The Mountaintop Experience

What are the three most significant moments you’ve had in your journey of following Christ? Would you use the term “mountaintop experience” to describe any of them? I have a few moments where experientially I felt a certain nearness to God that alluded my existing vocabulary. One example of this would be the day that I stopped calling myself an atheist and began calling myself a Christian. My girlfriend at the time—now my wife—led me in a prayer in which I asked God for forgiveness of my sin and accepted Christ’s sacrifice in my place. Internally, a lot of emotions and feelings accompanied this moment but when I’ve tried to articulate these I’ve found my vocabulary limited. Probably the most accurate way I could describe this event in an experiential manner would be passing from death to life. While it took many years for my lexicon to catch up to my experience, all of the accompanying sensations of believing upon the Lord Jesus that day in 2005 loosely fit into the category of coming alive. This is the same language the biblical writers use to describe the initiatory act of becoming a disciple (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13).

The next month or so of my life I was “on fire” and nothing could rob me of the joy I had being a brand-new Christian. I was living every day on top of the mountain. Then I committed some sins and became a little discouraged—reality set in. I still lived in a world affected by the fall. Being a new Christian and not having a very good connection to a church or support system, Jesus took a backseat to my other (sinful) desires for the next three years until I’d put him so far out of my mind that I actually considered myself an agnostic. So, what happened?

To shorten an incredibly long and complicated story, almost all of my problems were a result of the fact that I wasn’t grounded in the Word of God.

I’m thankful for God’s grace that my days as an agnostic were limited. God quickly found me when I was a lost and wandering sheep and brought me into deeper communion with him. But that is not everyone’s story. Some have shared in these sorts of “mountaintop experiences” and then left the Christian faith for good. What are we to think?

The Highest Mountaintop

When it comes to mountaintop experiences, the peak of them all (pun intended) is found in Mark 9. There we read an account of the apostles Peter, James, and John accompanying Jesus up a high mountain. At the top they saw something amazing: Jesus with clothes so white they’d put Clorox out of business. Moses and Elijah—long since dead—joined the four of them on the mountain and had a conversation with Jesus. As if this wasn’t amazing enough, the Father spoke from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

What do you think went through the minds of the three apostles that day? Could they put words to the feelings they experienced? If it were me, I don’t think I’d want to come down from that mountain. I resonate with the quick fire comment of Peter, “It is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Mk. 9:5) We should all long to campout in the glory of Christ the way Peter did in this moment.

Regardless of what your best “mountaintop experience” was, Peter’s trumps it. Which is why it’s so jarring that when he reflects back on this experience he writes:

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. (2 Pt. 1:16-20)

Peter subordinates his personal experience on the mountaintop to the Word of God. He was an eyewitness to the earthly life of Christ and the Father’s divine favor for the Son. Yet, he says the prophetic Word of God is “more sure” than his experience as an eyewitness into the unfolding redemptive plan of God revealed in Christ. How amazing!

It’s common that in our pursuit of Christ we will have some experiences in which we commune with God in a way that transcends the limits of our human language. Where we, like the Psalmist, “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8). They are good markers and indicators of our faith, but they make poor foundations for our faith.

The Foundation of Faith

The first three years of my Christian walk (stumble might be a more accurate depiction) were founded on a basic and experiential understanding of the gospel. The gospel was explained to me in biblically accurate, yet contextualized, language and I trusted in Christ. But I invested minimal time or energy into Bible reading and study. After three years of this half-hearted commitment to Christ the foundation was challenged, someone asked me, “What do you think about Jesus?” The truth was that I didn’t think much about him. It was near impossible for me to have a knowledgeable (2 Pet. 1:3) faith in Jesus as I knew very little about him. My faith was less in the person of Christ than it was in an experience I’d had some three years earlier. The more time that has passed since that experience the more I doubt and question my own understanding and interpretation of those events. My foundation was not the objective Word of God, but my subjective experience

Herein lies the catch twenty-two of the mountaintop experience. It makes a great supplement to a vibrant relationship with God where he speaks to us through the Bible and we speak to him through prayer. But when it becomes our sole purpose for living it can easily slip through our hands like sand. Our minds and hearts are too fickle to hold onto our experiential points of contact with God. Peter had learned this as an older and wiser disciple and takes pains to mention he is writing his second epistle to “remind” his readers of things they already know (2 Pet. 1:12, 13, 15; 3:1, 2). The aged eye-witness to the risen Christ encourages his readers by building their confidence in the Word of God. He knows first-hand every prophecy of Christ to be true, but rests his case not on his memories of mountaintop experiences but on the Word of God which he believes to be superior in surety.

Our subjective experiences of God are good, but his revelation of himself in his Word is better. Peter was with Christ when he said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Mk. 13:31). Our minds are not as reliable as we think they are and as the hymn-writer said our hearts are “prone to wander.” But God’s Word is bond—a sure foundation.

Mountaintops can be perilous, there’s less oxygen, winds threaten to hurl us violently down the slope. But the sight at the top is the payoff people seek in exchange for the risk. This is good. It’s tempting to want to build our tent there and never come down, but it’s not practical. There’s scarcely any food up there and an avalanche could bury us. It’s better to build our tent on the solid rock (Lk. 6:48) and eat its food (Lk. 4:4; Jer. 15:16).

It is true that we can experience and commune with him in different ways and varying heights, but none are as trustworthy as time tested fellowship with God through the Bible. God’s Word provides us a feast that can’t be exhausted and a foundation that can’t be shaken and we would be foolish to elevate experience above that. When we’re tempted to setup our tent in the clouds remember that the “Word became flesh and dwelt [literally “tented”] among us” (Jn. 1:14). All of Scripture exists to reveal Christ to us—the Word that became flesh. It may not sound as exciting and appealing as some of the stories of modern miracles and sensationalism, but the saint who has spent eighty faithful years in seemingly mundane Bible reading has a better foundation than he who spent it chasing the next mountaintop experience.

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Sean Nolan (B.S. and M.A., Summit University) is the Family Life Pastor at Christ Fellowship Church in Fallston, Maryland. Prior to that, he served at a church plant in Troy, New York for seven years and taught Hermeneutics to ninth and tenth graders. He is married to Hannah and is father to Knox and Hazel. He blogs at Family Life Pastor.

4 Considerations for Making Friends

God has given me the gift of being friends with outsiders. I am not sure why, but when I move to a new place or visit a new place it seems as though God sends people to me so that I can enter into relationship with them. I am not talking about merely having acquaintances, but entering into a real relationship with people. It’s weird how often this happens. A quick example. I was going to golf with a couple of friends at a really nice course, so I went for a warm up round at another local course. I went out by myself and didn’t want to be bothered. Even when I went to check in the guy at the front desk at the golf course asked if I wanted to play with others I said “no . . . please put me by myself.”

God had other plans.

After the first hole, we were backed up on the second and two golfers in front of me asked if I wanted to join them, I quickly said no, I’m good. But they persisted, so I joined them. For the next four hours I listened to their stories, said very few things, but asked some questions and continued to listen to their stories . . . it was a good time. After the first few holes I found out that one of the golfers was a retired baseball player, and a good one at that. He bragged about the course we were playing on and then bragged about his local pub that he owned and asked if I wanted to join him afterwards. I, of course, accepted.

We went to his pub and he ordered a ton of food and drinks and just wanted me to try a bunch of food and in exchange it seemed like he only wanted one thing: someone to listen to his stories. I did. I barely said a whole paragraph in our 6 hours of time together, but by the end, he was my new best friend and we exchanged telephone numbers and we now are going to be playing golf together regularly. What I found very interesting is his simple statement at the end of our day. He said: “This was such a great time, I am so glad that you joined us today, it was a pleasure to meet you and I can’t wait to introduce you to all my friends.”

Funny to think that I had this much impact on him in merely 6 hours and I hardly said anything. Instead, I did what many Christians, or should I even say evangelists, do rarely: listen.

In keeping with this example, here are four consideration for making friends today:

1. Be Available

The church has done a really good job of many things in the last 100 years, but one thing that really sticks out to me—We’re busy. It seems like we are either coming from something or going to something. Rarely do we have time for the Spirit to engage us in our schedule when and where and with whom he wants. We are simply too busy for the Spirit to sovereignly interrupt us.

Start clearing up your schedule so that you can be ready for the Spirit to send you people to engage with. Not only that, but start doing more things in public where people actually are. If we do these two things and we add to this a simple prayer of asking the Spirit to send us people he wants us to engage in, then we’ll be ready when he does and more open to engaging the world around us with purpose, intention, and excitement.

My wife has said over and over the best way to start meeting people is by simply going to the same public space weekly. Find a place where people are and keep visiting that place over and over again at the same day and time week after week. Not only that, but invite friends alongside you and see the fruit of being available yet intentional.

2. Be a Listener

Some people assume that one of the essential qualities of a good evangelist is the art of not shutting up. It’s as if the wittier the person is with their rhetoric, the more we hold them high on the pedestal of a good evangelist. I believe the most effective method of engaging the culture is the opposite approach. Your average person simply wants someone to actually listen to what he or she has to say.

The importance of evangelistic listening actually should be pretty freeing for most people.  Many think that they must have some great answer to the most pressing problem in today’s world, but they don’t have the first idea on how to go about discussing that concern. In other words, I believe the abundance of social media avenues in our generation gives rise to a unique concern; many people spend very little time conversing face-to-face with people who will listen to them. So, just by you listening, you are giving them an answer to a problem that faces them—even if they don’t know it yet.

Don’t just be a listener, but think about a few of these things as you listen:

• What is a common thread in this person’s story?What seems to hurt them most?
• What do they celebrate most?
• Where do they need redemption?
• What do they see as their functional savior for their problems?
• How could Jesus and the good news be the answer to their hurt and their issues?

Be careful that as you think of these things you aren’t merely listening so you can be ready to speak next...that isn’t good listening. Listen so much that you desire the Spirit to tell you when to speak, if you are supposed to speak at all. I’ve found myself listening so intently to people that at the end of their rant, story, or whatever that I have nothing to say. But I am ready to listen and ask more questions for deeper understanding.

3. Be Curious

The worst thing you can do as you listen to people’s stories is to jump to conclusions and try to answer questions that they never asked. Be very curious and ask questions until they tell you they don’t want to answer. But I’ll be honest I’ve never had someone say that they don’t want to answer a question that I ask...and I ask very personal questions. But remember...if you are a listener and not merely someone who seems to think they have all the answers, people actually want to talk to you and go deeper with you.

The posture of a listener opens people up to talk about and come to you about very deep issues and they’ll give you permission to ask the deepest questions about identity, idols, sin that you desire to ask.

The easiest way to be curious is when you hear details of someone’s story, never come to your own conclusions on the “why” in someone’s story and keep prodding them and asking them so you can uncover the “why” as they would tell it.

I’m always curious when people tell me their stories. I don’t hold back asking questions. And they aren’t bashful in giving me answers to my questions and going even deeper than I expected.

I believe the deeper the story goes, the longer the friendship will last.

4. Be Transparent

When you hear brokenness in their story that you can relate to, don’t hold back in telling them so. When they are vulnerable, make yourself vulnerable. This is where the church has, for the large part, disappointed many people. We haven’t been willing to open up about our own sins and hurt, but merely desire to point out other’s. As you open up about your story and your hurt, it opens up an actual relationship. An actual relationship is a vulnerable, two way street, not merely a one way relationship.

Do not hesitate to go as deep as they are going or press further into your sins and hurt to allow them the freedom to go deeper as well.

At this point many in the world have been better than some in the church. They know they’re broken, but some in the church act as though they are whole, without sin. Because my wife and I are transparent with who we are, we’ve found that it helps us develop deep friendships with the world, while it hurts us with the church where we receive constant pushback. The church would rather the scars and hurt stay deep within, so that she can look as though she is without stain. The problem is that when you do this, you hold in contempt those you are trying to reach and they can feel it. They can see it. And, they disdain it...and you...then Jesus.

We must know that we are not Jesus, but we represent Jesus. We actually get to show people Jesus the more transparent we are, showing our brokenness. When we show our brokenness, yet have joy in Christ, it gives hope that maybe our friends can also be loved by our Dad through Jesus as well.

Jesus Calls Us Friends

Jesus was called a “friend of tax collectors and sinners” then uses that same term as he speaks to those who were merely curious about who he was, to his very own disciples, and even to the one who betrayed him. I believe this is very purposeful, as everything Jesus did was, to make sure we identify, not just a few of God’s image bearers, but with all of God’s image bearers. Just think of this. The King of Creation, who could be friends with anyone, sent his son down so that we could be called his friends, that we could make friends, and that we could do exactly what Jesus has done for us: show us who the Father is.

This is the whole point. Jesus continually tells us that the reason he was sent was to show the Father. So, as he makes friends, that’s why he is doing it—to show off the Father.

The one who created time, makes himself available for us so we could be available to others knowing he holds time in his hands

The one who knows all things, is a listener to what we need and desire, so he can give it to us for the sake of making disciples. “Ask and it will be given” (Matt. 7:7).

The one who created us and is the center of the ultimate story is curious about us and our story. Jesus shows this with all his questions to his disciples and especially to the woman at the well.

Jesus…the one who Created the heavens and earth and was completely free of sin and was transparent with his creations. He pleaded with God to see if there was another way in the garden, because he was genuinely troubled with what was about to happen and to show us what it looked like to have an actual relationship with our Dad.

If the church, which is us, would just listen and start practicing these four simple truths, I would bet we would see how easy it is to not only make friends but share the hope that is within us (1 Pt. 3:15). You see Peter tells us to always be prepared to give a defense of the hope that is within us when people ask. But, my question is this: Are people in such a deep relationship with us that they would come to us and ask us about our hope? Or, do we see evangelism as something we have to go out and “do” with those outside of relationship because we don’t have any friends who are different than us in both appearance or beliefs?

