

2011-12-02T06:05:00.000-05:00

I'm now up to 47 hours of work in four days. I'll probably hit 60-65 hours by the the time I finish on Saturday afternoon. This makes it a little easier to pay the bills, but much more difficult to see my family. Blogging has to take a back seat. I want to complete the Romans 14 series but will have to wait until Sunday to do that.

While at work, I keep mulling over a question that we all deal with: how can we at the same time both discuss important church issues and remain united as the body of Christ?

One way I've seen some folks do this is to focus almost completely on world missions. Missions does seem to be an issue of church life that is relatively easy to agree upon - at least at first. We all agree that everyone on the planet needs to hear the gospel in an understandable way. However, we don't all agree on the types/styles/forms of churches that should be planted. The issue remains.

As children of Christ, we are one. John 17 makes this abundantly clear. This is Jesus' desire. So how do we go about living this out as the church while asking hard questions about the church? One step in the right direction is this: instead of focusing so much of our energy on being right, we should spend our time thinking about what would most benefit our brothers and sisters. We may end up coming to the same conclusions, but the path we take and the words we write/speak may be different.

24

2011-11-30T05:00:00.001-05:00

I've worked 24 hours in the past two days. No time to blog right now. I'm looking forward to completing the Romans 14 series by dealing with application. It will likely be a few days before that happens.

Psalm 46

2011-11-28T21:55:00.001-05:00

Psalm 46 is one of my favorite Psalms. It is wonderful to know that God is our refuge who takes care of every aspect of our lives. Enjoy these beautiful words:

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Romans 14 - What Paul Says...

2011-11-27T19:47:00.000-05:00

Romans 14:1-15:13 is a critical passage for helping us understand how to deal appropriately with differences in the church. This passage is sometimes used as a sort of "trump card" for ending discussions about differences. Is this what Paul intended? What does he actually say?

I've already written about both the issue at hand and the broader context. Now I'm going to attempt to tackle what Paul says in this passage.

We must remember that Paul is writing to a church that is likely experiencing some division between Jewish and Gentile Christians over OT food laws. Specifically, they were probably disagreeing about what they could eat and what they could drink. How they viewed days, especially the Sabbath, was also likely a cause of grumbling.

Paul writes to this church in part to correct this problem. I've tried to summarize Paul's thoughts into ten key points:

Some Christians are weaker in the faith while others are stronger. Do not pass judgment on each other, but welcome one another.
Regarding eating/drinking and days, each must be convinced of what he believes.
All that Christians do, whether in life or death, must be to the Lord.
Each person will give an account of his life to God.
Every Christian should avoid being a stumbling block, and instead strive for peace and mutual upbuilding.
Related to food and drink, nothing is unclean in and of itself.
Anything not from faith is sin.
Jesus Christ did not please himself, but provided us with an example of bearing with others for their edification.
Each must welcome the other for the glory of God.
Christ is the one and only hope for both Jews and Gentiles.

How might we summarize these points in one paragraph? Here's my attempt:

Some Christians are stronger in their faith while others are weaker. While nothing is unclean in itself, each person must be convinced of what is right (related to specific OT ceremonial laws) and live accordingly. These differences, however, must not divide believers. Rather, Christians ought to avoid passing judgment and instead welcome one another. All this is to be done to the Lord, keeping in mind that everyone will give an account to God. Christ’s followers should avoid being stumbling blocks to one another, and instead strive for peace and mutual upbuilding. Jesus provided us with the ultimate example of this. He did not please himself, but bore with others’ weaknesses for their edification. Keeping in mind that anything not from faith is sin, we ought to welcome one another for the glory of God. The basis of all this is the person and work of Christ, who is the one hope for both Jews and Gentiles.

What would you add?

King Darius Got It Right

2011-11-27T07:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes God even uses those who aren't his followers to speak the truth. I love the following passage from Daniel 6:25-27 where King Darius says the following:

"Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."

Darius speaks quite a bit of truth in this short passage: All people are to fear the God of Daniel. This God is living and endures forever. His kingdom and rule shall never end. He is the God who rescues. This God is one who works miracles.

What a glorious God we serve! Sometimes even the lost recognize this.

You Write the Caption

2011-11-27T05:30:00.000-05:00

I have no idea what this church sign means. If you have any ideas, please write a caption in the comments. Thanks.

Brothers and Sisters for Whom I Feel Sorrow

2011-11-26T12:44:00.000-05:00

For much of my life I assumed, without giving it much thought, that all Christians regularly meet with church families on a regular basis. I thought all believers were, to one degree or another, connected to a local body. It was an assumption based in the Christian culture but not in reality. Frankly, it just never crossed my mind that some Christians were not gathering on a regularly with other Christians.

I now realize that many Christians are not part of any sort of local body. They may see other Christians here and there, but they do not regularly gather with anybody. The reasons for this are many; some seem legitimate while others do not. I will say this: most are not being disobedient. Rather, most simply have not found other Christians who meet in an edifying manner.

These are my brothers and sisters in Christ that I feel sorry for. This is not pity, but rather sorrow. Life is difficult enough even with a supportive, loving church family. To venture through life's challenges without this sort of care must be extremely difficult.

Do you know brothers and sisters in this situation? How do they handle it? What has led to it?

As Christians, we can help each other in this. If we know those with no church home, we can help by simply trying to get to know them better and provide loving support. Many of these Christians are extremely lonely. They need Christian friends. We can all provide that.

I don't mean for this post to seem sappy or sentimental. This is a real struggle that many Christians face. Let's help when and where we can.

On the Significance of the Hall of Tyrannus

2011-11-25T13:28:00.000-05:00

Acts 19:8-10, "And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But 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. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks."

This passage records Paul on his third missionary journey in the city of Ephesus. We read that Paul reasoned daily with Ephesian disciples in the hall of Tyrannus. I suppose there could be several significant things about this, but one stands out to me: the Christians met in the hall of Tyrannus. This shows them not meeting in homes.

Of course, it is quite possible, in keeping with the general practice of the day, that some or all Christians in Ephesus normally met in homes. However, in these verses we clearly see that the believers met in a hall that was not a house. This was not a one time occasion either. Rather, they gathered "daily" for "two years." This suggests that they met in the hall of Tyrannus about 700 times. That's significant. Additionally, these meetings had an impact on the wider region; Luke informs us that, "all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks."

I've read what I might call "house church-only" advocates try to explain away the gatherings in the hall of Tyrannus. However, none of their reasons seem compelling to me. Most attempted to make the case that these were teaching/lecture style meetings that were different from participatory-type gatherings. In my opinion, much has to be read into the biblical passage in order to reach this conclusion.

The reality is that the apostle Paul himself met with other Christ-followers on a daily basis in hall that was not a house.

Why is this significant? It shows us that churches can gather in places other than homes. They have at least some measure of freedom to do so. They are not sinning when they gather in places other than houses.

As one who generally meets in homes, there is a tendency to want to be right. I admit, however, that I have been somewhat too dogmatic about insisting that followers of Jesus gather only in homes. I've tried to explain away the hall of Tyrannus. I can do it no longer.

