Sovereignty, Free Will, & The New Heart

 

Can God be sovereign and humans still have free will? Are our destinies simply set?

Philip K. Dick was arguably the most influential science fiction writer of the late twentieth century. Several of his works, adapted as screenplays, explore the concept of free will. In Blade Runner we are brought face to face with the tension between genetic control and genuine feeling. The Adjustment Bureau pits choice against fate, as Matt Damon’s character attempts to alter the master plan for his life.

It all brings up an interesting, age-old question: Is it possible for there to be a sovereign God and for humans to have free will?

The stakes are high in this debate. If we surrender free will, life becomes bleak and hopeless. If God possesses exclusive control over our destinies, why should we do anything? What difference does anything make if life is all mapped out? If we surrender divine sovereignty, life loses transcendent meaning and purpose. We exist and then we die. The better the choices we make, the more apt we are to survive the race of the fittest, but for what—the mere propagation of our species? On the one hand we are left with unfeeling determinism, and on the other, a free-falling individualism.

Millions of people view the Bible as a source for knowing God. What does the Bible have to say on the topic of will?

A Glance at the Bible

There are stacks of biblical texts that underscore divine sovereignty, and even more that appeal to human will.

For example, the story of Job opens with a dialog between Satan and God. Satan questions the naked free will of “righteous Job.” Satan is convinced that without God’s sovereign hand of protection, Job will freely renounce God. Satan asks God to remove all aid and then is permitted to wreak havoc in Job’s life. The story concludes with Job expressing his steadfast hope in a sovereign God: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”¹

The will of Job meets, with hope, the sovereign plan of God. Avoiding the extremes of cold determinism and aimless individualism, Job presents divine sovereignty and human choice as entirely compatible.

In fact, the Bible consistently puts sovereignty and choice together:

• “To humans belong the plans of the heart,
 but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.”²
• “In their hearts humans plan their course, 
but the Lord establishes their steps.”³
• “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”⁴

These texts appeal to our heart and ability to act, while at the same time recognizing that God ultimately determines the action. We are responsible, and he is sovereign. Decisions are made from the heart, while God is sovereign over those decisions.

Sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? How can those two things be compatible?

The Nature of the Will

The apparent contradiction is resolved when we understand the nature of the will. The will expresses our heart’s desire. Whatever we want most, we do. The will surveys the motives in the heart and always, always acts upon them. To give a Western example, if I desire a new TV, my will acts on that desire, and off I go to Best Buy.

But what happens when there are competing motives? What if, on the way to Best Buy, you stop at the ATM machine—and get held up? The thief tells you that if you don’t empty your entire account and give it to him, he will take your life. You really want your money—and you still want that TV—but you decide to give it all to him so you can live.

In that instance, were you prevented from exercising free will? Not at all. You simply did what you desired most. Being an ever-so-smart person, you desired to live more than you wanted a full bank account or a new TV. Whatever you desire most, your will acts on.

Freedom

Now we have stumbled into the matter of freedom. We often conceive of freedom as the absence of constraints. We think, “To really live, we need to be free to do whatever we want, free from restrictions.” Freedom, we argue, is the path to true flourishing.

But if we think on this, we’ll quickly see it isn’t entirely true. What would happen if every country in the world abolished all laws? Would that “freedom” increase life or decrease life? We all embrace certain restrictions because we know they lead to human prosperity.

Or consider the self-imposed restrictions of every musician in an orchestra. They willfully restrict their “freedom” to play however they want. Instead, they play the notes indicated on their music. What happens? Are the musicians oppressed, angry, and put down? No, they actually flourish. The restrictions enable them to create sounds they could never manage on their own—beautiful symphonies.

Putting It All Together

Now what does this have to do with God and free will? As a sovereign God, he imposes restrictions for our good. He composes the notes to life. He establishes moral laws so that we will flourish, but he does not force us to carry out these laws. In fact, we are free to do whatever our hearts desire.

If we desire to break the law, we do. If we want to reject God’s salvation in Christ, we can. We all make genuine choices, decisions that align with our heart’s desire. But this freedom is also the problem.

We are free to live for ourselves—even for others—but we are unable to live for God. Apart from gracious divine intervention, we simply don’t make God the north star of our life. As a result, we don’t gain Job-like confidence that, even in suffering, God has good purposes for us. Our wills are bound to broken hearts.

Consequently, we find it unappealing—if not impossible—to embrace God’s sovereignty, because deep down, we really want to be in charge. We want to make the rules. We want to set our own course, and it doesn’t include the path of self-denial and submission to God the Father. Our broken hearts have convinced us that true joy and flourishing are found outside of God.

 A New Heart

What we all need isn’t a free will (we already have that) but a new heart. We need new capacity to choose God, to love his ways, and to embrace his “restrictions” as the path to true life.

Jesus is the only person who did this perfectly. His heart was pure. He chose to follow the Father’s will, even when it meant suffering and death. He did it for us—for stubborn, short-sighted people who insist on their own way. He gave up his right to live so that we don’t have to die. If we relinquish our fixation on self-sovereignty and receive God’s gracious, righteous love and forgiveness, we will actually find true life.

When we come under the umbrella of God’s will, we are showered with the grace of true freedom. Transcendent purpose meets genuine, heartwarming choice. When we follow God’s master plan in Christ, we actually discover true love.

We come face to face with the only man who can love us perfectly and truly. If we receive it, that love gives the heart a whole new capacity to trust God’s sovereignty. In Jesus, we have the opportunity to flourish.

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Jonathan K. Dodson (M.Div, Th.M) is happy husband to Robie, and proud father to Owen, Ellie & Rosamund. He is also the lead pastor of City Life church and a leader in The GCM Collective, PlantR, and Gospel Centered Discipleship.com. Jonathan is also author of Gospel-Centered Discipleship, Raised? Finding Jesus by Doubting the Resurrection (Feb, 2014). He enjoys listening to M. Ward, watching sci-fi, and following Jesus. Blogs at jonthandodson.org.

[This originally appeared at Explore God.]

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.

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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.

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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.

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

What Is Our Advent Mission?

  A danger lurks in our endeavors to live incarnationally. Danger, yes, but not deterrent. It is a risk worth taking, though not treating lightly.

The danger is that we can subtly begin to key on ourselves, rather than Jesus, when we think of what Christian mission is and what incarnation means. Over time we start to function as if Christian mission begins with, and centers on, our intentionality and relationality. What really excites us is not the old, old story, but our new strategies for kingdom advance. Almost imperceptibly we’ve slowly become more keen how we can copy Jesus than the glorious ways in which we can’t.

But thankfully the Advent season, and its annual buildup to Christmas Day, serves as an important periodic reminder that the most important part of the Christian mission isn’t the Christian, but the Christ.

Our little efforts at incarnational living, courageous and self-sacrificial as they may be, are only faint echoes of the world-altering, one-of-a-kind Incarnation of the very Son of God. And if Christian mission doesn’t flow from and toward the worship of the Incarnate One, we’re really just running round the hamster wheel.

Jesus Sends Us

Make no mistake about it, Christians are sent. Jesus prays to his Father in John 17:18, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” In identifying with Jesus, we are not only “not of this world,” but also sent right back into it on redemptive mission.

The classic text is Jesus’ commission at the end of John’s Gospel: “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Those whom Jesus calls, he also sends — a sending so significant that receiving his “sent ones” amounts to receiving him. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me” (John 13:20).

Such a sending should be awe-inspiring, whether our particular sending includes a change in geography and culture, or simply a fresh realization and missional orientation on our lives and labors among our native people.

But what are we “sent ones” sent for? What is this sending about anyways? Merry Christmas.

Why We’re Sent

This is where the Advent reminder is so essential. We are sent as representatives of the one born in Bethlehem and crucified at Calvary. We are sent to announce with all we are — with mouth and mind and heart and hands — that the Father sent the Son.

We are sent to say and show that Jesus was sent into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus and the good news about him (2 Corinthians 4:5). We are not the message, but mere messengers.

Which means that Jesus’ sent status is in a class by itself. He was not only sent as the preeminent Messenger, but sent as the Message himself. Jesus’ “sentness” is primary and ultimate. Our sentness is at best secondary and derivative. Christmas is a reminder of the primacy of Jesus as the Sent One.

His Ultimate and Utterly Unique Sending

That the Father sent his Son to share fully in our humanity is no mere model for mission. It is at the very heart of the gospel which our mission aims to spread. Christian mission exists only because the Message still needs to be told.

Jesus’ mission is unrepeatable. His Incarnation is utterly unique. We are meager delegates, unworthy servants. The more attention we give to the ultimately inimitable condescension of the Son of God, the less the language of “incarnation” seems to apply to our measly missional efforts.