Relationships take time and patience, judgment and condemnation takes seconds. May we pursue relationships the same way that Jesus has pursued us.

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Seth McBee is the adopted son of God, husband of one wife, and father of three. He’s a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a finance degree. By trade. Seth is an investment portfolio manager, serving as President of McBee Advisors, Inc. He is also a MC leader/trainer/coach and executive team member of the GCM Collective. Seth currently lives in Phoenix, AZ with his wife Stacy and their three children: Caleb, Coleman, and Madelynn. He is also the artist and co-author of the wildly popular (and free!) eBook, Be The Church: Discipleship & Mission Made Simple. Twitter: @sdmcbee.

The ABC’s of Applying God’s Promises

The promises of God are one of the sweetest things in life that God has given us to enjoy. However, we cannot merely know them, we have to apply them to our life. Sometimes I wonder, what does it mean to “apply” God’s promises, things that often seem so abstract that I have no clue what to do. I’d like to give you a formula for taking holding of God’s promises. This formula is not new, nor is it original to me. In fact, I realized a few weeks ago I’ve been doing this for a long time without ever knowing I was following this formula. It wasn’t until one of the older gentlemen in my small group shared his process with everyone that I realized I was actually following a well-trodden formula for laying hold of God’s promises. Listing out the process has been extremely helpful in times when I need to grab a hold of God’s promises. So here is the process:

• Acknowledge Your Need
• Believe God and His Promise
• Circulate His Promise

I will illustrate each step with a personal situation in my own life dealing with anxiety while utilizing God’s promise in Philippians 4:6-7:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A few years back I was involved in a very serious car accident on Thanksgiving Day. I was on the highway when cars in front of me suddenly slammed on their brakes. All of the cars stopped but none of them hit each other, and I didn’t hit the car in front of me, but I came very close. Right as I realized I just dodged a bullet, I was suddenly rear ended by an SUV at almost 60mph. My car was crushed and sandwiched between two SUVs. It was completely destroyed. Thankfully my only injury was a laceration to the back of the head that healed in a few weeks. But afterwards I became very anxious about driving, especially when people slammed on their brakes. It got to the point where I was terrified before I left the house because I had to face the unknown anytime I got on the road. I knew about the promises in Philippians 4, but I never applied it to my anxiety. After I began doing this, I was able to drive again without gripping fear, although to be honest there are times when I still struggle against the promises.

Step A, acknowledge to God that I had a problem with anxiety and fear, and ultimately, a lack of trust in him. The promise in Philippians that the peace of God would come upon me had a condition. I had to tell God my problem. That the first step. Step B assumes a knowledge of God’s promises, so just acknowledging our need isn’t enough. I had to know the promise in Philippians. Before my accident, I knew that God was sovereign and he was the one that ultimately controls everything but now I had to apply. He controlled all the cars and people on the roads, even ordaining my accident. So if he wanted me to crash again, then I knew it would be for his glory and my good. That began to give me tremendous peace, because I knew God was in control now I began to experientially believe it. And because God always keeps his promises, I knew that he would give me peace. I began to believe in God and his promise. It wasn’t easy, but what helped me believe God was just studying his character in the Scriptures. What I found: He always keeps his word.

To be honest, I didn’t feel peaceful at first. It took time. And that’s where Step C comes in: circulate his promise. We must meditate on his promises. Learn what it entails. Study and pray on it. Read about other Christians, contemporary and past, and their dealings with this same promise. Talk to other Christians about your issue and God’s promises. Preach the promise to yourself, like David did so many times in the Psalms. I let this promise circulate in my mind and soul, throughout my daily life, so much so that when my anxiety crept back in, I immediately repeated all three steps without thinking about each one. They came naturally to mind. I tell God I’m anxious and ask for his help. I believe in his goodness and faithfulness to give me his peace, then I think about why I can trust and rely on him. I know he will do what’s best for me and I can let go of trying to control situations I can’t control. And now my anxiety is gone.

Some astute readers will notice that some of these steps are interchangeable or don’t always occur in the order I’ve listed. For example, I was thinking or circulating God’s promise in my mind before I really believed it. The point is, these three steps serve as a practical liturgy for disciplining your heart and mind to apply God’s promises to your life. I want to caution against trying to do these steps in your own effort. Even our efforts to apply his promises require God’s grace and help. Plead with him for both and don’t miss out on the joy of depending on God’s promises.

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Tim Nargi is a writer with a desire to teach church history and theology. He wants to bring Christians closer to Christ and help instill a daily hunger for the Word and the Church. He also writes fiction novels and plans to produce documentaries dealing with religious freedom and church history. He lives in Colonial Williamsburg with his wife Larisa.

Reading Scripture for Rest

As a writer, it’s not uncommon to be reading Scripture and automatically thinking of how I can use it in an article. Lately, I’ve noticed the severe danger in always being a teacher and abandoning the role of student. God has graciously appointed people to teach his Word and share the truth of his gospel. Teaching the Word is an honorable call, but detrimental to our spiritual relationship when it overwhelms our own personal devotion.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. – 2 Timothy 3:16

We are called to be salt and light, carrying and increasing the desire for Jesus everywhere we go. The teaching of God’s Word is a precious gift. We get to unpack and explain the depth of meaning and purpose behind words inspired by God. Scripture is undoubtedly used for teaching, reproof, correction, and righteousness. My fear is that our teachers, preachers, and gospel writers will tirelessly use God’s Word as a tool and forget to use God’s Word for personal rest and refuge. In fact, people who proclaim and expound the Word often need most what they offer.

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. – Hebrews 4:9-11

The author of Hebrews sets up this passage by describing the historic rest of Israel entering the promised land and ties the neglect rest to disobedience. This is a powerful claim against self-sufficiency. Even more, it’s a prescription for abundant life. He uses strong words like “strive” to describe the significance of this pursuit. It’s not a suggestion for us to rest in God and his Word. It’s an urgent call to spend time with God and in his word, for no other reason but to know him. Preacher, do you have an intimate place to read and reflect on the word for your own soul? Writer, can you read without the need to retell?

Teaching ministries may be the most threatening form of idolatry.

Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. – Mark 6:31

Jesus speaks of rest multiple times. Yet, this passage in Mark is especially telling, as Jesus advises his apostles to escape the endless pursuit of people. He tells them to rest because so many people are pursuing them they can’t even rest to eat. Notice, the people in need don’t go away before the apostles rest. They leave, knowing there is more ministry to be had. You may ask why he would allow able men rest from ministry. Jesus led his closest disciples to recognize genuine humility and dependence. Teachers of the Word need rest to take care of themselves and, predominantly, to receive the same grace they’re called to provide.

Read Mark 6:31 again. My question to you is, how often do you let yourself rest when you know there is impending ministry? My guess is not often. We in our flesh see every opportunity as ours for the taking. What would it look like to trust God with our rest? If we reexamine the context of Mark 6, we see God’s reputable nature in giving more responsibility to the faithful. The apostles following Jesus do get away for rest, but shortly after, they’re found surrounded by crowds. This passage unfolds into the renown story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. The disciples see God’s glory displayed in an act of abundant provision for an innumerable crowd. Jesus’ honor and faithfulness is clear when we’re healthy enough to rest and watch him provide. It often takes more courage to be weak before a faithful God then it does to “pull it off” ourselves.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. – Psalm 91:1

Abide in Christ—because his shadow is where you want to be found. It’s the place of refuge, of rest, and of intimate dependence. He will sustain your ministry, because his glory goes beyond your invested work. Don’t resent ministry but courageously declare your dependence on God. He is faithful to fulfill his call on your life.

This year go to God’s Word to find your refuge, to fill you with joy, and to provide the rest you need. His Word is not just inspired for the teaching of your flock, it’s also for the rest and replenishing of your own delicate soul.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! – Isaiah 26:3

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Chelsea Vaughn (@chelsea725) has served a ministry she helped start in the DFW Metroplex since she graduated from college. She received her undergraduate degree at Dallas Baptist University in Communication Theory. She does freelance writing, editing, and speaking for various organizations and non-profits. She hopes to spend her life using her gift for communication to reach culture and communities with the love of Jesus.

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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.

Why I Wrote This Book

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.

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 a mixtape 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.

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.” 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?

3 Essential Bible Questions

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. We will take a close look at this often rejected concept of authority in chapter 1.

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. These words come from the Lord directly and through his apostles and teachers.

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. Through each chapter we will look at one of the bedrock doctrines of Christianity, especially as they pertain to Scripture. We will then see how this doctrine applies to our everyday discipleship: how we practice theology. Finally, each chapter ends with reflection questions to push us all to apply and wrestle with Scripture.

—

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.

Editor: Please enjoy an excerpt from Sound Words: Listening to the Scriptures by Jeremy Carr then pick up your copy for 61% off—$1.99 from Saturday Jan 16th 12AM PST - Saturday Jan 23rd 12AM PST.

3 Keys to Listening During Sermons

Going to church each Sunday and sitting under godly, loving, biblical, and practical preaching week in and week out should be enjoyed as a privilege by God’s people. While some people, like myself, learn best by sitting and listening, I know many people get more out of sermons by taking notes. When I’m listening to a sermon I try to always do the following three things:

1. Open my Bible and follow along as the pastor preaches the Word. 2. Listen for key ideas/points. 3. Learn to interpret the biblical text from your pastor.

1. Open Your Bible

First, open your Bible and follow along as the pastor teaches the Word. Whether you have a Bible app on your phone, or you have a physical copy of God’s Word, always be sure to have your Bible open so you can follow along as the pastor is preaching. Paul commended the Bereans (Acts 17:11) because they checked to see if what he was saying was biblical and the Thessalonians for how they received the Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13).

As Christians, we  should be known for our love for God. A real love for God will produce a love for his Word, his people, and his Church.We are living in a time when biblical illiteracy is on the rise. By opening your Bible during the week on your own, at Bible study, and on Sunday at your local church, you can grow in your knowledge, understanding, and application of God’s Word. This is why opening your Bible and following along as your pastor preaches the Word is so important—it will help you see what your pastor sees in the text, which will help you to learn how to read the Bible well on your own.

2. Listen for Key Ideas/Points

Second, listen for key ideas/points. Some pastors provide an outline for you to follow during the sermon. I encourage you to follow along with the outline and fill it in as the pastor preaches. This outline is a key tool to help you take notes. Typically, my pastor has his main points in the outline with words the congregation should fill in. He also has a few applications points for how we can apply the message to our lives. If you are like me, you might also occasionally write further thoughts and sometimes these thoughts have even become future articles.

While you’re listening to the sermon look for key ideas. These may be points the pastor brings out in his sermons, but it also may be a thought brought to mind by the Holy Spirit. These are important insights to write down because while they may be for that moment, they may also be for later in the week, or further down the road to encourage you or others.  As a Bible teacher, sometimes I’ll repeat something a few times to help the listener understand how a particular point is critical to the whole message. The essential point here is to pay attention throughout the sermon to the key ideas that are meaningful. Those may be the ones the pastor mentions, but they also may be something else that is helpful to you. Pay attention, take notes, and write down key ideas/thoughts as they come to you during the course of the sermon.

3. Learn to Interpret the Biblical Text from Your Pastor

Third, learn to interpret the biblical text from your pastor. In the Bible study I lead at church, we’re going through the Gospel of John. I’ve told the men that come that one of the objectives I have for this study is to help them learn how to read and interpret the biblical text. One of the main objectives for faithful verse by verse preaching is that week after week and year after year, people get to see how the pastor reads, understands, and interprets the biblical text. This is one of the primary reasons why verse-by-verse expository preaching is so important. People today simply don’t know how to read and interpret the text.

In my experience, when people read a biblical text they first read themselves into the text rather than allowing the text to simply say what it means. This results in people wrongly handling the Word of God. As Christians, we should be known for handling the Word of God well (2 Tim. 2:15). The faithful pastor preaches the biblical text with a view to helping people to see how they got the points they did from the text under consideration. In other words, the faithful pastor exegetes the biblical text in order to help the people of God see what the text teaches, by drawing it out in helpful ways so people can learn to interpret the biblical text themselves.

Final Thoughts

Maybe you’ve never considered listening intentionally to a sermon or note taking. I am always actively listening for key ideas in the message—even if I’m not taking notes. In every sermon, there will be points that you’ll find more helpful than others. I encourage you to listen well and take notes if necessary, whether that’s on an outline provided, a notebook you bring, or just mentally. As you do so you’ll find that you will remember more of the sermon you hear.

Listening well and taking good notes during the sermon is a means to an end. That end is our growth in Christ and understanding of the Bible. You leave church each week sent out on a mission by God to make disciples of the nations for the glory of God. Listening well to what is being taught to you with an open Bible, listening and jotting down key ideas, and watching how your pastor interprets the Bible will help you to grow in your knowledge and application of the Bible, which will in turn help you to grow in the grace of God.

This week pick up your Bible, read it, study it, and apply it to your life. The end result of this is that any duplicity in your life will be replaced by a growing hunger for more of Jesus. At the end of the day, that’s the goal to not only listening to a sermon well, but a  Christian who is taking her own growth in Christ seriously.

—

Dave Jenkins is the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, and the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine. He and his wife, Sarah, are members of Ustick Baptist Church in Boise, Idaho, where they serve in a variety of ministries. Dave received his MAR and M.Div. through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. You can follow him on twitter @DaveJJenkins. Find him on Facebook or read more of his work at servantsofgrace.org.