The difficulty, I suppose, is in figuring out what places beyond homes are acceptable to God. Where does God desire that his followers meet? In one sense, the answer is anywhere and everywhere. However, what does this mean specifically? I think we all agree that a few believers meeting at Starbucks is acceptable. We would all probably (at least readers of this blog) say that God is not pleased by the construction of $100+ million dollar church buildings. But what about in between? That's the difficult part. We must look for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to guide in these important decisions.

Romans 14 - The Context

2011-11-24T19:30:00.000-05:00

Please click to read Romans 14:1-15:13. At the wise suggestion of my friend Alan Knox, I’ve decided to extend this discussion to include the first part of Romans 15.

In order to understand 14:1-15:13, we need to take a look at the broader context of this epistle. The author was clearly the apostle Paul. He likely wrote to the Roman church from Corinth while on his third missionary journey. Paul desired to travel to Rome to meet these Christians, but first had to return to Jerusalem with the money he had collected for the church there.

We don’t know how or by whom the church in Rome was founded. However, as recorded in Acts 2, there were Jews in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit arrived during the feast of Pentecost. It’s possible that some of those Romans Jews surrendered to Christ at that time and then returned home with the gospel. Regardless, by the time of Paul’s third missionary journey there was a church in Rome.

The Roman church was most likely a mix of Jews and Gentiles. This could have created tension within the church as it relates to what to do with the OT law. We must remember that the only bible the Roman Christians would have had was the OT (probably the Septuagint). This would have undoubtedly informed both their thinking and decision making.

Paul’s letters are usually “occasional” in nature. This simply means that he wrote to deal with specific things that were going on. It is quite possible that Paul wrote to the Roman church in part to help them deal with Jew-Gentile (or even Jew-Jew or Gentile-Gentile) tension over how to best apply the OT law as followers of Jesus Christ.

Paul dealt quite a bit with the law throughout the letter. Generally speaking, he focused on salvation in chapters 1-11 and sanctification/application in chapters 12-16. We learn in 1-11, among other things, that the OT law does not save. Instead, all who have faith in Christ (apart from the law) are declared righteous/just in the sight of God. Paul famously wrote in 3:21-26:

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

The Roman church in particular seemed to be struggling with OT eating and drinking prescriptions. Some in the church thought they needed to follow OT restrictions. Others in the church ignored the law and ate what they wanted. Another area of possible tension and/or disagreement focused on how to view certain days. Some thought particular days (especially the Sabbath) were to be treated with unique prominence, while others treated every day the same.

Paul knew that the Roman Christians needed a full understanding of the gospel. This would help them better comprehend how to apply the law. His emphasis upon faith and grace apart from the law shows that it no longer held sway over them. In chapter 14 Paul referred to the Christians who followed OT restrictions as “weak.”

Backing up a couple of chapters, Paul begins his great application section in 12:1-2, writing, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The apostle goes on to instruct the Roman believers that they are all part of one body. They must use their spiritual gifts for the good of both the body and the broader community. The apostle then gets very specific about what the Christian life looks like. By the time we arrive at 14:1, the readers of Romans fully understand the gospel. They also know that Paul expects lives fully devoted to Christ in all areas. Additionally, the church is to be united as one body. Paul then instructs them, in 14:1-15:13, in how to deal with specific issues that have the potential to tear them apart.

What do you think? Is this the context? What should be added, deleted, or altered?

Context is critical. Without it, we won’t correctly understand what Paul meant.

Not Blogging About Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:09:00.001-05:00

I suppose it is the pseudo rebel within me, but I'm not blogging about Thanksgiving. I figure that many others are already doing that, and I'd rather not add more to what's already being written. Like many of you, I have much to be thankful for. I'll simply leave it at that.

Now if I can just find the time to blog about Romans 14, we can continue that discussion. I'm looking forward to it.

Romans 14 - The Issue

2011-11-22T21:41:00.000-05:00

Before reading any more of this post, I highly encourage you to read Romans chapter 14.

Romans 14 is a fascinating passage that teaches us many wonderful truths. It also makes us a bit uncomfortable. For example, Paul writes in 14:5, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." On the surface that may sound a little postmodern. Is Paul suggesting that truth is relative? Of course not. However, Paul does appear to be telling the Roman church and the rest of us that some things in life do in fact come down to conscience.

Two issues we must deal with related to Romans 14 are how to correctly understand it and how to accurately apply it. Specifically as it relates to church practices, I've heard Romans 14 used again and again to support various traditions, programs, activities, etc. that have little to no scriptural support. The argument goes something like this, "I'm convinced in my mind that what we are doing (whatever it is) honors God. Romans 14 tells others not to judge us. Therefore, we are going to continue to do it." Romans 14 is often used as a sort of "trump card" to end discussions about church issues. When some Christians are unable to provide biblical evidence for why they do what they do, they pull out Romans 14 to both win and end the discussion.

Is this what Paul intended when he wrote to the Roman church? What is the context of the chapter and the book? Do these matter? What does Paul actually say? What does he not say?

How far can we apply Romans 14, especially as it has to do with how we understand the church?If Romans 14 has extremely broad application, then basically anything is justifiable as long as it is not prohibited by scripture. However, if Paul's intention is much narrower, then the Romans 14 trump card falls apart. The key for us is that we understand as best we can what Paul actually meant.

Because of its significance for church life, I'm going to blog three more times about this chapter: the context, what Paul says and doesn't say, and the application. My hope is that you partake in the discussion as well.

How we handle Romans 14 has direct impact on our understanding of Christ's church.

Are We Headed in the Right Direction?

2011-11-22T04:59:00.001-05:00

"For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured." Hebrews 13:11-13

Sometimes I wonder whether or not I'm headed in the right direction and to the right destination. I'm not referring to salvation, but rather the walk of sanctification. The author of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus suffered outside the gate. Because we are in Him, we are expected to go outside the camp to Him. Although we cannot and do not die for the sins of others, we still must expect that this journey outside to the cross will lead to persecution.

How easy it is to remain inside the camp. Or at least sort of stand at the gate of the camp. The author of Hebrews, however, calls us to "go to him outside." This includes bearing "the reproach he endured."

We cannot and should not seek persecution. If we are living for Christ outside the comfy confines of American values, the persecution (in various forms) we come on its own. I wonder if in this country of relative luxury we have embraced this biblical truth.

A life with Christ is a life outside the gate and outside the camp.

Blog Options

2011-11-21T06:30:00.000-05:00

I've finally chosen a more modern looking format for this blog. Since I'm not exactly technologically adroit, this was no easy task.

One fun aspect about this particular blog look is that you, the reader, get to chose the exact format you want to use. Interactive it is. All you have to do is place your mouse on the left side of the page over the word "Classic." This gives a drop-down menu of various choices for how you want to look at the blog. I went with "Classic" as the default because it's the most like a traditional blog. However, my favorite is actually the "Flipcard" function; I just wasn't brave enough to use it as the norm.

Well, there it is. Choose and enjoy.

Still Rated G

2011-11-20T22:28:00.001-05:00

Not that it matters, but my blog is still rated G. I guess lots of talk about Christ's church doesn't cause too many problems out in the world.

Just for fun I checked out a few other blogs. Arthur Sido also received a G.