Whatever condescensions and sacrifices we embrace along the path of gospel advance, they simply will not hold a candle to the Light of the world and his divine stooping to take our humanity and endure the excruciating death on our behalf.

Incarnation Inimitable

Because he was in the very form of God, Jesus “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6–8).

Is there something here to mimic? Yes, in some distant sense. But in the main, this Incarnation is not about what we are to do, but about what has been done for us.

So before going on too long about our mission as Christians, let’s give due attention — the attention of worship — to the Jesus whose mission showed us God and accomplished our eternal salvation. The great missio Dei (mission of God) finds its most significant meaning in the Father sending of his own Son not only as the high point and center of the universe and all history, but also the very focus of eternal worship. Our sending, then, empowered by his Spirit, is to communicate and embody that central message, and so rally fellow worshipers.

Our Mission Echoes His

What is the place then, if any, for the talk and tactics of Christians living incarnationally? So far our plea has been that we not obscure the important distinction between Jesus’ matchless Incarnation as Message, and our little incarnational attempts at being his faithful messengers in word and deed.

But are there any applications to make?

Donald Macleod is perhaps as zealous as anyone that the unparalleled condescension of Jesus in the Incarnation not be obscured. Macleod’s book The Person of Christ (InterVarsity, 1998) is a Christological masterpiece, and his sixth chapter, simply called “The Incarnation,” is about as good as it gets. And while his record of uncompromising Christological reflection speaks for itself, this same author would have us imitate Jesus’ incarnational self-condescension. Macleod writes elsewhere:

[Jesus] did not, as incarnate, live a life of detachment. He lived a life of involvement.

He lived where he could see human sin, hear human swearing and blasphemy, see human diseases and observe human mortality, poverty and squalor.

His mission was fully incarnational because he taught men by coming alongside them, becoming one of them and sharing their environment and their problems.

For us, as individuals and churches in an affluent society, this is a great embarrassment. How can we effectively minister to a lost world if we are not in it? How can we reach the ignorant and the poor if we are not with them? How can our churches understanding deprived areas if the church is not incarnate in the deprived areas? How can we be salt and light in the darkened ghettos of our cities if we ourselves don’t have any effective contacts and relationships with the Nazareths of [our day]?

We are profoundly unfaithful to this great principle of incarnational mission.

The great Prophet came right alongside the people and shared their experience at every level.

He became flesh and dwelt among us.

(A Faith to Live By: Understanding Christian Doctrine, 139, paragraphing added)

Macleod believes the language stretches sufficiently. There’s enough elasticity to talk of our incarnational mission without obscuring Jesus’. But to do so, we need Advent’s reminder again and again.

The Centrality of Worship

Christmas reminds us that our life’s dominant note must not be our witness for Jesus, but our worship of Jesus.

Mission is a critical rhythm of the Christian life, an essential season of redemptive history. Our mission of extending Jesus-worship to others, local and global, should be a frequent check on the health of our own Jesus-worship. But mission for Jesus must never take the place of our worship of Jesus, lest the very mission become crudely distorted along with our own souls.

Our Eternal Theme: Worship, Not Mission

If the chief theme of our lives is not worshiping Jesus, enjoying God in him, and being freshly astounded by his grace toward us sinners, we have no good business endeavoring to bring others into an experience that we ourselves aren’t enjoying. And so it is not only the most missional among us, but all of us, who need reminding again and again, that mission “is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is.”

Year after year, Christmas summons us to think of ourselves as worshipers of Jesus much more than we think of ourselves as on-mission pastors, ministers, leaders, or laymen. May it be true of us this Christmas.

May Jesus, the Great Sent One, ever be central — mission included — and may the worship of the Incarnate One continually be the fuel and goal of our faint incarnational echoes.

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David Mathis (@davidcmathis) is executive editor for Desiring God and an elder at Bethlehem Baptist Church in the Twin Cities. He and his wife, Megan, have twin sons and live in Minneapolis. David has edited several books, including Thinking. Loving. Doing., Finish the Mission, and most recently Acting the Miracle: God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification.

[This was originally posted at Desiring God.]

3 Ways to Love Negative Nancy

  Every pastor, ministry leader, and church-goer knows what a negative church person smells like. Cantankerous with a hint of Folgers.

But let’s get more specific.

I’m talking about the person who is negative about everything but they show up every Sunday, are in a community group, shoot — they even give 10%. What do you do with this person? They are suspicious of your leadership, the direction of the church, the new ministry endeavor, the new hire, the last sermon series, the mission’s dollars, the elders, the deacons, the membership process, the lack of position papers on alcohol and home-schooling, the quilting ladies, and the amount of bulletins printed. But they love the bad church coffee, which makes sense, they are in charge of it!

Get the picture?

Negativity comes in many different packages and people; emails and phone calls, early coffee meetings and late night barn-burners — how will you deal with it? I’ve had a man stand in my office, look me in the eyes and say, “I don’t like that you are the pastor of this church.” Thanks for sharing!

Here are three things to consider when dealing with negative church people.

1. Humble Yourself

Before you handle the pan, put on a glove. Deal with your sin before you deal with theirs. Search your own heart before you deal with someone else's.

It’s always good and biblical to humble yourself. You aren’t that great. You aren’t above being questioned or criticized. Don’t pull a muscle while thinking so highly of yourself (Rom. 12:3). Let the gospel shape and mold you.

Jesus had negative critics — and still does. Some of the strongest negativity came from his team of leaders; Peter had a knack for being negative. Peter tried to stop Jesus from fulfilling his mission. Jesus corrected him, strongly mind you, and still kept him around.

I’ve heard too many pastors and planters shoo someone away that was detracting from their mission and vision because they went against the grain; don’t put the cart infront of the horse and kick out the passengers.

2. Shepherd Them

Negative saints are still saints. They need a shepherd, not a sniper.

Instead of writing them off, fulfill your duty as a Pastor and pastor them. If they’ve sinned, rebuke them. Encourage them in the gospel. Meet with them, face to face — email wars are for losers. And when you meet, be biblical. Embody the fruits of the Spirit. You may benefit from them by asking about their perspectives. Do your homework before you give a grade. It takes a humble shepherd to learn from a negative wart, and it take a proud pastor to send a saint out to pasture with out shepherding them on the way. Maybe Mr. Negative needs to find a new church, or maybe he needs his pastor to pastor him.

Here’s the deal: negative sheep don’t detract from the mission and vision, they are whom the mission and vision exists for — if it’s biblical. Christians are never distractions. Mr. Chipper might be a slithering wolf, but you have to get up close and find out. Don’t judge negative church folk like you’re cooking a hot-pocket; you need more time. “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone” (1 Thess. 5:14-15).

Some negative church folk have a rap-sheet filled with church hopping. Could it be that none of their past pastors had the love and guts to shepherd them? The pastor couldn’t get over his wounded pride in order to deal with the pride of his assailant?

I don’t have any data but I bet I’m close to the bullseye.

3. Be Biblical

This should go without saying, but sometimes what is crystal clear is missed.

When dealing with negative church people here are a few verses to remember and put into practice.

The aim of your leadership is love. . .

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Tim. 1:5)

And love looks like. . .

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Cor. 13:4–7)

It’s easy to love those who love your sermons. It’s biblical love to love those who can’t stand the way you write your emails and let you know it.

And there will come a time when the controversial straw is breaking the Elder’s back. Titus 3 might be one of the ignored passages in the Bible.

“As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” (Titus 3:10–11)

Proverbs and the French call this person, Le Fool.

Shotgun’d Advice

Negative folks might need an heart adjustment from a loving pastor, others may not change and remain unrepentant. But you gotta go the distance here. Matthew 18 still applies. Titus 3 needs a hearing in the ears of the heart. How many ramped up negative Neil’s and Nancy’s have heard Titus 3:10-11 from the heart of a true shepherd? I bet E.T. could count it on one hand.

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J.A. Medders is the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Church in Tomball, TX. He is pursuing his M.Div at Southern Seminary. He and Natalie have one precious little girl, Ivy. Jeff digs caffeinated drinks, books, and the Triune God. He blogs at www.jamedders.com and tweets from @mrmedders.

Freed to Make Jesus Famous

  In the months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I contemplated what it would be like to raise a child. I thought, if I can barely remember to put deodorant on in the mornings, how could I possibly steward another life? More importantly, how will I lead her to cherish Jesus? What if she one day rejects the gospel?

I felt the enormous weight of Deuteronomy 6 where God commands his people to teach his statutes “diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut. 6:7). Raising an eternal soul was, and still is, terrifying.

The Bible tells us that the home is the most immediate context for discipleship. I am called to love God with all my heart, soul, and strength and to teach this diligently to my little girl. My wife and I have the unique mission of raising our daughter in a gospel-saturated home, reminding her about what God has done when we sit, when we walk, when we lie down, and when we rise. This is a beautiful calling, and totally beyond me.