In the Name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit

“In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Whatever the format—swimming pool, font, bathtub, or baptistery—this simple, rhythmic phrase has “stirred the waters” (Jn. 5:4) of baptism since the Great Commission (Mt. 28:18-20). As a second grader, I remember hearing these words at my own baptism while trying to catch one more breath. Now, as a pastor, I pronounce them over young adults as I baptize them in my church’s small and under-heated baptistery (complete with its own Bob Ross worthy Jordan River mural).

As we step into discipleship, though, we often leave this phrase (and the reality it proclaims) in the water. We attempt discipleship in the name of the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit, but not in the name of the Holy Three. We might confess the Trinity at a doctrinal level, but we forget, sideline, or ignore the Trinity at a practical level. As Eugene Peterson noted, “We know the truth and goals of the gospel. But we have haven’t taken the time to apprentice ourselves to the way of Jesus, the way he did it. And so we end up doing the right thing in the wrong way and gum up the works.”^[1] Instead of living “life to the fullest” (Jn. 10:10), we end up stuck, smug, or spent somewhere in the course of discipleship.

But, what if Jesus intended baptism “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” to set the tone for discipleship? Listen to the way Dallas Willard paraphrases the Great Commission:

“I have been given say over all things in heaven and in the earth. As you go, therefore, make disciples of all kinds of people, submerge them in the Trinitarian presence, and show them how to do everything I have commanded. And now look: I am with you every minute until the job is done.” (italics mine)^[2]

The Trinity is not a mere entry point into discipleship but the ongoing environment for discipleship. This means that gospel-centered discipleship is only as gospel-centered as it is Trinity-centered (please read Fred Sanders on this). Perhaps, this is what St. Paul meant when he prayed for “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” to be with the Corinthian church (2 Cor. 13:14).

If we want our discipleship to bear fruit, sometimes we need to be pulled aside like Apollos and have explained to us “the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:24-28). We need to uncover the areas where we only lean into the name of the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, and recover discipleship in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Discipleship in the Name of One or Maybe Two

When we attempt discipleship in the name of one or two persons of the Trinity, it’s like attempting to live on only food or oxygen or water (or two out of three). Sooner or later, you are going to feel the effects of forgetting to eat, drink, or breathe. It’s a life or death matter. Discipleship is no different. Without the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, disciples (and even entire communities of disciples) start to shrivel up.

Although there are many angles from which we could consider this (e.g. overemphasis on one person of the Trinity), let us consider what happens when we neglect one person of the Trinity and attempt discipleship in the name of two, but not the other. If we attempt discipleship apart from the Son, we might begin to equate our progress in the faith (or lack thereof) with our status before God (Eph. 2:8-10, Gal. 2:15-16). If we attempt discipleship apart from the Father, we might attempt to live like Jesus without knowing the fundamental knowledge about the Father that made his life the logical overflow (as expressed in his Sermon on the Mount, especially Mt. 6:25-34).^[3] And, if we attempt discipleship apart from the Spirit, we might burn out as we try to overcome our sinful habits through own insufficient power and discipline (Rom. 8:12-13, Gal. 5:16-25). Whether through ignorance or intention, each of these mistakes can be deadly for discipleship.

In my own life, I tend to lean into the Father and the Son but forget the Holy Spirit. Even if I believe (and teach) that transformation is not possible apart from the Holy Spirit, my own discipleship growth often centers on correct motives (the finished work of Christ) and correct knowledge of the Father.  Borrowing the language of A.W. Tozer, it’s possible that 95% of my own discipleship would go unchanged if the Holy Spirit were withdrawn. As a result, I am prone to feeling burned-out, tired, and exhausted.

Since these kinds of oversights are difficult to notice on our own, we need a community of disciples who can gently point out where we need some course correction. This is not something that can be figured out with a Trinity survey or checklist, but by careful listening to our brothers and sisters in Christ. In our church, this happens best in discipleship communities (our equivalent of missional communities). While we are eating together and talking, I’ve heard phrases like:

• “I don’t feel like I can change.”
• “I feel like I am letting God down.”
• “I don’t understand why Jesus would tell us to do that.”

These phrases act like signposts that clue us into areas where we need to be reminded of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are an open door to talk about the Trinity-centered gospel.

Discipleship in the Name of All Three

The best way to get back on track is to remember that we are already locals in the neighborhood of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Discipleship is not a way into the neighborhood, but something we do as part of the community. As St. Paul made clear in Ephesians 1:3-14, our participation in the life of the Trinity is thanks to the saving work of the Trinity in the first place. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit chose, loved, predestined, redeemed, sealed, and adopted us (just for starters!). At baptism, the Trinity became our home.

With this confidence in the saving work of the Trinity, we are free to explore how discipleship in a Trinitarian shape might look. Although there are many possibilities, we can start by considering some of the implications of John 13-17 (which is arguably the best discourse we have on life with the Triune God). Here are a few implications from Jesus’ conversation with his disciples:

• Discipleship in the name of the Father is dependent on the Father’s provision (15:16) and love for us (16:27).
• Discipleship in the name of the Son is made possible through him (14:6), looks to him to see what the Father is like (14:9), converses with the Father through him (14:24; 16:23), and trusts him to bring about the fruit of discipleship (15:1-4).
• Discipleship in the name of the Holy Spirit relies on the Spirit to remind us of what the Son taught (14:25-26), convict of us sin (16:8), and teach us how the truth applies in present circumstances (16:12-15).

This is just a taste of discipleship in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Alongside this and other Trinity-soaked texts, read authors like St. Augustine, John Owen, Eugene Peterson, Susanna Wesley, Dallas Willard, Fred Sanders, and Wesley Hill—people who have both written about and experienced life with the Triune God. Steep in these for a few minutes and the possibilities for discipleship in a Trinitarian shape really start to open up.

It’s Missional

As a final note, doing discipleship in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not just about us. It’s for the sake of everyone else. The process of discipleship is just as critical to God’s mission as the product of discipleship. In a culture that is looking for the next self-improvement strategy, discipleship in a Trinitarian shape offers people a transformative relationship.Discipleship itself is an opportunity to show the world not only different goals to pursue, but also a different way in which to pursue them—in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that’s good news.

^[1] Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 300.

^[2] Willard, The Great Omission, (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2006), xiii.

^[3] I am thinking here of the way Jesus deals with anxiety. He doesn’t say, “I’m not anxious, so you shouldn’t be anxious.” Instead, he says, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (italics mine). Anxiety is rooted in wrong ideas about the Father.

—

Austin Gohn serves as the young adults minister at Bellevue Christian Church in Pittsburgh, PA and is currently pursuing his M.Div. at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA. He’s been married to Julie for three years and you can follow him on twitter @austingohn.

Jesus’ Teaching Leaves Audience Thunderstruck

Editor: Please enjoy an excerpt from our latest book The Sermon on the Mount: A 31 Day Guide Through Jesus’ Teaching by Tracy Richardson then pick up your digital copy for just $0.99.

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The front-page headline following Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (SOTM) read, “Jesus’ Teaching Leaves Audience Thunderstruck.” When Jesus spoke to the crowd on the hillside that day their jaws dropped. Matthew 7:28 records, “When Jesus had finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching.”

Have you ever been shocked, surprised, and dumfounded all at the same time? Maybe by a surprise birthday party, a practical joke, or unexpected news? The Gospel of Matthew tells us that the crowd reacted this way to Jesus’ teaching.

Why did Jesus’ teaching cause such a stir? What was it about Jesus’ message that left the crowd absolutely amazed?

In a nutshell, Jesus’ teaching turned people’s religious ideas inside out and upside down.

The Gospel of Matthew begins with the story of Jesus’ birth, baptism, temptation, and choosing his disciples. In chapters 5-7, Matthew expounds Jesus’ story by presenting the crux of his teaching. Fundamentally, SOTM is a kingdom manifesto declaring how to live as a child of the King in a world that has yet to be fully transformed. 

Could you ace an exam on Jesus’ teaching?

I’m afraid many professing followers of Jesus would flunk. If we are banking eternity on Jesus’ claims, prudence demands we should dig in and do the hard work to understand his teaching.

Yes, the Sermon on the Mount can be a hard to understand. But if you mine the depth of its treasure, your reward will be great. Your heart will be supernaturally renovated to become like Jesus’.

“I have to confess that I have fallen under its spell, or rather under the spell of him who preached it. For the last seven years at least l have been constantly pondering it.” – John Stott

SOTM is best understood when broken down into seven sections. Here is a simple overview of the sermon:

• The Beatitudes (Matt 5:2-11) - Jesus describes eight heart attitudes that are recognizable in a true child of God. These characteristics are the building blocks of discipleship; each trait blossoms into the next as you are transformed into the image of Christ.
• Salt and Light Matt (5:13-16) - Jesus coaches his disciples on their identity and mission.
• Radical Righteousness (Matt 5:17-48) - Jesus explains the radical righteousness that flows from a heart completely transformed by the power of the gospel.
• Spiritual Practices (Matt 6:1-18) - Jesus teaches his disciples the proper way to pray, give, and fast.
• Ambition and Possessions (Matt 6:19-34) - Jesus shepherds his disciples’ hearts on money and anxiety.
• Relationships (Matt 7:1-12) - Jesus teaches his disciples how to approach their relationships with people and God.
• A Decision is Imperative (Matt 7:13-27) - Jesus closes his sermon insisting that the audience choose between the wide and narrow gate. He gives three warnings with examples of folks who failed to make the right decision. Jesus boldly declares that the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven is to listen and obey to his commands.

If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, let me encourage you to marinate in this sermon. The Holy Spirit is willing and able to transform your heart and mind as you savor Jesus’ words. Throw yourself into SOTM and take hold of the Messiah’s teaching. Saturate your mind with Jesus as prophet; let him expound the truth of God’s kingdom to you. Follow Jesus as priest and let him lead you into his Father’s Kingdom. Worship Jesus as king and bring your entire life under his rule and reign. Do this, so that the name of Jesus will be made famous.

—

Tracy Richardson (@alaskagospelgrl) serves at Radiant Church in Fairbanks, Alaska as the Church Planters Wife. She loves to study scripture, throw parties, and run trails. She has a B.S.S. in Fine Art and Literature. She is also Mamma Bear to two wild cubs.

Neighborhood Missionaries

“To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to their playmates, ‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.’” – Matthew 11:16-19

In Matthew 11:16-19, we encounter Jesus speaking to a crowd about John the Baptist. Jesus draws attention to reality. John came neither eating or drinking. Jesus came doing both. God sent both of them. Israel rejected both. Why? Like children making music for each other, Jesus says, “It’s not about the kind of music that’s being played or sung, this generation just does not like who’s performing.”

From this, I think a couple of things can be pointed out. First, the gospel will always be received with mixed results. If both Jesus and John’s message were rejected, we shouldn’t be surprised if and when our good news about Jesus is as well. Our presentation may be both peerlessly articulate and effectually impotent. That is a possibility.

Second, no single strategy is the silver bullet for engaging others with the gospel. Many strategies should be employed contextualized for each situation. A few years ago, I encountered a witnessing team who attempted to convince me that the only “biblical” method of evangelism was door to door, like Jesus’ disciples. That view isn’t fully informed. Yes, Jesus’ disciples went house to house, but Paul also preached city to city, from synagogue to city square; John the Baptizer was a burning lamp withdrawn in the wilderness; and Jesus taught crowds in and out of the synagogues, made disciples one-on-one engaging intimately with “sinners” (Matt. 11:16-19). The church was not left with one method of sharing the gospel. And this last aspect of engagement, friendship with “sinners,” is what I’d like to draw our attention to.

Jesus’ engagement was so extensive that it was a scandal. Imagine your reputation being discredited for the ways you spend time with those outside of the “religious community.” But this is just what happened with Jesus. He was willing to be associated with them. He went to dinner parties, sharing table and cup with the so-called dregs of society.

My wife and I do not consider ourselves great evangelists or disciple makers. Far from that actually. But we’ve been challenged by Jesus’s example. We desire to engage with our neighbors more for the sake of the gospel and to enter into their world where they would allow us. After all, we’re all called to make disciples. And by God’s grace, we’ve seen small success in making friends with our neighbors and others outside of the religious community, for the sake of the gospel. This engagement has been part of our strategy.

Prayer

We walk around the neighborhood with the kids from time to time. As we do, we pray for the people who live in the homes we pass. We pray for marriages, for parents, and for children. We pray the Spirit would be at work in hearts of the people in our neighborhood. We pray that other Christians would be good neighbors who love and serve here as well. We pray for peace and safety in the neighborhood. We pray that we would have actual friendships with the people we live near. In doing this, we’re teaching our children to see their neighborhood, not just as a place where they live, but as a mission field.

Proximity

We get out, but try to stay local. One key to making friendships: repeated, unplanned interactions.^[1] Not surprisingly, this only happens when you’re where everyone else is.

So we plan to bump accidentally into people by frequenting the same spots over and over: getting groceries at the closest grocery store, getting the oil changed at the same shop, frequenting the same restaurant, taking the kids to the same park. We’ve made friends with cashiers and hair stylists. I’ve made friends with guys up and down the street by doing yard work. If bumping into the same people over and over is the goal, staying local is the key.

Presence

Related to proximity, we try to make sure wherever we are, we’re present. This requires us to be situationally aware. When we’re doing yard work or at the supermarket, we should welcome interruptions and interactions. When someone moves in the neighborhood, we should offer to help them move in. We should make ourselves available to talk, to help, to participate, and to be involved. We must want to know and be known. It’s at this point that friendship begins.

But there is one thing we must overcome—fear. The reason we don’t walk over to our neighbor across the street and find out their name is fear. The reason we don’t do more than acknowledge that we’ve found everything we’re looking for at the grocery store is fear. We must deal with fear. It’s a topic that deserves a separate post. But it must be dealt with because it keeps us from taking this first step. Many times it keeps us from taking the last step as well.