Alan Knox, Al Mohler, Frank Viola, John Armstrong, and Dave Black were all given ratings of PG-13.

That Reformed Lost Boy Bobby Auner got an R.

If You Have Any Word of Encouragement...

2011-11-20T07:13:00.001-05:00

Acts 13:13-16 tells us:

Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it." So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen."

No matter how many times I read it, this passage continues to fascinate me. Paul and company are on what is often called the first missionary journey. When they arrive in Antioch in Pisidia they follow their custom of going to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Although what Paul says in 13:16-43 is of most importance, it is what the rulers of the synagogue say that intrigues me.

They invite Paul and his companions to share a word of encouragement for the people if they have one. Specifically:

1. They were invited to share.
2. They were under no compulsion to share.
3. They were specifically invited to share a word of encouragement.
4. They were invited to share any word of encouragement.
5. They were to share for the benefit of the people.

Clearly, this is not a church gathering. However, we see that even in this situation the people present can benefit from hearing from others. Paul's statements were expected to be grounded in the Law and Prophets, which had just been read, and designed to encourage the other Jews there. Whatever he said was for the purpose or goal of encouragement.

We learn from this passage that when a group gathers, we can all benefit from hearing from one another. What is said must be truthful and based on previously revealed truth (scripture), and designed for the up building of the people. It sounds like an excellent recipe for a church get together.

Although the readers of this blog probably gather with other believers in a variety of ways and manners, my hope is that you have a time when everyone is free to share a word with the body for the benefit of the body.

We Must Be Precise

2011-11-13T18:26:00.001-05:00

Robert Murray M’Cheyne, a Scottish pastor who lived from 1813 to 1843, stated the following, "The greatest need of my people is my personal holiness."

The above is an example of a quote gone wrong. What it is lacking is precision.

Since M'Cheyne was a pastor in the traditional sense, when he says "my people," I can only assume that he is referring to the people of the church where he was employed.

In this relatively famous quote, at least among pastors, M'Cheyne says that his people's greatest need is his own personal holiness.

Really? Is that truly their greatest need? I can easily think of ten things that his people needed more than his holiness:

1. God the Father
2. God the Son
3. God the Holy Spirit
4. Salvation
5. Sanctification
6. An attitude of servanthood
7. Scriptural knowledge
8. A loving church family
9. A holy hatred of their own sin
10. Their own personal holiness

M'Cheyne's quote lacks precision. I'm sure that if asked he would have said that the people of the church needed God far more than him. Since he was a solid Christian, there can be no doubt of this. However, his quote suggests otherwise.

How could the quote have been both better and more accurate? Here's my suggestion: "The greatest need of my people from me is my personal holiness." Simply by adding the two words "from me" we take a seemingly heretical statement and turn it into something that can at least be argued to be accurate.

As we write and speak, let's be careful. Precision is important.

UGA

2011-11-12T04:30:00.001-05:00

Saul Knew Where to Look

2011-11-10T06:37:00.000-05:00

"But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison." Acts 8:3

In Acts chapter 8, immediately after the stoning of Stephen, a great persecution arose against the church. As this occurred, Saul (later Paul) was taking out his angry zeal and frustration against the brethren. Saul's plan was to detain followers of Christ and take them to prison. The fascinating thing is that Saul knew where to look. We're told by Luke that Saul entered "house after house."

Saul knew that he could find Christians in homes. This was, apparently, the natural place for them to be. Note that this is the only place where we are told that Saul looked. For example, he did not look in the temple.

Luke does not tell us here that church gatherings were going on in homes (we see that in multiple other places in scripture). However, it makes sense that Saul would go where relatively large numbers of Christians were together to imprison as many as possible. The only place he went was homes.

We need to be careful in drawing too many conclusions from a narrative passage that focuses mostly on the persecution itself as opposed to the specific location of the persecution. However, one thing is clear: Saul knew where to look. He could find Christians in homes.

Edification Necessarily Leads to Mission

2011-11-08T20:29:00.001-05:00

The church comes together for edification. The church goes forth in mission. The two are linked. In fact, edification that does not lead to mission is not biblical edification.

Edification necessarily leads to mission. How do we know this?

The bible instructs us to edify one another within the church. This is to occur whenever we come together, regardless of size or type of gathering. To broaden out our thinking, Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Every word spoken by us should be for the building up.

But what happens when we are built up? What change takes place? The answer is that we simultaneously grow closer in relationship to Jesus Christ and become more in our character like Jesus Christ. Mutual edification within the body leads to everyone changing to be more like Jesus and to love him more. We read this beautiful passage in Ephesians 4:11-16:

"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

As we are edified, we become more like Jesus and more devoted to him. This strongly implies becoming more missions-oriented. Why? The reason is that Jesus Christ was the ultimate missionary. He came to earth from heaven to not only share the gospel, but to be the gospel. He came as both high priest and sacrifice. He came to proclaim his substitution on our behalf. If anyone ever cared enough about others to go and tell, it was Jesus Christ.

As we grow in Christ, it should be that we become more concerned for the eternal well-being of others. If we are becoming more like Jesus, this has to be the case. He died for people we live near and who live all over the globe. As we transform through edification to be more like Jesus, our care for these people ought to grow as well.

If edification has its intended outcome, we will all mature in Christ. Part of that maturation is desiring for others to know the Jesus who is transforming us. As Christian maturity goes up, a desire for others to come to Christ ought to naturally rise as well.

The author of Hebrews tells us in 10:24, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works." Edification leads directly to love and good works. What more loving work can there be than proclaiming the life-giving news of Christ crucified and resurrected?

How we specifically live out a missional life will vary from person to person. Some will go to the far reaches of the earth sharing the good news, while many more will do so near home. Whatever the case, as we grow, a fruit of this growth should and will naturally be a deeper longing for others to experience the person we experience in joy each day - the God-man Jesus Christ.

There ought not be any tension in the church between edification and missions. As we come together as Christ's saints, the purpose is to build one another up in Christ for Christ. As we go forth into the world, having grown because of the building up, our zeal for Christ should show itself in our care for others. This care will take the form of meeting basic needs and sharing the best news in the world - the gospel.

Discussing the Dreaded "Exception Clause" Within the Context of Church Family

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

When our church family gathers as a large group, one of the things we usually do is study through a section of scripture. We are currently working our way through the book of Matthew. This past Sunday we began discussing Matthew chapter 19.

Studying through Matthew 19 means dealing with the dreaded "exception clause." I'm referring to Matthew 19:9 were Jesus says, "And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." (exception clause emphasized)

The meaning of the exception clause has been argued by Christians for many years. You've likely had the discussion yourself. Although I personally hold to the betrothal view, my point in this post is not to go down that path. Instead, I simply want to talk about the discussion we had.

As we gathered, we had about twenty people in the room. At least one-half have been directly or indirectly involved in and/or impacted by divorce. Therefore, this was not some sort of theoretical talk. It was real.

The body-life context of the discussion was critical. We all know one another well. We have solid, deep relationships. We trust one another. It's not perfect, but we are a family. Therefore, as we began to talk the entire atmosphere was one of grace and love. At the same time, we desired to seek God's truth and avoid falling into some sort of postmodern interpretive pit "just to make everyone happy."

