Mission in Everyday Life

Compartmentalization vs. Integration

Jesus’ activity is helpful as we consider our own. It’s especially helpful to see that most of what Jesus did, He did with others. Yes, there are glimpses of Him traveling and praying alone. A few times He sent everyone ahead and caught up later—once via an evening stroll on the sea. And we see Him pray in solitude. But not always. More often, Jesus traveled, worked, ate, drank, and even prayed alongside and in the midst of His disciples, the outcasts of society, and those in need. And while this is easy to miss, if He did these things with others then He did them with folks who weren’t Christians. Because at the time, that was His only option.

What’s the difference between Jesus and us? One, we’re not God. But two, Jesus integrated ministry and mission into daily life, while nearly everyone we know—including ourselves—defaults to the opposite. We compartmentalize ministry into certain times and activities, separate from the rest of our lives. If we’re not careful, “mission” is relegated to a Saturday morning time slot. We do nice things, check our watches often, then wrap up and go to Chili’s. Saturday morning we go do mission, Saturday at noon we go to lunch. Or we have a certain evening for our Bible study group to come watch a movie, but if a co-worker asks us what we’re doing, we make up an excuse and try to take a rain check. We have Christian friend nights and not-Christian friend nights. And so on. This easy mindset rejects the fact that we are missionaries, and relegates “mission” back to something we either do or don’t, or something we merely do then stop doing in order to do something else.

Mission is not alone; it follows the pattern of Western life: we have work or school hours, social time, a church block, our weekend chunk of time, and so on. When we started The City Church, we introduced people to new identities God gives us in the gospel: in Christ, we are disciples of God, members of God’s family, and missionaries to God’s world. Before we knew how to flesh those out well, many folks became very busy, planning separate events each week for each: discipleship nights, then family nights, then mission nights. We followed the compartmentalization we were used to. When friend and missionary Caesar Kalinowski was in town, he noticed that this separation made us too busy: we were doing many things—some good—but it was wearing us out.

Redeeming Everyday Moments

What’s the solution to compartmentalized, overly-busy mission, in the midst of our compartmentalized, overly-busy lives? Our intentionally cheesy answer that is to ask, with bracelet-wearing church kids of the 1990s, “WWJD?” Jesus didn’t compartmentalize; He didn’t try to fit ministry in between His “job.” He didn’t even seem to have specific events for one type of people, then other events for others. From rich to poor, from the Hebrew Law’s “clean” to “unclean,” and from doctor to fisherman, Jesus integrated people, life, ministry, and mission. He redeemed the everyday, normal moments of His life and used them for God’s mission. As we try to do the same, we can likewise redeem everyday moments and integrate mission into our ordinary lives.

What things do you do every day of the week? What classes do you take or teach every week of the month? What events do you attend you do every month of the year? There are normal, ordinary, sometimes even boring moments in our lives that can be redeemed for God’s mission. Here are just a few of the most common, redeemable moments:

• We eat about twenty-one meals a week: sometimes less, sometimes a few more than we should
• Many commute to and from work or school, or take children to and from school
• Lots of people do yard work or other chores on Saturday mornings
• Depending on where you are in the nation, you might play in your yard many evenings, or go for a stroll around your neighborhood
• Every fall, fans find themselves in front of a TV from Thursday until Monday, between college football and pro games
• If you don’t like football, you end up on the couch for your favorite reality show, comedy, or drama
• You likely eat out, at least occasionally
• You do something like going to the gym, getting your hair cut, oil changed, or car washed, or having nails done or tattoos redone
• You have hobbies: whether movies, train-spotting, music, hiking, surfing, baking, or even gaming, many can involve others
• Someone in your home goes to the grocery store, at least once every couple weeks—and other errands require you to walk, ride, or drive as well
• Many families go on at least a vacation or two each year

Mission in Everyday Life

Everyone in your mission field does at least one of these things, just like you. Each of these moments—and so many more—are chances to weave mission into everyday. Carpool to work or school, or walk or take public transportation. Invite neighbors over to watch the game you’re both planning to watch. Meet your coworkers for breakfast, even if once a month. Set up play dates for your kids’ classmates, with both Christians and those who aren’t. Would you ever consider vacationing with another family?

Just like Jesus did, we each travel, work, eat and drink, and hopefully pray. Each day is filled with ordinary moments and activities, which we often do alone, or with a certain “type” of friend. But even the simplest of activities are opportunities for worship and mission: “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” When can we integrate life and mission? Rather than segregating people into different time slots or adding things to busy schedules, everyday mission happens when we redeem everyday moments.

—

Ben Connelly, his wife Jess, and their daughters Charlotte and Maggie live in Fort Worth, TX. He started and now co-pastors The City Church, part of the Acts29 network and Soma family of churches. Ben is also co-author of A Field Guide for Everyday Mission (Moody Publishers, 2014). With degrees from Baylor University and Dallas Theological Seminary, Ben teaches public speaking at TCU, writes for various publications, trains folks across the country, and blogs in spurts at benconnelly.net. Twitter: @connellyben.

(Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from A Field Guide for Everyday Mission by Ben Connelly & Bob Roberts Jr. available from Moody Publishers starting June 2014. It appears here with the permission of the author and publisher. For free resources and preorders, visit everydaymission.net.)

How Productivity Advances the Gospel

Two Types of Wisdom

The first kind is the wisdom that helps us live in this world. It is the wisdom of how to do our work well, how to be a virtuous person, and how to be effective. This wisdom is good (Ecc. 2:13), but it is unable to take us beyond this life and show us the way to God (Ecc. 3:16-17).

The second kind of wisdom is the wisdom that leads to eternal life. That is the wisdom Proverbs has in view when it says things like “blessed is the one who finds wisdom” (3:13) and “she is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her” (3:18). This is the wisdom that consists in how to know God and live a life that is pleasing to him in a spiritual, eternal sense.

Often we downplay the first time of wisdom (how to live in this world) in light of the second type. But the Scriptures do not do this. As we saw earlier, when Paul commands us to “make the most of the time” and “walk as wise” people (Eph. 5:15-17), the first kind of wisdom is actually an essential part of his meaning. His command that we “walk as wise” is hooking up with Proverbs 6:6-8, which commands to be wise in the skill of living in this world.

Now it’s time to see that this is not the only type of wisdom Paul has in mind. Interestingly, Paul’s command that we be wise also hooks up with Proverbs 11:30, which says “the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.” So both types of wisdom—knowing how to live well in this world and pointing people to Christ—are the way we “make the most of the time.”

Here, then, is the question we need to ask: How do these two types of wisdom relate?

We can go further than simply saying that both are commanded. Even deeper than this, we can say there is actually a critical relationship between the two (which is what we would expect since Paul is alluding to both as involved in “making the most of the time”—that is, our productivity).

Advancing the Gospel Through Ordinary Life

This goes to the heart of the apostle Paul’s vision of the Christian life. Paul’s vision of the Christian life is not, as D. L. Moody allegedly said, about “getting everybody in lifeboats,” with everything else amounting to re-arranging the chairs on the Titanic.

Rather, Paul sees an essential and profound connection between the arena of our everyday lives and the advance of the gospel. This is evident in Ephesians 5:7-17, which provides the fuller context in which Paul commands us to “walk as wise” people who are “making the most of the time.”

It would take too long to go into all the exegesis, but Peter O’Brien nails it in his commentary on Ephesians when he shows that Paul is essentially saying that through living in a Christ-honoring way among unbelievers in the world—in the context of our jobs, communities, trips to the grocery store, and everything else we do in everyday life—the light of the gospel shines through our behavior, with the result that some people come to faith.

That’s what Paul means when he says “take no part in the unfruitful [that is, super unproductive!] works of darkness, but instead expose them” (5:11). The meaning of “expose” here is not “rebuke unbelievers when you see them sin.” Rather, the meaning is that by living a gospel-driven life you are walking as “light in the Lord” (5:8) and exhibiting the “fruit of light” (5:9), and that this light illuminates some unbelievers by causing them to see the futility of their ways and glory of Christ.

The result of living our Christian lives—wise in all respects, in terms of how we manage our time and our jobs as well as making sure to speak up about the gospel—is that many people around us will come to faith. That’s what Paul means when he goes on to say “but when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible” (5:13). That is, when anyone is illuminated by the light of your Christian walk, they become “light in the Lord” (cf. 5:8) just as you did. J. B. Philips gives a good paraphrase of this passage:

It is even possible (after all, it happened to you!) for light to turn the thing it shines upon into light also.

Paul's point is that the light has a transforming effect, and in Ephesians 5:13-17 he has described for us the process by which darkness is transformed into light. It is among the chief ways that “he who is wise wins souls” (Prov. 11:30).

This is the same exact thing Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:16 when he says “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” How do they glorify God? There are only two possible ways. First, and I think chiefly in view by Jesus here, is that some will glorify God by becoming believers as the witness the example of your gospel-drive (that’s part of the “light” that shines) good works.

The second way some will glorify God is by, on the day of judgment, being put to shame by seeing they had no basis on which to reject the Christian message (which Peter is probably alluding to in his allusion to Matt. 5:16 in 1 Pt.2:12).

Either way, it’s not boring to be around Christians and it will always have some type of impact. Otherwise, as Jesus said, you are sort of missing the point of your life. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything” (Matt. 5:13).

In other words, the Scriptures make a connection between making the most of our time (productivity) and the advance of the gospel.

Hence, the true effect of being productive and “making the most of the time” as Christians will be the transformation of our communities, cities, societies, and nations for the sake of the gospel. Being productive in our lives is not separate from our task to transform the world through the light of the gospel; it is an integral part of it.

_

Matt Perman formerly served as the senior director of strategy at Desiring God Ministries in Minneapolis, MN, and is a frequent speaker on the topics of leadership and productivity from a God-centered perspective. He has an MDiv from Southern Theological Seminary and a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute. Matt regularly blogs at What’s Best Next and contributes to a number of other online publications as well. He lives in Minneapolis. Follow him on Twitter @mattperman.

(Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from What's Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done by Matt Perman available on Zondervan. It appears here with the permission of the author and publisher.)

United: An Interview with Trillia Newbell

My friend Trillia Newbell has written a needed and helpful new book called United: Captured by God's Vision for Diversity. In United, Trillia explores the importance of pursuing diversity in the church by sharing her own unique experiences growing up in the South and attending a predominately white church. She champions the theology of diversity throughout the book through the Scriptures providing compelling reasons to pursue diversity. She was gracious enough to allow us to interview her today.

Brandon Smith: You write in United about your friendship with two girls of other ethnicities. How do you think the friendship, accountability, and discipleship helped you feel a part of your local church?

Trillia Newbell: There is something unique about really getting to know someone. We can walk into the doors of our churches and never build deep friendships. I was thankful to have met Amy (white) and Lillian (Chinese) early on. We decided to begin meeting together every other week to do accountability. The Lord used those girls in profound ways. First, it was so nice to have friends. When you are in a new place, as a new Christian, it can be scary to navigate your place in the church. But having friends like these helped ease that tension. Second, we had older women to bounce things off of and then we also had each other. We could ask pointed questions and pray for one another. It was a rich season of fellowship which taught me how to engage in fellowship with other members of the body.

B: You became a Christian in your 20's. Tell us about your conversion. How important is evangelism in the pursuit of diversity?

T: I was sitting in a hotel room with another gal when she popped open her Bible. I was there to lead a cheer camp and she was my assistant. We had never met each other before but the Lord had divinely appointed this meeting that would change the whole course of my life. I remember putting up a guard and asking her what she was doing. She said she was going to have a quiet time. By the end of that time I was sitting on her bed and we were both crying while she shared the gospel with me.

It took two years and two broken engagements before I finally submitted and committed my life to the Lord. He was faithful to draw me to himself and to save me. It was and remains amazing to me. But what if my friend, who is white, had decided not to share with me because I am black? What if she shrunk back in fear because of our ethnicities? The gospel transforms the way we think of ethnicity. The gospel empowers us to share cross-culturally because it is the Good News that all need to hear. Jesus charged the disciples to make other disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). This mindset is important to the pursuit of diversity because we could find ourselves otherwise reaching out to only those like us. God paints the beautiful picture of disciples of all nations, all tribes, and all tongues. He most often uses his people to accomplish this goal.

B: How important do you think discipleship is as churches seek to pursue diversity?

T: Perhaps you or your readers have experienced this…a person comes to your church for a little while but after a few Sunday’s they stop showing up. We might assume that they decided they didn’t like the teaching or worship. Maybe. But I wonder if they got to know anyone? I would wonder if anyone said hello and then invited them to lunch or showed some sort of hospitality and interest beyond a “Hello.” Discipleship typically starts with relationship and relationship begins with intentional care. In other words, we have to pursue one another first and then we have the opportunity to teach one another the Word. But there is almost no doubt that if we begin to pursue one another and teach one another then we will build churches that reflect the Last Days.

There isn’t a guarantee, of course. But I do think it’s worth the effort. God gives us a picture in Titus 2 of what it could look like for the whole church to be involved in discipleship. I think this model helps us to build into each other and build the church. I am confident that if I didn’t have people who genuinely cared for me during my early days attending my old church, I would not have stayed. I’m sure of it. But because there were people who showed love, care, and interest, I stayed and built relationships and was discipled.