Proclamation

If presence is about being situationally aware, proclamation is about being spiritually aware. We’re looking for gospel openings.

I can’t say how the Holy Spirit may be leading you to share the gospel with your neighbors, but in the context of many interactions with them, you will encounter times where the gospel will be particularly relevant. We must be willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead whenever the opportunity comes, even if it appears fruitless at the time. But when we do, usually we find something unusual happening: people listening.

Being intentional with prayer, proximity, and presence is the foundation for proclamation. People will know you and you will know them. This foundation enables the relationship to carry the weight of truth. As Proverbs says, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (27:6). Friends know they can say things that challenge, because they ultimately know there is a person who cares behind what is being said.

What successes or failures have you experienced in being “friends of sinners”? There are many times when we’ve moved too fast with these relationships, pushing them beyond what they can handle. I’m always wondering when and what to share. And afterward whether it’s even been helpful. What other challenges do you find in being gospel witnesses in this way?

^[1] “How to Make Friends in a New City,” The Art of Manliness. This article has some helpful tips for making new friendships.

— Brad Hauer grew up moving quite a bit, living in 13 different states, but has called Orlando home since 2001. He's works with Cru (Formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) and is a student at Lutheran Brethren Seminary. He and his wife Jackie celebrated their 10th anniversary this year and have two special needs boys, Jonathan and Jack.

A New Year for Making Disciples

A YEAR IN REVIEW

We are thankful for your support through out 2015. We hope the Lord continues to bless GCD as we seek to come alongside the church to offer resources to make, mature, and multiply disciples. We wanted to share a few ways in which GCD grew in 2015:

We published over 300 articles.

We published 3 books (we’re on track for six books for 2016).

• Sean Post’s The Stories We Live,
• Brad Watson’s Sent Together, and
• Tracy Richardson’s The Sermon on the Mount;

During our peak, the GCD blog ranked 1,075,343 globally and 227,963 in the United States.

We had over 125,000 page views and 90,000 visits.

We moved all of our content to Amazon and released a new storefront.

And our staff grew to include 6 staff writers (We’re hoping to add at least 6 more over the next year).

• Jason Garwood
• Whitney Woollard
•  Jeremy Writebol
• Chelsea Vaughn
• Sean Nolan
• Tolivar Wills

Our favorite articles from our staff writers in 2015:

• Jason Garwood: Grounded on the Rock
• Chelsea Vaughn: Advent Restores a Song for the Suffering
• Jeremy Writebol: 3 Ways to Grow Leaders
• Whitney Woollard: Theology Proper: The Antidote for Insatiable Desire
• Sean Nolan: A Banquet Among Enemies

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

The last book we completed this year was Tracy Richardson’s The Sermon on the Mount: A 31 Day Guide Through Jesus’ Teaching. Here’s what you can expect:

Have you ever been shocked, surprised, and dumfounded all at the same time? Maybe by a surprise birthday party, a practical joke, or unexpected news? The Gospel of Matthew tells us that the crowd reacted this way to Jesus’ teaching. The front-page headline following Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount read, “Jesus’ Teaching Leaves Audience Thunderstruck” (Matt. 7:28). Why did Jesus’ teaching cause such a stir? What was it about Jesus’ message that left the crowd absolutely amazed? In a nutshell, Jesus’ teaching turned people’s religious ideas inside out and upside down.

In The Sermon on the Mount: A 31 Day Guide Through Jesus’ Teaching, Tracy Richardson walks us through Jesus’ teaching in hopes that the Spirit will transform the hearts of his disciples. This guide is designed specifically for DNA groups, two to three people, who meet weekly under the leadership of the Spirit.

This is a digital only release and we’re offering it for just $0.99. So start the New Year with a gospel rich devotional through the Sermon on the Mount.

P.S. We are still taking pitches from anyone, so please don't hesitate to email Mathew@gospelcentereddiscipleship.com! 

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Mathew B. Sims is the Editor-in-Chief at Exercise.com and has authored, edited, and contributed to several books including A Household Gospel, We Believe: Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms for Worship, A Guide for Advent, Make, Mature, Multiply, and A Guide for Holy Week. Mathew, LeAnn (his wife), and his daughters Claire, Maddy, and Adele live in Taylors, SC at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains with their Airdale Terrier. They attend Downtown Presbyterian Church (PCA). Visit MathewBryanSims.com!

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A Letter to a Dad Who Left

Dad,

There may be some form of words that I could come up with to begin this letter but I don’t think I would ever find them. To be honest, I don’t know how to start a letter to someone that I have failed to speak to for so long. Someone better with words could maybe come up with something. And out of all the things to say I don’t know if any is more important than this simple truth: I miss you. And I’m sorry that it has been this long since we last spoke. I simply cannot believe it’s 2012 and it was in 2004 that we last exchanged words. I feel terrible. I am sorry if I ever made you believe that I did not want to talk to you or see you. There has never been a day pass that I did not wonder what you were doing or where you were.

I don’t know what has kept me from writing you all these years. Maybe fear. Maybe pride. Maybe uncertainty. I don’t know. But one thing I do know is that I am deeply sorry for standing back in the shadows and not stepping out and writing you or calling. I guess what I feared the most is what on earth would I say. There were so many things that I could say but didn’t know which things to choose. I would have wanted to tell you about college, graduating from college, getting a job, finishing grad school, getting married. There were so many things I wanted you to know but didn’t know how to tell you.

I wanted to know what you were doing. How work was going, where were you living, how was Hershey, and so many other things. 

With all of this, I just wanted you to know that I miss you. I want you to know that I love you and would love to know how you are doing. Again, I am so sorry that I have waited this long to make an effort to get in touch with you. Please forgive me.

I love you more than you know and I hope more than anything to hear from you

soon. But if not, that’s okay too. I just wanted you to know that I have been thinking about you and missing you for so long.

Love you Dad

I wish I could tell you that I heard back from him within that week but I didn’t. Even more I wish I could say I heard back from him period. But I haven’t.

And that’s okay.

I’m okay.

Christ is still sovereign and he is still good.

Writing those words is one thing but believing them is something different entirely. It’s the goodness and mercy of God that allows me to release this situation and place it in his hands and at his feet.

God’s grace and mercy are so freeing for our souls. They allow us to breathe underneath the wreckage of the sin in our lives and the sin entangling this world. It’s God’s mercy that gave me new eyes to see the darkness of my own heart and its effect on how I viewed the brokenness of my family. It’s God’s goodness that gave me new eyes to see my dad. It’s God’s grace that gave me a new heart that brewed new affections for my father.

This new heart and these new affections radically changed the way I understood the reality of my home as a child and my desire to tell my story. I no longer wanted to use these words to hurt, but rather to heal—because Jesus desires restoration for all his children.

And wherever you are right now, maybe on your lunch break in your car or in the back corner of the library while you’re studying or maybe on the way to the grocery store or J.Crew or Urban Outfitters—trust that. Trust that he desires to restore and renew.

My story is the story of many.

And that story is one from inside the dark corners of a soul that many keep secret and silent.

That story is one from a kid who didn’t want it.

A story he didn’t write.

A story she didn’t choose.

A story that is affecting an entire generation.

The story of a generation left on the front porch.

Abandonment happens every day in many way. There’s no question about it. Not one. No one disagrees and no one contests. The question we must wrestle with is: What do we do after abandonment strikes? Many give up. We become empty. We lose hope. We become angry. There’s not even hope of having any sign of hope to come. There is no doubt this is how we feel. Our lives, our stories, and our abandonment are real. It’s ever-present. It looms over us and it quickly becomes our world. Not because we desire it and not because we want to carry it around in our pockets or around our necks.

Not at all.

It’s because of the simple fact that our trust has been shattered. Our security has been broken. Our lives have been turned in every direction and we don’t have a clue how to get them back to the way they were. The questions have been posed:

• Who can we run to?
• Who is it that we can trust?
• Who will be our advocate?
• Who is it that will put our shattered pieces back together?
• Who can we rest in to know they will not open the door and leave us in the middle of the night?
• Again, who will fight for us?

There is great news for us as children of the perfect Father. Because of Jesus, there is no more longing and no more uncertainty.If the blood of the Lamb has washed us, our wounds have been healed solely because of the wounds he was given. Our hurts have been covered. Our worth has been secured. Our lives have been rescued. Our souls have been purchased. We have been fought for and we have been won!

This Great News, this Answer, this Redeemer, this Seed, this Hope has a name.

His name is Jesus.

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Jonathan C. Edwards provides leadership & vision to disciple and equip college students at City Church in Murfreesboro, TN. He is the author of the forthcoming book LEFT: The Struggle to Make Sense of Life When a Parent Leaves. Jonathan received his M.Div from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is currently completing his Masters of Theology. He blogs regularly at NotThePuritan.com

Advent Restores a Song for the Suffering

Can you count how many times you have sung the popular Christmas hymn, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"? I can’t, but what is sad is that I often sing the words without meditating on them. It wasn’t until this year that the correlation of Christ’s name and singing these words weighed on my heart. My favorite is the last stanza, which says,

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Oh, bid our sad divisions cease, And be yourself our King of Peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Emmanuel means God with us, so the words we sing don’t just offer a Christmas warmth and ring, but a true declaration that Christ’s coming will fulfill the redemption of the world. Yes, Jesus came to the earth and was born as a baby. That’s what our Christian culture often celebrates during Christmas, but I want to sing something more this year. Something that speaks to the mission we have because of his presence.

Emmanuel.

God with us.

He is with us already, he is with us still, and he is with us forever. I want to focus on the word “us,” which refers to the collective body of believers who rejoice together in this forever presence. In my favorite compilation of letters from Bonhoeffer, he explains this concept beautifully, “With God there is joy, and from him it comes down and seizes spirit, soul, and body. And where this joy has seized a person, it reaches out around itself, it pulls others along, it bursts through closed doors.”[1]

There is much to be celebrated during Christmas, but there is also something that we seem to miss. We do well to celebrate Christ in the manger—a humble servant coming to earth to bring light and joy. This Christmas cheer is the classic rejoicing during this time of year. We sing Christmas music, we share laughter with family, and we even shout out that “Jesus is the reason for the season!” However, a deep pain and suffering falls silent to the masses during the holidays. We take in so much that the silence of the world falls away. I only hear the ringing bell from the Salvation Army on my brief walk into the mall and even that delivers a pleasant sound to my ears. The suffering, lonely, and lost hear a different kind of ringing that’s typically not hope, rejoicing, or a bell. It’s an enclosing silence.

The silence isn’t filled by watching a crowded world celebrate a commercialized holiday. The celebration of hope and joy don’t make sense to those without, it only reminds them of their lacking.We need help remembering beyond this, that Christ came to restore a song to the suffering and silent. He came to embody the promise of an eternal and everlasting hope to mankind as a whole.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

See, we often don’t celebrate the greatest gift we have in his presence. The gift of harmony.

Emmanuel is more than a Christmas carol. It’s a song that sings of a name that has the power to gather the nations. And a name that declares the presence of God and the true need for Christ. As individual chords, we don’t produce the most pleasant sound. That’s because we represent only a single chord progression, but harmony is the sound of peace and unity. We can’t produce this without each other.

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Oh, bid our sad divisions cease, And be yourself our King of Peace.

This message is not new to your ears. I’m sure you will hear it many times. Our mission more than just feeling convicted and volunteering somewhere once. Instead, ask yourself: How does God with me transform my everyday life and those around me?

Read Luke 1. This story counsels us in three ways. First, the angel Gabriel appeared to Elizabeth before Mary, the mother of Jesus. Second, Mary was afraid, but she listened to the angel’s words from God and accepted them at face value. Third, Mary sung a song of praise. Again, what does this story look like translated into your life?

1. Who is your person of peace?

This person would be much like Elizabeth was for Mary, they can exhort and counsel you with their faith. Seek out a person who is in a different denomination or from a different ethnic culture but that lives in peace and models community well.

2. Define what you fear about facing your mission.

When you are well acquainted with your barriers, share them with God and ask for guidance. Remember his name, Emmanuel—he is with you as you go (Matt. 28:18-20).

3. How can you share your story of Emmanuel as God with us in your community?

Read Mary’s song again and study the story that is told. She shares of the counsel, guidance, and faithfulness of God. She said yes to God, and because of this obedience, we have Emmanuel. Use this as encouragement to share your own story with people who have not yet experienced the peace and presence of God. Doing so will cultivate and make great the name of Emmanuel in your community.

“Because of the tender mercy of our God,     whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,     to guide our feet into the way of peace.” - Luke 1:78-79

May we be a Church that does more than sing Christmas carols on Sunday. May we be a Church that invites and disciples others to sing of the same Savior. Different chords, but one song, a song that only sounds pleasing when sung together. This song declares our collective need for a Savior. It has the power to bid our sad divisions cease. Together, his church sings and begs for his return. We beckon him King of Peace!

1. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, and Jana Riess. God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 2010. Print.

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Chelsea Vaughn (@chelsea725) has served a ministry she helped start in the DFW Metroplex since she graduated from college. She received her undergraduate degree at Dallas Baptist University in Communication Theory. She does freelance writing, editing, and speaking for various organizations and non-profits. She hopes to spend her life using her gift for communication to reach culture and communities with the love of Jesus.

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Editor: In advent, there’s a natural sense of restlessness in our world which only Jesus’ presence can bring peace and resolution to. Our desire is to drive our hope toward the incarnate Savior during this season. Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.