When thinking of raising my daughter, I’m reminded that Jesus’s call for us to make disciples of all nations can also feel like a daunting task (Matt. 28:18–20). We wonder, how could I tell another sinner about Jesus when I myself am a sinner? What if I don’t say the right things? What if my own imperfections and foibles deter them from believing the gospel’s power? This calling, too, can be terrifying.

Beware the Obsession

I love being a dad. I thank God for my little girl every day. But as with any great blessing from God, the blessing of a child can make us want to squeeze too tight and never let go.

I have already been tempted to shirk the “prefab parenting models” in an attempt to raise my daughter the “right” way. There’s both an internal pressure within my own heart and an external pressure from the world to have a child who turns out perfect. I want her to love Jesus and to desire the supremacy of God above all things, but these pressures, and my inordinate concerns, often command me to focus on her conduct more than her heart. I hear others complain about unruly, bratty kids and I think, “That won’t be my girl!” This can be consuming.

When we invest ourselves in the lives of others, this tension is no different. We experience the extreme joy of God’s call to show them the ways of Jesus. Discipleship is wonderful. We feel responsible for their souls, and we long to see their lives radically transformed by the gospel. One of the greatest phenomena in God’s creation is watching the caterpillar become a butterfly, and this type of spectacle is beautiful to witness in the heart of an unbeliever.

The dangers lie in basing your own worth on the actions of those in whom you invest. It is tempting to allow our self-esteem to rise and fall based on another’s failures and successes. If the person you’re discipling fails morally, it is easy to blame yourself. If they show impressive growth theologically, it’s easy to congratulate yourself on the extraordinary ability to relay the deep things of God. This, too, can be consuming.

Certainly, there are many ways we can go wrong in discipling others. The sin that corrupts our hearts can lead us to dark places. Yet when we look to the cross, the hope we find in Jesus can take away all the anxieties and dangers of placing the results of discipleship on our own shoulders.

Pointing to Christ

In any discipleship relationship, whether our children or our neighbors, it is imperative that we continually point them to Jesus. And when we find ourselves getting rusty in this work, that’s when we need the gospel all the more.

Eugene Peterson says that “discipleship is a process of paying more and more attention to God’s righteousness and less and less attention to our own.” We were saved by grace through faith that was not, and is not, of our own power (Eph. 2:8). In the cross we see our need, how desperate we are, and the ultimate display of God’s love for us. The cross that we proclaim is also the cross that frees us from mistaking discipleship to be about us. This is the good news that we must keep at the center.

If we’re not seeing this glory, we cannot expect to lead anyone else to see it. At least, not in a way that will truly matter. However, Paul reminds us that “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). If we recognize this, the shackles of self-affirmation will no longer weigh us down. We can joyfully disciple others with the expectation that Jesus’s life-changing gospel will prevail regardless of our shortcomings.

Whether I’m holding my daughter or talking to my neighbor, I’m freed to make Jesus’s name famous rather than my own.

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

[A version of this article originally appeared at Desiring God.]

Top Articles of November

  Here are our most-read articles of November:

1. 5 Things Mistaken for Evangelism - Mark Dever

Here is a helpful clarification on what evangelism is and is not.

2. 9 Myths of Discipleship - Zach Lee

We all have reasons why we don't disciple others.

3. 5 Ways to Grace Your Workplace - Nick Abraham

Tips from a Fortune 500 employee on how to live the gospel in your workplace.

4. The Idol of Hospitality - Danielle Brooks

It's a great gift to your friends to serve them well, but not at the expense of the gospel.

5. When a Comma Puts Us in a Coma - Robby Gallaty

Sometimes the smallest things make the biggest impact in our efforts to disciple.

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

Thankfulness: Deep, Loud, & Dangerous

  This week, everyone is talking about thankfulness, so it’s especially important to ensure we understand it from a biblical perspective. The Bible of course has plenty to say on this subject. Among other things, it tells us that thankfulness is deeper, louder, and more dangerous than we might think.

Designed by God

Thankfulness goes much deeper than we might think. It’s not a human idea. In fact, it was in the Creator’s mind when he created. The Apostle Paul says food was created by God "to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth…" and then immediately goes on to broaden this out to ‘everything’ God created (1 Tim. 4:3-4). This is a massive theological claim. God created corn on the cob, steak, pasta, avocados (dare we say even brussel sprouts and liver?) with a specific purpose in mind: that they would be received and then result in thanksgiving flowing back to him. Even a grape and a tangerine can lead a purpose-driven life. Who knew that baby carrots and barbecue ribs and escargot had a telos? They do. So do sunsets and flowers and rain, and good conversations and sweet sleep. God intended them to produce thanksgiving. Thankfulness is the God-designed follow-through to God-given blessing.

Giving thanks to God is living along the grain of the universe, savoring God’s creation in sync with the Creator. It’s one of the very best ways of bringing glory to God (2 Cor. 4:15). On the other hand, enjoying a meal or conversation or movie without feeling thanks to God is a tragic exercise in missing the point. It’s a waste, like using a laptop as a paperweight. It’s a damaging mistake, like using a light bulb as a hammer.

Meant to Be Overheard

Thankfulness can be silent and personal. But very often it ought to be loud enough to be heard by others. Thankfulness wants to point others toward God. And it wants to be a group activity. "Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!" Thankfulness is much happier when someone else can say ‘amen’ (1 Cor. 14:16-17).

In John 11, God (the Son) gives thanks to God (the Father). Jesus stands before the tomb of Lazarus and prays aloud, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me." He then continues praying, stating to God why he said just thanks out loud: "I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." In other words, Jesus gives thanks to God aloud because he wants the other people present to overhear his thanksgiving and believe in God and in his mission. That’s the whole point. Thankfulness is meant to point others toward God.

In Acts 27, the Apostle Paul is sailing for Rome as a prisoner. The ship he’s traveling on gets caught and driven along in a storm for many days, the crew frantically throwing all the cargo overboard. Finally, they approach land and spend a long night in the dark, anchors down. In the morning, here’s what happens: "Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, 'Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food. It will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.' And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat."

I love this little phrase "…and giving thanks to God in the presence of all..." It had been fourteen days since Paul had eaten! He must have been starving. Here was bread in his hands, finally. But he paused and prayed. He gave thanks ‘in the presence of all’ – clearly meaning for these sailors to learn something about God and about the purpose of food. Paul was living with the grain of the universe, going vertical with thanks, and doing it loud enough for others to hear.

Easily Misused

But thankfulness can be dangerous. It’s striking that in the famous story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14), the one who’s recorded as expressing thankfulness is the Pharisee. "God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get." Of course, this isn’t true thankfulness. True thankfulness is a posture of great humility before God the giver. The Pharisee is using his supposed thankfulness in order to puff himself up. He’s taking something designed to make much of God and instead using it to make much of himself. His thankfulness is false cover for his pride. The spotlight operator has turned the spotlight from the stage and is now standing, lit up with ludicrous glory, on the balcony. Pathetic and bizarre. God is clearly not pleased with this perversion of thankfulness. He rejects the Pharisee.

But lest we run too quickly to judgment… have we ever used thankfulness amiss? Have we ever publicly thanked God for an accomplishment and in so doing, wished for the accomplishment to be known more than the One we’re thanking? Have we ever tweeted "Thankful to God that my new article…my most recent speaking engagement…my kids…" and mainly used our thankfulness to announce our latest achievement? Maybe? Just saying. How easy it is for the spotlight to turn from the stage to the stage hand.

This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for thankfulness, thankful that God has built it into the fabric of the universe, maximizing both his glory and our joy as we live in sync with his design.

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Stephen Witmer is Pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, MA and teaches New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of the forthcoming Eternity Changes Everything: How to Live Now in the Light of Your Future (Good Book Company). Follow him on Twitter: @stephenwitmer1.

5 Boldness-Increasing Questions

  I don't know anyone who sees evangelism as an easy task. For most of us, the work of declaring the gospel to our lost friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers makes us quake in our boots. If you and I are anything alike, we would have to confess that sharing the good news of Jesus makes us timid.

Maybe it’s justifiable, in a sense, given the political and moral climate of our world today. It seems that the only thing our world can be absolutely positive about is that there are positively no absolutes. Anyone who expresses a dogmatic claim to "big-T" truth is an arrogant intellectual Neanderthal of a bygone era. Expressing that a differing position, especially on religious matters, could be wrong and even subject to eternal judgment is the social faux pas of our day. It's no wonder we can be timid about sharing our faith.

Increased Boldness

I struggle with my own fearfulness about sharing the gospel along like anyone else. Yet recently, the Lord has not only placed opportunities but encouragement in front of me to be about declaring his love in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus to those who don't believe. The encouragement has come through his Word, specifically Acts 4.