B: You've shared often that United isn't so much about diversity as it is about love. Could you explain?

T: When people hear the word diversity there is a temptation to automatically put up a guard or to assume we are talking about quotas. It is a bad assumption but one that I completely understand. The word diversity has been politicized and causes many to cringe at its sound. But the Church is made up of people, made in the image of God, equal in fall and redemption. We aren’t talking about, as C.S. Lewis puts it, mere mortals. This is why the pursuit of diversity in the church is about love. Jesus came and died for the church, for His bride, for people. John 13: 6, God so loved the world that he gave his son, isn’t a cliché, it is the glorious truth of the gospel. Diversity is about building a church that reflects who Jesus died for: all nations, tribes, and tongues. And we pursue this because Christ first loved us. And we pursue others because he has called us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

_

Trillia Newbell (@trillianewbell) is a wife, mom, and writer who loves Jesus. She is the author of United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity (Moody).

New GCD Book: everPresent: How the Gospel Relocates Us in the Present

Today, we release the newest eBook from GCD Books--Jeremy Writebol’s everPresent: How the Gospel Relocates Us in the Present. You can buy a digital copy from the GCD Bookstore for $4.99 or get a paperback from Amazon for $6.17. Here’s an excerpt:

Where are you right now? Take a moment and look around...

As I write, I am sitting in a café on Bitting Avenue. I can smell the aroma of roasted coffee. I can hear the patrons of the shop discuss their lives, what they will see on TV this evening, the rise and fall of the economy, and who will win the Super Bowl. I feel the warmth of a heater turn on as it is an unusually cold day. Light streams in from the front windows and illuminates the orange walls to bring a warm, homey ambiance to the room. Latin American guitars and beats fill my ears as the music from the café stereo plays. The apple-carrot coffee cake I am eating has a sweet, buttery flavor to it. The padded chair where I am sitting keeps me comfortable but awake. Right now, I am in a place. There are specific and unique events happening in this space that are not occurring simultaneously anywhere else in the universe. This place is special. This place is one of a kind. This place is the only place where I can be in the world right now.

This is not true of God. The Bible tells us that God fills heaven and earth (Jer. 23:24). It says that the highest heaven is not large enough to contain God (1 Kgs. 8:27). Nor is there a single place in the entire universe where a human can go and God not be present (Ps. 139:7–10). The word "omnipresent" sums up this spatial reality of God. He is present everywhere, all the time, in every way. He is not limited by anything and is fully present wherever he is, which is everywhere. Maybe we should venture down the path of comparison. We’ll start with God. He is immense and infinite. He alone can be spatially present everywhere all the time. You and I, on the other hand, can’t even exist in two places at once. This comparison can be helpful to put us in our place.

But we need more than just a reminder of how ant-like we are. We need to see the importance of our limitation and the uniqueness of our specific place. We need to see that we are inferior to God in our inability to be everywhere present. And yet the places we inhabit, and specifically our presence in those places, has deep importance. Maybe we do need to be put in our place. What if being "put in our place" isn’t about being humbled to insignificance but elevating our vision to see dignify the places we inhabit; to see that our presence is valuable and deeply important. We need to talk about God’s space and place.

The Creation of Place

As I sit here at the café, I am privy to some special things: color, taste, smell, feeling. I can see two musicians meeting with a local artist to discuss album cover designs. Various cars drive by in front of me. Occasionally, I see a biker, although the winter cold prevents this from happening too frequently. This is a very unique place. It is a very creative place.

Who made it? Why was it made? If we ignore the Biblical story, we don’t have great, cosmic answers for these questions. But if we look at the opening pages of Scripture, we have a fascinating drama unfolding before us. The first words of divinely inspired writing from the pen of Moses declare that in the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). Location is created. All of a sudden there is the creation of "place." Place alone, however, is boring. We have heaven and earth. Two categories, two ideas, but not really specific realities. The story continues to unfold.

God doesn’t just make categories; he creates places. The earth is filled with vegetation, inhabitants, colors, creatures, textures, liquids, solids, atmospheres, environments—places. The specific place called the Garden of Eden is unique. There are places within the Garden. A river flows through the Garden. The middle of the Garden has specific and diverse vegetation. Four rivers diverge from the main river on the outskirts of the garden. They flow to places with specific names and specific features. Some of those places have gold, some have precious gems. Each distinct. Each unique. Each a special place.

God, who cannot be limited by place, creates multiple locations. He makes places. Each of them are as unique and varied as he is. All of them created good. All of them beautiful. All of them reflecting and imaging his creativity and his diversity. Why does he make these distinct places? He makes them for himself. He creates all the diversity of place and location, with all its varied colors and dimensions, to display his varied and multi-colored glories. The song at the end of the Scripture story sings praise to God because he has "created all things and by [his] will they existed and were created" (Revelation 4:11). The everywhere-present God makes places because he can’t help himself. Place is an overflow of his creative glory. Worship is our response.

Does Place Matter?

Why does all this matter? Since showing up at this specific café, I have noticed the flow of traffic in and out of the store. The aromas that exist in this room now are especially different than the ones that were here a few hours ago. The sounds are new, different, exciting. The musicians are playing their guitars and harmonicas now. It is a new and different place than the one that existed an hour ago. This place is unique and one-of-a-kind again.

Place or location is created by God for his glory. That means that everywhere we go, every location we inhabit, every neighborhood where we dwell is made for God. It shows us a multi-faceted and creative God, a God who is so unique and innovative that one specific location alone could not reflect his glory well. Each place sings the glories of God. Each location tells of his wonders. Each address displays his majesty. Does place matter? On every level, it inherently must.

The way the glory of God is seen at the Grand Canyon is different than the way his glory is seen on Bitting Avenue. The majesty of God takes on a different view in Mumbai, India than it does in London, England. The worship of God sounds different in the jungles of Ecuador than it does in the high rises of New York City. Yet each place is made by his will and for his glory. Each place has a specific role to play in declaring the glory of God, and no one place holds a monopoly on the display of that glory.

This isn’t to say, in some sort of pantheistic way, that God is in everything or that we each have to find our own way of expressing him wherever we are. Just as a diamond will refract light differently in different places, so God’s glory is seen differently in different places. Some places reveal it better than others. We cannot dismiss the broken and dark places of this world. They do not reflect the glory of God well. It is difficult to see the mercy and justice of God in the slums of Rio or the prisons of Iran. Not every place seems like it is God’s place. This is why there must be restoration. If every place is made by God, for God, then the broken places that do not reflect God’s glory must be restored. It’s for this reason that every place matters.

If all things are created for his glory and if all places should uniquely reflect the varied glories of God, then we are called to see our places (including our workplace) as places of worship. Our specific place becomes uniquely important to our lives because it is from this place, and this place alone, that we can magnify God and bring glory to him. I look at my friendly café and I wonder: “How is God’s presence displayed here? How is this place reflecting his glory? Where do I see his fingerprints of majesty? Does the coffee, the conversation, the art, and the atmosphere reflect anything of God’s nature and glory?”

Take a moment and look around (once again) at the place you are inhabiting as you read this sentence. How does this place glorify and magnify God? How does it reflect his multi-faceted nature? What do you see?

God has created this very place where I am writing. He has created the very place where you are reading. He has created it by his will. He has created it for his glory. Now, you might challenge that statement because you know some architect drew up the design for this building and a contractor came in and had carpenters, builders, electricians, and plumbers actually make this place. But under God’s authority, using the agency of humanity, he created and holds all things together (Col. 1:15). Place matters because God made it matter. You might feel indifferent to this place right now because it isn’t where you want to be or because it is somehow broken and in disrepair. This place might be a comfortable, quiet place for you right now. It might be a place that doesn’t belong to you; you are a visitor in it for only a season. Whatever the situation, because God has made it and made it for his glory, you are suddenly in God’s place.

--

Jeremy Writebol(@jwritebol) has been training leaders in the church for over thirteen years. He is the author of everPresent: How the Gospel Relocates Us in the Present (GCD Books, 2014) and writes at jwritebol.net. He lives and works in Plymouth, MI as the Campus Pastor of Woodside Bible Church.

Eternity Changes Everything: An Interview with Stephen Witmer

In Eternity Changes Everything, you claim that, for Christians, a passion for our future in the new creation will affect our lives in the present. Why? Because we’re human, and humans inevitably live toward the future. The philosopher Peter Kreeft says we “live by hope. Our hearts are a beat ahead of our feet. Half of us is already in the future; we meet ourselves coming at us from up ahead.” I think he’s right. Just ask any school teacher whether an approaching summer vacation stays in the future. Of course not! Kids get restless and rowdy in the weeks before, because their future is impinging on their present. The future often gets to us (in our thoughts and feelings) before we get to it (in our actual experience).

Check out how all the practical exhortations of Romans 12-13 are framed by the call to not be conformed to “this age” and the call to “know the time,” that “the day is at hand.” When we’re living, and what we’re living toward, shapes how we’re living.

I was blown away when I read something George Marsden wrote in his biography of Jonathan Edwards: “If the central principal of Edwards’ thought was the sovereignty of God, the central practical motive in his life and work was his conviction that nothing was more momentous personally than one’s eternal relationship to God…He built his life around disciplines designed constantly to renew that eternal perspective.” Marsden then goes on to give some remarkable advice to those who want to better understand Edwards’ writings. He says if we think something Edwards has written seems harsh, difficult, or overstated, we should ask the question: “How would this issue look if it really were the case that bliss or punishment for a literal eternity was at stake?” My first response to reading Marsden’s advice was to wonder whether the life to come is so foundational to my thinking that it could serve as a key for people who want to understand who I am and what I say. I hope my life doesn’t make sense apart from the reality of the new creation. There’s a big problem if it does.

So, where do you see a need for improvement in how Christians think about the new creation?

Too many of us have bought into the wrong-headed notions of our culture. The other day in the children’s section of our local library, I saw a book on Heaven by Maria Shriver (yes, the Maria Shriver). The Heaven in this book is a place of fluffy clouds and disembodied existence. And that’s normal: Heaven is often thought of as solitary, static, and boring. In 2007, Starbucks printed on their paper cups some wickedly funny and surprisingly insightful lines from Joel Stein, a columnist at the Los Angeles Times: “Heaven is totally overrated. It seems boring. Clouds, listening to people play the harp. It should be somewhere you can’t wait to go, like a luxury hotel. Maybe blue skies and soft music were enough to keep people in line in the 17th century, but heaven has to step it up a bit. They basically are getting by because they only have to be better than hell.”

Of course, the Heaven Stein describes isn’t the biblical portrait of Heaven at all–it’s our modern, misconceived notion of Heaven. Some recent books–such as Randy Alcorn’s Heaven and N.T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope–have been really helpful in explaining the biblical teaching on Heaven, as well as distinguishing the present Heaven (where we go when we die) from the future new creation, which is a renewed creation in which we’ll live an embodied existence forever. The new creation will be an incredibly exciting place to live, and it will be great above all because God is there. We get God…forever. Yet, sadly, I’ve spoken with people who have been Christians for many years who don’t understand this biblical teaching about our ultimate future.

If we understand the greatness of our ultimate future in the new creation, and begin to long for it, how will this affect our living in the present?

It’s going to create two impulses: we’ll become more patient in waiting for the new creation, and simultaneously, we’ll become more restless in longing for it. That sounds like a contradiction. It’s not.

Why not?

Well, we often have this experience in life. When we’re convinced that something really, really good is coming to us, that certainty simultaneously lengthens our patience and heightens our restlessness. If you know Thanksgiving dinner is going to be absolutely fabulous, you’ll start anticipating it well before it’s on the table and on your plate. The smells emanating from the kitchen will make your mouth water. But–at the same time–because you know dinner will be phenomenally good, you won’t snack on Doritos. Who wants to fill up on junk food when turkey, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce are on the way?! You’ll be patient.

Christians lived in a permanent and productive tension. We are a restlessly patient people, and that’s biblical. In Romans 8.23-25, Paul says the certain, glorious hope of the new creation makes us groan restlessly and wait patiently.

Why, and in what ways, do Christians fail to wait patiently for the new creation?

Two words: prosperity gospel.

We’re children of our culture, and most of us realize that our culture has a massive problem with waiting. The Dunkin Donuts in my town actually times their employees to the second on their drive-thru service so that customers get their donuts and coffee as fast as humanly possible. None of us are immune from this impatience. Have you ever exclaimed in dismay that your internet search took longer than two seconds? I have.

The radical impatience of our culture affects Christian theology and practice. I look around the Christian scene today and grieve at the huge influence of the prosperity gospel. There was a report in The Atlantic a few years ago that said 50 of America’s 260 largest churches preach a prosperity gospel. Apparently, 66 percent of Pentecostals and 43 percent of ‘other Christians’ think that God will bless the faithful with material wealth. Have they read Hebrews 10.34?! What the health and wealth teachers are telling you is that the new creation is available now. Their teaching is deeply flawed eschatology. The Scriptures reveal to us a God who often makes his people wait. There’s a whole biblical theology of waiting that the prosperity teachers completely miss.

