A New Metric for Ministry Success

The life of a pastor or ministry leader is stressful. Many days when I wondered if the expectations of ministry are worth the effort. Often the stress self-induced or predicated on handed down assumptions of ministry success. The latest book saying my church wasn't big enough or multiplying fast enough. A conversation at a conference when a pastor convinced me numerical church growth was God's will. If the church wasn't growing something was wrong with my leadership.

In the daily grind of making disciples and helping people “mature in Christ,” there's added pressure in how to evaluate ministry fruit. What do we measure? How do we measure? Is it possible to measure the work of the Spirit and spiritual realities?

Some foundational and ultimate questions arise. Questions not always engaging the deeper realities of the work of the Spirit. How many people attend services on Sunday? How many members do you have? What is your facility like? How's the budget?

These metrics and questions can be helpful. But, don’t paint a full picture for ministry health and success. We can have hundreds of people coming to a service and not see any evidence of spiritual fruit in the attenders. Jesus attracted many crowds during his earthly ministry. But, the moment he began to talk about “counting the cost” (Lk. 14:28) of being a disciple the crowds thinned. Crowds are not always a good indicator for ministry success.

What if we have a small budget and are not able to pay a pastor or other staff? Is that failure? What if the ministry context is urban, rural, expensive, or transient? How can a church sustain a large budget if they don’t grow to a particular size? Jesus spent the bulk of his ministry homeless, no budget, and little resources. I think things turned out okay.

After fifteen years of ministry in church planting, established church, and student ministry contexts. I'm not satisfied with the typical metrics used in local churches, latest ministry books, and pastor conferences. Tired of getting the same questions asked of me at conferences and denominational functions. If I hear another question about the three B’s (bodies, budgets, and buildings), it will be too soon.

So what are we to do? Do we succumb to the 3 B’s and call it a day? Or, is there another metric we can use for disciple making, church planting, maturing people in Christ, and city renewal?

It all changed for me when a verse I read a hundred times stuck out like a sore thumb.

In the book of Acts, the disciples are scattered from Jerusalem because of persecution. A disciple Philip is doing the work of evangelism in Samaria. He preaches Christ, heals the sick, exercises demons, and people are coming to saving faith. It’s an exciting time in the early church as the gospel spreads from the Jewish epicenter of Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

Caught up in my own enthusiasm for the mission of God spreading to the ends of the earth (even the despised Samaritans according to Jews), I almost missed an important verse that simply read:

“So there was much joy in that city.” – Acts 8:8.

There was a connection forming in my mind between the gospel being preached, people responding to the good news, and “much joy in that city.” Samaria was literally becoming a city of joy because of the power of God in the gospel.

I began to wonder if joy was the metric for ministry success I longed for. If the gospel has the power to make an entire city joyful. If disciples of Jesus are to be joyful people because of the Spirit’s work. Joy had to be a way to measure ministry health and success.

The Bible is dripping with joy for God’s work on display. First, Nehemiah chapter eight gives an example of joy coming to a community. The people of God had lived in exile for seventy years in Babylon and now were returning to Jerusalem. The people were in spiritual and physical disarray and needed renewal. When Nehemiah arranges for Ezra (a priest), to read the Law, the people begin to repent of their sin and worship the Lord. Then we read these words:

“And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10

It says, “for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” It is the joy we have in knowing God through Christ that will sustain us. The people of God were dislocated (spiritually and physically) from their homeland and longed to return. Their identity as God’s people fractured because of sin.

But, Nehemiah wanted to remind them of joy—an everlasting  joy found in knowing their God. This joy would sustain them through every circumstance.

Second, the Psalms teach a consistent connection between joy, salvation, and knowing God. In Psalm 4:7, we read, “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.”

When the Psalmist looks at all the good of his life. Grain and wine overflowing in a demonstration of God’s provision and goodness. It didn’t compare to the, “joy in my heart.” A joy that comes from knowing God.

In Psalm 16:11, we get the clearest example of joy being a metric for ministry health, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

The path of joy, lasting joy, is found in the presence of God. If God holds the key of joy, we must go to him to find it.