The passage is filled with the tension of a secular, religiously liberal leadership struggling with the exclusive claims of uneducated, common men declaring Jesus as Lord. A healed cripple stands before the midst of the forum on religious tolerance as evidence for the minority opinion. And like a blast of cold water to my face, I'm confronted with questions that give me an adrenaline shot of confidence.

Layered beneath an arrest, trial, confession, and regrouping phase are five questions for us to ask ourselves. If we answer them correctly the measure of our boldness to proclaim the gospel will only grow.

1. Will God Save?

As Peter and John declared that the resurrection of Jesus was the power source behind healing the cripple, the assault mounted. If there was ever a time to back down and disperse quietly into the streets of Jerusalem, now was the time. And yet they stayed, preached Jesus, and ended up in a holding cell for the evening. By modern standards, their work was a failure. Now they have been identified and are in the beginning phases of a lifetime of persecution. But Acts 4:4 tells us something amazing occurred in the midst of their suffering and teaching: people came to Christ. People were saved. As the gospel was under attack, it was also advancing and moving forward.

How does asking this question increase our confidence and boldness in witness? It reminds us of what and who we are not. We are not God. We can't save anyone. No matter how clear our presentation of the gospel, no matter how effective our technique or delivery of that message, we can't take the heart of a spiritually dead person and bring it back to life. Only God can do that. And God does that through the declaration of his good news of Jesus. God is the one who saves. Not us. And so boldness grows because we know the one who brings salvation.

But not only is he one who brings salvation, he is the one who promises to bring salvation. His word tells us that "faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). People will come to faith in Jesus by our declaring the good news of Jesus, even in the face of opposition and suffering. We can be bold because God has promised to save sinners and he actually does so!

Is God able to save my lost neighbor through my imperfect, inadequate, inarticulate sharing of the good news of Jesus? Yes, yes he is. So I can be supremely confident that God will do what he has promised. Will God save? Yes he will. Yes he does.

2. Has God Spoken?

The second question is a further injection of boldness into my spiritually-timid heart. A major source of fear in sharing the gospel is the fear of speech. Folks will often say, "I just don't know what to say to them." There is a fear of saying the right things (or even the wrong things), and that the message of the gospel won't be clear and straight and helpful.

As Peter and John were dragged before the Sanhedrin to testify, they were at a clear disadvantage. These two poorly educated, common, blue-collar fishermen were standing before the educated, intellectual, political influencers of their day. If they were ever going to feel over their heads, this would be that time. And yet God's promises were evident and real within them. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, opened his mouth and boldly, clearly declared the gospel. Making one of the most exclusive statements about the authority and centrality of Christ in all of the Bible, Peter told the religious pluralist of his day that there is salvation found in no one else except for Jesus (Acts 4:12).

Where did he get this confidence? It came from the emboldening reality that Christ promised to speak through them. He told them not to worry when they stood before rulers and authorities and powers because the Holy Spirit would give them the words to speak (Matt. 10:19-20).

We too can have this same confidence to speak the good news of Jesus because we too have the gospel word. We have Christ, who is the Word of God, to declare to our unbelieving friends. We don't have to invent the message or come up with clever or memorable ways of stating it; we can simply declare the Word of Christ to them. This doesn't mean the gospel is reduced to a formula or a small track of information, but that as we live life among unbelievers, we don't have to rely on a style of delivery to bring them to faith and repentance. We rest in the power that God supplies as we declare the perfect life, substitutionary sacrifice, and powerful resurrection of Jesus for us and our salvation. God speaks through his Word. He speaks today and he will speak to those who don't know him.

3. Has God Sent?

As Peter and John confidently proclaim Christ as Lord to the religious liberals of their day, the basis of their authority was called into question yet again. These powerful, political Jewish leaders could not understand how common, uneducated men could teach with such authority and conviction. They were frustrated that the apostles were without credentialed papers or authorization to preach such a message. If the lowest form of leadership influence is to stoop to a title earned or positional posture, then the Sanhedrin had only one card left.

After hearing the testimony of Peter and John, the Sanhedrin sent them away and deliberated how to stop this Spirit-led movement. They decided to tell the apostles to stop declaring their bold, exclusive message of Christ. Once again, the opportunity to capitulate to the religious leadership was there. Peter and John could have backed off and said, "They just want us to stop talking about Jesus. Okay, be we can still tell them God did it." And yet, Peter and John knew where their authority was derived. They were authorized and sent by Christ himself to witness about him. They knew they had a mission and that they had two options: either be faithful to the one who sent them, or disobey and disregard the authority of Jesus who sent them.

Boldness grows within our own lives when we see that we too have been sent by Christ for the exact same mission. Just as Jesus sent his first disciples to go and make more disciples, this mission still stands for us today. We are called to obedience and faithfulness in the work of that mission. As a prominent pastor used to say, "We are either missionaries or impostors." We have a mandate to take the word of Christ and witness to his resurrection to the world in which we live.

How can I be confident or bold in sharing the gospel with those around me? It stems from knowing the one who sent me and knowing his call on my life to witness to his grace, power, and love. Peter and John declared, "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). Why? Because they had been sent.

Where do you live today? Where are you at right now? Do you see that God has sent you to that place? Do you understand that Christ has, by his authority, placed you in that specific place and within those specific relationships with the mission of sharing about him? Boldness can grow when we see our calling and our mission in this light. We are sent to these people at this specific point in human history to declare to them the cross and resurrection of Jesus on their behalf.

4. Will God Supply?

With a healed man who had been a cripple for over forty years of his life standing before them and two men boldly proclaiming Christ, this council had no way of outright punishing Peter and John. All they could do is send them away with greater threats and a promise of greater persecution. Again, this was another opportunity to cower in fear, to back off the message, or to bow out altogether.

As they went home to their family and friends, the adrenaline rush of being in prison and before a council that could call for your death began to wear off. Maybe this was too risky of a move. Maybe the church should drop down undercover for a while. Maybe the cost is too high. As they gathered the church together, the threats could become deafening, forcing them to press pause on the movement. And yet the calling stood before them. So they asked a fourth question. Will God supply the very thing we need, namely boldness, to continue witnessing to the gospel of Jesus in the face of persecution?

Will God supply what we need? The early church assembled together and prayed and asked for that very thing in Acts 4:24-30: "God supply what we need. Give us more boldness." How do you increase in boldness? You ask for more of it. To be bold declaring the gospel, we need to ask for God to supply the boldness we lack.

Maybe we are so nervous about sharing the gospel because we haven't asked for the Spirit to empower us in the mission. We haven't asked for God to make us bold. Even in the face of the threats, whether real or imagined, we have simply forgotten the one who has all authority and power and the one who will accomplish his mission (Matt. 28:18). Boldness comes if we ask for it.

I love verse 31 of Acts 4: "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." They prayed and God gave them the very thing they asked for.

Will God supply what we need to be faithful in the mission he has given us? If it really is his mission, then how can he deny us what we need? We just have to ask.

5. Do I Trust God?

This brings me back to asking one all-encompassing question to increase my boldness. Do I trust God? Will he do what he has promised (save) by the means he has ordained (speaking) to the people he has placed before me (sent) in the power he gives (supply)? If I can answer yes to that one question, then I am emboldened to do what he calls me to do.

This isn't a matter of conjuring up my own faith and motivation. It's the question of my heart saying, "Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). Do we trust God to do what he has promised to do? Then let us with courageous boldness ask him to continue saving, speaking, sending and supplying us with boldness for his glory.

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.

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This originally appeared at Trevin Wax's blog.

When We Intentionally Invest

  The phone call between my future church employer and my former college campus director (and character reference) went like this:

“We’re looking to hire Jason for a position in our church. Have you ever known him to be interested in working with seniors?” “Seniors in college?” “No, senior adults.” “I gotta be honest: I’ve never known Jason to be interested in working with senior adults.”  

My campus director spoke the truth. He was a horrible job reference, but he spoke the truth. I still inexplicably landed the job. I had zero experience working with senior adults and even less of a desire to pursue a position that would require me to do so for 40 hours a week. The impetus for me was ignorance; not ignorance of what I was getting myself into—though that was certainly a reality—but an acknowledgement of my ignorance about the Church.

You see, I became a Christian just before college and had no healthy understanding of church for the first 18 years of my life. Then, in college, my college campus ministry was my de facto “church.” Post-college, I lived overseas for two years where I, for all intents and purposes, didn’t even have a church that I could attend.

Fast forward to the conversation mentioned above. I was entering seminary with a future in pastoral ministry looming on the horizon. I knew that I had to work at a church while walking through my post-graduate years. My ignorance forced my hand. I had no idea how a church operated, I had no clue why it was important, I had no picture of what it looked like to be a healthy church member, and I didn’t have an inkling of what it would be like for me to exercise my spiritual gifts in a local gathering of Christians.