Of course, we can’t just point the finger at the health and wealth teachers. In the course of writing this book, I was convicted of the personal, mini-prosperity gospels I create for myself by daily expecting good health, plentiful finances, friendly neighbors, and obedient children. I recently replaced the catalytic converter in our car (expensive!). Now the “check engine” light is on in our other car, indicating the same problem. How will I respond to that? Will I expect the new creation now, and grumble that I still live in an age where things fall apart and cars need repaired? Or will I be thankful to own two cars, and cheerfully patient for the coming age, when they’ll run forever (or be unnecessary).

Why, and in what ways, do Christians fail to yearn restlessly for the new creation?

We’re not restless enough for the new creation because–as I’ve said–we think it’s going to be boring. One long worship service. Or a millennia-long harp solo. Moreover, we’re not restless for the future because we’re absorbed with the lesser pleasures of our present. God has given us a future the size of the new creation. We shrink it down to the size of a long weekend or a Facebook page or a promotion at work. We settle for far less than God plans to give. Because we invest all our emotional energy and passion in our immediate future, we have none left for our ultimate future.

Christians of our generation do not spend nearly as much time thinking about our eternal future as did Christians in previous times. The Puritan Richard Baxter said that as he grew older, he meditated more frequently upon the “heavenly blessedness,” and that he preferred to “read, hear or meditate on God and heaven” more than any other subject. Stephen Nichols says that Jonathan Edwards was “consumed by heaven.” Are we? How much time in the last month have we devoted to reading about, praying about, longing for, the new creation? I wonder if, for most of us, we’d have to say it was less than five minutes.

What fruit does a restless longing for the new creation bear?

For one thing, it allows us to die well. I’ve been at enough deathbeds to know that if you’re not confident and excited about what’s coming next for you as a Christian when you die, you’re going to die clinging to this life rather than embracing the life to come. It’s really sad to watch people go that way, with their backs to God’s future. Christians with a passion for the new creation will die facing forward.

Restlessly longing for Heaven also allows us to live well. Richard Baxter said that the mind will be like what it most frequently feeds on. That’s so insightful. If you become absorbed in some mindless reality TV show, you’ll tend to become as flat and shallow as it is. But if you feed your mind on heaven, your soul will begin to look heavenly. For Baxter, heaven was more than a comfort when things in this life were tough–it was also a reality that produced present obedience and strengthened him against sin and temptation. I can testify to the latter in my own life. I remember vividly a time several years ago when my longing to see God in the future (Matt. 5:8) saved me from serious temptation. God’s promised future trumped inferior, sinful promises.

Final question: will too much focus on the new creation make Christians less engaged with this present world? Is there some truth in the old saying about being so heavenly-minded we’re no earthly good?

No, it’s exactly the opposite. C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.” Amen! A paradoxical Christian life of restless patience produces yet another beautiful paradox: we need this world less and love it more. And that love moves us into the world with fearless, fruitful productivity. But you’ll have to read the book to get the full story on this!

_

Stephen Witmer is the author of Eternity Changes Everything: How to live now in the light of your future (Good Book Company). He is the pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, MA and teaches New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Follow him on Twitter: @stephenwitmer1.

How to Proclaim Jesus and Make Disciples

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Col, 1:28-29)

Recently our elders and a few of our interns made a trip to Boston in order to explore the possibility of helping plant churches in New England. While there, we visited some historical sites. One of them was in Quincy, MA, the birthplace of John Adams. Before going to see his home, we were told that in order to see where he was laid to rest, we needed to walk down to the Unitarian Universalist church (formerly a Puritan Congregationalist church). So we went inside and walked around. On the way out, some of our interns took a few pamphlets describing the beliefs of the UU. As we sat down for lunch, we began reading them to each other. The UU doesn’t have a creed, so the statements are more personal opinions of its followers. Here are a few of them:

• [The] best of today’s scholarship – which I identify with the work of the Jesus Seminar – reveals a man who is believable but problematic…. He was best known as what we would today call a faith healer. His “Golden Rule” – turn the other cheek, repay injustice with forgiveness – was youthful idealism not seasoned with wisdom. (Rev. Davidson, Loehr)
• As a literal story the tale of Jesus’ resurrection is hard to sustain, but as a metaphor that illustrates that there is life beyond death of addiction, despair, and total loss, it’s hard to beat. (Rev. Lisa Schwartz)
• All contributors [in the pamphlet] agree that the Bible is riddled with errors but nonetheless can serve as an important repository of human truth. (Tom Goldsmith, editor)
• ‘If indeed revelation is not sealed,’ then we must remain open to the possibility of new and higher truths that may come to us from diverse sources … including the Bible. (Mark Christian)
• At sixty-nine, I now find myself almost never referring to the Bible for guidance or inspiration. (Jack Conyers)
• I claim the Bible as one more chapter, among several religious texts, in the Unitarian Universalist guide to living. (Laura Spencer)
• Yet the Bible remains for me but one rich source among many records that speak to us of the joys and challenges of being alive. (Rev. Donna Morrison-Reed)

What saddens me about these views isn’t that people in the UU believe these things. I don’t expect them to believe in the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, and a closed cannon. I don’t expect them to believe in the deity and exclusivity of Christ, and his bodily resurrection. I don’t expect them to read the Bible everyday for guidance and inspiration. What saddens me is that many today seem to be functional Unitarians. I think the UU is a good representation for what a lot of people – inside and outside the church – actually believe. It’s a religion based on one’s feelings; one in which there’s no absolute truth; a religion in which there are many ways to God; a religion in which you are free to live how you want, even if that lifestyle is contrary to the Bible. It’s speculative, mystical, ambiguous, and ultimately Christless, making it useless. Why do I raise this problem? I raise it because this is exactly why we need Christ-centered exposition today.

We are called to make disciples of all nations. As we go to the nations, we’re sure to find “religious people,” but we will rarely find a people who understand Scripture and the person and work of Christ sufficiently. Their beliefs will be similar to these mentioned above. We must take the truth of God’s word to them, just as Paul was taking the truth to the mixed up people in Colossae. Paul mentions four ways in which we do the work of Christ-centered exposition in order to make mature followers of Jesus in a diverse, confused, mixed up world.

Proclaim Like an Evangelist

Paul uses the term “proclaim” (kataggellomen) meaning “to announce throughout,” or “to proclaim far and wide.” Paul is speaking of announcing the facts. Proclamation involves declaring the good news. This word is used in Acts 13 when Paul and Barnabas go out on their first mission. They go to Salamis and “proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues” (5). They heralded the facts in the synagogue. As faithful expositors, we get to say what God has said and announce what God has done in Christ. We are not giving advice. We are declaring the news.

We must proclaim the facts about Jesus because we believe that there is “salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Believe that the gospel contains converting power when you announce it (Rom. 1:16). I believe that exposition can be a life changing on the spot experience when the gospel of Christ is proclaimed. Don’t merely preach about the gospel. Preach the gospel.

We also need to declare the facts about Jesus to correct popular ideas about him. There are numerous ideas about Jesus, displayed in world religions and pop culture. It’s therefore imperative that the expositor understands the doctrine of Christ and salvation. The expository evangelist recognizes that there’s no separation from theology and evangelism. Every evangelist does theology. The only question is whether or not they’re doing good theology. Present the real Jesus to people.

Further, the evangelist must keep proclaiming Christ because this is the ultimate question for the skeptic. I remember talking to a guy in my office for about two hours one day. He asked me a bunch of questions, and then I finally said to my friend that the questions he must answer are questions related to Jesus (not whether or not Adam had a belly button or the historicity of dinosaurs). I told him these are the fundamental questions: “Who is Jesus?” “Did he rise from the dead?” Other questions aren’t unimportant, but they aren’t ultimate. Don’t stop declaring the powerful truth of the cross and resurrection.

Tim Keller shares how a skeptic once told a pastor that he would be happy to believe in Christianity if the pastor could give him a “watertight argument.” The pastor asked, “What if God hasn’t given us a watertight argument, but rather a watertight person?” (Keller, The Reason for God, 232, my emphasis). Paul says that the Greeks look for wisdom, the Jews for miracles, but we preach Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:22). I think the best way a skeptic to find Christianity compelling is by simply considering Jesus from his word. Don’t underestimate the power of plainly proclaiming Jesus weekly, and pray for the Spirit to open eyes for people to believe. Tell them to look to Jesus, to come to Jesus, to find their rest in Jesus.

Are you holding up the gospel for people to see and believe? I’ve always been challenged by Paul’s words to the Galatians when he said, “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified” (3:1b). He didn’t mean that the Galatians were there at Golgotha, but rather that his preaching was so cross-centered that it was as if they were there! Take them there and urge them to repent and believe.

Warn Like a Prophet

The next action word Paul uses is to “warn” or “admonish” or “counsel” (noutheteo). This word is often used of warning against wrong conduct (cf., Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 4:14; 1 Thess. 5:12, 14; 2 Thess. 3:15). A primary role of the prophet-expositor is to warn people about false teaching and ungodly living. Paul uses this word for “warn” to the Ephesians elders saying, “Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears (Acts 20:31). I love that Paul says that he did the work of warning with “tears.” Prophetic instruction should come from a deep, broke-hearted love for people. Jeremiah was the “weeping prophet.” Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Be a broken-hearted prophet. Paul says, “I admonish you as my beloved children” (1 Cor. 4:14). Love your people deeply as you warn them about false gospels, the dangers of sin, God’s judgment, and living in futility. As expositors, we can’t be afraid to warn. Don’t be naive or simplistic. Be aware of the dangers and threats and help people stay on the path of truth. A good expositor is like a forest ranger, aware of the landscape, alerting people to dangerous wildlife in the area. To put it simply, if you aren’t warning people of heresy and ungodliness, then you aren’t doing your job. Paul was often viewed a troublemaker because he wasn’t afraid to sound the alarm. He warned of wolves and snakes in the area. Of course, to warn people is to confront people. This flies in the face of culture that loves its “autonomy” and “privacy.” But that doesn’t matter. We have to confront people with the truth of Scripture. A good shepherd will love his sheep enough to tell them the truth.

Teach Like a Theologian

The next way the expositor exalts Christ is through “teaching” (didasko). This refers to the skill of the teacher in imparting knowledge to the pupil. In proclamation we’re announcing the facts, and in teaching we’re explaining the facts.  Paul’s evangelistic outreach wasn’t devoid of doctrinal instruction. He regularly taught, building up believers. Both are critical for the church’s mission. We must reach the unreached people groups, proclaiming Christ where he has not been named, and we must teach and build up the church.

We need a generation of Christ-centered teachers. I love how Ezra “set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach his statutes to Israel” (7:10). We need a generation like that! Paul tells Timothy “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (4:13). Be devoted to exhortation and teaching. Be immersed in it. Paul told Timothy, in his famous charge to “preach the word” to also “teach with complete patience” (2 Tim. 4:3). Notice how he adds “with complete patience.” It takes time for people to understand gospel truths. The shepherd will feed the sheep bite by bite, over time, understanding the sanctification is a slow process.

I long for our people to have an “Emmaus Road experience” when they hear the gospel expounded from the text. The Emmaus disciples asked, “Did not our hearts burn within us on the road, while he opened the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32). May hearts burn as we explain the Holy Scriptures and point people to Jesus! After all, that’s what we want from our teaching. The goal isn’t merely to transfer information, but to have hearts filled with adoration. Exposition is for exaltation. Theology should lead to doxology. In good exposition, there are moments when people put their pen down, and stop taking notes, in order to behold Christ in worship. Theologian James Hamilton says, “The transformation the church needs is the kind that results from beholding the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (God’s Glory in Salvation, 39). That kind of transformation will happen as we expound the Christ-centered Scriptures to people through careful theological teaching.

Make disciples of Jesus by proclaiming him like an evangelist, warning like a prophet, teaching like a theologian, and applying wisdom like a sage. Preach Christ until you die! Then worship him forever. Preach him on earth, until you see him in glory. I promise you on that day, you won’t regret having done the hard work of Christ-centered exposition.

--

Tony Merida serves as the Lead Pastor of Imago Dei Church, Raleigh, NC and as the Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Kimberly, with whom he has five children. Tony is the co-author of Orphanology and author of Faithful Preaching. He travels and speaks all over the world at various events, especially pastor’s conferences, orphan care events, and youth/college conferences. Twitter: @tonymerida

*This is an excerpt of Tony Merida's book, Proclaiming Jesus, published by GCD Books.

How to Balance Developing Leaders & Equipping Believers

  Sometimes the maturing process in Scripture refers to preparing people for church leadership roles. Paul seemed to have this in mind when he admonished Timothy to entrust the  “pattern of sound teaching” to faithful men who could transfer this truth to another generation of believers (2 Tim. 1:11-2:2). In other places, the Scriptures refer to church leaders as elders, spiritual shepherds, or overseers entrusted with the care and nurture of others (2 Pet. 5:1-3; Eph. 4:11-16). But growth to maturity is for every believer, not just the appointed leaders of the church. Our zeal to equip should extend to all believers (Col. 1:28-29).

In fact, growth to maturity should include both equipping leaders and assisting believers not yet ready for leadership roles. Leadership in the church differs from leadership in other settings. Of course, some important gifts and skills (charisma, initiative, communication, commanding presence, etc.) carry over into the church. God uses these abilities along with other gifts when He calls people into leadership. But the defining qualities for leaders in the church are character-driven, and godly character comes from equipping as a mature disciple (2 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9).