We talked for quite a while about various aspects of marriage, divorce, God's desire for marriage, God's thoughts on divorce, what Moses meant and did not mean, what the exception clause may mean, what Christians should do now who have been divorced, what Christians should do now who have remarried after divorce, and what Christians should do now who are struggling in their marriages.

This passage could have led to one of two negative outcomes. First, we could have simply glossed it over, avoiding it to "keep the peace." Second, we could have argued over it in a nasty way. I'm happy to say that neither happened.

Instead, in the context of church family, we were able to talk about this hard passage in love, grace, and mercy. There was no judgment from any of us. We desired to see the truth and apply it from here forward.

It was beautiful to watch the body in motion. With various people adding to the conversation, different points of view and concerns came to the surface. Each person who spoke added a little bit to what we were all learning. We all gained in Christ from one another.

One example of this comes to mind. After I talked about why I hold to the betrothal view, a good friend of mine cross-referenced to Matthew 1:18-25. This is the passage where Joseph is betrothed to Mary and finds out that she is pregnant. The beauty was that this brother of mine added to the conversation in a way that I didn't. I hadn't even thought of that passage.

We as a group were also able to help some within the family deal with tough questions related to marriage and divorce. Many Christians struggle with their pasts related to this. Within the context of love and acceptance, we were able to ask hard questions and try to help these folks apply these.

I would not want to discuss this passage in any other setting. I was reminded again how we all need each other. We need one another not just for encouragement, but also to help one another determine the meaning of scripture. Our church family context enabled us to delve into this tough passage, dig for truth, dare to apply it, and lovingly encourage one another in the process.

My hope for you is that you have this sort of opportunity to share body life in a way that everyone is built up in Christ.

Promotion

2011-11-03T04:59:00.000-04:00

Many of you know that my work situation has been somewhat difficult since I left the professional pastorate about one year ago. This past March God granted me an assembly position with JCB here in Savannah. This week I received a small promotion at JCB. Instead of working on the Skid-Steer assembly line, I'm now working as an inspector for completed machines. The work is more interesting, carries more responsibility, and pays a little more. As a bonus, I now get to drive the machines a bit. I share this with you not to pat myself on the back. Rather, I want to thank you for your prayers and support during this occupational odyssey. God truly is gracious and merciful.

I'm reminded of what Paul wrote to the Philippians in 4:19, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Happy Reformation Day

2011-10-31T04:30:00.002-04:00

Apparently Luther was a blogger, too (I knew he was a bright guy). The Reformer was labeled "divisive" by many for asking hard questions about both salvation and the church. Thank God for men like Luther who were willing to look to scripture as their guide for God's truth. While I wish Luther had taken scripture to its logical endpoint like the Anabaptists did, I'm still grateful for his efforts (and those of others) in rediscovering the true gospel.

On Chronicles

2011-10-30T15:38:00.000-04:00

I realized recently that I had never read all the way through the books of I and II Chronicles. Since they were originally one book, I'll henceforth (a fun word to write) refer to them simply as "Chronicles."

The reason I had never bothered reading through Chronicles is because I thought of the book as simply a repeat of II Samuel and I and II Kings. I was wrong. Although there is much overlap, there is also a good amount of variation. While II Samuel and I and II Kings are basically a time line of the monarchy of Israel, Chronicles focuses in more on the highlights. In particular, the Chronicler (the author, whoever he was) spends much time on the temple and those who we might refer to as the "good kings" of Israel.

In reading Chronicles, I learned new things about David, Solomon, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Josiah. The best part is seeing the hearts of the kings who genuinely, if imperfectly, sought after God. The Chronicler also repeatedly shows God providing for these kings and Israel as a whole in various ways.

Even though the good kings are the focus, we do see a bit of the evil kings showing through. For example, late in Chronicles we read about the long and evil reign of King Manasseh. Unlike II Kings, however, we not only see his wickedness but also his repentance:

II Chronicles 33:10-13, "The LORD spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. Therefore the LORD brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God."

The Chronicles is full of small but significant differences from II Samuel and I and II Kings. I encourage you to read through it. I admit to skimming through the genealogies. Don't feel bad about that. Just enjoy reading a book that you may never have looked at much before.

Every Christian Likes Meeting in Homes

2011-10-29T22:29:00.000-04:00

"Every Christian likes meeting in homes."

That is a strong statement but is also one that I believe is true.

I've heard numerous Christ-followers talk about times when they have met with other Christians in homes. It may have been in the early stages of a church plant. It may have been during a special missions meeting at some friends' home. It may have been in a small group meeting. It may have simply been hanging out with Christian friends in their house. Regardless, almost all Christians have had the opportunity to gather with other Christians in homes. Everyone seems to like it.

In fact, I cannot ever remember one Christian saying negative things about their experiences with the church in homes.

This is not, of course, to say that all (or even most) Christians believe that homes should be the primary gathering places for churches. Rather, it is an interesting aspect of church life that is often ignored.

Since home gatherings are so positive, my encouragement to all followers of Jesus is simply this: get together in homes with other Christians some of the time. It will be a blessing.

The content and structure of the gatherings may differ. It could range from a meeting of all the local body all the way to just a few people coming together to share how things are going. My concern in this post is not content. Rather, it is location.

There is something special about meeting in homes. The setting lends itself to openness, sharing, and authenticity. People generally feel comfortable in homes. Because of this, relationships in Christ can grow deeper fairly easily.

A word of caution: this is not automatic. A group of Christian folks can't simply show up at a house and hope for community to magically develop. It takes hard - and enjoyable - effort.

A home is a setting that sets the stage for life-sharing in Christ to take place. The home provides an excellent atmosphere for true fellowship to happen.

I believe all Christians like home gatherings because they sense relationship-building occurring. They grow closer to their brothers and sisters in Christ in this environment.

Therefore, let's get into the homes. This may look different for different local bodies. It may be in addition to other gatherings or take the place of them. It may be weekly, monthly, or unscheduled. It may be just a few people or many. There may be some planning involved or none at all.

Since everybody likes meeting in homes, let's do the obvious thing: meet in homes.

My Evolving Views on Halloween

2011-10-27T12:00:00.001-04:00

For most of my life I embraced Halloween for the fun of it. As a kid I went trick-or-treating with everyone else. As an adult, when our children were young we dressed them up in various costumes and took lots of photos. The ghoulish, ugly side of the holiday never really appealed to me so that was a non-issue.

About a decade or so ago my wife Alice and I began to take a look at the pagan-ish side of Halloween. The fact that it is Satanism's high, unholy day of the year became a real concern to us. Combined with this, we tired of the increasing commercialization of the day. Therefore, we purposely decided to reject the day by actively not participating in any way (except the requisite Fall Festivals at various churches).

This year, for some unknown reason to me, my views on Halloween have changed again. I'm no longer for or against the day. I simply don't care about it at all anymore. It carries no interest for me. I suppose this puts it in the same group with St. Patrick's Day, Groundhog Day, and Columbus Day. I'm utterly ambivalent about Halloween.

I've come to the conclusion that this is an area of freedom for Christians. If you want to participate by dressing up, handing out candy, and carving pumpkins, then go right ahead. If, however, you want nothing to do with it, then by all means don't participate. As for me, I'll probably not take part just because I'll forget about it.