So when the only position open at my church was “Associate Pastor to Senior Adults” I, as a 25-year old, applied. And it was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. In fact, my one caveat to taking the job was that I would work with the ministry to seniors for two years and then excuse myself to work with a college campus ministry for my final two seminary years. Sure enough, after two years there was an opening in college ministry, but I didn’t even think about applying.

Loving & Fighting for the Church

A funny thing happened during seminary: the more I got to know the church, the more I loved her. I had no ecclesiological background except for bashing the church and arguing against those who defended the church. I arrogantly elevated parachurch organizations above local fellowships and couldn’t be convinced otherwise, despite loving encouragement from a couple close friends.

But things changed once I committed to the relationship. Influenced by a number of theologians and authors, I stopped dating the church (Harris), committed to being a healthy church member (Anyabwile), came to understand God’s plan to display His glory through the church (Dever), saw the importance of the church in the mission of God (Keller), and developed my doctrinal understanding of the ecclesia (Clowney; Horrell). I realized that contra my individualism, Jesus was saying, “I haven’t come for only you // But for My people to pursue // And you cannot care for Me with no regard for her // If you love Me you will love the church” (Webb).

A breakthrough moment for me came when a number of my peers and younger men I was discipling started leaving the church where my wife and I were members. Some were leaving for good reasons (e.g., geography) but others for not so good reasons (e.g., music preferences). I found myself not only loving the church but also defending her. I never thought I’d be an apologist for local church membership and commitment.

Through this whole process, I felt the need for how we gather together on Sunday to be a part of the discipleship process. It was really a spur-of-the-moment epiphany for me.

A close friend of mine was sitting in my living room, complaining about various aspects of church. I was getting more and more fed up since I had been in this conversation on an average of 28.6 times a week. He elaborated: “There’s no community; you just can’t get to know people in a big church.”

“You’re wrong,” I blurted out. I’m not sure why I offered up that unsolicited evaluation for my friend, but I did so nonetheless and figured I’d just roll with it.

“Can I challenge that statement? Let’s do this: on Sunday, let’s go to church together. You can pick the service [there were three from which to choose], we’ll walk in with each other, and between the car and the sanctuary, I promise you that I’ll introduce you to 20 people by name.”

I just picked the number 20 out of the air. It was never a goal of mine to be able to complete such a feat; I wasn’t building towards knowing 20 names between my Jeep and my seat, but I felt confident in my ability to deliver. In reality, I probably could have introduced my friend to closer to 40 people.

He got the point. And the point wasn’t to impress him; the point was to instruct him. “Do you know how I came to know all of these people?” I asked. He stared back at me. “It wasn’t by coming to church late, leaving early, and refusing to get in a small group.”

Invested & Intentional in the Church

I learned a great truth through this church challenge: we desperately need to disciple people through how to go to church. In the vast catalogue of areas of life and truth transference that are needed in discipleship is simply helping someone think through what it looks like to gather together with other believers in a helpful and mature manner. I fear this is too often neglected in our relationships with younger men and younger women.

Thus, when I’m asked about the topic of discipleship in the church, I’ve found it helpful to speak of (1) Investing in Your Local Church and (2) Intentionality in Your Local Church.

First, we need to be invested in a local church. The local gathering of believers is very important. I need to be a part of a community where I can know and be known. I need to be a part of a family that will shepherd me back to health if I wander and de-fellowship me if I go off the rails.

There is a sense in which the church is a global entity (e.g., Eph 5:25), but we see it more commonly in the NT as a local gathering (e.g., 1 Cor 1:2)—the church scattered and the church gathered, as some have phrased it.

If we don’t have a healthy view of church in this local, gathered sense, how can we obey Hebrews 13:17 where we are told to obey and submit to our leaders? How will our leaders know the people for whom they will one day have to give an account? Who are the elders we are to respect in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13? Who are the specific men considered worthy of double honor in 1 Timothy 5:17?

If we don’t have a healthy view of church in this local, gathered sense, how can we live out the model of restoration that we see in Matthew 18:15-17 where we see the church disciplining its members?

If we don’t have a healthy view of church in this local, gathered sense, how can we make sense of a passage like 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 where someone is put “out of the church?” How can someone be put out of a nebulous, global, invisible entity? They can’t.

If we don’t have a healthy view of church in this local, gathered sense, who are “those among us” that we are to go after in James 5:19-20?

Second, we need to be intentional in a local church. Three things that have been a helpful reminder for me are to do what your church does, build relationships, and create an atmosphere.

Do what your church does. I often have conversations with guys who lament, “My church just doesn’t get it! I’m the only one who wants to do _______” (fill in the blank with small groups, community groups, cell groups, missional communities, Sunday school, etc). They go to a conference, complete a training program, or read a blog post and now want to clean shop and crack some skulls at their church. Bad idea. Exist within your church’s system for spiritual growth. Even if it’s not perfect, be the most faithful and transformative person in that system. If structural, systemic changes do need to be made (as they often do), you need to be the change first.

Build relationships at your church. Get to know people above, below, and beside you. Those “above” are older, more mature Christians who can pour into your life. Make sure you find some sages to live out Titus 2 with you and invest in your growth. Those “below” you are folks that are a life-stage or two behind you. You need to be the sage in their life and live out Titus 2 with them. Those “beside” you are peers with whom you also need to be living out the “one anothers” of Scripture. Do each other good spiritually as you walk side-by-side in this mutual season of life.

Create an atmosphere at your church. You might also call this an expectation at your church. The churches I’ve encountered that seem to “do the best” (whatever that means) at discipleship are the churches for whom discipleship is a culture, atmosphere, or expectation and not the churches where it is merely a program, class, or sermon series. It should be the normal thing for Christians to gather in homes to study the Bible together. It should be normal to inquire how someone came to know Jesus or what God is doing in their life recently or what they’re praying about and/or struggling with these days.

You don’t have to get permission to start loving other church members this way and you don’t need a formalized program to see it take root. Create an atmosphere of healthy discipleship at your church and watch Jesus do some amazing things as He grows, matures, and shapes his Bride.

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Jason Seville is the Director of Emerging Leaders for Downline Ministries, Chief Editor of "Downline Builder: Customizable Curriculum for Biblical Discipleship," and a church-planting resident with Fellowship Associates.

[This originally appeared at Downline Ministries.]

The Idol of Hospitality

  My husband and I host people in our home all the time. We are called to live in community with one another. We strive to live in community on a regular basis, but with that community comes hosting duties. As a hostess I provide food, entertainment, and above all make sure my house is clean. These three things can become an obsession for me, so much in fact that I find I never leave the kitchen. It's unbelievably easy to get wrapped up in the details and not enjoy our company. We get so distracted with preparing that we leave little time for fellowship and gospel-intentionality.

When I get so consumed with preparing, the story of Mary and Martha hits home for me.

Hospitality: Gift or Idol?

While Jesus is traveling, Martha opens her home to him. At this point, Jesus is pretty popular in some circles. He isn’t just traveling with the 12 anymore. There are crowds following him. I picture Martha’s house resembling a sardine can, so I see why Martha felt the need to get everything ready.

Can we all relate to Martha? Don’t we all get a little apprehensive about having people over? Will there be enough food? Is my house clean enough? This concern and attention to detail can spread into a much bigger problem. Hospitality is a spiritual gift, but it can quickly become an idol.

I can’t count how many times I have been cleaning in the kitchen alone when people are over. People leave their plates everywhere; someone needs to clean it up. It’s my house so it’s my responsibility. There is a mental checklist of things I have to get done before I can join everyone. The countertops are dirty, there are dishes in the sink, and the chip bowl is empty.

Like Martha, I am distracted by all of the service..

I get so encumbered by these tasks that I don’t enjoy our company. My guests aren’t here to watch me keep my house clean. They are here to fellowship with me, just like Jesus is there to fellowship with Mary and Martha. What can start as a little preparation can become a big distraction.

Mary gets it. She probably laid out some cheese and crackers and made it a point to get a good seat. So good a seat that she was literally “at his feet.” Mary seems to be excited by the opportunity to spend time with Jesus. . Not only was Mary at Jesus’s feet, but she also “listened to his teaching.”

Meanwhile, Luke writes, Martha “was distracted with much serving.”

This simple juxtaposition calls the posture of their hearts into question. While Martha’s serving is not a bad thing, she quickly becomes consumed by it. Her heart is more centered on the hustle and bustle of having people over. Mary is captivated by Jesus. He is all she needs. Mary has centered her heart on Jesus.