Regardless of their leadership ability, younger believers should not be appointed to leadership roles until they are spiritually mature enough for the challenge (1 Tim. 3:6, 10). On the other hand, mature Christians who may not possess natural leadership ability can function effectively in some leadership roles.

Part of Jesus’ approach to help believers mature was the gradual development of leaders. At the right time, a leadership role can serve as a critical part of spiritual development. Growth occurs when believers trust and obey God and assume responsibility for others whether through an official church office or not. In fact, a leadership role may be as simple as the casual but definite task of a friend who works hard to encourage others.

A Proper Perspective

Three men digging a ditch on a scorching summer afternoon were approached by a passerby, who asked, “What are you guys doing?”

The first, already weary from exertion, responded impatiently, “What does it look like? We’re digging a hole!”

The second added some information: “We’re building a foundation pad. This hole’s going to be filled with concrete.”

The third man, who had been whistling happily while he labored, laid his shovel aside and wiped his forehead. He then explained how this particular hole would help them place one of the massive flying buttresses needed to support an entire wall of stained glass windows for a new cathedral. After describing in great detail the planned building process, he added, “See that rubbish pile? If things go according to plan, on Christmas Eve five years from now, my family and I will worship together at the altar in that same spot.”

All three men were working hard at the same task. But their attitudes varied markedly with their perspectives. The man who could see the unseen had the best attitude and the most energy. Proper perspective enables us to survey a situation and see beyond what’s happening to its significance and to develop strategies for what should happen next. Perspective provides hope when times are tough.  And tough times are when hope emerges in mature people.

The root causes of our current crisis of maturity are complex, but as Christians, we must shoulder some of the responsibility. Though individual believers and some faith communities have found ways to grow and develop, the Church at large has lost much of the capacity to live in the world as salt and light. We haven’t made growth toward spiritual maturity a primary goal the way Scripture commands (Matt. 28:18-20; Col. 1:27-29).

In essence, the maturation processes in the Church have either collapsed or been neglected. When maturation processes collapse, mature leaders fail to emerge. Without mature leaders, families suffer, churches neglect priorities, businesses fail, and in time, cultures crumble.

We’re again at a pivot-point. Will this be our greatest catastrophe or our finest hour? It depends on our perspective of God and His Kingdom. Without a vision for maturity, it might be easy to lose hope and become weary. Are we digging ditches, or are we building something wonderful to the glory of God?

A Reason to Hope

There’s growing evidence of an emerging movement that will help us recapture a much-needed emphasis on maturity. Younger  believers are searching for a more robust, biblical understanding of the gospel. A new generation of church leaders insists that the good news involves more than justification. It also includes growth to maturity. These leaders urge us to appreciate and apply the grace that forgives at every stage of the maturation process. This  gospel-centered discipleship embraces a grace-driven process that encourages humility, produces relational honesty, and leads to maturity. Stressing the need for authentic community, spiritual growth, and good works, this process encourages believers to grow up.

John Burke sums up the need for an authentic maturity by saying:

Our generation longs for something authentic. They are searching for “the real thing,” though they don’t really know what “the real thing” is. Because this generation has endured so much “me-ism” and letdown from those they were supposed to follow and trust, they want to see a genuine faith that works for less-than-perfect people before they are willing to trust. They want to know this God-thing is more than talk, talk, talk. They desperately want permission to be who they are with the hope of becoming more. They aren’t willing to pretend, because hypocrisy repulses them. But most have yet to realize that every person is a hypocrite to some degree – the only question is whether we realize it and are honest about it.[1]

Jonathan Dodson says,

The disciples of Jesus were always attached to other disciples. They lived in authentic community. They confessed their sins and struggles alongside their successes – questioning their Savior and casting out demons. They continually came back to Jesus as their Master and eventually as their Redeemer. As the disciples grew in maturity, they did not grow beyond the need for their Redeemer. They returned to Him for forgiveness. As they began to multiply, the communities they formed did not graduate from the gospel that forgave and saved them. Instead, churches formed around their common need for Jesus. The gospel of Jesus became the unifying center of the church. As a result, the communities that formed preached Jesus, not only to those outside the church but also to one another inside the church.[2]

These men are right. The gospel Christ offers both justifies and sanctifies. May God strengthen their hands and increase their influence, and do the same of others like them. May He use them to drive back Satan and usher into the church a new season of Christ-like maturity.

God is not unaware of or indifferent to the current crisis. In the past, He’s sometimes hidden His prophets in caves, keeping them safe until a day of restoration dawns. He’s sovereign over the nations (Psalm 2), Lord of His church, and ready to defend the honor of His name and renew His people. Throughout history, whenever it seemed as if the people of God were defeated, the troubles they faced became the catalyst for fresh hope, renewal, and victory.

Sometimes refocusing perspective and building character requires hardship and defeat. Romans 8:28-29 affirms this as it reminds us, “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son.”

Helping people mature is not easy. Growing disciples face many obstacles, including the enemy, who hates the idea of mature believers. But satanic opposition, though real, is only one of the problems. As this chapter has shown, we seem to have lost our way or developed corporate amnesia regarding the process and priority of helping people mature. Lacking a clear strategy about how to help people grow, we opt for hit-or-miss tactics or repeat traditional approaches only because they’re familiar.

The way is difficult and at times hard to understand. Discovering and implementing a process that produces maturity requires humility, courage, and faith. But the outcome is worth it, both now and for eternity.

---

[1] John Burke, “No Perfect People Allowed”  (Grand Rapids, MI:

Zondervan, 2005), p. 69-70.

[2] Jonathan Dodson, “Gospel Centered Discipleship” (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), p. 17.

_

Robert D. (Bob) Dukes is the President and Executive Director of Worldwide Discipleship Association (WDA), headquartered in Fayetteville, Georgia.

[This is an excerpt from Bob's forthcoming book from WDA, Maturity Matters: A Biblical Framework for Disciple Building.]

Gospel Amnesia: An Interview with Luma Simms

 

Luma Simms recently wrote Gospel Amnesia for GCD Books and it has helped many people see the gospel in a new way or even for the first time! In preparation for the release of the paperback version of the book, we asked Luma a few questions.

In a sentence, how would you define "gospel amnesia"?

Gospel amnesia is a name for the state of a Christian life that is characterized by marginalization, suppression, or degradation of one's consciousness of the gospel.

You say in the book that you suffered from gospel amnesia. What did this look like in your life?

Gospel amnesia manifested itself in my life in a variety of ways. One which stands out to me is what I call Progression Mode. I truly believed I had progressed past (matured beyond) the gospel because I thought of the gospel as a simple proposition—Jesus died on the cross for your sins (i.e. justification)—and then we move on. I was obsessed with becoming "more sanctified." This "sanctification" turned into a long list of extra-biblical life choices I had raised to the level of salvific importance. Another manifestation of gospel amnesia in my life was a heart full of scorn, criticism and derision for any Christian or church which did not believe what I believed, and practice all the secondary issues I had raised to primary importance.

How does the gospel fight against this type of amnesia?

The cross work of Jesus Christ tethers you to the reality of who you are as a human being. At the foot of the cross, arrogance, anger, and angst melt away and our anthropocentric existence breaks down. The beauty at the heart of the gospel is the cross work of Jesus Christ. When the person of Christ, when Jesus, becomes a conscious presence in our life—and this happens as we meditate, dwell, and preach the gospel to ourselves every day—it staves off our tendency toward amnesia.

What unique message does this book have to offer?

Many people talk about "forgetting" the gospel, often in the context of carelessness or lukewarmness. What is unique about Gospel Amnesia is that I also point out the often intentional efforts we in our sinful hearts make that end up pushing the gospel out of our consciousness, and I try to show exactly what that looks like for individuals, churches, denominations, and the Church corporately.

You can also check out other interviews with Luma here and see the book's page with endorsements here.

_

Luma Simms (@lumasimms) is a wife and mother of five delightful children between the ages of 1 and 18. She studied physics and law before Christ led her to become a writer, blogger, and Bible study teacher. She is the author of Gospel Amnesia: Forgetting the Goodness of the News. She blogs regularly at Gospel Grace.

Responding to Impossible Promises

Note: This is an excerpt from our FREE Advent eBook, Come Lord Jesus Come. You can download it here. What is hope? We use the word all the time. I hope I don’t get sick. I hope my boss is nice to me. I hope my favorite sports team is good this year.

When we use “hope” this way, we really mean something more like wish – a desire for something we want to have happen regardless of feasibility. Biblical hope, on the other hand, is "the confidence that what God has done for us in the past guarantees our participation in what God will do in the future.” The word “guarantees” demonstrates the vast difference between the fleeting wishes of casual hope and strong promise of biblical hope.

Hope is a future-oriented term, but it is grounded in past events. In the Old Testament, the source of hope for God’s people was God’s proven character and His mighty deeds in history. The Psalmist says, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry” (Psalm 146:5-7). His hope is founded in who God is and what He has done.

Difficult Promises

What, then, do we do with some of the really difficult promises that God has made to us in Scripture?  Like 1 Corinthians 10:13: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.” If this is true, then why are we still struggling with the same old sin? The Bible’s promises should give us confidence and contentment in God's faithfulness, but the reality is we often find ourselves in doubt and frustration. It might be that we don’t think God will actually come through on his promise or maybe that he is even unable to do so.

We can see two very different responses to these kinds of impossible promises in Zechariah and Mary. Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were childless and “advanced in years,” meaning well past the time where they could have a baby. Barrenness for any expectant parents can bring great sorrow and pain, but compound this for Zechariah and Elizabeth, who lived in a culture that very likely condemned them as being cursed by God because of some great sin in their lives. You can imagine the angel Gabriel’s delight in telling them that not only was God answering their prayers for a child, but He was giving them a son like Elijah who would prepare the way for the Messiah.

 Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” - Luke 1:18-19

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”  - Luke 1:34-38

Zechariah’s response was one of doubt and unbelief. God was delivering the greatest news this old man could have ever received — the answer to his decades-long prayer — yet Zechariah said, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” He wanted a sign. He wanted it to make sense. Like we are prone to do, Zechariah doubted God’s promise and maybe even God’s ability.

In contrast, Mary’s response to God’s “impossible” promise was one of humility. When Gabriel came to Mary, saying, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” Luke tells us that Mary was greatly troubled, trying to figure out what it meant. She didn't understand it, but she received it. Rather than indignation, Mary’s initial posture was one of humility.

Then Gabriel gave her a promise that was just as unbelievable as the one he gave to Zechariah: “Despite the fact that you’re not married, despite the fact that you’ve never been with a man, despite the fact that in your knowledge you’re not from any type of royal lineage, you’re going to have a baby growing in your womb whose kingdom will never ever, ever, ever, ever end.” Zechariah said, “This can’t be.” Mary said, “Let it be to me according to your word.”

We can easily contrast Mary’s humility against Zechariah’s indignation, but it is worth digging deeper: What about them produced these kinds of reactions? The difference between them is not their situation or strength, but rather their hope in God’s love for them. It seems that Zechariah had given up on the idea that God loved him and would provide for him. We can imagine him screaming, "You haven't been there for the past fifty years, so why should I believe that you’ll be there now?” Mary, on the other hand, seems to have simply believed that God loved her so much that He would deliver on his promise.

We Hope In Christ

When you hear or read the promises of God that seem to be too good to be true, do you believe that God loves you? When you are in a dark place, can you see that God is near and working for our good, to conform us into the image of His Son? This is what God did with Zechariah, even in his unbelief. Zechariah went through a grinder of disappointment, followed by nine months of silence, but on the other side of God’s provision, he was a humble and joyful man who hoped and trusted in God’s promises.

Christmas morning shows us that God is willing to fulfill His promises. Easter morning proves that God is able to fulfill His promises. We hope in both. We hope in Christ.

_

Nathan Sherman. Born and raised in Texas, Nathan helped plant Providence Church  where they completed a two-year church-planting residency and internship. He is now making disciples at Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, NM  along with his wife, Marcie, and their  three sons Owen, Caleb, and Micah.

Will Walker. After six years as a missionary to college students at the University of Texas and four years as an associate pastor at Coram Deo church in Omaha, NE, followed God’s call to plant Providence Church in the fall of 2010. He currently writes for World Harvest Mission and New Growth Press. Will and his wife, Debbie, are the parents of two boys, Ethan and Holden.

--

Keep reading Come Lord Jesus Come and download it for FREE here.

Gospel Advance: Trevin Wax Interviews Alvin Reid

  Part history book and part instruction manual, Alvin Reid’s Gospel Advance: Leading a Movement That Changes the World describes the history of evangelical awakenings and prescribes a way forward for 21st century believers.

Reading this book from the professor of Evangelism and Student Ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary is like sitting down across from him and hearing his passion and heart for Christ and the advancement of His kingdom.

Recently, I was able to catch up with Dr. Reid and ask about his latest book, the movement that impacted him personally, what Jesus’ prevalence for choosing outcasts should say to us today, and how our definition of success should be altered.