So I guess evolution does happen once in a while - at least as it pertains to my views on Halloween.

What about you? What do you think of Halloween? Do you participate or not? Why?

Me Planking

2011-10-26T05:11:00.000-04:00

The late, great planking fad finally hit our house last night. Actually, I was just tired from 25 hours of work over the past two days. I lay down on the floor, and then in a brief moment of insanity started to "plank." It lasted just long enough for my wife to snap this photo. I'll probably never do it again, but at least I've had the experience. Note to self and others: don't try this on a tile floor. Additionally, I'm told that my technique is not correct - my head needs to be higher. Oh well, I'm an amateur planker.

Denominational Humor

2011-10-24T04:30:00.003-04:00

Click directly on the graphic to enlarge.

Borrowed from thomasthedoubter.com (via John Armstrong) for a funny way to begin the work week.

"What Is the Mission of the Church?"

2011-10-23T06:00:00.001-04:00

I'm always happy when a book that I hope will be good turns out to be good. That's the case with What is the Mission of the Church?, by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert.

In this text, DeYoung and Gilbert set out to define and explain what the mission of the church actually is. I agree with the authors that this is necessary because of the recent confusion surrounding this topic. Some Christians, with good intentions I'm sure, have begun to frame the mission of the church in terms of social justice and mercy ministries.

The authors define the church's mission this way, "The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship and obey Jesus Christ now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father." (pg. 241) The authors continue, "In contrast to recent trends, we've tried to demonstrate that mission is not everything that God is doing in the world, nor the social transformation of the world or our societies, nor everything we do in obedience to Christ."

I was pleased to repeatedly read that the authors do, in fact, believe that doing all sorts of good works is extremely important for the church. However, they assert, this is not the core mission of the church. Rather, carrying out the Great Commission is.

DeYoung and Gilbert's work is very solid exegetically and thoroughly reasoned. They look at biblical passage after passage after passage, showing time and again that our prime responsibility as Christ-followers is to make disciples.

The high points of this book for me came in chapters 3-5. In chapter three, the authors look at the biblical narrative from a bird's eye view of the cross. Chapter four is an excellent discussion of what the gospel really is from both the "wide angle lens and zoom lens" perspectives. In chapter five, DeYoung and Gilbert provide a solid analysis of the Kingdom of God.

I'm always intrigued by Kevin DeYoung in particular. Sometimes I agree with him, while at other times I vehemently disagree. While he is an arch-defender of almost all things institutional church, in this particular book I agree with him in just about everything.

I highly recommend this book to all Christians.

Pleading for the Priesthood of All Believers

2011-10-18T06:47:00.000-04:00

This is a simple plea for all Christians to embrace the wonderful doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. This biblical truth is one that is given lip service in the church but is often ignored when it comes to church practice.

The profound reality is that God intends for all his children to be his priests. We all have the tremendous privilege of having direct access to him. Peter tells us:

"You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." I Peter 2:5 (emphasis mine)

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." I Peter 2:9

Amazingly, despite our sin we are able to live in a sacrificial manner that pleases God. According to Paul:

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Romans 12:1

This, of course, is a reality because of what our great high priest, Jesus Christ, accomplished on the cross to pay for sin:

"But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Hebrews 9:11-14

I plea to all followers of Jesus Christ to fully embrace this great privilege and responsibility. Since we have direct access to God, let's live like it. We don't need to go through others to get to him. Instead, let's help others see this incredible news. As we make disciples, let's be sure to let them know that they have no need of anyone to stand between them and God. Christ alone is our high priest.

Interestingly, God originally intended for all in Israel to be his priests:

"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:5-6

As we know, Israel rejected God's design. God soon after instituted the Aaron priesthood.

Now, the happy reality is that if we are Christians we are priests. There is no choice in the matter. It is fact.

In light of that, let's live in this reality. Let's encourage all our brothers and sisters in Christ to grab hold of this wondrous gift. Not only are we saved from hell, but we are saved to a life of direct communication and experience with God Himself.

On the Importance of Apostolic Presence

2011-10-16T21:31:00.000-04:00

As we look in scripture at the church, we sometimes inadvertently ignore something of extreme importance. What is this? The answer is the presence of the apostles within the early church.

Apostolic presence is critical because the original apostles (I'm speaking here of the eleven plus Paul) spent much time directly with Jesus Christ. If anyone was in a position to know what Christ's expectations are for his church, these are the men. Additionally, the apostles were given at least some unique authority in decision making as it relates to the church.

We learn in Ephesians that the apostles are part of the foundation of the church:

Ephesians 2:19-20, "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone."

We see numerous examples of apostolic authority in passages such as the following:

I Corinthians 4:19-21, "But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?"

I Corinthians 11:17-22, "But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not."

I Corinthians 14:37, "If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord."

Paul gives repeated reminders that his position as an apostle comes not from man but from God. For example:

Galatians 1:1, "Paul, an apostle - not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead."

Within the evangelical church we tend to downplay the importance and authority of the apostles. My guess is that we do this as a reaction to Roman Catholic abuses related to prayer to the apostles and other such nonsense. We must be careful, however, to form our understanding of apostolic importance based on scripture and not simply because of a reaction to what others believe.

The reality is that Jesus Christ did give his apostles unique authority within the church. They were by no means dictators. First and foremost, they were to serve the church in a manner that glorified Christ. We know that they did a great deal of teaching. This makes sense since they, as stated above, spent so much time with Jesus.

The apostles taught a great deal about the church. In the book of Acts, we see them involved from the very beginnings of the church. This extends all the way to Rome, with Paul under house arrest but preaching the gospel unhindered.

We know that when problems arose in the church the apostles stepped in and addressed them. This sometimes took place with the apostles present, such as the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Many other times the apostles, especially Paul, corrected church problems from a distance through epistles. Just reading I Corinthians shows us this.

The apostles did not tell each church how to function to the smallest detail. However, they did give many instructions that, led by the Holy Spirit, were designed to shape the church in a manner that would honor Christ. Their presence ensures that the practices of the early churches were either acceptable or corrected. We know enough of the apostles to realize that when practices were unacceptable, they wrote or visited to bring them in line with God's expectations.

What does this mean for us today? As we think about church life, we must remember that the apostles were present in the early church. The apostles made great efforts for the church to be what Jesus wanted it to be. They taught and rebuked under Christ's authority. They corrected what needed correcting, and gave approval where the church functioned as it should.

In light of this, when we are dealing with church issues, we should always look to see what the apostles taught about certain issues. We ought to also look at how the early church functioned as a group and as individuals. We don't need new ways of doing things. We don't need to figure things out on our own. The scriptures themselves show us the church as the apostles thought it should be. They should have known. After all, they were with Jesus, the Head of the church.

Some Traditions Really Are Helpful

2011-10-11T04:30:00.001-04:00

The above photo comes from the classic film The Fiddler on the Roof. At one point in the movie Tevye sings a now famous song entitled simply Tradition. In Tevye's mind, certain things in life should happen because they are traditions.

Thinking along the same lines as Tevye, I believe that some traditions are helpful for the church. In fact, they are essential. Which traditions are these? Paul tells us in II Thessalonians 2:15. The apostle writes:

"So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter."