• The Arrival: Prince of Peace by Mathew B. Sims
• Advent Calls Us to Stay Awake by Freddy Williams and David Comstock
• And He Called His Name Jesus by Whitney Woollard

And He Called His Name Jesus

Jesus was born during the late Second Temple Period, a period charged with messianic expectation. For hundreds of years Second Temple Jews suffered beneath the foreign rule of one pagan empire after another. This instability energized the hopes of God’s people for deliverance and vindication. “Where is Messiah?” was the cry of every good Jew. They longed for Yahweh to deliver them from Roman rule by the hand of his Messiah just as he delivered Israel from Egyptian oppression in the days long ago. They were a people marked by the expectation that their God, the one true God, would intervene into human history, defeat their enemies, and reestablish David’s throne. Messianic expectation was expressed in the naming of baby boys with one of the more common Jewish names of the first century—Jesus. It’s the Greek form of the Old Testament name Joshua, meaning “Yahweh is salvation” (also “Savior” or “God saves”). It was a constant reminder that God would one day send a Savior to set his people free.

Imagine you’re a weary Jew in the first century. You’ve lived under the thumb of pagan rule your entire life. Your days are overshadowed by Roman oppression. You’re impoverished because of injustice. You walk through the streets of Jerusalem with the nagging sense that God has forgotten his people… he’s forgotten you. You’re losing hope with each breath. Suddenly you hear the faint call of a mother beckoning her son Jesus in for dinner. You pause, remembering afresh “Yahweh is salvation.” You close your eyes and breathe in a deep sigh of relief. One day Yahweh would indeed send his Messiah to save his people—of that you are sure.

Into this cultural context Matthew writes,

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

A Special Boy With A Special Mission

Jesus’ name may have been common but there was nothing common about Jesus of Nazareth. From his miraculous conception to his messianic mission, this little boy was altogether different. He was conceived from the Spirit (1:18, 20); he was born to save God’s people from their sins (1:21); he was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (1:22-23); and he was Immanuel, “God with us” (1:23). He wasn’t just another Jewish boy symbolically named for God’s salvation; he was God’s salvation. This could only mean one thing—the advent of Israel’s long-awaited deliverer was upon them!

Unfortunately, the deliverance Jesus brought wasn’t the deliverance expected. He didn’t come to overthrow the Roman Empire thereby rescuing Israel from external tyranny and setting them free (in the expected sense). He did come to save, but the ironical twist was that he came to save them from themselves! He came to set humanity free from the internal slavery of sin and brokenness. His messianic mission was to defeat Satan, sin, and death through his own death on the cross so that all who trust in him might be set free from sin. R.T. France further clarifies Jesus’ mission:

“His ministry will begin in the context of a call to repentance from sin (3:2, 6; 4:17)…he will also assert his ‘authority on earth to forgive sins’ (9:6). His mission will culminate in his death ‘as a ransom for many’ (20:28), ‘for the forgiveness of sins’ (26:28). [The point is… t]his son of David will not conform to the priorities of popular messianic expectation.”[1]

Many rejected Jesus (and continue to reject him today) because they failed to grasp that their deepest problem was the human heart. But the human heart has always been the problem. Israel, of all people, should have known this! They were the prototype of darkened hearts leading to personal enslavement. After being set free from slavery in Egypt, they enslaved themselves spiritually in their idolatry and worldly passions.

Biblical history testifies again and again to the fact that they didn’t need a national liberator; they needed a heart liberator. Isn’t this the need of all humanity? We need our hearts set free from sin so that we might run in the path of God’s commands (Ps. 119:32). And the only final cure for the human heart is bound up in the person and work of Christ—a special boy with a special mission.

Your Life Hinges On This Boy’s Name & Identity

Matthew writes his birth narrative in such a way as to invite thoughtful reflection on who this liberator is and what he came to do. The name Jesus reveals what he does—saves people from sin. While the title Immanuel reveals who he is—God with us. Your entire life hinges upon the implications of Jesus’ name and identity.

1. Through Jesus you experience God’s salvation

Christmas typically conjures up ideas of magical holiday moments and feel-good Hallmark movies. The season dances around the idea of salvation—someone saves Christmas, someone saves old Scrooge, someone saves the Grinch—but all too often the true salvation story is missed. The most “magical” news of all is that in Christ God has saved us from sin and death!

The gospel tells us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-2) and children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). We didn’t do or say bad things occasionally; we were enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), alienated and hostile in mind (Col. 1:21). Every single one of us stood condemned under God’s righteous judgments and there was nothing we could do to work our way out of this death sentence (Rom. 3:10-20).

However, this is good news of great joy because God intervened into human history in the form of a little baby boy named Jesus and promised to “save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). He did what you and I were impotent to do—he made us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:5). He put forth the perfect spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ, as the propitiation for our sin so that we could be justified by faith in him (Rom. 5:1). We have complete forgiveness and cleansing of sin by the blood of Jesus!

I’ve been a believer for thirteen years now and every Advent season I’m reminded afresh that “God saves” and he has done so through the coming of his Son Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to condemn “dirty sinners”; he came to bring life to the dead, healing to the broken, and hope to the downtrodden. He came to save messed up people like you and me. If you repent of sin and place your trust in Jesus, he delights to take away your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. After all, Jesus was literally born to save people from their sins. It’s what he does!

2. Through Immanuel you experience God’s presence

The title “Immanuel” refers to Jesus’ deity (he is God) while simultaneously conveying his nearness to mankind (he is with us). The eternal Logos “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). In Christ, God condescended to man; he came to us as one of us so that we might know him and be known by him.

The fact that Jesus is Immanuel comforts during the holidays. Since God has come to you, you know you can come to him. You can come to him in your loneliness and fear and brokenness. December can be a bitter month for many as they find themselves alone or abandoned. I’ll never forget the first Christmas after my parents split. Long December by the Counting Crows was inescapably popular and Illinois seemed particularly gray (as if it wasn’t already gray enough!). Over the holidays we were “shipped” back and forth between houses as Adam Duritz slowly cooed me into depression. Almost twenty years later I still remember the profound loneliness I felt that Christmas. I was certain I would never feel comfort or peace again.

When I met Jesus, I happened upon a most beautiful truth—through my union with him God was with me. The Spirit of Christ took up residence in my heart and sealed me with his presence; thus I was never truly alone. God was with me during seasons of isolation and loneliness; he was with me in great disappointment; he was even with me during lonely Christmases.

Take comfort in the fact that Jesus is Immanuel; he is God with you.He is with you to comfort you but also to send you out to comfort others. Notice that Matthew bookends his Gospel with the promise of God’s presence. When Jesus came to earth he came as Immanuel, the manifestation of God’s presence with the power to save. When Jesus left the earth he promised this same enduring presence to all future disciples as he gave them the Great Commission. Immanuel promises to be with his disciples in every age to encourage, equip, and empower them to make disciples of all nations.

In this way Advent is missional. It reminds us that God sought us out and came to us in the incarnation. He brought us eternal comfort in the person and work of Christ. We’ve been promised that he is with us always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20). Through his indwelling Spirit we are to seek out the lost and take that same message of God’s reconciling presence through Christ to the nations.

Who has God laid on your heart this season? Who needs to be comforted with the very comfort you’ve received in Christ? Christmas provides ample opportunities for sharing the gospel with others. Be bold in your witness knowing that God’s presence will empower you as you speak life, peace, and joy to those around you.

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

This Advent season create moments to stand in awe of Jesus, the one born to set God’s people free. Rejoice in him, the one who delivered you from the suffocating grip of sin and death. Take heart, your sins have been forgiven! Could there be a greater gift?

And, in the midst of all the Christmas chaos, find rest in Immanuel. God is with you—with you to comfort you in loneliness and with you to encourage you on mission. Worship him for his first advent and look forward in anticipation to his second coming. May you see past the consumerist frenzy long enough to cry out “Come, Thou long expected Jesus!”

Come, Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel’s Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King, Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone; By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

[1] France, R.T. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2007. Print.

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Whitney Woollard has served in ministry alongside her husband Neal for over six years. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and just finished her Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary. She is passionate about equipping disciples to read and study God’s Word well resulting in maturing affections for Jesus and his gospel message. Neal and Whitney currently live in Portland, OR where they love serving the local church. Follow her on Twitter @whitneywoollard.

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Editor: In advent, there’s a natural sense of restlessness in our world which only Jesus’ presence can bring peace and resolution to. Our desire is to drive our hope toward the incarnate Savior during this season. Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.

• The Arrival: Prince of Peace by Mathew B. Sims
• Advent Calls Us to Stay Awake by Freddy Williams and David Comstock

Advent Calls Us to Stay Awake

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23

From the opening pages of the scriptures, from the creation narrative, God the Creator has been revealing who He is. It’s mind-blowing to think that we can actually know God, yet it’s fascinating to ponder that we can never exhaust the bottomless ocean of His character and nature. In every nook and cranny of this world, God is exposing who He is and telling His story. From the unknown depths of the oceans to the peak of Everest, from the sheer magnitude of the universe beyond us to the complexity of the universe within us, from the miracle of birth to the burden of death, amongst fauna and flora, He is telling His story. His fingerprints are everywhere. God’s name echoes off the walls of creation and His story reverberates in the corridors of humanity’s hearts. Like a master artist who signs his name on his work, His creation is saturated with His signature. From the joys of watercolor sunsets to the darkest sorrows; from yesterday’s regrets to every tomorrow, He greets us and signs: I love you.

Why would God go to such extreme lengths to reveal the depths of who He is?

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29v13

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Colossians 2v17

It seems God has always desired to be known by His creation, revealing Himself in the most unlikely and unforeseen ways to His people. Through slavery, exile, and defeat; through freedom, return, and victory; through His anointed prophets, angelic messengers, and the generations of silence, God has been preparing to reveal Himself in the most provocative of ways.

Not long after Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the temple, the scriptures say, “The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth” (Luke 1v26). Two thousand years ago, Nazareth was a town sinking into obscurity and so corrupted by godlessness that Nathaniel remarked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1v46).

Why Nazareth?

Why not Rome? It was the most powerful and influential city center and capital city of the superpower in the world at the time, the Roman Empire. Maybe Greece? It was the cultural epicenter of the world. Even Ephesus was an integral and influential port city. But Nazareth? Really? That’s like saying, why not New York City, LA, or Seattle? But Toad Suck Arkansas? Really? Yes, really. Nazareth was the backdrop for the next events that unfurled.

If the conception of God’s plan wasn’t already obscure enough, Gabriel was specifically sent to speak with a young virgin girl named Mary who was betrothed to an honorable man named Joseph. Mary was most likely around the age of fourteen. So rewind the narrative a bit. Four hundred years of silence was finally broken, when an angelic messenger of the Lord visits an old, ordinary, and obscure priest whose wife was barren and childless; he then approaches the tiny town of Nazareth to hang out with a nearly preteen virgin girl named Mary. What an unlikely and obscure way to restore hope amongst God’s people and establish His kingdom.

“And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly…. God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Interestingly, the honorable man Joseph, who was engaged to be married to Mary, comes from the bloodline of the most beloved, revered, and respected king of the Jewish people, King David. He, by the way, was the least likely candidate to be the next king. Plucked out of obscurity, David was a scrawny, young, courageous shepherd boy, who faithfully tended his father’s flock (1 Samuel 16). The psalmist writes, “He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance” (Psalm 78v70-71). God has a pretty good track record of inviting everyday, ordinary people to join Him in His work.

For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.

1 Samuel 16v7

Gabriel went to Mary and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” How do you think Mary responded? You guessed it. Just like every other human being has ever responded in the presence of an angel: with complete and total fear. The scriptures say she was greatly troubled and didn’t know how to discern the gravity of the moment. Gabriel responded to the virgin, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1v30-32).

These few verses in the biblical narrative fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies with which the people of God would have not only been familiar, but for which they would have eagerly waited and fervently anticipated. In Genesis 49, Jacob is blessing his twelve sons and simultaneously his blessing served as a prophecy. His descendants would be rulers and one of them would be an ultimate ruler. Jesus was born two thousand years later and Jesus’ ancestry traces back to Jacob’s son. Six hundred years before Gabriel visits Mary, the prophet Jeremiah writes that the messiah will be a descendant of King David (Jeremiah 23v5). A hundred years before Jeremiah, the prophet Isaiah writes that there will be a sign: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7v14). Immanuel means “God with us.” These are words of promise. God has not forgotten us. God’s people longed to be with God. Ever since the days of Eden, we’ve all longed to be with God. The garden longing lingers heavy upon humanity.

The seemingly insignificant young Virgin Mary, living in obscurity, faithfully living a godly life amongst a godless people, is given one of the most significant roles in the most provocative story ever told. A nobody, living in a town full of nothing, in the middle of nowhere, had found favor with God. Just like the shepherd boy David and the old priest Zechariah before her, Mary was found faithful and God blessed her.

Mary genuinely asks, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1v34). She knows the words of the prophets from the past; she knows the messiah will be born of a virgin, she just asks how? Her questioning is different from that of Zechariah’s. The priest doubts; Mary ponders. In her inquiry, she contemplates the miracle. The angel answers, “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” (Luke 1v35). Every formation of life in the womb is a miracle. It’s a mystery that God has set and “put eternity in man’s hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3v11). Solomon says, “As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything” (Ecclesiastes 11v5). The virgin birth was the work of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Spirit of God was present and presided over the void before creation was conceived, the Spirit of God presides over the void in the womb of Mary as new life is conceived.

Concerned that Mary would be isolated and rejected by her community and family, Gabriel informs Mary that her old and barren cousin Elizabeth is also pregnant. “Wait, what? How can Elizabeth be pregnant? She’s well beyond child-bearing age and she’s been barren her entire life!” Gabriel shares this news with Mary to encourage her and increase her faith. She knows that Elizabeth isn’t the first woman in the scriptures to conceive a child out of barrenness. She knows it must be the work of God. Many scholars believe that barren women who eventually conceived, which is against nature, would be used throughout Israel’s history to prepare Mary (and the world) for this moment. The intricacies of God’s story are stunningly beautiful. “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1v37). Gabriel assures Mary that God does not fail. And now, she will not have to navigate this pilgrimage alone.