Trevin: You encourage believers to recapture the sense of Christianity as a movement of gospel advance. One of the problems you see is that followers of Christ lose their vision for advancing a movement and instead become focused on maintaining an institution. How can we take our institutions (churches, seminaries, etc.) and leverage their influence to help fan the flame of a movement?

Alvin: Institutions in and of themselves are not the problem. God gave us such institutions as the home, the local church, and the state. But leaders of institutions must be aware of the pull toward maintenance and the tendency over time to go from visualize (a movement) to institutionalize to fossilize! Leaders of institutions must always be asking how to advance the gospel in our specific time, resisting the urge to confuse tools or preferences with the gospel itself.

Further, regularly bringing new voices into the leadership team to challenge the status quo helps to keep all the leaders thinking about advancing versus maintaining. Also, as Jonathan Edwards noted, the power of testimonies to continue the awakening in New England in his day, sharing stories of those who are busy in gospel advance serves to encourage the institution to do the same.

Trevin: You’ve spent your life studying movements, and you’ve written about how the Jesus Movement changed your life. Can you give us a brief history of the Jesus Movement, how the churches responded, and what you believe to be the lasting fruit from this movement?

Alvin: The Jesus movement refers to a spiritual renewal among (mostly) young adults in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As is often the case in history a tumultuous time among the younger population (think Kent State, college sit ins, controversy surrounding Vietnam, the rise of the drug culture, Woodstock, etc.) had a parallel spiritual movement, in this case involving countercultural youth who met Christ in places like Haight Ashbury and Los Angeles, evangelical youth through such movements as the Asbury College Revival in 1970 and Explo 72, a massive gathering of youth sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ, and Charismatic renewal in many traditions.

The Jesus Movement’s weakness was its lack of focus on doctrine, but it was marked by two key tenets: that Jesus is the only way (hence the “One Way” cry so common in that day), and the soon coming of Jesus, spurred on by books like Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth.

I would argue that we would not have movements today like Passion had there not first been a Jesus Movement. The changes in music and worship were the most lasting features of the Jesus Movement for established church traditions. In addition, youth ministry exploded in churches (with good and bad results) out of this movement.

Many leaders today who have shaped evangelicalism from Billy Graham to the late Chuck Smith and the Calvary Chapel movement (which produced Greg Laurie, to name one of many) were connected closely to the Jesus Movement. For my tradition of Southern Baptists, our greatest years of evangelism in our history were 1971-1975. We reached close to double the number of teens in 1972 that we reached in 2012, although the number of youth in the US is greater today and the number of SBC churches and people has grown dramatically since then.

My favorite story of the Jesus Movement was told by Edward Plowman, a journalist who wrote The Jesus Movement in America: Accounts of Christian Revolutionaries in Action, a fine book on the movement. He described some young hippie-types in D.C. sharing Christ on the street one day in the early 70s. Three pastors – well-groomed and suit-attired – walked by. One of the pastors asked, “What are you young men doing?” One of the young men humbly replied, “Sir, we are doing what you just talk about.”

Trevin: You write that “Jesus didn’t go after the cultural elites, but the outcasts and ordinary.” How does Jesus’ calling of ordinary men to be His disciples impact the way we view our calling today?

Alvin: Movements often begin at the margins and give life to the heart of the institution. Jesus lived and walked in the Jewish culture, but His chosen disciples did not fit into the religious establishment of His day. In this way the Jesus Movement is reminiscent of early awakenings. Wesley and Whitefield reluctantly began preaching in the fields in the 1700s and reached masses of people overlooked by the established church.

We have to be very careful in our day of confusing surface ability with potential for leaderships. After all, even the great Samuel overlooked the shepherd boy David, but God looked at his heart. He still does.

Trevin: You encourage Christians to adopt new measures of success – not to be so focused on seating capacity, but sending capacity. How can we shift our measurements from building an institution to advancing a mission?

Alvin: First, we have to be honest about just what a mammoth undertaking this is in many of our conventional churches. We have mastered the ability to maintain what we have, and by God’s grace we have a lot.

But read the book of Acts and you see a movement of believers always extending, which leads me to the second point: we must not only want to grow and advance the movement, we must be willing to pay the price.

Just this morning I read about Paul. Soon after his conversion he boldly proclaimed Christ, and pretty quickly people wanted to kill him. Movements are exciting, thrilling, and engaging, but a gospel movement in this culture is also costly.

There is much more to say (which is why I wrote the book!), but I would finally add that movements advance by having an idea that the adherents believe to be more important than life itself. We have that in the gospel, so leaders must constantly herald the gospel to believers and unbelievers and show the centrality of the gospel to all of life.

Trevin: What do you hope this book will accomplish?

Alvin: I hope it will encourage pastor, leaders, student ministers and believers in general to see Christianity as more than a factory we check into weekly and something we add on to our already busy lives. I hope the reader will be revived, awakened to the glory and the story of the gospel and will want to advance this great movement of God.

Just imagine, what if every believer awoke daily with this thought: “Today, I get to advance a movement of God as I interact with people, live sensitive to His Spirit, and speak up for Him as I have opportunity both in encouraging believers and in evangelizing unbelievers.” We might see a fresh wind of God’s Spirit in our time.

_

This originally appeared at Trevin Wax's blog.

5 Things Mistaken for Evangelism

  I remember as a little child hugging my father's leg at a gas station only to realize it wasn't his leg I was hugging. I was embarrassed! It was a case of mistaken identity.

In the matter of evangelism, I'm concerned about a number of things that people take to be evangelism that aren't. And this case of mistaken identity can have consequences more serious than mere embarrassment. Let me mention five things mistaken for evangelism.

1. Imposition

Probably the most common objection to evangelism today is, "Isn't it wrong to impose our beliefs on others?"

Some people don't practice evangelism because they feel they are imposing on others. And the way evangelism is often done, I can understand the confusion! But when you understand what the Bible presents as evangelism, it's really not a matter of imposing your beliefs.

It's important to understand that the message you are sharing is not merely an opinion but a fact. That's why sharing the gospel can't be called an imposition, any more than a pilot can impose his belief on all his passengers that the runway is here and not there.

Additionally, the truths of the gospel are not yours, in the sense that they uniquely pertain to you or your perspective or experience, or in the sense that you came up with them. When you evangelize, you are not merely saying, "This is how I like to think of God," or "This is how I see it." You're presenting the Christian gospel. You didn't invent it, and you have no authority to alter it.

2. Personal Testimony

One of the classic testimonies was given by a blind man Jesus healed. When he was questioned after Jesus healed him, he responded, "Whether he [Jesus] is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25). The man disregarded the menacing threats of those more honored and respected than he in order to give this verbal witness to the power of God. It's a wonderful, powerful testimony, but it's not evangelism. There is no gospel in it. The man didn't even know who Jesus was.

An account of a changed life is wonderful and inspiring thing, but it's the gospel of Jesus Christ that explains what it's all about and how it happened.

3. Social Action and Public Involvement

Being involved in mercy ministries may help to commend the gospel, which is why Jesus taught, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Displaying God's compassion and kindness by our actions is a good and appropriate thing for Christians to do. But such actions are not evangelism. They commend the gospel, but they share it with no one. To be evangelism, the gospel must be clearly communicated, whether in written or oral form.

When our eyes fall from God to humanity, social ills replace sin, horizontal problems replace the fundamental vertical problem between us and God, winning elections eclipses winning souls.

4. Apologetics

Other people mistake apologetics for evangelism. Like the activities we've considered above, apologetics itself is a good thing. We are instructed by Peter to be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have (1 Pet. 3:15). And apologetics is doing exactly that. Apologetics is answering questions and objections people may have about God or Christ, or about the Bible or the message of the gospel.

Answering questions and defending parts of the good news may often be a part of conversations Christians have with non-Christians, and while that may have been a part of our own reading or thinking or talking as we came to Christ, such activity is not evangelism.

Apologetics can present wonderful opportunities for evangelism. Being willing to engage in conversations about where we came from or what's wrong with this world can be a significant way to introduce honest discussions about the gospel.

By far the greatest danger in apologetics is being distracted from the main message. Evangelism is not defending the virgin birth or defending the historicity of the resurrection. Apologetics is defending the faith, answering the questions others have about Christianity. It is responding to the agenda that others set. Evangelism, however, is following Christ's agenda, the news about him. Evangelism is the positive act of telling the good news about Jesus Christ and the way of salvation through him.

5. The Results of Evangelism

Finally, one of the most common and dangerous mistakes in evangelism is to misinterpret the results of evangelism—the conversion of unbelievers—for evangelism itself, which is the simple telling of the gospel message. Who can deny that much modern evangelism has become emotionally manipulative, seeking simply to cause a momentary decision of the sinner's will, yet neglecting the biblical idea that conversion is the result of the supernatural, gracious act of God toward the sinner?

When we are involved in a program in which converts are quickly counted, decisions are more likely pressed, and evangelism is gauged by its immediately obvious effect, we are involved in undermining real evangelism and real churches.

The Christian call to evangelism is a call not simply to persuade people to make decisions but rather to proclaim to them the good news of salvation in Christ, to call them to repentance, and to give God the glory for regeneration and conversion. We don't fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not converted; we fail only if we don't faithfully tell the gospel at all. Evangelism itself isn't converting people; it's telling them that they need to be converted and telling them how they can be.

_

Mark Dever is Senior Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and founder of 9Marks Ministries. He has authored over a dozen books and speaks at conferences nationwide.

[This article was adapted from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. Used with permission.]

New eBook: Gospel Advance: Leading a Movement That Changes the World

  Today, we release the newest eBook from GCD Books and Alvin Reid: Gospel Advance: Leading a Movement That Changes the World. You can buy it here for $4.99. Here's the introduction:

Have you ever set off a metal detector in an airport? Maybe you forgot the change in your pocket or had a watch that caused the alarm to sound. If you have set it off, you know the drill: the personal screener gets a little more than intrusive to make sure you are safe to travel. I am grateful for the new imaging technology that allows me to stand still, put my hands over my head, and get through security without being frisked. Why have I set off metal detectors all over the world?

In 1998 I had the joy of receiving an artificial hip (insert sarcasm here). I was 38 years old, still fairly active athletically, and more than a little bummed that my wrestling days with our growing children were over. I now have the joy of a piece of titanium jammed in my femur, a joy that slows me down every time I fly, which is more often than I like.

Because of that fake hip I have now set off metal detectors on four continents.

I got my metal hip in 1998. But I started setting off metal detectors in 2001, in late September in fact, while en route to South Africa. You see, several years before that September a man in the Middle East had become pretty ticked off at the West, and in particular the US. Osama Bin Laden convinced less than two dozen men to come to the states, to go to flight training schools to learn to fly domestic air carriers. These men boarded flights on September 11, 2001, and armed with nothing more than box cutters, unleashed an attack unprecedented in American history, leaving almost 3,000 dead.

Immediately after the attacks, the metal detectors were turned to a more sensitive frequency. For the first time in three years of having a metal hip, I set off a metal detector less than two weeks after 9/11.

Bin Laden started a movement. He led a handful of men to conduct a most sinister act, one that has led to the recognition of a global movement of terrorism just when we thought the Cold War’s end would lead to a much more peaceful world.

While many have been involved, one man started the movement.

He was not a dictator.

Nor was he the leader of a massive, organized army.

But using an idea and modern communication tools, Osama bin Laden has to some degree changed the whole world. But, not for the better.

The world, your world, has been shaped more by movements than anything else.

Whether you realize it or not, the things you buy, the clothes you wear, the job you choose, the college you attend, the shows you enjoy on television, all are shaped by movements around you: fashion movements, cultural movements. Momentum in one area or another is the unseen influence in your daily decision-making.

But these are trivial matters. What about the larger decisions in your life? You have to this point in life already made decisions about what you value, about why you are hear, purpose for life, and why you live the way you do.

Why do we even make such choices? Why do we care about the problem of evil around us, or why one thing is “good” and another is “bad”?

God created in you and me an insatiable appetite to be part of something bigger than our personal agendas. And that starts with God Himself.

Theologian and philosopher Augustine said it this way: “Thou has made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee.”

The story of the history of the church tells of a glorious journey of the good news, the gospel, of Jesus Christ as it spread globally. At her best, the church has been led by gospel-centered leaders, advancing the movement of God among peoples in ever-spreading impact. From Patrick in Ireland and Columba in Iona to the Great Awakenings in more recent history and the missionary movements they birthed, much of the story of Christianity is the record of courageous believers whose lives centered on Christ alone.

At her worst, the church has become mired in institutionalism and formalism, and have at times caused as much harm as good for the gospel. You see this in the Old Testament. You can see Jesus confronting it in the New Testament. History has recorded far too many instances of this reality. Institutional Christianity focuses on maintaining the status quo, while movement-focused Christianity focuses on the unfinished task.

At her best Christianity is a movement, being spread by passionate Christ followers who live for an audience of One, whose message is not their own, but the good news of salvation found in Christ alone. In the following pages, I hope to help you to see how you can be a part of this great, gospel movement, and lead others as well.

_

Alvin L. Reid is husband to Michelle and father to Josh and Hannah. He is a professor of evangelism and student ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as a popular speaker and author. He has written numerous books on student ministry, evangelism, missional Christianity, and spiritual awakenings. Follow him on Twitter: @AlvinReid.