Paul makes it clear that the Thessalonian Christians are to hold to the traditions they were taught. This is not advice or desire on Paul's part. Rather, it is a command. We know from Acts 17 that Paul visited Thessalonica and was likely responsible (from the human perspective) for planting the church there. When this occurred, Paul certainly taught them many things, which he here refers to as traditions.

Paul also wrote at least two letters to his Thessalonian friends. Although short, both epistles contain a good amount of instruction in what to believe and how to live. Paul shared traditions with them through what he wrote.

What do we do with this? We don't know what Paul said to the Thessalonians but we do know what he wrote in his two letters. We benefit a great deal from seeing the traditions in the passages of scripture that Paul expected his brothers and sisters in Christ to follow. As they followed them, we should do the same.

Therefore, the church is helped a great deal by the traditions of the apostles. They provided these in speech and letter to help the early church. We gain much from following what we see and living according to these traditions.

The traditions that are most helpful to the church are the ones we know the apostles approved of. They are what we read in the bible.

As for all the other extra-biblical, non-biblical, and un-biblical traditions that exist today, some may be helpful, others may be harmful, and others may not impact the church either way. Looking at those sorts of traditions gets murky in a hurry. It is extremely difficult to know what to do with most of them.

Therefore, let's be certain that we are following the most helpful traditions - those we find in scripture.

A Beautiful Prayer

2011-10-10T04:43:00.000-04:00

I Chronicles 29:10-13

Therefore David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: "Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

I confess to not spending much time reading the Chronicles. However, I recently determined to push myself through them. In doing so, I've come across some wonderful passages, none more of a blessing to me than the above.

The setting for this passage is the collection for the construction of the temple. The people of Israel have just given willingly toward the building. David prays in joyful response to the collection. David's prayer continues after verse thirteen, but it is these first few verses that stand out to me.

David correctly praises the Lord for both who he is and what he has done. David understands God's position as creator and head. God is the giver of all good things. God's name is worthy of praise.

I suppose this is a good reminder to me that even semi-obscure biblical passages hold wonderful treasures for us. This prayer is one of the most beautiful I've ever read. David designs it as a blessing to God, but every time I read it I feel blessed. The reason? I'm reminded that we serve a God who can be accurately described as having, "the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty."

Like Living Stones

2011-10-08T06:47:00.000-04:00

I love I Peter 2:4-9. The apostle writes:

"As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: 'Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.' So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.' They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

This passage is full of tremendous truths about God the Father, God the Son, and His church. As I ponder these verses, twelve stand out to me:

God builds and is still building His church.
God has founded His church upon one cornerstone - Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is precious to God the Father.
Jesus Christ is rejected by men.
God uses live materials to construct His church.
God uses His materials (stones) as opposed to man-made materials (bricks).
The church is like Christ, but not Christ. He is the living stone; we are like living stones.
God's church is His spiritual house.
God's church is a holy priesthood.
God's church is able to offer spiritual sacrifices that God will accept.
God expects faith and obedience from His church.
Like Christ, God's church should expect rejection by men.

Passages like this this one are a reminder to us that, ultimately, the church is all God's doing. He builds His church by Himself and for Himself. It is all about Jesus Christ and is founded completely upon Him. The church is all according to God's terms and desires.

It is exciting to think that we redeemed sinners are part of this amazing plan. We get to be building materials right now in God's house. We are part of His abode here on earth. He has blessed us with complete access to Him. Despite our sin, because of what Jesus has accomplished we can live in ways that are acceptable sacrifices to God. Amazing!

As God builds His church, man does not. This is the somewhat tricky part for us. We are all tempted, in our pride and selfish desires, to try to form the church according to what we want. We are all tempted by this regardless of the form or structure of the local church family we are a part of. We must fight this temptation.

Let me give one simple example: the "one anothers" in scripture. These passages are some of the most challenging in the bible. They show us what God expects from His church in how we treat one another. But how often do we redefine these passages? How often do we basically say, "God couldn't really have meant that!"?

Peter reminds us that the church is all God's idea and doing. God determines the parameters. It is all based in Christ to bring glory to the Head - Christ.

We are infinitely privileged to be construction materials in God's new house. We are His priests (not the High Priest) who offer spiritual sacrifices that He finds acceptable. Because of this, we must enjoy this reality by living as He would have us live.

God is the author, designer, creator, and sustainer of His building project. This new temple is vastly more beautiful than the temple from the O.T. No one in Solomon's time told God what the temple should look like. We would be wise today to not tell God what His new temple should look like.

Let us simply enjoy being the church as God has made it. We are His living stones. He builds us as He desires.

When Should We Meet?

2011-10-01T11:22:00.000-04:00

Some Christians believe the church must gather on Sundays. They point to this passage for support:

Acts 20:7, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight." (emphasis mine)

Other Christians say we should be getting together every day. Their evidence for this comes from this section of scripture:

Acts 2:46-47, "And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

So which is it? Must we gather on Sundays? Every day? Other days? Has scripture set a schedule for us to meet as followers of Christ? Is this even important?

I'm glad that we have these two passages from Acts mentioned above. The reason is that we see some Christians gathering daily, but others gathering on Sunday (it's possible that those in Troas also gathered daily; we have no evidence either way). The point is this: Luke makes no judgment about one being right and one being wrong. He doesn't even indicate that one choice is better than the other. What can we take from this? My conclusion is that what day or days is not important. The specific frequency doesn't matter either.

Related to this, scripture tells us that two things do matter.

First, we should be gathering with other believers. Scripture assumes we do:

I Corinthians 14:26, "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up."

Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

We are given some freedom in what this looks like, but we should at least occasionally be gathering with other followers of Christ (assuming we live near any of them). This might be a meeting of numerous followers, or simply a coffee shop sit down with a friend. It could be getting together with a few others to serve the community on various ways. It might be a dinner with a handful of other disciples in your home.

Second, when we come together the goal should be mutual edification. We see this here:

I Corinthians 14:26, "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up."

And here:

Hebrews 10:24-25, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

What do we do with all this?

The reality is that we live in a culture that tends to give Sundays off from work. Because of this, Sunday is the day that makes the most sense for larger church gatherings. Churches could schedule larger gatherings, for example, on Tuesday mornings but I doubt many people could attend. Sunday, therefore, becomes the day for larger meetings not because of spiritual significance but because of pragmatics. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with this.

That said, we benefit a great deal when we find the time to meet in smaller groups during the week. While frequency doesn't matter, I think we all like to get together often (when we have the energy to do so).

In the end, there is no set pattern for frequency of gathering. There is no law to this. As for our family (the Carpenters), we are taking tomorrow as a day of relaxation and aren't meeting with anybody else.

Finally, whenever the church meets (in whatever form), no matter what day or how often, the goal is the building up in Christ. What a joy this is.

Bible Up, Blog Down

2011-09-20T04:59:00.000-04:00

As I think about what is important in life, I've realized that my stated priorities have not been lining up with how I've been spending my time. Specifically related to this blog, I've been devoting too much time thinking about it and writing on it. On the other hand, I have not been spending enough time reading my bible. It's as simple as that. Therefore, I've made an executive decision. I'm reducing my weekly blog post frequency to 2-3 per week. Some will be quick links, while others will be more lengthy posts. Some weeks I might not blog at all. I need to be in the scriptures more. I just finished reading through the book of Mark over the past few days. It was wonderful. I need more of that, and my family needs me to do more of that.