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1v38).

Facing the certain reality of the how this will change her standing with her soon-to-be husband, with certain rejection of her community and with her reputation on the line, Mary faithfully and humbly says yes.

—

My son Moses loves adventure stories. About a year ago, we began a nighttime story routine. The stories were always the same. An unlikely hero overcomes some crazy predicament that seems impossible to escape. My son loved it, mainly because he was always the unlikely hero. Deep down, my son has a desire to participate in the impossible. The beauty of Advent is that it gives us the opportunity to show our children how we have been invited into the impossible to participate in the miraculous work of God to redeem and save His people. In this story, Jesus is the unlikely hero, but we in Him get to participate in the impossible.

May our children hear the voice of God inviting them to humbly participate in the impossible.

— In 2012, Freddy planted ekklesia, in the suburbs of St. Louis, with the desire to understand the everyday rhythms of the church. This exploration led to conversations on understanding family more deeply. As a former student pastor, family pastor, and now church planter, Freddy has a desire to rekindle an old conversation in new generations - to tell an old story. This is the story of Jesus, the story that shapes all stories. May this story be told in our homes for generations to come. Freddy, his wife Michele, and two sons Ryder and Scout live in St. Charles, Missouri.

David planted Mid-Cities Church in St. Louis, MO in 2014. He is passionate about seeing God's message of reconciliation bring about tangible transformation in both the hearts of people and the life of his city. As our hearts are connected with the Father's heart the message of the gospel becomes clear and the work of Jesus becomes a reality. David is passionate about connecting those dots for others. David, his wife Tara, his daughter Julia and son Moses live in Maplewood, Missouri.

Visit Story Catechism and check out their books. Use promo code gcdadvent for 15% off. Also, they were generous enough to share a free sample of two of their books with GCD’s readers (download sample: Story and Advent).

Four-Dimensional Confessionalism

If you study church history, before long you will find yourself knee-deep in councils, creeds, and confessions of faith. Together, these have safeguarded the church in times of theological weakness and pulled her to biblical safety during times of turmoil. But as we enter into a new era of secularism, mere confessionalism will not be enough. I’m not only talking about historic confessions of faith, which are good and helpful theological tools; I’m talking about any claims we make about God and his grace, how those claims are applied, and how we should live in light of them. No longer will verbalizing our beliefs be enough. We need a confessionalism that the world can touch—one that takes the church’s declaration of the gospel in word and allows it to live in the streets of a longing world in deed.We need a confessionalism that demonstrates the urgency and seriousness of the message we have been given. We need a confessionalism that will not be drowned when the tides begin to turn. What we need is a four-dimensional confessionalism. We pursue these from Hebrews 10:23—“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” 

1. Confession—“Let us hold fast the confession . . . ”

This might sound obvious. You can’t spell confessionalism without confession. But simply mapping what we believe is not enough. Anybody can be confessional. In fact, everybody is confessional, even if they don’t realize it. Everybody confesses something about God. Romans 1 makes clear that the knowledge of God “is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” It says, “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.” It tells us, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” Everybody is confessional.

Paul’s words are a solemn reminder: confessions don’t require truth. That is, being confessional is not a promise that what we are holding to is the gospel of Jesus Christ. My pastor puts it this way: everybody is a theologian—the question is whether or not you are a good one.

The recent decline in mainline Protestantism reveals where one-dimensional confessionalism keeps us. We long for the meat of Scripture, but are only given the faint taste of milk. Our stomachs growl for something weightier and worthwhile. If we want to recover the riches of the gospel in our confessionalism, our churches must not leave slack in the truth we confess. We must recover the Scriptural foundations of our confessions and force our theology to find its “yes,” in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the treasure of truth. Confessionalism finds its value in the truth it confesses. If our confessions are not accurately declaring the truth of the gospel, our confessions lack authority. Moreover, if our confessions are not accurately declaring the whole truth of the gospel, they are worthless. If the gospel isn’t the end of our confessions, they will burn out in the blink of an eye. 

2. Hope—“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope…”

Somewhere along the way, we decided that confessionalism must be locked up in the classroom and cut off from emotion. May this not be the case! I have nailed down a functioning definition of confessionalism: convictions verbalized. This kind of confessionalism reflects not only our mind’s knowledge, but also our heart’s emotion. In our confessions, we put into words what we feel the deepest. Friends, if our confessions are truly convictions verbalized, they must be wedded to our emotions. The two are inseparable. Together, they ease us down the aisle towards Christ who is the church’s true Husband (Rev. 21:2).

If we only needed to repeat some special mantra to be disciples, we could get away with a hopeless confessionalism. But the gospel requires much more. It must be proclaimed! And our proclamation must be in tune with our attitude. The gospel must be trumpeted from the highest halls and the lowest basements! We must speak as though it is our last breath. The gospel cuts the tops off mountains and raises the lowest valleys! There is no grander proclamation than the good news of Christ.

The gospel requires hope and we rejoice in the hope it brings! We rejoice knowing that redemption was accomplished on the cross. We rejoice knowing that we are united with Christ in his resurrection from the dead. We rejoice knowing that King Jesus is ruling high in the heavens over all things, sustaining them with the word of his unconquerable power. We rejoice knowing that one day we will be adorned as a bride, being brought near not just spiritually, but physically! Oh, the hope that lies at the heart of the gospel! In this life we are faced with suffering, but we do not lose heart! Since we will share in the first resurrection, we will never taste of the second death (Rev. 20:6). We have this hope, both sure and steadfast: our union with Christ. The gospel redirects our hope from the things of this world and shines a light on the One who has gone before us. Do not be steeped in only stiff-collared creed-reciting; instead, join with the thousands of believers who have proclaimed that the gospel does not merely fix us but makes us all-new, all-whole, all-alive. 

3. Unwavering Steadfastness—“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering…”

When we have gospel truth and hope-filled emotion in our holster, we have nothing to lose. We have God on our side. The Sovereign can and will sustain us as we stand on his Word. We must hold the line.

This kind of steadfastness is not something we wait for, looking around open-handed and unsure until the Spirit gives it to us. Steadfastness is more than a spiritual gift and far more than remembering the ways that others have been steadfast. It is a conscious decision, a mindset, a refusal to teeter when it comes to God’s truth and our convictions. In 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul instructs each of us to be steadfast since our labor for the Lord is not in vain. And while our labors find their center on the glory of God, they work together for our good! James says,

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (1:2–4).

When we are tried, we become steadfast; when we are steadfast, we become “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Though the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel are why God preserves us through trials, we can be assured of this truth: both our perfection and completion are being built out of our steadfastness. Our steadfastness is like the mud that makes the bricks of our eternity.

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 echoes this theme:

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Steadfastness during trials is like refining fire. When we do not waver during what feels like Hell on earth, heavenly glory is being prepared for us in eternity. Press on. Fight the good fight. Do not lose heart. Remain steadfast for this is good and pleasing to the Lord and you have been instructed to do it. And when it feels as if you cannot press on, look to Jesus! Know that you are preserved by his hold on you. You rely not on your steadfastness, but on his faithfulness. As you seek steadfastness, remember: no one can lay a foundation other than the one laid in Christ Jesus. Man’s foundation will someday fall apart, but his foundation is eternal. In the surety of our hope, we resist wavering. 

Restful Submission—“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

The other three dimensions hinge on this fourth dimension. If we miss this, we risk missing the boat in its entirety. Let it sink in: the One who promises to remold the world and resurrect our bodies is faithful. He is true to his word. His promises are not empty. Realizing this kind of truth is a paradigm shift; it emboldens us. The blood that trickles down the cross of Christ is evidence of his faithfulness. He is both the Guarantor and the Guarantee. Who could deliver a surer promise than the Promise himself?

Even better: he has, “put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor. 1:22). He has made us a people, though we once were not a people. These realities are the seeds of obedience. We can be faithful in obedience because Christ has been faithful in deliverance.

John Flavel, in his wonderful collection of sermons titled The Fountain of Life, preached on the Kingship of Christ in the souls of the redeemed:

Here is much strictness, but no bondage; for the law is not only written in Christ’s statute-book, the Bible, but copied out by his spirit upon the hearts of his subjects, in correspondent principles; which makes obedience a pleasure, and self-denial easy. Christ’s yoke is lined with love, so that it never galls the necks of his people.

Obedience is the pulse of the new man. The law is “copied out by his spirit” upon our hearts. As those born again, we obey as part of our primary nature. If we withhold our obedience while offering up confessionalism, then the words we say don’t matter.

The author of Hebrews gives us a prescription for obedience in verses 24-25: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Our obedience begins in and is nurtured by the local church. When we assemble together, we are pushed to godliness and encouraged into holiness. The church gears us up for the day when we will be clothed in glory to dwell with him in eternity. If obedience is our pulse, the local church is our pacemaker, forcing the rhythm to match that of the Spirit.

Confession links to affection. What we confess with our mouths must be believed in our hearts. We cannot serve two masters. Give your affections to Jesus. They were created for him, and he will put them to their best use. Laboring for him will not return void. In the words of C. H. Spurgeon, “True rest to the mind of the child of God is rest on the wing, rest in motion, rest in service, not rest with the yoke off, but with the yoke on.” Come, rest in Christ, as we hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. Do not settle for one-dimensional confessionalism. Let us love not in word but in deed and in truth, for a faith without works is dead (1 Jn. 3:18; Jas. 2:17). God desires something tangible, a confessionalism that is four-dimensional. Rest not with the yoke off, but with the yoke on. The gospel demands us, for this is our spiritual worship.

—

Cody Glen Barnhart (@codygbarnhart) lives in Kansas City, Missouri, and is a student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has written for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Canon & Culture, For the Church, and is a contributor at servantsofgrace. You can read his blog at counterculturing.com.

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The Ever-Present God

Location: Where Did Place Come From?

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

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

This is not true of God. The Bible tells us that God fills heaven and earth (Jer. 23:24). It says that the highest heaven is not large enough to contain God (1 Kgs. 8:27). Nor is there a single place in the entire universe where a human can go and God not be present (Ps. 139:7–10). The word "omnipresent" sums up this spatial reality of God. He is present everywhere, all the time, in every way. He is not limited by anything and is fully present wherever he is, which is everywhere. Maybe we should venture down the path of comparison. We’ll start with God. He is immense and infinite. He alone can be spatially present everywhere all the time. You and I, on the other hand, can’t even exist in two places at once. This comparison can be helpful to put us in our place. But we need more than just a reminder of how ant-like we are. We need to see the importance of our limitation and the uniqueness of our specific place. We need to see that we are inferior to God in our inability to be everywhere present. And yet the places we inhabit, and specifically our presence in those places, has deep importance. Maybe we do need to be put in our place. What if being "put in our place" isn’t about being humbled to insignificance but elevating our vision to see the dignity in the places we inhabit; to see that our presence is valuable and deeply important. We need to talk about God’s space and place.

The Creation of Place

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

Who made it? Why was it made? If we ignore the Biblical story, we don’t have great, cosmic answers for these questions. But if we look at the opening pages of Scripture, we have a fascinating drama unfolding before us. The first words of divinely inspired writing from the pen of Moses declare that in the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). Location is created. All of a sudden there is the creation of "place." Place alone, however, is boring. We have heaven and earth. Two categories, two ideas, but not really specific realities. The story continues to unfold. God doesn’t just make categories; he creates places. The earth is filled with vegetation, inhabitants, colors, creatures, textures, liquids, solids, atmospheres, environments—places. The specific place called the Garden of Eden is unique. There are places within the Garden. A river flows through the Garden. The middle of the Garden has specific and diverse vegetation. Four rivers diverge from the main river on the outskirts of the garden. They flow to places with specific names and specific features. Some of those places have gold, some have precious gems. Each distinct. Each unique. Each a special place.

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

Does Place Matter?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Transforming Perspective

For way too long, Christians have considered church buildings as "The House of the Lord." We’d show up at specific places and feel that God was, in some way or another, more present there than anywhere else in the universe. Christians have called them “sacred spaces.” We’d return to our homes and workplaces from Monday to Saturday and believe that the "secular" places were the outskirts of the presence of God. Sure, we knew he was there at our homes or jobs, but not in the same way he was "there" when we went to the church building. God was there; we are here.

Funny, God doesn’t think like that. He’s everywhere. He’s in your house. He’s in your car. He’s at your job. He’s present at your local coffee shop. He exists in the slums, ghettos, high-rises, and cathedrals of this world. There is no place where he is not. That means the place you are right now is God’s place. This ought to be a transforming perspective for us. Where is God? Here. Now. Specifically. Uniquely. The very place you inhabit is God’s place. He is here, right now. The Psalmist wonders, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Ps. 139:7). Jeremiah the prophet asks if a man can hide himself from God (Jer. 23:24)? The answer again and and again is “no!” There is no where we can escape from God’s presence. He is everywhere. He is here.

I wonder what it would be like if we had this perspective more often. How would it change the way we see our neighborhoods? How would we live differently in God’s place? How would we work? How would we play? How would we worship? What would we do with the broken places within God’s place? What would we say to the broken people in God’s place?

We should begin asking ourselves these questions. Our perspective concerning our homes, workplaces, gyms, restaurants, parks, office buildings, theaters, and everywhere in between should be that this is God’s place and God is here. When I see those places this way, I am changed. I want this place to be a reflection of God’s beauty, creativity, majesty, righteousness, mercy, loveliness, and hope.