Confessions of a Bible Thumper

  I became a Christian at the age of eight, at Round Pond Presbyterian Church in Franklin, KY, where my uncle was the pastor. While witnessing communion during a Sunday service I began to understand the gospel in a new way: that I was a sinner and that Christ had rescued me. I was baptized two weeks later in Sulphur Fork Creek on the county line. In the years that followed, my life as a disciple was characterized by varying degrees of knowing and doing. In my youth I was passionate about what I knew of Scripture and what I was learning. I would gather my friends together in the school cafeteria to read and discuss the Bible. God used my seemingly insatiable desire to learn the Bible. Years later my walk of faith was characterized by action as I was seeking to do the things I was learning from Scripture. I was passionate about evangelism and overseas missions, tirelessly pursuing active ministry and calling others to follow.

Throughout the years I pursued discipleship through various means: different books, methods, churches, para-church ministries, and mentoring relationships. These experiences were life-changing for me yet I was still seeking the best way to be both a disciple and a disciple maker, trying to balance the knowing and doing of the Bible. I discovered that discipleship was not only knowing and doing, but also being and becoming. This process of transformation involves Scripture and others in Christian community. My love for Scripture grew. This eventually led me to seminary at which time the vision for a new church in my hometown began to take shape.

My experiences have led me to the conviction that discipleship is a life-long pursuit and an ongoing process of transformation by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who worked in and through Scripture is also at work in and through God’s people. I am increasingly convinced that discipleship methods based on biblical ideas and principles alone, though good and helpful, can remain short-sighted of the gospel.

Theology in Practice

Theology must be practiced. The doctrine of Scripture is of utmost importance for Christian discipleship. Scripture is God’s written record of the gospel story in which we find our own story. The Holy Spirit uses Scripture as a means of grace – the Spirit and Word go together.1 Scripture must play a prominent role in discipleship as the Holy Spirit works through the Word to grow us into the image of Christ personally, as well as grow us in community – faithful to the Great Commission. Christian discipleship, therefore, must be saturated in Scripture.

A disciple’s greatest need is to be constantly reminded of the gospel, as well as his or her new identity, community, and mission. The Bible explicitly reminds us of all this. Therefore, no matter our stage of faith or role in discipleship, we ought to evaluate our view and use of Scripture personally and in our community of faith. My prayer is that we have biblical expectations in discipleship. My hope is not only that you fall more in love with God's Word, but that you fall even more in love with the God whose Word it is.

Defining Discipleship

Throughout high school and college I played in various bands. A friend and fellow musician discovered the band Phish and quickly labeled himself a “phish head.” He wore tie dyed clothing branded by the band, made mix tapes to give his friends, and toured with the band. Phish greatly influenced my friend’s musical style in songwriting and performance. Phish was an identity he owned while connecting with a community of other fans on mission to spread the music. This is a great portrait of discipleship.

A disciple is a student who becomes more like his teacher. As a follower, a disciple takes on the characteristics of the one he follows. The characteristics bring about transformation and prompt action. By nature a disciple reproduces his discipleship, calling others to study and follow the one he follows. Discipleship is an identity that shapes community and fuels a mission.

For Christians, our identity, community, and mission are defined by the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is good news that evokes faith – ongoing relational trust in the person and work of Christ. The gospel, therefore, is good news that we learn. This good news shapes not only our beliefs, but also our motivations, actions, and relationships. We learn the gospel, relate in light of the gospel, and communicate the gospel on mission together.2 Gospel learning takes place primarily through Scripture. Gospel relating is done in the context of community. Gospel communication, by proclamation and demonstration, is the nature of mission by which others learn the gospel and become disciples. Christian disciples, therefore, are both relational learners and relational teachers.

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus announces, “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.”3 In the Great Commission, the disciples see their identity as disciples in the context of a community on mission with the good news to make disciples. Sent by Christ himself, the disciples represent the redemptive authority of Christ. Jesus does not provide an explicit methodology, but informs the mission to “make disciples” which includes “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” To this we must ask three questions: What has Christ commanded? How are we to teach? What are disciples to observe?

Information, Application, Transformation

The gospel commission to make disciples involves information, application, and transformation. “Teaching” is the information of the gospel. Jesus states that all Scripture bears witness about him (John 5:39) and that Scripture written about him in the law of Moses, Psalms, and Prophets would be fulfilled in him (Luke 24:44). Since all Scripture is about Christ, this is what we are to teach. This is the information of the gospel.

Secondly, we see the application of the gospel in “to observe all that I have commanded you.” Teaching is not a one-time passing of information, but the ongoing action of kneading the gospel into the hearts and minds of disciples through observing what has been taught. When questioned by the religious elite of the day, Jesus replies, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” In quoting Scripture from Deuteronomy 6, Jesus displays his authority over the Old Testament as well as the continuity of God’s redemptive plan in gospel discipleship.

Thirdly, we see transformation in Christian discipleship. Discipleship begins with Christ (“all that I have commanded you”), involves a teaching disciple (“teaching”) and a learning disciple (“to observe”). Yet teaching information alone is not sufficient in becoming a disciple. Likewise, merely adhering to what is taught or commanded does not truly encompass discipleship. True discipleship in light of the gospel gives disciples of Christ a new identity that results in new action. This transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit that includes both instant and ongoing action.

Short-Sighted Discipleship

During our first year of marriage, my wife and I took a trip to the Grand Canyon. We rented a car and took our time enjoying the scenery of the Arizona desert. Following the signs to the canyon, we made our way into the national park, parked the car, and walked to the rim to enjoy a beautiful sunset. The purpose of the signs was to lead us to the canyon rim. Once on the rim, we no longer looked at the signs that led us there, but rather we focused on what the signs led us to: the painted pastels of the Grand Canyon.

In Christian discipleship, methods and traditions are like signs that point us to Christ. They can be helpful and beautiful. These signs are meant to be imprinted with Scripture. By Scripture we see who Christ is and what he’s done, and thus who we are and how we are to live. Scripture points us to the kind of disciples we are and are becoming, and what kind of disciples we are making. Often our discipleship methods become short-sighted, like signs that lead us to the very rim of the canyon only to be missing the clear text. In return, we focus on the sign itself, tragically missing the beauty of the canyon.

In 1 Timothy 6:3-4a, Paul offers instruction on discipleship, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” Paul highlights two features of Christian doctrine: “the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “teaching that accords with godliness.” These two go together and cannot be separated. These “sound words” refer to the Lord’s message of the gospel.4 These words come from the Lord directly and through His apostles and teachers.5 Paul warns against doctrine contrary to Christ and teaching that does not line up with godliness. In other words, Paul is providing warning against discipleship that loses sight of Christ and the gospel.

How do we know our doctrine lines up with “the sound words” and “teaching that accords with godliness?” Without the Apostles present with us, how do we determine what is Christ-focused and gospel-centered? The answer: Scripture.

Scripture is of both Divine and Human origin. The Holy Spirit uses Scripture as a means of grace for the identifying and shaping of disciples. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The Holy Spirit works in and through Scripture through inspiration. Likewise, the Holy Spirit identifies us as disciples (Ephesians 1:13), dwells in our community of disciples (1 Cor. 3:17, 6:19), and by illumination gives us understanding so that we may obey Jesus by making disciples (Titus 3:5, 2 Thess. 2:13, Acts 1:8). How we view the Holy Spirit and Scripture will influence how we grow as disciples and how we make disciples.

Here we stand, on the rim of the canyon, reflecting on the signposts that have led us here. Over the coming chapters may we evaluate our view and use of Scripture in discipleship. May our life, doctrine, and practice agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

--

Jeremy Carr (ThM, MDiv) is lead teaching pastor and co-founding elder of Redemption Church in Augusta, GA. He has been a member of the Acts 29 Network since 2007 and has written for the Resurgence. Jeremy is husband to Melody and father to Emaline, Jude, Sadie, and Nora. He is the Author of Sound Words: Listening to the Scriptures published by GCD Books. Twitter: @pastorjcarr.

[This is an excerpt adapted from Jeremy's new book, Sound Words: Listening to the Scriptures. Download and read the entire book for $3.99 at GCD Books.]

What Sparks a Movement?

  On a cold Halloween night long ago, a lone figure walked along the path near the Elbe River in what is now called Germany. As he neared the door of the Castle Church, parchment in hand, he knew his action in the coming moments would cause a stir. But he certainly could not have imagined the impact of the movement he was about to advance. Weary of the institutionalism and failed theological views of the established church of his day, this young monk had seen enough. He had written what became the manifesto of the movement soon to be called the Protestant Reformation.

The young monk’s name? Martin Luther. His document? The 95 theses. And his movement literally changed the world.

It Takes Clarity

Many besides Luther had problems with the Catholic church of his day. But his Theses proved to be the match the set ablaze a movement for the gospel of Jesus Christ, a movement that would go through various phases, to John Calvin in Geneva, the Anabaptists and the Radical Reformation, and Zwingli, to name a few.

It is one thing to sense the need for change. It is another to be able to state what and how change should come. For a movement to captivate others who will join in spreading its message, clarity is essential.

It is one thing to see the need for a movement. It is another to clarify a vision to accomplish the movement. Luther could do both. And today we need both again—a gospel-centered movement led by those who can teach others how to advance that movement today.

For a movement to succeed someone has to articulate an idea in a way that is winsome and easily communicated.

Today that is much easier because of the internet and tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

It Takes a Tribe

But for movements to spread, it takes others. It takes, in the words of Seth Godin, a tribe. “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”

And such tribes need to be led for a movement to matter: “Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change."

You have already made decisions about what you value. These decisions are reflected in how you spend your time and money, and how you raise your children. The importance of the gospel is seen in what you value. The “tribes” you associate with, and the level of passion with which you associate, grow out of your values.

Jim Elliot as a college student uttered these immortal words: “He is no fool who gives that he cannot keep in order to keep that he cannot lose.” Elliot understood the things of this life were not to be compared with the glories of the life beyond. That is why he could stand with his friends years later on the shores of a river in South America and be speared to death by those he came there to reach for Christ. The gospel mattered more than anything to Elliot and his friends.

If someone asked you the meaning of life, how would you answer them? If someone wanted you to tell them what mattered more than anything else, could you articulate for them how the gospel makes sense of everything?

Many movements have come and gone, some of which had clear statements of belief. Marx and Engel penned a Communist Manifesto, and the communist movement influenced much of the world. Today, however, no matter how well articulated communism may be, the only places where it is accepted are where totalitarian leaders rule with an iron fist. If the core values of a movement ultimately are shown to be wrong, the movement will ultimately fail.

But if the movement clearly speaks truth and gives a vision for living in light of that truth, it becomes an unstoppable force. When the gospel has been at the center of the faith of believers, Christianity has been such a force.

Godin grasps well the power of a movement clearly articulated and the possibilities afforded us through the internet today: “A movement is thrilling. It’s the work of many people, all connected, all seeking something better. The newly leveraged tools of the Net make it easier than ever to create a movement, to make things happen, to get things done.”

We stand on the gospel—the unchanging good news of Jesus Christ and the life that He provides. Sometimes our problem lies less with the assault from the outside than institutionalism from within which turns our attention from a risk taking, sacrificial mission to maintaining what we have.

It Takes the Master

We must take care to remember that the focus of our lives should not be on a movement, but on the Master of that movement. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He did not say follow a movement. Many have been led astray by zeal to follow a movement whose leader took them down a path of harm, from Islamic terrorism to the White Supremacist movement. We must consistently, clearly articulate what our movement is about and what it is not about.

It is about Christ. It is not about our preferences.

It is about worshiping God. It is not about a style of music.

It is about telling others the gospel. It is not about our political or other views.

Certainly the movement of the gospel will speak to preferences, style, and politics. But we too quickly lose sight of Jesus in our haste to issues of secondary importance. We would do well to heed the words of Paul, a notable advancer of God’s movement: “I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:14)

“Jesus was the first missionary,” Addison reminds us. “What Jesus did was to found a missionary movement that would one day span the globe.” When we become followers of Christ, we become a part of that global movement. When Jesus walked the earth He did not go after the cultural elites of His time. He called the outcasts and the ordinary. Folks like you and I are the kind of people He uses to articulate the movement He calls us to advance.
_

Alvin L. Reid is husband to Michelle and father to Josh and Hannah. He is a professor of evangelism and student ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as a popular speaker and author. He has written numerous books on student ministry, evangelism, missional Christianity, and spiritual awakenings.  Follow him on Twitter: @AlvinReid.

[This is an excerpt from Dr. Reid's forthcoming book by GCD Books, Gospel Advance.]

The Pastor's Justification

We're excited to have Jared at GCD today to discuss his newest book, The Pastor's Justification, which deals with the struggles that pastors regularly face.

_ BRANDON SMITH: It seems like you've written or contributed to a few books a year over the past few years. What does the writing process look like for you?

JARED WILSON: I am a sadly undisciplined writer but not because I don't write. I find myself not having to schedule writing time week to week, mainly because I can't not write. It just comes out, and always has since I was a kid, actually. My book and article projects are largely deadline driven, so I ramp up my focus time on particular projects the closer I am to something being due. But week to week, most of my project writing is done on Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays is also when I write the bulk of my Sunday sermon.