Hebrews 12 says, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith...” Mary was laying aside every hindrance. She was intentional with her attention. I’m sure Mary knew there would be plenty of distractions, and she knew this was not the time to get caught up in them. Her sister, however, did not have the same perspective.

The Greek word for ‘serving’ is diakonian, which means ‘ministry.’ Oh, how this changes my mindset when I read it as, “Martha was distracted with her ministry.” How many times do we get caught up in our ministry we forget who we’re doing it for? We are so distracted by the ministry itself we forget to focus our hearts on the one our ministry is for. Instead of looking up, we begin to selfishly look inward.

A Change of Heart

We worship a God who is jealous for our attention and we live in a world that offers an endless supply of distractions. I justify my behavior by saying, “Jesus, I’m doing this for you!” I need to clean up while people are here so there are no distractions between them and God. Jesus gently replies, “No my child, you are doing it for yourself, in my name. You are the distraction.” Ouch.

Jesus replies the same way to Martha. The Message says, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Jesus isn’t telling Martha that her preparations are bad. He is saying that they have taken his place in her heart. Only one thing is needed: a heart held captive by God. Mary has chosen what is essential.

I’m a Martha. I am anxious and troubled about a huge list of things that have to get done before I can sit down. We have people over to eat good food and enjoy one another’s company. I want my home to be a welcoming hospital for the broken and hurting of the world to come in and be healed by the Physician. But the Spirit cannot speak through me when I am distracted with the ministry of “doing”. Christ no longer holds my heart captive, my selfish desires do.

My friend recently took her daughter to story time at the library. The children were seated looking at the storyteller. Every child had a view of the book until her child decided to stand up for a better view. She blocked everyone else’s view of the book. The other kids were now focused on her and not the story. They couldn’t see through her to the storyteller.

Martha was so consumed with her ministry she blocks the view of Jesus. “She went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’” (Luke 10:40) How often are we the ones who stand up in front of Jesus while blocking others’ view? And we do it in the name of our ministry.

Christ-centered Gatherings

So how do we stay Christ-centered at a simple gathering? For me, it means putting 2 Corinthians 10:5 into practice by “taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” When I get the itch to do the dishes that are piling up, I say a quick prayer to refocus my heart on Christ. Through the gospel, he alone offers me freedom from idolizing hospitality toward others.

It’s okay to be prepared, but as soon as the door opens, preparation should stop. Chances are, your house is already spotless and most of the food is ready to go. You've been there, done that. Something will always need to be cleaned, but company will not always be with you. So when you feel a Martha tendency surfacing, refocus your heart. Make Christ the ‘main course’ of your fellowship because it can’t be taken from you. Your friends are willingly walking into a Christ-centered environment, so make the most of it for Christ and the gospel.

In the grand scheme of things, what will you remember later in life? Will you remember you checked everything off your to-do list? Or how awesome it was to experience God’s presence in your home? Let’s make it a priority to focus on Christ who is Lord of our ministries rather than the ministry itself.

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Danielle Brooks lives in St. Augustine, Florida where she owns and operates Danielle Brooks Photography. Danielle and her husband, Rich, attend Coquina Community Church and host various weekly gatherings in their home. They are also parents to a crazy Russian Blue cat named Ava. 

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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.

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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.]

9 Myths of Discipleship

  We’re called to be disciples and make disciples, but this call often feels overwhelming.

However, discipleship doesn’t have to feel this way. Our tendency is to overcomplicate it and think of it as something it’s not.

Here are nine common myths we believe about discipleship:

1. I can’t disciple someone because I’m not “godly” enough.

Though some people are at a place where they should not be discipling others, most people sell themselves short. You don’t have to have a Ph.D in theology to meet with other believers and grow them in their love for the Lord. Even the average Christian knows enough to pray with people, confess sin, worship the Lord through song and read the Bible. Jesus’ command to make disciples is not just meant for the pastoral elite.

2. I can’t be discipled by someone unless they are far godlier than me.

I’ve met many people who are waiting for a Yoda or Gandalf figure to come in and radically change their life. Unfortunately, that is not usually how it works. It is okay to learn from those who are imperfect because nobody is perfect. Don’t ask someone who is less spiritually mature than you to disciple you, but also don’t wait to be discipled until the apostle Paul comes around. Seek out a mentor now.

3. Only older people can disciple younger people.

Most older people don’t want to learn from someone younger, but it is not wrong for the discipler to be younger. Paul even tells Timothy to make sure people don’t look down on him because of his young age. You should also feel free to disciple people around your same age. Spiritual maturity matters more than age.

4. I can’t have a “co-discipling” relationship.

One person doesn’t have to be the “disciple” and the other the “disciple maker.” You can both disciple each other. This is what the Bible means when it talks about “iron sharpening iron.” If you know several people who are not “above” or “below” you in spiritual maturity, co-disciple each other.

5. I have to get all my discipleship from one place.

You need to get your discipleship from several places. One person is not going to provide all your spiritual growth. In addition to having a mentor, you will also need to read books, listen to sermons, attend worship services, serve at your church, take classes, etc. Discipleship is a holistic exercise that involves more than one venue.

6. I can’t disciple others while I’m being discipled.

The opposite is true. We should always be being discipled and discipling others at the same time. We are always in the “middle” with people “above” and “below” us.

7. I can’t disciple others because I still struggle with sin.

Welcome to the club. If we couldn’t disciple others until all our sins were conquered, then we would never disciple anyone! True, there are certain deeper sins that disqualify someone to disciple for a time, but everyone struggles with sin as long as they are alive. Disciple others and be transparent with them about your ongoing battles.

8. I have to spend an equal amount of time with everyone I disciple.

This is not true. Jesus spends more time with Peter, James and John than with the other nine disciples. You provide general care for everyone, but you will only have the time to go deep with a few. Choose people who care about being discipled and spend most of your time with them.

9. I have to spend all my time on the person I don’t want to disciple.

There are times when we should just force ourselves to love, serve and disciple someone with whom we don’t really “click.” Jesus set our example for this by going to those whom nobody else loved. However, this does not mean it is wrong to disciple people you actually like—people with whom you actually want to hang out. Do both. Love friends and love the unlovable. That’s what Jesus did.

Now that we’ve debunked these myths, I pray that we would move forward and live out our call to be disciples and make disciples.

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Zach Lee is Associate Home Groups Minister at The Village Church and is married to Katy.  Follow him on Twitter: @zacharytlee.

[© 2013 The Village Church, Flower Mound, Texas. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Originally published at http://www.thevillagechurch.net/the-village-blog/9-myths-of-discipleship/.]

5 Ways to Grace Your Workplace

I currently work in a "secular" job for a Fortune 500 company. I put the word secular in quotes because I think a common misconception by Christians is that there is such a thing as secular work. When we think this way, we may be tempted to view pastors or clergy as the only people that do any type of ministry work. As Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4, this is not the case. Also, I mention that I am Christian because according to my faith in Christ, I am to be a certain kind of employee, which is a part of my overall calling to be a certain kind of citizen and a certain kind of person. The Christian faith calls us to be a certain kind of people, a distinct people. We become a people set apart to live as Christ calls us to live as the Holy Spirit lives in and through us. As the apostle Peter tells us, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). And we are called to be that distinct and chosen people in the world, including our jobs. Before working at my present job, I was a cook for five years at an Italian restaurant. If you have worked in the restaurant industry, you know that it can draw a very interesting and diverse crowd of employees. During that time, I became a Christian. I never thought that I would be in a more challenging work atmosphere to share and live out my faith. While my current work atmosphere is really nothing like the restaurant, I have found an entirely new set of challenges in living out my faith at work. The truth is, there are always challenges to carrying the gospel message in a fallen world, regardless of the context.

Every Good Endeavor

The corporate world presents a unique veneer of professionalism, ethics, and propriety, but the reality is that the guts of the day-to-day in a corporate job can be quite challenging. There are a myriad of moral conundrums that come up in an office. We are faced with temptations to gossip and engage in malicious chatter when others aren’t around. Many are faced with struggles with the opposite sex. We are broken people, and being in the workplace does not make that brokenness go away until we get home.

As a Christian, my integrity is often challenged by the situations in which I am placed. Beyond the personal struggles, I want to reflect the gospel well. My coworkers want to see if what they know about Christianity holds up. It doesn't matter if their perspective of Christianity is correct or not; they will judge for themselves based on what they know. If I am given the privilege and permission to share what I believe – and most importantly who Jesus is – I have an opportunity to add to shape their outlook on Christianity. It is where we can see evangelism and discipleship come together. Living the gospel at work is not some add-on to the Christian life that we can choose if we want; it’s a realization of the fullness of the Christian life. Being in Christ is meant to encompass all of our lives.