Third, Jesus gives a clear explanation of his mission for the world. When Jesus is days away from the cross and ready to finish the mission given from the Father he says:

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” – John 15:11

Jesus’ entire life and ministry was dedicated to making people joyful in God. He taught, healed, and mentored his disciples to this end. He wanted them, and future disciples, to have “full” joy in him. Jesus designed the universe for his glory and our joy. People will not find lasting joy in their city but only in the city to come. As Hebrews 13:14 says, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”

The joy quotient of a city spreads when it is found from an eternal source. Found in the joy-giving God Jesus Christ.

How does this tie back to the joyful city of Samaria in Acts? When disciples, churches, and communities come to grips with the realities of the blood-bought sacrifice of Jesus. When entire cities begin to see the fleeting joys of the best wine, food, and cultural experiences. When these “joys,” are nothing compared to the lasting pleasures found in Christ, everything changes.

So, if joy is a clear and definitive marker of a healthy and maturing disciple of Jesus. It would make sense to use joy as a metric for ministry health. But, how can we measure the joy and happiness of people in the church and our city? Let me use a couple probing questions:

• Do pastors and ministry leaders operate from the joy of the Lord? Or, are they motivated by power, money, and success?
• What do people talk about? Do people in the church have enthusiasm about Christ, the gospel, and Kingdom, as they do the latest movie and sporting event? Listen for evidence that Jesus is their greatest joy and treasure.
• How do people respond in trial and suffering? Is there indication Jesus is their greatest joy even in hardship, loss, and suffering? Are people, “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor. 6:10)?
• In your gatherings are people making a “joyful noise to the Lord”? Is there evidence of deep joy in Christ? It is hard to fake robust Spirit-wrought singing when people are not filled with the joy of Jesus.
• What are the idols of the church and culture that are sapping joy? Are there political, denominational, cultural, ethnic, relational, or experiential loyalties trumping loyalty to Jesus? Can you identify where people are looking for happiness and joy in your church and city?

After reading one more book on church growth and getting blasted by a pastor for slow growth in the church. I went to the elders. Opened Acts eight and asked: what if we measured ministry success by joy? How joyful are we in the Lord and where is joy sapped in the congregation?

After a couple nods and puzzled looks, we knew joy had to be one metric for measuring effectiveness.  It won't be easy to use joy as diagnostic. But, it's important for the health of maturing disciples. That's why this matters. Disciples find their joy and strength in the Lord.

I believe that if Jesus is after our joy, he wants our cities to be filled with joy. A joy found solely in Him.

How’s your joy in Jesus?

—

Ryan J. Pelton is a husband, father of three boys, founder of The Gospel Marinated Life, church planter, writer, speaker, coach, and founding pastor of New City Church. My greatest joy is Christ and family.

Killing The Devil's Radio with the Gospel!

George Harrison of The Beatles was right when he referred to gossip as the “Devil’s Radio.” In an age of overabundance of information, it is easy to tune into the frequency of social media where news are often blown out of proportions. Perhaps, in no other generation like ours is discernment required to such a great degree. While the gospel calls us to confess our sins, gossip confesses other people’s sins. Gossip broadcasts people’s weaknesses and sins in a whisper while others tune into the frequency. But it is always wiser to put a hold on any given subject until we’ve gained a fuller picture. We are all transparent before the Holy Spirit who sees and knows all our thoughts. I am transparent to my wife and other elders who speak into my life biblically and truthfully.

Everything is naked and laid bare before God, to whom everyone must give an account (Heb. 4: 12, 13). I believe we are to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another as priests (Jas. 5:16).  I believe in the kind of transparency that Paul said, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ” (I Cor. 11:1).  But what is often passed off as Christian transparency is sometimes-

Faux-honesty so often used as an excuse for voicing various kinds of complaints, doubts, accusations, fleshly desires, and other kinds of evil thoughts.  This exhibitionistic “virtue” is often paired with a smug self-congratulatory sneer or a condescending dismissal of anyone who dares to suggest that propriety and spiritual maturity may sometimes require us not to give voice to every carnal thought or emotion—i.e., that sometimes discretion is better than transparency.

Sometimes discretion may be better than transparency precisely because it takes spiritual maturity to be entrusted with confidential information.  In some cases, you’re in the middle of a conversation with someone and the gossip had already started. What should you do in such a case?