B: After so many books centered on believers and their relationship to Jesus and the gospel, what led you to writing a book specifically for pastors?

J: The calling and office is so peculiar. Pastors certainly don't need a different gospel or a "bigger" gospel than the laity. The same gospel works for all of us, and is eternal enough for any person. But I think many pastors get so preoccupied in giving advice, counsel, ministry, etc., they neglect to feed themselves. The statistics of pastoral burnout and depression are sobering and revealing. I wanted to take a shepherding approach to shepherds with this book, helping my brothers apply the security and confidence and humility that comes in Christ's finished work to their specific calling and tasks. We lack for lots of resources in that department. Many books for pastors are for the ministerial toolkit. I wanted to write one for the ministerial heart.

B: The description for the book begins with: "Ministry can be brutal. Discouragement, frustration, and exhaustion are common experiences for all church leaders, often resulting in a lack of joy and a loss of focus." What are some major themes that you try to capture in the book?

J: The first part of the book is a general exposition of 1 Peter 5, addressing aspects of the pastor's character and calling. The second part of the book is a general exposition of the 5 Solas of the Reformation tradition, applying these hallmark truths to the pastor's vocation. The biggest themes addressed in every chapter and both sections are the pastor's sense of confidence and security, which is the result of his trust for fulfillment and satisfaction. Those big themes impact all the little matters, from a pastor's daily devotions to how much time he spends with his family or how he spends his money, each of which (and more) is discussed in the book.

B: As a pastor yourself, what part of the book did you need to hear the most?

J: Every iteration of seeking the approval of God, not men. This is tough for pastors of every kind of church, small to big and every point in between, and I've been on both ends of the shrinking and growing church spectrum, but speaking personally, it becomes more difficult to seek God's approval rather than man's as I have led a growing church and as I've begun navigating a public ministry of writing and speaking.

B: What is the greatest encouragement you can give to struggling pastors?

J: God sees, God knows, and God will vindicate you. You are totally loved, totally approved, and totally justified in Christ. _

Jared C. Wilson (@jaredcwilson) is Becky’s husband and Macy and Grace’s daddy, and also the pastor of Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont and the author of the books Gospel Wakefulness, Your Jesus is Too Safe, Abide, Seven Daily Sins, and Gospel Deeps. He blogs almost daily at The Gospel-Driven Church.

[You can order The Pastor's Justification on Amazon.]

Living Like a Narnian

  At the upcoming C.S. Lewis-themed Desiring God National Conference, Joe Rigney (@joe_rigney), Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Worldview at Bethlehem College & Seminary, will deliver a message titled, "Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in the C.S. Lewis Chronicles." Birthed out of this passion and message is a new book, written by Joe, with the same name: Live Like a Narnian. We invited Joe to GCD today to talk about his new book and the motif of discipleship in Lewis's works.

Brandon: What led you to write Live Like a Narnian?

Joe: Three things. The immediate cause was being invited to speak at the Desiring God National Conference on the topic next week. The idea for the book had been banging around in my head since I taught a class on Narnia a few years back. The conference invitation gave me an excuse to get it on paper.

Second, I've been noticing over the last few years how often I use quotations and scenes from Narnia when shepherding and mentoring college students. For whatever reason, they often come to mind whenever I have a student with a particular problem sitting in my office, and so that set me to thinking about whether it's a good thing to use Narnia in this way.

And finally, the result of that last question was my own recognition that the Narnian stories have been a deep means of grace for me in my own spiritual growth. As I say in the book, I have met the living God in my reading of Narnia, and my affections for Jesus have been stoked and increased by my time there. I've received the same sort of grace and encouragement through them that I have received through sermons, small group accountability, devotional books, and theological tomes. Lewis's stories certainly aren't the equivalent of Scripture, but they have been used by God to allow the truths of Scripture to appear to me in their true potency (which is exactly what Lewis intended).

B: What does it mean to live like a Narnian?

J: "Live like a Narnian" is a riff on a phrase used by Puddleglum in The Silver Chair. It's essentially my way of summarizing all of the good, true, and beautiful qualities that are expressed by the kings, queens, fauns, good dwarfs, centaurs, badgers, mice, and moles of Narnia. Whether it be bravery, courage, sacrifice, honesty, repentance, tactfulness, glad-heartedness, or humility, the Narnian stories have given lively and concrete pictures of these qualities, and I've found them becoming a part of me as I've breathed Narnian air.

To put it in more traditional terms, to live like a Narnian is to faithfully follow Jesus Christ. It's to be a disciple of the High King above all kings, and to emulate and embody his ways in the world in which we live.

B: In the book, you talk a lot about character, actions, and obedience. What does Narnia teach us about these things?

J: Let me mention two basic lessons (which I unpack in much more detail in the book). First, Lewis vividly shows that our trajectory really matters. Our direction determines our destination. When it comes to the grand voyage of life, we are embarked, and we are heading somewhere. Sooner or later, we're bound to end up there. Lewis shows us (through characters like Edmund) that we might not like the destination at the end of our road. This ought to move us to examine where we are making small compromises, where we are sowing small seeds of sin that will grow into big trees that will bear bitter fruit. As Paul reminds us, God is not mocked; we will reap what we've sown (Galatians 6:7).

Second, Lewis demonstrates the truthfulness of a statement by one of his heroes, George MacDonald: "Obedience is the opener of eyes." Oftentimes, we want to negotiate with God, withholding our obedience until he gives us a fuller understanding of the circumstances that we find ourselves in. But this is not the biblical way. We come to see more clearly through our obedience. Or, to put it the way Jesus did in John 7:17, "If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God." This sort of truth has massive implications for how we respond to seasons of doubt and depression. It's easy to use our own spiritual dryness as an excuse to commit sin. But sinking deeper in the mire is the surest way to stay there. In The Screwtape Letters, Lewis reminds us that the cause of Devil is never more in danger than when we Christians look around upon a universe from which every trace of God's presence seems to have vanished, and we ask why we've been forsaken, and then we obey anyway.

B: You have an interesting chapter dealing with "the peculiar majesty of women." Could you explain this phrase a little?

J: Lewis loved the fact that men were men and women were women. He gloried in the distinctions between the sexes, the way that our Wise God has made us to be different but complementary. The chapter on Narnian queens is my attempt to celebrate this 'peculiar majesty.' As the son of a mother, the husband of a wife, and the friend of numerous women, I find the bright glory of femininity to be almost ineffable, and it leaves me feeling a bit shy, like Adam must have felt when he woke and saw Eve for the first time. It's a strange sensation, and one that I expect most husbands understand at an intuitive level. Lewis, I think, does a wonderful job of depicting (though only as an outsider) the gracefulness and grandeur of women: their intuition, their feminine courage and loyalty, and the beauty of glad-hearted submission and strength. These are not popular virtues in our day, and Lewis recognized that appealing to our imaginations by showing us what womanhood (and manhood) look like has a particular potency.

B: How can C.S. Lewis teach us about discipleship?

J: I regularly have students come into my office who are struggling through a time of spiritual dryness. Often they've recently had a period of tremendous growth, or the Lord has done a great work and set them to fighting their sin in new and fresh ways. Inevitably, they hit that spiritual wall and the temptation is to think that something is going badly, that the pain and difficulty shows that they're doing something wrong.

Well, Lewis has a great scene in The Horse and His Boy in which Shasta, the main character, has been racing across a barren desert with little sleep and no food in order to warn the king that an army is approaching his castle in order to mount a surprise attack. In the midst of this, he and his friends (a girl and two horses) are chased by lions, and the girl is wounded. They make it to a hermit's house who welcomes them in as the horses collapse. The hermit then turns to Shasta and tells the exhausted boy that he must run, run, run in order to warn the king. Shasta is dismayed, but turns and obeys. The narrator makes this extremely wise and perceptive comment, which encourages me (and usually) my students: "Shasta had not yet learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one." In other words, when things get hard after a season of growth, this is a sign that we've been promoted, that God is giving us his "Well done, good and faithful servant" speech, that having been faithful in little, God is putting us over a little bit more.

B: What do you hope readers take away from this book?

J: In the end, I hope that people come away from the book with an eagerness to live life to the fullest, to follow Jesus with gratitude and humility in their hearts. I hope that they are awake to the wonder of the world, to the enchantment that hangs over every nook and cranny of God's creation. I hope that biblical truths like humility and sacrifice and grace and forgiveness and light have are more vivid and concrete, and that their souls are enlarged, their minds expanded, and their hearts are filled with love for Christ because they seem him more clearly in and through Narnia and the great Lion at the center of those stories.

_

Brandon Smith (@BrandonSmith85) is Director of GCD, Associate Editor of The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, and Director of Communications at Criswell College. He is proud to be Christa's husband and Harper's daddy.

Church Planter's Wife: Are You Willing?

  Unpacking in our new home in a new state far from our families, I opened a box marked Fragile in big black letters. Inside, buried under bubble wrap, I found my framed wedding vows. While I searched the master bedroom for the perfect spot where the frame could hang, I read what I had committed to Kyle on our wedding day. Just as it had when I had first written the words, my heart stopped on one line.

I vow to support the ministry that God gives you.

An Overarching Willingness

When I wrote those vows in the weeks leading up to our wedding, I read them several times, each time imagining myself speaking them on our wedding day and, each time, hesitating at the promise to support Kyle’s calling into ministry. Although they were weighty, the other lines about faithfulness and commitment felt right to me; I could confidently make those promises to Kyle. I considered scratching the ministry line because it seemed out of place for wedding vows, but my heart felt unsettled at that prospect, too. I couldn’t pinpoint the difficulty surrounding this one vow. Kyle had a clear call to ministry, of which I was fully supportive. In fact, although I had rarely voiced it, I had felt a similar call on my life from the time I was in high school. I suspected I would marry someone with the same calling. When Kyle told me what he wanted to do with his life, I thought, Well, of course! as if it were silly to consider anything else. We rarely discussed the calling—it was a given, a natural next step for both of us, something we were willing to give our lives for. The hesitation, then, to put my support in writing surprised me. Possibly for the first time, in the middle of writing my wedding vows, I considered what ministry might mean for my life.

As I measured the future with a moment of God-given clarity, I saw what a lifetime of ministry might entail: shouldering heavy responsibilities, giving ourselves away to others, living far away from family, or possibly enduring criticism or defeat for the sake of Christ. Because Kyle had surrendered control of his future to God, my vow of support meant stepping into his shadow and following him where God led. Was I willing? Was my conviction so firm that I would speak those words to Kyle and to God in front of our friends and family?

A Specific Willingness

Eight years after our wedding day, I stood in our new home, holding those vows in my hands. We had just moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, to start a church from scratch. I recalled hearing the term church planter in seminary, but had not known what it meant, certainly not imagining the term would ever describe us. Yet there I stood, dusting off a frame of my wedding vows in a home and a city where we didn’t know anyone. Although much had changed since the day we wrote our promises down on scratch paper—we had three little boys and Kyle’s experience of serving on staff at a church in Texas— the same questions arose in my heart, urging for a silent renewal of the vow I had made to my husband. When I’d first said those words, they had been a general affirmation of the calling on my husband’s life. Now we faced the difficult work of church planting. My support and affirmation of my husband’s ministry would be crucial.

Was I willing?

I said yes on my wedding day, and I said yes to church planting. And—this is very much the key to being a minister’s wife—I have said yes every day since, most of the time with joy, sometimes with reluctance and selfish resentment, but nonetheless a yes.

I vowed a commitment to my husband, but I’ve discovered the commitment, the yes, that sustains is my submission to God. My yes is to Him and will naturally align itself as support of what my husband does as a minister of the gospel.

An Ongoing Willingness

Three years after the day I laid my head down on my pillow in our new home in a new state far from our families, wondering if something could be made out of nothing, God has done it. He has used His people, so broken and weak, to bring light to a spiritually dark place.

Every so often, I stand in front of my wedding vows, hanging framed on the wall. Just as when I wrote the words, my heart stops on one line.

I vow to support the ministry that God gives you.

Clearly, my support and affirmation of my husband’s ministry has been vital. And, clearly, God has moved powerfully around and among us.

But the work is far from complete. The Lord is still calling on me to move forward in faith—loving, serving, discipling, and leading. Church planting—and all of ministry—is a faith marathon, not a sprint. Daily He asks for my heart, that He might cultivate it, so as to produce fruit in and around me.

Am I willing?

_

Christine Hoover is the author of The Church Planting Wife: Help and Hope for Her Heart (Moody, 2013). She is a church planting wife and the mom of three boys. She also encourages ministry-minded women to live and lead from grace on her blog, Grace Covers Me.

[This article is an excerpt from Christine's book, mentioned above. Used with permission from the author.]

Why Teach the Bible's Storyline?

Some of you may be wondering why so many people are talking about the Bible’s storyline lately. What’s the big deal? Why is it so important for Christians to be able to connect the dots of the Bible’s grand narrative? Here are four reasons.

1. To Gain a Biblical Worldview

The first reason we need to keep the biblical storyline in mind is because the narrative of the Bible is the narrative of the world. The Bible doesn’t just give us commands and prohibitions. It gives us an entire worldview.