Recently, a friend gave me Tim Keller's book, Every Good Endeavor. As he usually does, Keller wonderfully connected work and faith in my own heart. So, I had a conversation with my manager about the book and asked if I could have an optional meeting during lunch with anyone in the department that would like to read together. It was approved, and we had seven people in our group. We met every week to discuss a chapter. The discussions were great, and it was the first time for some to really think about connecting faith and work.

Christian, our job is a ministry, plain and simple. God planted us in our current job for a particular reason. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). The apostle Paul is telling us here, that God is working out his will in the lives of his people. At the cross, Jesus has freed us from making our work about us and has given us the gospel to revel in and tell others about.

Representing Well

So, how do we represent the gospel well in the workplace? Here are a five ways to grace your workplace:

1. Be bold, but smart. We can and must think on Paul’s boldness before Felix in Acts 24 or Jesus’s words on being brought before governors and kings in Matthew 10. Just because we are at work does not mean we are no longer a disciple of Jesus. We are never exempt from the call on our lives to make much of him. However, we must be smart and keep in mind passages like 1 Peter 2:13: “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution.” At work, we are subject to our bosses and to the leader or leaders of the company. So be bold, but keep in mind where you are.

2. Take risks. I realize this somewhat contradicts the last point, but the Christian life rests in that tension between risk and prudence. (For this point, I really should tell you to just go listen to anything that John Piper says about risk.) Practically though, take steps in work friendships to bring up Jesus. I am a relational evangelist, meaning I like to establish some type of friendship and then bring up Jesus. I am rarely the “can I tell you about Jesus?” guy. My weakness is to never actually bring up Jesus, or to do so in softened ways. Risk a friendship, risk a promotion, risk not “fitting in,” or maybe even risk your job if God would call you to that. Of course, we don’t want to be reckless just for the sake of being reckless.

3. Pray for your enemies. There will be people who do not like you for any number of reasons. Make it a practice to pray for the people that don’t seem to like you, who you don’t really get along with, or who just always seem to have something snarky to say to or about you. This is incredibly hard, which is why you need to rely on the Spirit in this. You will also discover God ministering to you even as you pray. Pray for them, for their families, their kids. Most importantly, pray for their relationship with Jesus.

4. Use your gift(s). I am a teacher/pastor type. I usually go into a teaching or pastoral mode at some point during my faith encounters with coworkers. The church is still the church both gathered and scattered. While at work we continue to be part of the church scattered and in the church we are called to use our gifts to build up the body. Pray about and find a way to use your gift(s). Start a Bible study, start a prayer group, take people’s prayer requests and pray for them, give of your time, talents, or treasures to those in need. Do whatever it takes to be a reconciling minister of the gospel (2 Cor. 5:18-20).

5. Work hard. Be on time, care about your job, follow the rules, get your work done, and help others. Of course, nonbelievers can be good employees, too. What makes us different is really captured in the household codes contained in many of the epistles. “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust” (1 Pet. 2:18). We should be that “good” employee no matter who we work for, what the conditions are, and/or whether we like the job. It is sharing in these sufferings of Christ, light they may be, that we can make much of Christ by working hard with integrity. Never let laziness or grumbling be your calling card.

May God bless us as we seek to serve and make much of Christ in all areas of our lives.

“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 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. 1:27-29)

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Nick Abraham (DMin student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) lives in Navarre, OH with his wife and daughter. He serves as an Associate Pastor at Alpine Bible Church in Sugarcreek, OH. He is a contributor to Make, Mature, Multiply: Becoming Fully-Formed Disciples of Jesus and blogs at Like Living Stones.

When a Comma Puts Us in a Coma

  Punctuation marks are important. Moreover, correct punctuation is essential. In the wrong place, such simple marks can be devastating.

Take these two sentences for example:

“Let’s eat Grandpa!” and “Let’s eat, Grandpa!”

The comma makes a big difference—especially for Grandpa!

Here is another example from the animal lovers magazine, Tails. The front cover story about Rachel Ray reads:

“Rachel Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog.”

I believe what they wanted to say was:

“Rachel Ray finds inspiration in cooking, her family, and her dog.”

Finally, Goodwill posted this sign outside their building:

“Thank you! Your donation just helped someone. Get a job.”

The insertion of the first period makes all the difference. What they meant to communicate was:

“Thank you! Your donation just helped someone get a job.”

One punctuation mark, by either its insertion or exclusion, has the potential to change the meaning of a sentence.

The Discipleship Resurgence

Books and conferences under the banner of “disciple-making” are available now more than ever before. “Discipleship” is a popular new buzz word, a catch phrase that is thrown around with varying meanings. Defining the term is outside the scope of this article, however, I want you to consider something.

In the process of obtaining endorsements for my new discipleship book, Growing Up: How To Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples, I talked with pastors who admitted to a minimization of making disciples. “For years,” according to one pastor, “the goal was to get them to church and get them saved.” Another said to me, “Success in ministry was determined by how many parents drug, I mean ‘brought,’ their children to Sunday school.” Discipleship was not the bull’s-eye on their ministerial target. For some, it had no place on the target whatsoever!

Why are we only recently talking about discipleship?

I think I may have an answer.

One comma has paralyzed believers for around three hundred years. The chasm between the clergy and the laity has widened since the completion of the 1611 King James version of the Bible. Before you think that I am being overly critical of the translation, check out my article entitled, “A Discovery that Changes Everything,” where I elaborated on my Bible leaf collection.

If you examine the KJV translation of Ephesians 4:11-13, you will find two commas in verse 12.

¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ¹² For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: ¹³ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Based on this rendering, what is the job of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers? It is three-fold:

1. to perfect the saints;
2. to do the work of the ministry;
3. to edify the body of Christ.

The ministers, pastors, and trained professionals, according to this rendering, are expected to carry out all the ministerial duties.

For those who learned Greek in school, you know that the original documents were devoid of punctuation marks, particularly commas. The insertion of punctuation is based on the judgment of the translator. I would submit to you that this comma is part of the reason the church has been in a sustained discipleship coma for three hundred years.

The manner of thinking reflected in the KJV translators’ choice of punctuation, prominent in many churches today, is what Larry Osborne labeled “the Holy Man Myth.” “The Holy Man Myth,” observed Osborne, “is the idea that pastors and clergy somehow have a more direct line to God. It cripples a church because it overburdens pastors and underutilizes the gifts and anointing of everyone else. It mistakenly equates leadership gifts with superior spirituality.”[1] Left uncorrected, this myth will paralyze the laypeople and rob the congregation of blessings.

I experienced this “Holy Man Myth” first hand during my first pastoral post. When Mr. Jimmy, a friend and elderly church member, was admitted into the hospital for a back procedure, I prayed with him at the hospital before his surgery. Two weeks later, someone stopped me after the Sunday service with these words: “Mr. Jimmy is upset with you because no one visited him since his procedure.” Surprised, I replied, “That’s just not true. Three people visited him over the past two weeks.” The day after the surgery, my associate pastor spent time at the hospital with him. Later that week, a deacon visited him, and the following week, another deacon spent the afternoon with him.

I stopped by his house after church to get to the bottom of the misunderstanding. As I walked in the door, I asked, “Mr. Jimmy, how are you doing?” “Not good,” answered Mr. Jimmy, “Not good, preacher.” Puzzled, I asked, “Why is that?” He proceeded to explain the source of his discouragement: he had not been visited since his surgery. I lovingly corrected him by highlighting that church members had visited him. But he replied, “No, pastor, you didn't visit me.” He only wanted me to visit him because he had the false perception that I was closer to God than any other Christian in our congregation.

Discipleship and Maturity

So how does the Greek text of Ephesians 4:11-13 read? The majority of modern translations remove the comma. Here’s how the New King James Version reads:

 ¹¹ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³ till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...

The job of pastors, mentors, and leaders is to equip believers to carry out their God-given ministry. Their effectiveness is not gauged by their performance of ministerial duties alone, but by their development of other disciples, preachers, pastors, godly fathers, and Christ-honoring students. Harold Hoehner summarizes the meaning of this passage aptly:

“In brief, the point is that the gifted persons listed in verse 11 serve as the foundational gifts that are used for the immediate purpose of preparing all the saints to minister. Thus, every believer must do the work of ministry.”[2]

Ministry is the pathway to maturity, not the other way around.

Pastors, maybe the reason you are not seeing discipleship take place in your church is because you or your staff are executing all the ministry yourself and not empowering your members to participate in ministry.

Although George Martin challenged pastors, his comments are applicable to every believer:

“Perhaps today’s pastors should imagine that they are going to have three more years in their parish (church) as pastor—that there will be no replacement for them when they leave. If they acted as if this were going to happen, they would put the highest priority on selecting, motivating, and training lay leaders that could carry on as much as possible the mission of the parish after they left. The results of three sustained years of such an approach would be significant. Even revolutionary.”[3]

If you knew that the time-clock of your life was to expire three years from today, how would you live? Would you change anything? What steps would you take to leave a lasting legacy, an eternal impact? You would not neglect discipling your children, family, and friends if you only had three years left with them.