1. Listen objectively without taking sides and hold back judgments.

“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Prov. 18: 17).  Listen with sympathy about the person being talked about, knowing that the person being talked about is not present to be able to defend himself/herself.  Don’t chime in or endorse!

In some cases, the person may come crying. When that happens, out of love for the person it is easy to believe everything the person says.  Sometimes, people cry not because they are innocent, but their burdens have become too heavy.  In such cases, tears can also be manipulative.

Think about when Esau returned from his hunt, he wept bitterly.  Esau was the victim of his own foolishness. He sold his birthright eagerly for a morsel of food to his brother, and when the blessing was given to Jacob (the swindler), he blamed it all on Jacob with tears—without admitting his own foolishness.  We are all skilled self-swindlers.  Besides it’s easy to feel sorry for the one who’s crying rather than the dry-eyed one–because when people cry, they can look like they’re the victim.  We must listen well with compassion, without being prejudiced in our discernment.

2. Gossip can destroy respect for the person being talked about.

It is wise to refrain from arriving at conclusions based on what you heard about the person. Gossip is second, third, or fourth hand information and when a morsel of truth is passed on, truth gets distorted and is diluted.

Even an element of truth becomes disproportionate and mixed up with personal opinions and judgments on the person’s character and reputation (sometimes this is done by well-meaning people).

For example: Person A may really respect person B, and because person A eagerly believed what he heard about person C say of person B, now person A has lost his trust and respect for person B (which may actually be partial truth but poisonous nonetheless).

Nothing may be as poisonous and destructive as gossip is in a community.

The Apostle James says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another, brothers” (4:10-11).  The word “speak against” is not necessarily a false report.  It can mean just an “against-report.”  The intent may be to belittle a person or be contemptuous.  It can mean to disdain, mock, or rejoice in purported evil.  These are subtler yet sinful forms of speaking against a person created in God’s image. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18: 21ff).  So we can either speak life or destroy a person with gossip.

3. Realize that chronic gossip is in itself a deep character problem.

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The tongue, James says “is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (3: 8).  Proverbs says that those who gossip are untrustworthy: “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much” (Prov. 20:19).  In Asian cultures, group conformity tends to encourage people to avoid confrontations to the extreme, whereas in Western culture, individualism tends to  lead people to err on the opposite side of over confrontations (Mat. 18:10-15).  “Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered” (Prov. 11: 13).  Those who gossip to you will gossip about you because they are not “trustworthy in spirit.”  In any case, prayerfully discern when to avoid the gossiper next time, or gently confront the sin (recognizing the ugliness of your own sin and the grace you have received) (Gal. 6: 1-2).

4. Pour water (not more fuel) to the fire.  

In other words, refuse to become a channel of gossip and walk in love (Eph. 5: 2).  Leviticus 19:16 says, “Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.  I am the LORD.”  Gossip is smearing a person’s character.  Gossip may involve details that are not confirmed as true.  It endangers a person’s credibility and can bring your neighbor’s reputation to ruins.  It is the opposite of the commandment to love your neighbor—who bear God’s image.  Even if the report being said about the person ends up being true, be hesitant to become a carrier of bad news.  Remember how instead of piling up all your bad records, Jesus has cancelled them on the cross (Col. 2:14).

Seek prayerfully for clarification; ask God, before you ask others, what to do with the bad report.  Proverbs 16:28 tells us how destructive gossip can become in relationships: “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.”  Fight the urge to add more fuel to stir up “conflict” that separates close friends.  Satan is the master of division!

Someone once said that gossip is giving others some strife instead of peace.  It always brings more strife than peace! Gossip pours fuel on the conflict setting the entire community on fire.  It poisons relationships and multiplies misunderstandings.  Gossip never has positive outcomes!  Besides, there is a lot of truth that need not be passed around by people who are recipients of God’s lavish grace.

Gossip is always on the erring side because gossip is confessing other people’s sin without giving them the chance to repent.

Gossip is a like a terrible drug and very addictive.  For many, it is impossible to live without passing on bad news about someone, some churches or ministries because gossip has become a chronic illness.  Hence, gossip becomes an idol—something you can’t live with—something that gives you a false sense of superiority and self-righteousness over others.