Come Thou Fount

2011-09-18T15:41:00.000-04:00

Unity in Church Planting

2011-09-17T12:32:00.002-04:00

I've heard it said that churches from different denominations can and should partner together to evangelize the world, but cannot plant churches together. What's the reason for this? Answer: they agree on the gospel message, but disagree on what the church is and should look like. For example, the thinking is that those who hold to infant baptism cannot plant churches with those who hold to believer's baptism because they disagree on the meaning of the church.

I used to agree with this line of thinking. Then we moved to South Asia.

When we arrived, we immediately craved interaction with other Christians. We soon met both South Asian Christians and foreign missionaries (the missionaries came from various countries, various sending agencies, and various denominations). We found that we wanted to work with all Christians, not just in evangelism but also in church planting.

There was one particular Christian Indian man who loved the Lord a great deal. We began talking about working closely together to spread the gospel in various places in India. Now that I think back on it, I have no idea what he believed about secondary issues.

How would this have worked? How can Christians of differing secondary beliefs also plant churches together? If we keep a few things in mind, it is no problem at all. First, we must remember that it is ultimately the Holy Spirit who plants churches, not us. We must follow His lead. Second, we should avoid trying to plant specific denominational churches that are defined by certain secondary beliefs. Third, we ought to sit with the new believers, open our bibles together, and trust the Spirit to guide the group decision making.

The Holy Spirit can be trusted. He will lead the new Christians to make right decisions about the church. Once they are indwelt by the Spirit, they can understand what God wants from His church as He has stated in the pages of the bible. It is the local believers who must make important decisions about church life.

As foreigners, we can give small amounts of guidance here and there, but we must avoid taking leadership roles. The decisions must come from the group. They need to decide how to carry out the one anothers, how to meet together, where to meet, how to celebrate the Lord's Supper, how to care for the poor in and out of the church, who and how to baptize, etc. It's very possible that they may make some decisions that we disagree with. So be it.

We can be united in church planting. We must simply let the Spirit lead, get out of the way, and encourage new Christians to let the scriptures inform their decision making. If we follow this pattern, we can work together with any other Christians

Why Small Groups?

2011-09-14T05:19:00.000-04:00

In my previous blog post I brought up the issue of small groups. Now I'm asking a question about them:

What is the reason for the recent rise in small groups within the church in this country?

What do you think? Any ideas?

Come Ye Sinners

2011-09-12T04:45:00.001-04:00

Indelible Grace will be in Savannah on September 19th at 7:00.

9/11 and Shaken American Foundations

2011-09-11T05:31:00.003-04:00

My guess is that almost every American blogger, regardless of normal topics, either is posting or already has posted about the tenth anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. Here's my addition.

Like many of you, I remember the attacks vividly. I was working as a school psychologist in a public school at the time. The ladies in the front office had somehow managed to quickly set up an old television just after the initial explosions in New York. I was watching the TV as the first tower fell. And then the second tower. What a nightmare it all was.

Can anything good come of something so horrible? My subjective answer is "Yes." In fact, even though I wish the terrorist attacks had never happened, my guess is that more than one good thing may have come from them. I do not write this flippantly. I still feel terrible for the tremendous loss of that day.

I'd like to take a moment to mention one good thing that I believe did result. The good thing is that, for many Americans at least, 9/11 shook the foundations of their belief that the United States is a country of absolute stability. Up until that day, many citizens of this country - including many Christians - thought that there were a few absolutes in life, and the USA was one of them.

My hope is that at least some of those folks began to realize the temporary and fragile nature of political countries. The USA is not permanent. It will eventually fall; even the Roman Empire did.

American Christians in particular must realize that there are few certainties in life (and I'm not referring to taxes). The most certain thing is God himself. When we die we all go before him either with or without a Mediator.

None of us has any reason to rely on the USA for stability. Placing our trust in this country is pointless. I sincerely hope that the horror of 9/11 caused both Christians and non-Christians to ask tough questions about what real stability in life is. What can they trust?

Although the attacks were something that we all wish could have been prevented, it is possible that some long-term good can come from them. If people's unshakable confidence in the USA is brought into question, then that is a good thing. They must look elsewhere. We can hope that they find the only true constant in this universe. If you don't happen to know who that is, send me an e-mail. Let's talk.

My Concern with the ESV

2011-09-10T07:53:00.000-04:00

I like the English Standard Version. It's the version of the bible that I read most often. It's the bible that I usually take with me to our fellowship gatherings. I have about six or seven copies of it in various forms of study bibles, thin line bibles, pocket size bibles, etc.

I'm happy with the ESV because the translators seem to have been fair to the original Hebrew and Greek texts. The ESV reads smoothly like the NIV, but takes a more literal approach to translation like the NASB. As a bonus, the ESV Study Bible is the best I've read as far as study bibles go.

That all said, I do have one main concern with the ESV. I'm wondering if it is a valid one. My concern is that the ESV has sort of become "The Reformed Bible." If you read around the blog world these days, almost all of the writers who claim the Reformed label for themselves also use the ESV. If you attend a conference like Ligonier or T4G, just about all the speakers will use the ESV. John Piper uses the ESV. Al Mohler uses the ESV. R.C. Sproul uses the ESV.

Ask your Reformed friends what version they use; I guarantee that their primary version will likely be the ESV.

I'm sure that the response from the Reformed would be that they like it because they believe it is the best English translation available. Of course, we all tend to use whatever translations we think are the best available. Therefore, that answer actually has little meaning.

My concern comes from the fact that almost ALL of the Reformed use this translation. Why is that? We know that the Reformed tend to focus quite a bit on issues of God's sovereignty in salvation (election, predestination). Does the ESV slant in that direction? Does it give slightly more support to specific Reformed doctrines that would make it more preferable to the Reformed?

In reading through the ESV I have not found it to be biased in any particular direction. However, if the ESV has no bias at all, then wouldn't it simply be one of several versions that the Reformed might choose to use? What ever happened to the NASB, the NKJV, the HCSB, the NIV, or the NLT?

When any particular sub-group within Christianity seems to select one particular version of the bible, we should ask "Why?". At this point I'm not sure of the answers. Is the ESV just a good translation, or does it lean toward Reformed thinking?

Is this a valid concern? Do you think there is anything to this, or am I just wasting time with it? What do you think?

Regardless, issues like this are a good reminder that we will be wise to use multiple English translations when studying the scriptures.

Missions in Romans

2011-09-09T05:12:00.000-04:00

Romans 1:1-6, "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." (emphasis mine)

Romans 16:25-27, "Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith - to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen." (emphasis mine)

In the above two passages we read the beginning and end of the epistle to the Romans. In these verses, we see clear bookends to the letter. Paul's primary concern is that the nations hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and respond with the obedience of faith for the sake of the name of the Lord.

Romans is often thought of as a deep theological treatise that focuses primarily on man's sin, God's redeeming work in Christ, and our resultant sanctification. These topics are certainly dealt with in this letter.