This place is for God. This place belongs to God. This little ramshackle café on Bitting Avenue is God’s place. The room, the building, the place where you are right now is God’s place too. Seeing place this way moves mountains.

—

Jeremy Writebol (@jwritebol) has been training leaders in the church for over fourteen years. He is the author of everPresent: How the Gospel Relocates Us in the Present (GCD Books, 2014) and writes at jwritebol.net. He is the pastor of Woodside Bible Church’s Plymouth, MI campus. 

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Editor: In our Theology Proper: The Antidote to Insatiable Desire we are seeking to understand how knowing God is indispensable to make, mature, and multiply disciples. We want to explicitly connect the theology of the church to its mission. So far in our series:

• Theology Proper: The Antidote to Insatiable Desire by Whitney Woollard
• The Grace and Mercy of God by Chelsea Vaughn

On Mission In New Places

Where I grew up, I remember people telling me about a guy in town who served in the Vietnam War. They explained that he was in some sort of Special Forces unit where he was dropped in the jungle by himself for his missions. As you might expect, he was described as the tough guy who could pretty much do anything. Missionaries have wound up in unfamiliar places as well – think about one of the most well-known, Operation Auca with the Elliots, Saints, McCullys, and Youderains. We have all heard stories about people who were thrown into foreign places and cultures and expected to adapt in order to fulfill their mission—whether missionary or military. What we may not realize is that many of us find ourselves in similar scenarios, though under less extreme circumstances. This could be a new workplace, a new community, a new church, a new family, a new group of friends, or a new school. However, just being in a new place does not fully put us in a similar scenario, like the guy in the example above, we must have a mission in this new place. What is our mission? Well for the Christian, it is a commission given by our Lord,

“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.” Matthew 28:19-20

With this commission in view, we could say that as Christians, there is no place the Lord could send us where his mission does not stand. Therefore, if the mission always stands, then the lack of Great Commission following that we find in our lives must be our fault, not the one who gave the mission. Where do we most often find this failure in following the Great Commission in our lives? Isn’t it often when we find ourselves in new places? Isn’t it also in places where we have not yet figured out that the gospel has bearing? So it could be in places that are new to us or in places that are new to our understanding of the gospel’s impact on them. So where do we start?

Find and Get to Know the People

Since the mission given us by our Lord is about people, it is helpful to know where the people are.For a new school or workplace that isn’t terribly difficult, because we’re thrust in the midst of a bunch of people every single day. For a new community or church it may take a bit more time in finding people particularly because in these types of scenarios we don’t spend as much time with people in these places as we might elsewhere. Much of this is about opening our eyes to the people who are in front of us. Paul exemplifies this for us in Acts 16. After he was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia, he winds up in Philippi after the Macedonian man appeared to him in a vision.

“And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.” Acts 16:13

Paul went looking for people. Plain and simple.

Once we have found people, the process of getting to know people takes time. Languages need to be learned, or instead getting to know how the people talk. Knowing how people talk around us will help us to know what they find important, what they believe, and what they value. Paul does this in Athens to a degree, as he shows familiarity with their poets, “as even some of your own poets have said,” (Acts 17:28b). This brings out an important element of learning the language of a people, which is to learn about the entertainment they enjoy and the various forms of the arts with which they engage. This can often bring about some of the most personal connections with people. Ultimately, this is about getting to know the culture and that is exactly what Paul did. If you have worked for a large company, they will likely spend a great deal of time trying to talk about and build their culture. They want their culture to flow down to the people and become a part of the company’s DNA. Every place has its own distinct culture and we can better know the people when we learn the culture.

God brought my wife and I to a new church about twenty-five minutes from our house nearly two years ago. Though that distance doesn’t seem that far, it is a different town, school district, and county. Lots of things make this new place quite different from our old stomping ground, which is only a short drive away. Everything I learned about what used to be home in terms of demographics, needs, understanding of and openness to the gospel, and just basic values is not applicable to this new place. Through understanding these differences, we can learn more about the people with whom we have been placed.

Get to Know the Story

So we have found the people, we have gotten to know the language, and even gotten to know some of the surroundings of this new place. What’s next? While in Athens, before mentioning their poets, Paul says,

“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.” – Acts 17:22b-23b

Paul makes more than simple observations about what he sees, but he uses those observations to develop a story. The story he develops is the story of Athens or rather what is really going in Athens beneath all the people, culture, and supposed knowledge. Of course, if we know the rest of what Paul says after verse 23, we know that he is building towards something.

Every place has a story residing underneath all that is going on; a story that people are living according to. Michael Horton, in the introduction to his book, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way, says,

“The inextricable connection of faith and practice in terms of drama, doctrine, doxology, and discipleship has evident corollaries in every philosophy, religion, and culture. The drama determines the big questions as well as the answers” (15).

What Horton says here speaks to what we are grappling with in terms of the stories behind the people we encounter in these new places. As Horton says, the drama (story) determines all the big questions that people are asking and what the answers to those questions are. In Athens, Paul knew an underlying story was being told through what the people of Athens said, did, and thought. These stories pointed to what the Athenians believed about the world. When we understand the stories people who we find ourselves among in these new places believe, we are then ready to take the final step in obedience to our Lord’s commission.

Apply THE STORY

Paul shows us that in Athens he is not merely a sociological commentator. In other words, he does not walk around Athens and just make comments and conclusions about what he sees. Instead, he knows that to understand the people, the culture, and the story that lies beneath both, he can find the access point through which he can give the gospel story powerfully and effectively. Paul says,

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” – Acts 17:24-25

Paul goes on even afterward to point for point respond to the story that the Athenians had been living with the true story of the gospel. Horton says,

“The Christian faith is a counterdrama to all of the meganarratives and metanarratives of this passing age – ancient, medieval, modern, and postmodern. It speaks of the triune God who existed eternally before creation and of ourselves as characters in his unfolding plot” (19).

In other words, the true story of the gospel speaks into and sits sovereignly over any other story about reality, truth, and how the world supposedly is. The gospel deems contradicting realities untrue as it points to the ultimate truth, which is embodied perfectly in a person, namely Jesus Christ.

Through this engagement with the stories, we are pointing to the story that points to Jesus. However, we will have a harder time applying the story of the gospel to our culture if we don’t first know it. We don’t have a definitive amount of time that Paul was in Athens in Acts 17; however, he was there long enough to observe and know the culture and the people. Paul was always living with his mission at the forefront of everything he did. Wherever Paul wound up, either by his own planning or the Lord’s direction, it was always the place that God wanted him. If we could talk to Paul now, he wouldn’t attribute his single-minded focus for this mission to his apostleship or being a missionary, but to his call to be a disciple of Christ who made more disciples.

Conclusion

Let us consider the places that God has put us as purposeful, strategic appointments from our Lord. Whether we have just arrived at our place or have been there for quite a while, let us ask God to help us open our eyes. We would do well to follow the pattern of the apostle Paul—getting to know people, getting to know their story, and applying the story of the gospel. No corner of creation is considered mundane or hidden from the King. Our families, workplaces, schools, communities, churches, lunch tables, favorite breakfast places, waiting rooms, and every other nook and cranny of our lives are places that God has put us for his glory. The guy in the Special Forces from my neighborhood wasn’t dropped in the jungle so he could build himself a hut to cozy up and watch Netflix. He got to work fulfilling his mission the minute he touched down. May we do the same.

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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.

Pursuing Treasures in Heaven

A year ago, I moved from Austin, TX and took a “cush” job in San Francisco. As a young, single dude with a good job in an unbelievably exciting city in the most beautiful region of the US, the world was suddenly open to me in entirely new ways. I moved with the explicit reason to live on mission in a creative, secular city and with the implicit reason of experiencing all that northern California had to offer. Slowly, I began dropping cash on great food and great fun every weekend. I was spending tons of my free time on things like hiking, surfing (i.e. getting pummeled by waves and trying not to drown), and all kinds of other new excursions. A few months into this, and with the help of a new community at King’s Cross Church, I began to ask myself—what am I actually investing my life in right now? When I added up all my money, time, and energy, the answer was obvious—I had made a subtle shift from investing in the Kingdom of God to investing in treasures on earth. My heart was trending more toward the love of earthly treasure like experiences and less to the treasure of ChristPerhaps you are trending in the same direction. But what does Jesus mean when he tells Christians not to lay up treasures on earth? To lay up treasures on earth means to invest your life in the pursuit of worldly wealth. This is more than just the love of money. Most of the time, we pursue worldly wealth not because we love money, but because we love what money affords. Materialism has different faces and each of us is tempted to invest our lives in worldly wealth in one of three ways. First, many of us invest our lives in worldly wealth because we value stuff. We want the nicest homes in the most ideal neighborhoods, the slickest cars, and the hippest gadgets. We work hard at our businesses and jobs to acquire more and greater “things.” What do you spend most of your money on? How often do you find yourself shopping? How often are you thinking about your next big purchase? The answers to these questions will give you an indication of your treasure. To this, Jesus gives a blunt warning: Moth and rust destroy and thieves break in to steal. Material things will not last and are not worth the investment of our lives.

Others of us invest in worldly wealth because we value image and acceptance. We don’t care about stuff in the most general sense. What we really care about is the right stuff that will help us build the right image. We are buying our way to acceptance into a particular community. Maybe you invest in your image as the successful businessperson, as an artist, or even as a mom that has the perfect Pinterest home. You invest in worldly wealth because you value the acceptance of the business world, or the artist community, or the other homemakers in your neighborhood. Perhaps wealth is the in-road to your ultimate treasure—acceptance.

Finally, many of us are prone to invest in worldly wealth for the experiences it can afford. We want to travel, see shows, and live a life full of rich experiences. I often hear people frame this as the opposite of materialism—but they are wrong. The investment in experiences can be a manifestation of materialism. The experiences we want cost money and it is all too easy to spend dollar after dollar on sporting events, concerts, and vacations. How much time, money, and energy do you spend on the next great experience? How much money do you drop on shows every year? How much time do you spend thinking about your next family vacation? Do you spend more time on fun experiences than you spend serving others? Are your experiences your greatest treasure?

To be clear, when Jesus tells us “not to lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,” he is not attacking worldly wealth in itself. He is not saying to get rid of all your earthly stuff and to never enjoy experiences. He is arguing against an inordinate focus on those things—a preoccupation with temporal worldly wealth over the timeless wealth of the Kingdom of God. Jesus tells us not invest our lives into worldly wealth because all these things will be destroyed or stolen from us—they won’t last! You might say, “Wait a second, your image doesn’t rust and experiences can’t be eaten away by moths, can they?” Material stuff breaks or gets stolen. Image is shallow and acceptance is fleeting. The high of an experience always fades. Jesus is saying that pouring your life into worldly wealth is a bad investment because it will not last into God’s Kingdom.

On the other hand, laying up treasures in heaven does not mean “Be a good Christian so that you can have more rewards and more stuff in heaven.” It means to invest in those things that are of value in the Kingdom of God. Heaven refers to God’s space—where he resides today—that in some mysterious way has interlocked with earth in the coming of Jesus and in his Spirit who fills the church. Heaven is the Kingdom of God that has already been launched and will one day be fulfilled. So, what then are the things that matter in the Kingdom of God? How might you invest in those things that will last into God’s future? First, God wants you to invest in his family—the church. The church matters to God, so she should also matter to you. He loves his family so much that he entered into his creation to suffer and die that we might be restored to him for eternity. If you are a Christian, you are part of that family. As a part of that family, you have a spiritual responsibility for the care and well being of it. God’s family will last into his great and future Kingdom. Are you investing in the family of God in practical ways? Are you actively engaged in caring for folk? Commit to invest your time, energy, and money into the family of God.

Second, God wants you to invest in his mission. God’s mission is to redeem the world and fill it with his presence. A key part of this process is renewing people so that they are united to God and worship Christ. God has sent us out into our everyday lives on his mission to make disciples so that more people would know the love of God and more people could worship him. Are you committed to the work of making disciples? Does your investment of time, energy, and money reflect a commitment to the mission of God? What would need to change in your life this year to prioritize the mission of God?

Finally, and most importantly, we must invest in our relationship with God. Ultimately, this is what we have been rescued to—the joy of knowing the living God and walking with him daily. Are you listening to him through his Word? Are you meeting the Spirit in prayer daily? Are you committed to knowing God and growing in grace? If you are not daily investing in your relationship with God, you are missing out on the greatest treasure of life. God is a perfect Father, who loves you, cares for you, and desires to know you. We have the opportunity to step into that each day.

What do you treasure? What are you investing your life into day-in and day-out? Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The heart, in Jewish teaching, refers to the center of the entire person. It encompassed the will, the desires, and the emotions. Jesus is saying that whatever you treasure, whatever you invest your time, energy, and money into is an indication of where your heart is. Ultimately, what you invest in is where your heart is, and where your heart is, is what you worship. If you worship God, then you’ll invest in his Kingdom. If you worship stuff, your image, or experiences then you will pour your life into those things only to see them fade away or be ripped out of your grasp. Treasure on earth will pass away, but the Kingdom of God will endure forever.

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Garrett Coles currently serves as a Connections Associate at The Austin Stone Community Church. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where he studied finance and philosophy. After working in finance in San Francisco for a year, he has recently moved back to the great city of Austin! He is passionate about Jesus, missional communities, and Wilco. 

Overcoming Anxiety

Three years ago, I had my first panic attack. The panic attack continued off and on for 5 days, I had a moment of revelation from the Lord and felt immediate physical relief. I continued my battle with anxiety, sought counseling, prayer, and anything else I could get my hands on and am now in a completely different spot than I ever imagined I could be. Although going through that was truly awful, I'm better for it and I'm grateful to be able to empathize with others who are struggling. Before all of this, my perception of mental illness was completely inaccurate. It seemed weak and, honestly, just kind of silly. Why can't people just get a grip? I know that kind of perspective is shared among many people who have never experienced a mental illness or walked alongside someone who has. Sometimes it's because of a lack of compassion, but sometimes it's just because they don't know any better.