The solution is not to simply try and control the tongue, because to be free from gossip an axe must be laid at the root of gossip.  “The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness” (Jas. 3: 6).  Therefore, the root problem of gossip is in the heart: “for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Lk. 6: 45).  Pray and give room and time for grace, repentance, healing and restoration to take place in a relationship that has been torn by gossip.

“For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.” –Proverbs. 26: 20

With the passage of time, as the gospel takes root in the heart whisperers repent, and if no “whisperer” passes on gossip, quarrels and strife will cease.  John Owen said, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”  Instead of kindling the fire of gossip, it must be killed.

While moralism flails at the branches, the gospel cuts to the roots of gossip.

Ultimately, Jesus was slandered on our behalf.  The Pharisees accused him of casting out demons by Beelzebul (the prince of demons) yet he was the purest of all (Matt. 12: 24).  All the accusations hurled at him were wrong.  Yet he endured them all on the cross for our sake.  He was accused of demon possession when he did not even know sin in purity.  Each one of us deserves to be put in His place, but we received what we did not deserve because of Him.

Even his most noble motives were challenged, yet in weakness he conquered the power of Satan, sin, and death. Jesus came not to condemn but to save sinners—which is the opposite of speaking against a brother or sister and hurting or destroying their reputation. In Christ, God offers us a clean heart, a new heart, with which we can honor our neighbors truthfully, and give praises to our God.

Do you struggle with gossip?  

1. There is nothing in our sinful nature that has not already been covered by the blood of Jesus, so confess your sins instead of other people’s sins.
2. Preach to your heart and say, “I am worse than what people think I am, but Jesus loves me more than I can ever imagine.  He already covered me with His own righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). Therefore, I am free to discern the evidence of God’s grace in others instead of lending wood to the fire of gossip.”

—

Joey Zorina is a church planter in an artistic neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan.  He writes articles, essays and devotionals for Living Life, and blogs occasionally @regeneration).  He asks that you please pray for them and the Japanese.  You can connect with him at https://twitter.com/JoeyZorina

Embracing Christmas Again

No matter how much of a Grinch you are, most of us do not think Christmas is inherently evil. Ha! That is funny to write. That said, many of us might not like Christmas, slightly dread Christmas, or want Christmas to be over with already. Christmas has been hijacked. Black Friday, malls, online shopping, and family with the best of intentions have all hijacked Christmas. Instead of a time and season for us to reflect on the miracle of Jesus, we instead find ourselves running around like chickens with our heads cut off in a season controlled by busyness, consumerism, gluttony, spending, and a frantic circus of parading your family around from one event to the next where kids are trained not to be satisfied with one present or one candy cane but to quickly move on to the next present and the next candy cane and the next present and next present and next present as we train them to be greedy, selfish, and dissatisfied. Christmas has become a circus.

Let’s embrace Christmas again!

Let’s create traditions and goals to slow down and savor the wonder that is the Son of God coming in the flesh. Time for us to embrace the humility and simplicity of a God who was born in a small-town, in a barn, and in a feeding trough for livestock. A Savior and King who was homeless, carless, smartphone-less, and Amazon-less. What if his coming and his living held both principles and keys to not just surviving Christmas but thriving in Christmas? What if instead of Christmas leaving us with a materialism and people-pleasing hangover it left us refreshed and was used as a springboard for our faith in Jesus Christ?

That is why I am writing this. Below are a list of seven values and some practical ideas that my family is striving for. Feel free to borrow these ideas or create your own to help you best live out your values for this Christmas!

1. Keep the focus on Jesus.

We all have fun Christmas traditions. My family loves to watch Elf and Home Alone and walk through those crazy Christmas circle neighborhoods where ninety-nine out of 100 houses (there always seems to be that one dark house that is either Jehovah Witnesses or missed the memo that they live on candy cane lane) are insanely decked out with Christmas lights and inflatables.

These are all fun and valuable traditions but if they are only traditions we will wake up in January and realize we didn’t talk about, think about, pray to or enjoy Jesus for a whole month! The culture has replaced Jesus and we can easily do the same if we do not intentionally keep the focus on Jesus. We have to make it our goal to keep our focus on Jesus and on the wonder of the incarnation. We want to remember Jesus, reflect on Jesus, and celebrate Jesus while spending time with Jesus this and every Christmas season.