However, when we try to understand where Paul's heart is, we don't see him dwelling on doctrinal truths while ignoring application. Paul loves all the truths about what God has done and is doing in this world, and the apostle desires to tell everyone about it.

In the end, Paul is concerned for the glory of the name of the Lord. Because of this, He wants to see all nations come to know Christ.

Romans, like all other books of scripture, illustrates for us how solid doctrine always has direct application. In fact, doctrine without application is poor doctrine.

The application in Romans is unmistakable. Paul's goal is to see the nations learn of and bow before Jesus Christ. Paul has a great message, explained in detail in Romans, that he intends to share with the world.

The gospel, by its very nature, intends proclamation. Let us share it liberally with all nations.

I've Finally Figured It Out

2011-09-08T04:30:00.003-04:00

In blogging about the church, the discussions will frequently focus on issues of deep meaning and conviction to us. No surprise there. Almost all of us (at least the readers of this blog) agree that we must look to scripture to inform our decision making.

Some blog posts will be more positively oriented, while others will look more at the negative. As we examine what the bible has to say about the church, we will necessarily run into areas of our lives that do not correspond to what we read in scripture. We all have faults that the Holy Spirit is pleased to point out to us in the pages of holy writ.

In this blog, I attempt to look at a wide variety of topics. Frankly, I usually post about what happens to interest me at that particular time. For the most part, blog posts target church issues. I suppose this is because I continue down an exciting road in my life of learning what Christ wants His church to be.

As for blogging about the church, I sometimes look intensely at myself. Other times I look at our church family. Still other times I look at the broader church in this country and beyond.

It's in writing about this last category that I've finally figured something out. Here's what has become clear to me:

In the Christian blog world, when writing about the church, it is accepted by almost everyone when we point out problems within the church in general. Even specific problems are considered acceptable writing material as long as no one is named. However, it is often thought of as unacceptable when we write about specific people and/or churches who are functioning as the church in unbiblical/nonbiblcal ways.

Let me provide three examples:

1. It is thought of as fine if we say that worship services are foreign to the scriptures. However, we may be labeled divisive if we point out a specific church or churches that have worship services.

2. When we talk about the way churches spend money, it is generally accepted when we say that money spent on large buildings and a large salaried staff cannot be defended by the bible. However, if we link to a church that spends thousands upon thousands yearly on its buildings and/or staff, then our motivations and intentions will be called into question.

3. When discussing elders within the church, we can point to the clear multiplicity of elders in the New Testament. Talking about the problem of a single pastor is not seen as a problem. However, if we point out a specific church with a specific single pastor and say that this is an unbiblical practice, then we may be called a trouble maker.

My question is this: Why can't we point to specific people in specific situations who are doing unbiblical things related to the church?

We see Paul do this very specifically in Philippians chapter 4 with Euodia and Syntyche. These two Christian women appear to have been at or near the center of the disunity within the Philippian church.

I'm not calling intentions into question. When it comes to the church, I'm convinced that there are many godly Christian folks who are doing many unbiblical things with very good intentions.

I'm not talking about sin issues either. Rather, I'm referring to church practice that is foreign to scripture. If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know the topics I'm talking about.

If we only ever write in generalities, then we won't be able to see the specific problems. When we discuss particular situations and people, then the discrepancies with scripture become more apparent. In doing this, we can (I hope) be spurred on to look at our own lives to see where we fail to live up to the standard set forth for us in scripture.

In this blog at least, I'm going to continue to occasionally point out specific problems that I see in the church. I hope to speak the truth in love.

Specific examples of problems help us to gain an accurate diagnosis of broader problems. Then we can learn how to better deal with them, and proceed to engage other Christians in productive dialog.

Tips for Jesus-Juking

2011-09-07T19:15:00.000-04:00

Click here for a laugh (and some tips) on the fine art of Jesus-Juking.

Two Swords?

2011-09-07T14:09:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I asked if anyone had any issues/scriptures they would like discussed on this blog. One of the responses came from my friend Jeff. He asked about Luke 22:35-38.

In that passage we read the following:

And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing." He said to them, "But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors.' For what is written about me has its fulfillment." And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." And he said to them, "It is enough."

In particular, the difficulty lies with what Jesus says in verse 38. What does He mean by, "It is enough"?

Below are six translations of the Jesus' response:

ESV - And they said, "Look, Lord, here are two swords." And he said to them, "It is enough."

KJV - And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

NASB - They said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough."

NKJV - So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough."

NLT - "Lord," they replied, "we have two swords among us." "That's enough," he said.

YLT - And they said, "Sir, lo, here are two swords;" and he said to them, "It is sufficient."

What is going on here? What does Jesus mean? I've heard/read three common interpretations:

1. Jesus is speaking metaphorically. He desires that His disciples be spiritually armed and ready to fight spiritual foes. Ephesians six would be a related passage to this line of thinking.

2. Jesus is speaking literally. He is rebuking the disciples' desire to take swords for violent purposes. Jesus never condones the use of violence, even for self-defense. He says, in essence, "Enough of such nonsense!"

3. Jesus is speaking literally. He is approving the disciples' taking of swords. Swords at that time were often used for many tasks other than violence. They could, for example, have been used as tools. Jesus basically says, "That will be enough for what you need."

As I think through the above interpretations, I can see that all have some merit. However, number one seems problematic to me because the context of the entire passage is a literal one. Jesus is clearly telling his disciples that circumstances have now changed and they will, therefore, need to provide more for themselves as they journey around proclaiming the gospel. The disciples' response about the swords is clearly literal. Why would Jesus all of the sudden start speaking metaphorically? I don't think he would.

As for options two and three, I really don't know what the answer is. The reason for this is that I can't tell in reading this short paragraph what the disciples' intent was. If it is to have the swords for self-defense, then I think Jesus is rebuking them (second option). If, on the other hand, they are focused on the swords as tools, then Jesus is likely telling them that two is all they'll need (third option).

Jesus is concerned for the welfare of His followers after He departs. He is instructing them in what they will need to carry out His mission. His message is one of hope, but is always presented free of charge and without coercion. They would never need swords for violence of any kind. They might, however, need them for digging holes, cutting branches for fires, etc.

In conclusion, the meaning of this passage hinges first on what the disciples meant, and then on Jesus' related response.

What do you think? Do you agree with one of these interpretations or is there another, better one?

Under Christ's Archy

2011-09-06T05:31:00.005-04:00

Under Christ's Archy is a new collaborative effort that I'm excited to be a part of. Initiated by Henry Neufeld of Energion Publications, this project is designed to be a forum for challenging discussion of living under the rule of Jesus Christ. The key to this site is that we'll be talking about practical ideas for living under Christ's rule.

At this point I'm not sure exactly what form these discussions will take or what the topics will be. Regardless, it should be beneficial to all writers and readers because the end result will be practical application to every day life.

When I post at Under Christ's Archy, I'll link to it from here. I encourage you to read not only my posts but the others as well. As a bonus, both Alan Knox and Arthur Sido are involved with this project so there is bound to be trouble.

Although you are probably already familiar with the content, feel free to click here to read my introductory post at UCA.