We all live according to a worldview. A worldview is the lens through which we see the world and make decisions. It’s like wearing a pair of glasses. You don’t think about looking at your glasses when you have them on. You look through them to see the world around you. Everyone has a worldview, even people who are not Christians.

Unfortunately, there are many Christians who do not have a Christian worldview. They may display some of the religious trappings of Christianity, but they demonstrate by their choices that they are living by another worldview.

The storyline of the Bible is important because it helps us think as Christians formed by the great Story that tells the truth about our world. It is vitally important that people know the overarching storyline of the Bible that leads from creation, to our fall into sin, to redemption through Jesus Christ, and final restoration in the fullness of time. If we are to live as Christians in a fallen world, we must be shaped by the grand narrative of the Scriptures, the worldview we find in the Bible.

2. To Recognize and Reject False Worldviews

A few years ago, two sociologists studying the religious views of young people in North America coined the phrase “moralistic therapeutic deism.” Those are three big words that sum up the following five beliefs of many in our society today:

1. “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.” (That’s the “Deism” part. God created the world, watches things, but doesn’t do much in the way of intervening in human affairs.)
2. “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.” (That’s the Moralistic part. The goal of religion is to be a nice, moral person.)
3. “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.” (That’s the Therapeutic part. The most important thing in life is to be happy and well-balanced.)
4. “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.” (Now, we see the Deistic view of God combine with God’s therapeutic purpose. He exists to make us happy.)
5. “Good people go to heaven when they die.” (Salvation is accomplished through morality.)

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. “Moralism,” for short. Our society is awash in this worldview. Even longtime church members are not immune to it.

So, if we are going to be effective witnesses to the gospel in our day and age, we must put forth a biblical view of the world that counters rival worldviews. Just think, if you were called to be a missionary to India, wouldn’t you first study Hinduism to see how it affects the culture and the people’s view of God there? Wouldn’t part of your strategy be to show how Christianity counters the Hindu worldview? Likewise, if you were called to be a missionary to Iran, would you not study the worldview of Muslims and see where Christianity and Islam diverge? A good missionary knows what Christianity teaches as opposed to what the dominant worldview of the culture says, even if that worldview is the moralistic therapeutic deism of the United States.

3. To Rightly Understand the Gospel

Another reason we need to know the story line of the Bible is because the gospel can quickly become distorted without it. The story of the Bible gives context to the gospel message about Jesus.

Too many times, we think of the gospel as a story that jumps from the Garden of Eden (we’ve all sinned) right to the cross (but Jesus fixes everything). On its own, that works fine in communicating the systematic points of our need for salvation and God’s provision in Christ, but from a biblical theological perspective, it doesn’t do justice to what’s actually in the text. Once a person becomes a Christian and cracks the Bible, they’re going to wonder what the big deal is about Israel and the covenant, since that storyline takes up roughly 75% of the Bible. Getting people into that story is important. As D.A. Carson says, the announcement is incoherent without it.

I once spent significant time witnessing to a coworker, one of those “all religions lead to God-consciousness sort of guy.” He and I went back and forth on the gospel. Eventually, he admitted that he believed Jesus had been raised from the dead bodily. Yet his explanation of the resurrection was this: God raised Jesus from the dead because He’d been unjustly condemned, and His purpose in rising was to demonstrate His God-consciousness so He could beckon us to learn from Him. In other words, Jesus was still just Master Teacher and not Savior and Lord. My coworker got the bare facts of the announcement right, and yet the story he was working from was wrong. The story line affected the announcement to the point where he really didn’t believe the gospel at all.

We need the biblical story line in order to understand the gospel of Jesus. Otherwise, sharing the gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection is like coming into a movie theater at the most climactic moment but without any knowledge of the story thus far. You will be able to discern bits and pieces of the story, but you won’t understand the full significance of what is happening unless you know the backstory.

4. To Keep Our Focus on Christ

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about making the gospel announcement of Jesus Christ front and center in our preaching and teaching. As our society becomes increasingly post-Christian, it is critical for us to not assume lost people know who God is, what He is like, and what He has done for us. We need to be clear in what we teach, with a laser-like focus on Jesus Christ our Savior. The biblical storyline helps us do this.

Every story has a main character. The Bible does too. It’s God. Specifically, it’s God as He reveals Himself to us in the Person of Jesus Christ.

Here’s what happens if we learn individual Bible stories and never connect them to the big Story. We put ourselves in the scene as if we are the main character. We take the moral examples of the Old and New Testament as if they were there to help us along in the life we’ve chosen for ourselves.

But the more we read the Bible, the more we see that God is the main character, not us. We are not the heroes learning to overcome all obstacles, persist in our faith, and call down fire from heaven. We’re the ones who need rescue, who need a Savior who will deliver us from Satan, sin, and death. It’s only in bowing before the real Hero of the story that we are in the right posture to take our place in the unfolding drama. Bearing in mind the big story of Scripture helps us keep our focus on Jesus, and off ourselves.

_

Trevin Wax is managing editor of The Gospel Project at LifeWay Christian Resources, a pastor, contributor to Christianity Today, and the author of Counterfeit Gospels, Holy Subversion, and Clear Winter Nights. Trevin lives with his wife and children in Nashville.

[This is an excerpt from Trevin's new book, Gospel-Centered Teaching. Used with permission from the author.]

Setting the Tone of Discipleship

  This is an excerpt from Jared Wilson's book, The Pastor's Justification, used with permission from the author. Purchase the book here, and check out our interview with Jared here.

_

Be What You Want to See

God forbids pastoral domineering but commands instead “being examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3). Therefore, pastor, whatever you are, your church will eventually become. If you are a loudmouth boaster, your church will gradually become known for loudmouth boasting. If you are a graceless idiot, your church will gradually become known for graceless idiocy. The leadership will set the tone of the community’s discipleship culture, setting the example of the church body’s “personality.” So whatever you want to see, that is what you must be.

This is another reason why plurality of eldership is so important. The most important reason to have multiple elders leading a church is because that is the biblical model. But a plurality of eldership also provides unity in leadership on the nonnegotiable qualifications but works against uniformity in leadership by establishing a collaboration of wisdom, diversity of gifts, and collection of experiences.

Elders must be qualified elders, so in several key areas they will be quite similar. But through having a plurality of elders, a church receives the example of unity in diversity, which is to be played out among the body as well. Every elder ought to “be able to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2), but not every elder must be an intellectual sort (if you follow my meaning). Every elder must be “self-controlled,” but some may be extroverts and some introverts, some may be analytical types and others creative. Every elder must be “respectable” and “a husband of one wife,” but some may be older and some may be younger. The more diversity one can manage on an elder board while still maintaining a unity on the biblical qualifications, the fellowship’s doctrinal affirmations, and the church’s mission, the better.

A plurality of elders can be an example to the congregation of unity of mind and heart despite differences. Pastors are not appointed to a church primarily to lead in the instruction of skills and the dissemination of information; they are appointed to a church primarily to lead in Christ-following.

A different set of traits is needed for pastors than for the business world’s management culture. Paul writes, “But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children” (1 Thess. 2:7). This is not exactly the pastoral image that is most popular today. In an age when machismo and “catalytic, visionary” life-coaching dominate the evangelical leadership ranks, the ministerial model of a breastfeeding mom is alien. There is a patience, a parental affection, a tender giving of one’s self that Scripture envisions for the pastor’s role in leadership. In 2 Corinthians 12:15, Paul announces, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” That is the pastor’s heart.

Leading the Way

If we want our churches to be of one mind, to be of one heart, to assassinate their idols and feast on Christ, to be wise and winsome with the world they have forsaken, to be gentle of spirit but full of confidence and boldness, to be blossoming with the fruit of the Spirit, we must lead the way.

A pastor goes first. In groups where transparency is expected, a pastor goes first. In the humility of service, a pastor goes first. In the sharing of the gospel with the lost, a pastor goes first. In the discipleship of new believers, a pastor goes first. In the singing of spiritual songs with joy and exuberance, a pastor goes first. In living generously, a pastor goes first. In the following of Christ by the taking up of one’s cross, a pastor goes first. All I am saying is that one who talks the talk ought to walk the walk. Don’t lead your flock through domineering; lead by example.

The pastor ought to be able to say with integrity to others, as Paul says to Timothy, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:13). It is not arrogant to instruct others to follow you, so long as you are following Christ and showing them Christ and giving them Christ. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” Paul says again (1 Cor. 11:1).

Younger pastors especially are as eager to find role models as they are eager to be role models. But we are not about trying to create fan clubs and clone armies. We are about seeding Christlikeness through the Spirit’s power. “Let no one despise you for your youth,” Paul instructs his young protégé (1 Tim. 4:12), but he provides the way to do this: “set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” The way you prevent others from looking down on your youth is by growing up.

Growing up. That is what God wants for his church.

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 . . . (Eph. 4:11-13)

He is making us fit for the habitation he has already promised us and given us in our mystical union with Christ. He is making us holy as he is holy.

_

Jared C. Wilson (@jaredcwilson) is Becky’s husband and Macy and Grace’s daddy, and also the pastor of Middletown Springs Community Church in Middletown Springs, Vermont and the author of the books Gospel Wakefulness, Your Jesus is Too Safe, Abide, Seven Daily Sins, and Gospel Deeps. He blogs almost daily at The Gospel-Driven Church.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

The following is an excerpt from Winfield Bevin's book, A Primer on the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. Download the entire eBook here.

--

I believe that by my own reason or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ, 

my Lord, or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the 

Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, and sanctified and preserved me in the 

true faith. -Martin Luther

God works in various ways to bring people into salvation in Jesus Christ. It all begins when God calls us by His Holy Spirit. This is commonly referred to as the effectual call. The effectual call is when the Holy Spirit calls a person by awakening their heart, mind, and soul to their personal need of salvation.

The Spirit works as a guide at this point to lead us to a relationship with Jesus Christ. The Westminster Confession describes it in the following way, “This effectual call is of God's free and special grace alone, not from anything at all foreseen in man, who is altogether passive therein, until, being quickened and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is thereby enabled to answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it.” It is only then that a person can truly accept and respond to the grace of God through faith.

Justification

Justification is a judicial act, where God remits a person’s sins and declares them to be in a position of righteousness before God. It is what God does for us. It is by the merits of Christ that we receive justification, which is the forgiveness of sins. Justification by faith is a foundational Christian teaching, especially in the Protestant tradition.

The Spirit is the agent that effects justification in the life of the believer. The Spirit applies Christ’s work of reconciliation to us in order to transform our hostility toward God into fellowship with Him. As the Father sent His Son to die for us, the Spirit applies the fruit of his death to our lives in justification.

Regeneration

The word regeneration literally means to ‘rebirth.’ Regeneration is a spiritual transformation where the Holy Spirit takes us from death unto life. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold all things are become new,” (2 Cor.5:17). glorious change takes place in the believers’ hearts when they receive Christ into their life by faith. This great change entails an exchange of the things of the world for the things of God. It is a total transformation, in which the new believer is literally made a new creature. The Spirit of God is the agent of regeneration that works to bring about this change in a persons heart. The heart and soul of a person is the place where the Holy Spirit brings about a real change in the believer.

Sanctification

Sanctification is a process of being restored to the image of God, which begins at the new birth and gradually takes place over the lifetime of a believer. It is a real change in the heart, mind, and soul of the believer. Sanctification is a process of Christian growth where the Holy Spirit gradually transforms the hearts and minds of Christians. John Owen believed that sanctification was a work of the Holy Spirit. He said, “Sanctification is an immediate work of the Spirit of God on the souls of believers.”

The goal of the Holy Spirit in sanctification is to make us like Christ. We are enabled to mortify the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit (Rom. 8:11). Sanctification is what God works in us by His Spirit.

The General Work of the Spirit

In addition to the Holy Spirit’s work in salvation there are numerous ways that the Holy Spirit works in our lives. He enables believers to live the Christian life. He intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26-27). He illumines and guides believers into all truth (John

16:13-14). The Holy Spirit enables Christians to fight sin (Rom. 8:5-6). The Spirit sanctifies us (1 Peter 1:2). He gives us Christian assurance to know that we are children of God (Rom 8:15-16). Begin to reflect on everything that the Spirit has done and is doing in your life.

Questions for Reflection

• How does the Holy Spirit bring about salvation in a person’s life? 
• Does every person have the opportunity to receive salvation? How is the Holy 
• Spirit involved in making that possible? Explain. 
• What is the major purpose of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life? 
• Discuss the general work of the Spirit. 
• Reflecting back on your salvation experience, in what ways can you recognize 
• that the Holy Spirit was at work in your life? 

Concluding Prayer

Blessed Holy Spirit, I thank you for applying the saving work of Jesus Christ in my life. I 

want to experience your fullness more and more. Sanctify my heart, mind, and soul. Wash 

me from all of my sin and fill me full of your sweet presence. In the name of the Father, 

the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

--

Download this entire eBook at GCD Books.

Dr. Winfield Bevins serves as lead pastor of Church of the Outer Banks, which he founded in 2005.  His life’s passion in ministry is discipleship and helping start new churches. He lives in the beautiful beach community of the Outer Banks with his wife Kay and two daughters where he loves to surf and spend time at the beach with his family and friends. Twitter: @winfieldbevins