I want to share a few simple practices that can help us keep the focus on Jesus. The first is to celebrate Advent and have a daily reminder, short story, or key Bible verse that you read as a family that points us back to Jesus. Another is to make sure the Christmas story is read and celebrated on Christmas and/or Christmas Eve. Finally, listen to and sing Christmas songs during the Christmas season that are about Jesus and talk as a family about what these songs are really about and even compare them to Christmas songs that aren’t about Jesus and what message those proclaim as well.

2. Slowing down.

We must say “no” to some of our old traditions and some of the gift-giving and receiving to accomplish this huge value. Two practices can help us slow down to enjoy Jesus and family. First, take the week of Christmas off of work, hobbies, errands, and some of the normal routine to slow down and focus more on enjoying Jesus and people. Second, Christmas cards every other year to have more time to focus on Jesus.

3. Time with immediate family.

Christmas is a great time to spend with relatives, friends, and that one crazy uncle, but if we are not careful, we can miss out on having even a moment with our immediate family. Plan ahead and have time set aside for just our household to enjoy Jesus and one another.

4. Time with Church family.

For many, our relatives might not love Jesus, and there is something unique about enjoying this season with others who have trusted Jesus. Prioritize spending time with your church family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Spend time in your church communities to celebrate evidences of God’s grace together and pray thanksgiving for all the gifts Jesus has given us.

5. Time for mission.

Christmas reminds us that Jesus left his home to invite us into a relationship with him. The Christmas story is a story of mission and the best way to honor this story is to live the story by inviting others into this story! Pray through who you can invite over for a meal on or around Christmas. Invite neighbors and friends to Christmas gatherings and events that share the good news of Jesus.

6. Time for charity.

Giving and receiving presents is nice, but often we need nothing more than giving to others who are in need. Giving and receiving gifts are not evil, but there is an opportunity to remember those who need the basics—food, water and clothes. Christmas is a time to worship our charitable God who gave us everything we need by choosing one or more charities to give to or serve alongside as a family. We can use this season to give to real needs and raise awareness within our household, church, and even extended family of great opportunities to give to!

7. Taming the Grandparents.

Grandparents are a gift and some of us are blessed to have generous and loving grandparents who love to bless (aka spoil the living daylight) our kids with presents and candy. Sometimes, they can be so excited about Christmas that they go overboard in the presents and candy category and give more than any kids could possibly know what to do with and can accidentally enforce that Christmas is only about getting.

It can be helpful to thank grandparents for their generosity but also encourage them to give each kid one small gift or a group gift or best an experience gift (e.g., movie tickets, children museum passes, etc.) rather than a million toys. If you are going to pull this “taming” off you will have to set this encouragement earlier in the year and regularly remind as it could be a bit of an uphill battle.

There you have it. Seven values to help us embrace Christmas again! Now many of these values make sense not just for Christmas but for all of life. And that is the point. Taking Christmas back means once again using it as a season to remind us of what is most important and leaving us refreshed and encouraged rather than it being a cyclone of consumerism leaving us with a busyness hangover. Let’s enjoy Jesus and his people this Christmas. Let’s slow down and say “no” to materialism and “yes” to a minimalist Jesus who came and lived humbly and simply and let’s look forward to his return!

—

Jake Chambers is the husband to his beautiful bride Lindsey, and a daddy to Ezra, Roseanna, and Jaya. Jake is passionate about seeing the gospel both transform lives and create communities that love Jesus, the city, and the lost. He currently serves Red Door Church in San Diego through leading, preaching, equipping, and pastoring.

Discipling the Discipled

“Tis but a scratch.”

“A scratch? Your arm’s off!”

“No it isn’t.”

“Well, what’s that then?”

In this famous scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur fights the knight who will not let him pass. It’s a humorous example of denial and a lack of self-awareness. The knight was unwilling to admit his arm was missing!