Sure, we all deal with anxiety on some level. But when it stops your life, takes over your brain, causes you physical symptoms and pain, and clouds your mind with fear—that's when you know you have a problem that needs serious attention. That's a mental illness, not just a little case of worrying too much.

By the grace of God, I am currently in a place where I don't deal with anxiety on a daily basis. It's very situational and even then, I feel capable of managing it and coping. Since I'm on the other side of it, I wanted to share the areas to examine and consider when overcoming anxiety. I'm not a doctor and I'm not a therapist, but I am a person who has been in the dark and come into the light.

SPIRITUAL LAYERS

In most cases, a spiritual aspect is involved with anxiety. A lot of the time, anxiety is our body's response to holding on too tightly to too much. That can mean a lot of things. We can hold on too tightly to our children, our husband, our future, our status, our job, our financial situation, or a specific problem going on.

From what I've experienced, anxiety comes from a loss of control that we thought we had. But the reality is that the only control we really have in life is over our own decisions—our own responses to what life deals us. We cannot control the safety of our children or the security of our job or the outcome of the future. This is why it's so important to know where we place our trust.

Now, one of the most frustrating things is when Christians think that a good sermon on worry or a list of bible verses will cure anxiety. It's just not true. So, while I am saying that there is a spiritual element that needs to be dealt with, it is not the quick fix for a mental illness.

MEDICATION

In some cases, medicine is needed. All I will say about that is that even with a medication, I would strongly encourage you to still seek out counsel and help for the anxiety or depression or whatever mental illness you're struggling with. This is not something you want to let linger. Treating a mental illness solely with medication is only part of the process. You should dig deeper into it, whether that is with medication or not.

GUARD YOUR HEART

You might find at the onset of anxiety and depression you are not in a place to guard your heart. It's like your brain is locked in one spot and can't get out. Sometimes you're just stuck dealing with the shock of it all. That's where people come in. After a few months of trying to move through this on my own, I decided I needed to find a counselor. I needed someone who I could trust to guide me when I didn’t feel I could trust myself. I also found rest and understanding within my community group at church. Many of our meetings ended with me in the center of the room receiving prayer. They were faithful to pray for me when I didn’t have the strength or the words to pray. They knew my story and were aware of my triggers. They could guard my heart for me even when I was unable to. It wasn’t until after I felt some real healing had begun that I could move into a place where I was capable of guarding my own heart.

Guarding our hearts is something we have to actively practice. It helps keep us from going back to that dark place. It's also a great preventative habit to start now even if you've never had serious issues with anxiety. An awful thought may come to mind, but we are in charge of whether or not we let it spin out of control into a completely false fear-based reality. We choose what we let into our minds and hearts.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." Proverbs 4:23

I like this quote from a book study I did a few years ago:

"When you have a thought, it lingers in your brain for anywhere from thirty seconds to several minutes, and then it seeps into your heart. During those seconds or minutes you can take the negative thoughts captive and deny their entry into your heart ... Thoughts will reach your heart either way, but you have a choice to hide them in your heart or throw them in the trash." Gary Smalle,  Guarding Your Child's Heart

You get to choose what you think about each day.

In my opinion, our society is bad at this. It seems like we mope around as these weak mental beings.

I can't help it.

I just fell out of love with her and that's why I cheated.

It's what comes naturally, so I did it.

I need to do what's right for me and what feels good.

That's just who I am and I can't change that.

I'm not talking about being true to yourself versus being like someone else. I'm talking about fighting for what's right and best versus giving in to every little desire or fleeting thought we have.

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you." —Philippians 4:8-9

Take charge and push out the dark thoughts. So what does this look like? For me, it looked like stopping trails of fearful thoughts in my head and choosing to think about something else. It looked like focusing on exactly what I was doing at every single moment of the day instead of allowing anxiety of the future or "what ifs" to take over. It looked like choosing not to watch the news or other shows and movies that I knew would take my heart to a place it didn't need to be. It looked like getting up to do something different with my body if I felt the physical symptoms of anxiety start to rise up in my chest. Baby step by baby step, I replaced negative or fear-based thoughts with truth. Over time, all of those baby steps added up.

GET HELP

If you suffer from anxiety (or any mental illness) and haven't sought any help, consider this your sign to get help. Get help! You can have the strongest support system around you and still need a professional counselor. Everyone can benefit from counseling, but people who are weighed down by anxiety most definitely need it. You may not think it will help you, but it will. You may be nervous about talking to a stranger, but I think you'll find it's easier than you imagined. You may worry that asking for help is a sign of your weakness, but it is in the weakest times that you are able to become who the Lord is making you to be.

Do not put off getting help. You are valued, you are important, you are worth the money, you are worth finding childcare. It's critical that you talk to someone.

When it comes to anxiety, I know I'm not alone. When it was all happening I thought I might be, I quickly realized I wasn't as soon as I started sharing my story on my blog back in 2012. So many people deal with some sort of mental illness. Sometimes it's a lifelong struggle and sometimes it's situational. It looks different for all of us. But a lot of people are suffering mentally and you need to know you're not the only one.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by any sort of mental illness, seek help immediately. You need people to walk through this with you. Never in my life have I been so carried by the community of believers around me. There may be a long, exhausting road ahead of you, but there is hope. There is light on the other side.

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Claire Westbrook is a stay-at-home mom to two kids, Duke and Nova, and has been married to her husband, Colt, for 7 years.  When she's not changing diapers and assigning timeouts, she enjoys teaching piano lessons, songwriting, and blogging at My Devising.  You can follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

9 Ways to Pursue Spirit-Led Leadership

Leadership is a tough concept to grasp, especially for those that are in or aspire to leadership positions. There are endless perspectives, books, commentaries, and motivational content on how to become a “better” leader. Much of the information is helpful yet it’s insufficient if your aim is to get beyond worldly wisdom. For Christians, Jesus promises much more—to be personally and practically lead by the Spirit as you lead in your homes and workplaces. Acts 1:5 says, “For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Acts presents this beautiful pattern of conversions where the eventual result is being sealed with the Spirit. Look at Acts 2 where the Spirit is poured out at Pentecost. The power of the Spirit in that setting was astonishing, amazing, and bewildering (Acts 2: 6-7). To the onlooker, the role of the Spirit is incredible because the disciples are able to do things that they could never do relying on their own power. As a young Christian, I had to work this out and learn what it meant to have been baptized by the Spirit. Personally and practically, Spirit-led leadership is important. I’m a husband, my wife and I have 4 young children, and I’m the CEO of a fast-growing company with 50+ employees. The truth is, by my own strength, I’m insufficient and under qualified. Yet God has called me to these things, and it’s in these things that I submit to him on a daily basis. Spirit-led leadership is not a one-time concept you just grasp. It’s a daily fight that requires diligence, prayer, and seeking the Lord’s will for all of your life.

As a leader, there’s no shortage of issues to work through. I’d argue that leaders are making hundreds of influential decisions on an annual basis. Often times, if you’re leading, your decisions are affecting many. Whether you call it your conscience or not, you will often know what “feels” right in certain situations. In every tough decision that I have to make, there’s usually a very clear answer as to what’s right and good. It’s not often an easy decision, yet there is a right decision to be made. This requires the leader to be mindful and receptive to what the Spirit is doing in their hearts and minds. In Ed Welch's book, Addictions, A Banquet in the Grave, he speaks of this attentiveness. He gives the analogy that a soldier can hear a twig snap because they’re so alert and aware of what’s happening around them. That’s what Spirit-led leadership is like. It demands we stay alert.

In my study of the Old Testament, I’ve noticed an interesting pattern. Leaders succeed because the Lord allows their success. Typically, failure results from disregarding godly wisdom and counsel because of pride and/or idol worship. Build in time to study 2 Chronicles and you’ll get a front row seat into leadership successes and failures. Brothers and sisters, this is not an obscure pattern that we should overlook. Whether in your homes or workplaces, allow others to speak into your life. Let your guard down and allow the Spirit to work through other godly influences in your life. What’s the worst thing that can happen? They’ll find out that you’re a sinner? For the sinner, there’s grace. There’s a Father that loves us so much, that he sent his Son to be the propitiation of our sins. We are washed by the blood of the Lamb and that’s good news to the aspiring leader!

In an effort to share how leadership failures have shaped my wife and I, I wanted to share nine stories and situations that we had to work through. I really struggled to get through these situations, so I’m calling you to learn from my mistakes and the pattern of repentance.

1. Pray through decisions and be attentive to what the Spirit is imprinting on your heart and mind during prayer.

Remember, prayer does not always move the hands of God. It often shapes us and changes our hearts so that our will aligns with his. I’ve also learned to commit huge decisions to prayer for a period of time then to make a decision at the end of that period. I’ve worked with so many ineffective leaders because they’re indecisive. Pray and fast for a period of time then make your decision. I found myself paralyzed by indecisiveness until our CFO started encouraging us to set deadlines for decision making. This came after periods of time where I was not making tough decisions that I had to make.

2. Invite godly leaders and mentors into your life.

The unexamined life is not worth living said Socrates. Godly leaders invite counsel and feedback. They’re also rooted enough in their identity in Christ that the feedback shapes them into more effective leaders rather than defeating and discouraging them. One of my most trusted advisors is our CFO. He’s an elder in the church and provides invaluable counsel and leadership to us. I also have a Gospel Coach. These are men that constantly carry the burden of leadership with my wife and I. I am incredibly thankful for them even when I hate what they have to say! My natural inclination as a sinner is to remove these influences so that I can have my way. I did that for a while yet it doesn’t works if you want to have an impact for the Kingdom.

3. Leaders shape and influence other leaders.

Model repentance to those that you’re entrusted to lead. We need godly influences and role models. While you’re doing this, remember that God does not need you. That’s right, you’re invited to participate by the King, but you’re a dime a dozen. Stay humble my friends.

4. Serve well.

Never settle for allowing others to serve you, especially if they're entrusted to you and you're responsible for leading them well. Practically, get off the sofa and love your wife by doing the dishes, starting the laundry, or making dinner. Make time for that employee that really needs you to affirm them in their work. Never believe the lie that you’re so busy that you’re unable to create space for depth in relationships, especially for those that you’ve been entrusted to serve. Three years ago my employees were constantly telling everyone how busy I was because I was not making time for them. I was lazy and undisciplined in my schedule, which made it appear like I was busier than I was. Be disciplined in your schedule and serve those that God has entrusted to your care. That’s what a good shepherd does. If you need help with your schedule, find tools that other godly leaders have used. There’s a gamut of good resources available.

5. As Jesus did, retreat and take time to meditate in silence.

Often God speaks mightily when you’re quiet and receptive to what he’s communicating. I used to believe the lie that I needed to “do” more and sitting around was not acceptable. What I failed to remember was God’s established rhythm for rest and solitude. Find sacred time and space to pray and meditate but keep yourself from becoming legalistic. Good leaders are flexible and can adapt well when unexpected things come your way because they will.

6. When there seems to be two choices or decisions and you’re not sure which one to make, consider this: God is a good Father that loves to give good gifts.

Maybe he’s giving you the choice. Maybe it’s like taking your kiddos to the toy store and saying “Which one do you want, you could have either?” My Gospel Coach and I worked through this exact scenario just this month. That’s what he said to us verbatim. There’s two really good choices and both honor the Lord. The question really is, what do we want? This goes back to making decisions and not allowing yourself to become indecisive.

7. Be ready to make tough decisions when the Spirit leads.

I remember three years ago when we had an attorney advise us against paying drive time to our staff (they drive to their clients). Legal counsel was “That’s not necessary, you’re protected under the law against having to pay them.” Godly counsel was different. Wisdom says, “Pay your employees for their time, even if you’re not legally obligated. The result will be fruitful because you’ll rightly communicate to your employees that you value them and their time.” That decision affected my wife and I personally because we knew those resources would come directly off what we were paid. Be ready to make tough decisions and know that the Lord honors those that walk upright in heart.

8. Allow yourself to fail.

Failure is feedback and serves as a learning experience. We’re shaped in part by the consequences in our lives. Certain actions and decisions are strengthened by the success that follows, while others are informative due to failure. Learn from failure and document what God is teaching you through those experiences.

9. Think sustainability and listen to the Spirit’s prompting to slow down and reevaluate your pace.

I felt the Spirit calling us to steward our time better, yet ignored it until it became really unhealthy in our lives. If you’re going to be effective, you need to maintain a sustainable pace. I’ve failed miserably at this and have learned so much as a result. Once more, it took godly counsel and wisdom to redeem our chaotic lives and schedules. I can accomplish more today than I did before, yet I maintain a healthier pace, one that allows for rest, leisure, and ample time for the most important, not just the urgent things. Lastly, sustainability involves having established boundaries. Dr. Henry Cloud has a book called The One Life Solution. This was the most influential read in my life as a husband, father, and CEO. I’d highly recommend it if you’re struggling with sustaining as a leader because of boundary issues.

Spirit-led leadership is attainable. It’s not perfect nor is it easy. It’s what we’re called to as leaders, whether you’re leading in your home or workplace or in any other context for that matter. We know the Lord works mightily in those who hunger and thirst for him, so let’s be leaders who wholeheartedly seek the Lord.

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Rob Fattal serves as CEO and BCBA in high-touch boutique firms providing educational services to children. He started his career as a credentialed teacher and served in both the public school system and at the university level. He and his wife have 4 kiddos of their own and have led and coached MCs and MC leaders. Ultimately, they love the church and hope to serve it well.