Of all the avenues for spreading the greatest message in the world—the redemption of humankind through His sacrifice—Jesus chose to spread it through twelve men and their future followers. Ultimately, through the passing of the centuries, the gospel has been entrusted to us. We are the current link in the chain of discipleship described in 2 Timothy 2:2. Should we not live with the same urgency with which Jesus and the Twelve lived?

Every believer should be able to answer two questions: “Whom am I discipling?” and “Who is discipling me?” Every church should be able to answer two questions: “Do we have a plan for making disciples?” and “Is our plan for disciple-making working?”

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[1] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 549.

[2] Larry Osborne, Sticky Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 49.

[3] David Watson, Called and Committed (Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw, 1982), 53.

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Robby Gallaty is the Senior Pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church and author of the new book, Growing UP: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples. He was radically saved out of a life of drug addiction on November 12, 2002. He is also the author of Unashamed: Taking a Radical Stand for Christ and Creating an Atmosphere to HEAR God Speak. Follow him on Twitter: @Rgallaty.

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.

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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.

Top Articles of October

1. I Hate My Church - Seth McBee

If you feel like you have to leave your church, here's a godly way to do it.

2. Parenting & Grocery Store Tantrums - Gino Curcuruto

All parents know what it's like to have their kids throw tantrums in public. The question is, how should we as parents respond?

3. Your Church Doesn't Need Followers - Jason Garwood

Are you making disciples of your church or of Jesus?

4. Revising the Popular Phrase "In, but Not of" - David Mathis

We've all heard this phrase, but here's a better alternative: "Not of, but sent into."

5. Entering the Harvest - Logan Gentry

This is a great primer on becoming an evangelist, including four ways in which God may have wired you to evangelize.

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

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.

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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.]

Entering the Harvest

  A few years ago, I grew tired of hearing about others “on mission” and evangelizing with so little of it in my own life. Something in me desperately desired for evangelism to become a normal part of my life. I learned a lot that year, mainly by failing (if that’s possible) at evangelism. In the years since, I’ve learned even more. I want to expound a little on how move off the missional bench and into the game.

We are all called to enter the harvest. The work is there before us. Here are three observations on becoming an everyday evangelist.

1. Gospel Enjoyment Leads to Evangelism

We all have a friend that won’t stop talking about their kids (guilty), one who is a little too obsessed with their favorite team, and one who analyzes their favorite TV show a little too much. We wouldn’t call their incessant conversation about these topics that they love evangelism, but it is precisely what it is. Everyone is evangelizing about something, sharing about what they love and why they love it.

Gospel enjoyment is loving, celebrating, and finding joy in the good news of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. It’s good news because in God’s redemptive plan, Jesus lives the perfect life (the one we could never live), died an atoning death in our place (the death we deserved), and resurrected from the dead (accomplishing the victory we could never accomplish ourselves). In his good plan, he sent his Holy Spirit to live in us, for his righteousness to be credited to us and then enacted through us.

But do you see this as good news? Does it bring you joy or is it a fact that you have cognitively agreed is right?

I’ve known joyless belief and I’ve watched joyless Christianity in the church as if it were normal, but it is not the Christianity that God describes and invites us to in the Scriptures. Jesus summarizes the commandments into the Great Commandment - to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In John 15, he speaks of abiding in the love of God that we may have his joy and it may be in full. Jesus prays in John 17 that his followers would have his joy fulfilled in them and that they would embody the Father’s love.

Paul tells us in Romans 14:17 that “the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking (religion) but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Psalm 16:11 reminds us that in the presence of God is fullness of joy. The Scriptures are filled with the idea of joy.

The how-to of evangelism must follow the want-to of evangelism, and the want-to of evangelism comes when we love and enjoy the gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel evangelism is not a duty we are invited to, but a joy flowing naturally from gospel enjoyment.

2. We Are Wired to Evangelize

In The Permanent Revolution, the authors identify four different types of evangelists that can help us identify how we are naturally wired in relationships to pursue and grow in evangelism. He labels them as the investors, inviters, convincers, and conversers; helpful categories for us as we consider doing the work of an evangelist.

The Investors. Investors embrace the process method of evangelism. They seek to walk through the highs and lows of life with people, seeking to invest a lot of time, emotion, and energy into a few close relationships. The majority of us wouldn’t label this as evangelism at all, but if we don’t label this as evangelism we will lack the intentionality needed to continue to pursue conversations about Jesus and his gospel. Our prayer life will not include interceding for these people in our life.

This could mean you approaching your workplace with a greater vision towards moving your long-term relationships to deeper conversations. Leveraging your lunch breaks and intermittent office conversation to share how the gospel of Jesus Christ is transforming your views on life. It could be the family you know through your local school or sports league that your children are friends providing you an opportunity to demonstrate a life following Jesus throughout normal activities.

The Inviters. Inviters looks for opportunities to include people in more strategic environments where they can be exposed to Christian community and the gospel of Jesus Christ. These are people who seek to include as many different people as possible at their birthday parties, big events, or meals in hopes that they would connect and engage with others who could develop relationships to share the gospel.

They have a special ability to make people feel comfortable enough to explore a new environment and I’ve seen these people in our church invite and connect with new people, then connect them with others in the community that have discipled them and led them to a greater understanding of Jesus and what it means to be his disciple.

This could change the way you view cookouts, the Super Bowl party, or your next birthday party. View these regular and everyday events as opportunities to invite both your Christian friends from church and your neighbors while encouraging your Christian friends to seek to establish conversations and relationships with those they do not know.

The Convincers. In America, we call them salesmen or the "closers of the deal" at work. These are people who are able to make an incredibly compelling gospel presentation. They are gifted with the ability to use a short amount of time to present the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that brings people to a decision.

These are largely responsible for the evangelistic materials we see throughout the church because they are skilled at reducing the gospel presentation to an easily transferable conversation without reducing its content. This is challenging for many of us, but others are naturally excited by the thought of sharing their faith in a brief amount of time.

Whether you are a convincer or not, it is helpful to spend time thinking through how you can share the gospel in a concise manner. I’ve heard one suggestion of thinking through common conversations and how the gospel of Jesus Christ redefines and intersects those regular conversations you most commonly have.

The Conversers. Conversers are often characterized by a question-led evangelism, leveraging the interests and concerns of other people and connecting those ideas with the gospel. They even prefer to let the conversation be dictated by the other person, asking questions that tend to reveal someone’s worldview or the major issues they are currently facing in life.

We see this in the life of Jesus with the woman at the well, asking questions and initiating a conversation that eventually exposed her to the living water she truly longed for.

These descriptions could free us up and inspire us to identify the natural ways we can proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ that we have not even imagined before. If we are to be about blessing others with the good news of Jesus Christ, we must embrace a broader view of evangelism to seek a conversion that makes a disciple of Jesus Christ instead of simply someone who agrees with their need for a Savior.

3. Evangelism Starts with Prayer

We often view the Great Commission as the time when Jesus first sends out his disciples to go and make disciples, but this wasn’t his disciples' first mission. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out his disciples after instructing them in how they should be on mission.

The greatest preparation he gave them came in the previous chapter, Matthew 9:36-38:

When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

There is so much from this passage that we can learn about evangelism, but the most important is that it begins with prayer. I’ve heard verse 36 used often to exhort people that the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few, so we must go now and be on mission! It’s a truth, but it is a truth motivated by guilt rather than motivated by a heart for the harvest that Jesus has.

In prayer we acknowledge that God is, as the Scriptures say, “Lord of the harvest.” He is the one who pursues people first, giving understanding to the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6) and imparting the Holy Spirit so that they are born again. Salvation is an act of God and when we begin in prayer, we submit our requests to the One most concerned and most powerful to act. Unless God works in people, all of our efforts will fall short. This shouldn’t cause negligence or laziness, passively waiting until we see signs that God moves; it should lead us follow Jesus’s example in praying to God for him to move.

This communicates our trust and hope in a powerful, sovereign God able to do more than we ask or imagine. It not only communicates something to God, but it changes us in the process.

When we pray to God as Lord of the harvest for more laborers (as Jesus instructed), we find ourselves transformed into the type of laborers God desires. We can become those who see crowds and other people not as inconvenient, but with compassion wanting them to know Jesus as the Great Shepherd of their lives.

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Logan Gentry is the Pastor of Community and Equipping at Apostles Church in New York City. He blogs at Gentrified and has contributed to The Gospel Coalition. He is married to Amber and they have three children. Follow him on Twitter: @logangentry.