The scene spirals from there as the knight loses the rest of his limbs and yet is still disinclined to acknowledge his ailments. I’m suggesting that this knight thinks about his former limbs much like many in the church think about discipleship. They are in denial and reluctant to acknowledge their need for it.

This reluctant crowd is not primarily made up of new believers, but rather mature ones. There is a temptation to become set in our Christian ways, even when some of those ways could use further growth in grace. One of the areas mature believers can do this is discipleship.

If asked about discipleship, some believers might answer, “I was discipled. I’m good.” The issue comes in that pesky past tense. It is not as if we can’t talk about discipleship as having happened, but as Christians, we must not only talk about it being in the past. If we see discipleship as something that has ended at some point in our Christian lives, then we are in trouble.

All new believers must be taught about the faith and helped in their discovery of reading the Bible. Simon the Magician needed some extended teaching on the Holy Spirit after having believed the gospel and being baptized (Acts 8:9-24).

Even someone like Apollos, who was teaching others, needed some extra help in better understanding the things of the gospel (Acts 18:26). New believers require assistance in understanding the things of God, just like kids need help in understanding and navigating the world as they grow.

However, at some point, kids usually don’t need explanations about what a bird is and why it flies or how to use a spoon. They have enough information to be able to push forward on their own. However, it would be to their detriment if they stopped seeking wise counsel and advice. Just because they know how to use a spoon doesn’t mean they will know how to balance a checkbook, buy a car, or get a job.

If people need ongoing help discovering basic life knowledge, why would it be any different for our Christian lives? A Christian cannot only talk about discipleship as a past event. It should be a continuous growth throughout all our lives.

But what if the people we are given the opportunity of discipling are not convinced that they need what we are calling them to? What if our “flock” lacks the temporary self-awareness to be able to see their need for discipleship?

What if that person that God has put on our heart to help grow up in the Lord is not interested in the concentrated time of study, prayer, and fellowship? I think there are few things that we can do to help turn this ship.

1. We Live It

Are we involved in regular discipleship relationships? This is the place to start if we desire to point others to this life-giving practice. We can be as convicted about the importance of discipleship as the next person, but if we are not ourselves living per our convictions, we cannot expect to have any success in calling others to have convictions we do not even live out.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes a case for regular confession between Christians in Life Together, but he warns that those who hear the confessions of others, must also be in the regular practice of confessing as well

“It is not a good thing for one person to be the confessor for all the others. All too easily this individual will become overburdened, one for whom confession becomes an empty routine, giving rise to the unholy misuse of confession for the exercise of spiritual tyranny over souls. Those who do not practice confession themselves should be careful not to hear the confession of other Christians, lest they succumb to this most frightening danger for confession,” (Bonhoeffer, Life Together, p 116).

This same danger is inherent for those that do not themselves take part in regular discipleship but expect it of others around them or those that they lead. Bonhoeffer’s application of this warning as it relates to confession is just as relevant to the practice of discipleship.

Others will likely see a person who calls others to discipleship but does not practice it as upholding an empty routine. Therefore, we begin to make an impact with discipleship by being discipled.

2. We Model It

We need to show them what discipleship looks like. This doesn’t happen quickly. One of the most helpful ways to start this is to essentially disciple them without them knowing we are discipling them. Invite them into a group of people with whom we already meet for discipleship.

Another option is to ask them to coffee and talk about the Bible, prayer, and growth in Christ. We can spend time with them and intentionally ask them about their lives and pour into them. Their past experiences with discipleship have likely told them that when discipleship happens, there is an official start date, bugle sounds, and flags wave. They are most likely used to programmatic discipleship, which is where we can show them that it is not a program.

3. We Reinforce It

In our covert coffee meetings, we start to talk about biblical examples of discipleship. We can talk about informational discipleship scenarios like Simon the Magician and Apollos. We can talk about overarching examples of discipleship like Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35).

We can point to Paul and his relationship with Timothy (Acts 16:1-3; 1 Tim.; 2 Tim.). We can share examples how this process has been lived out in our own lives. By reinforcing this changeover in thinking about discipleship, we want to show that its biblical and we want to make them want it.

A more programmatic type of discipleship focuses on a short period meant to acclimate people to Scripture. It achieves this, rightfully so, through calling people to the need for understanding the basics of the faith.

However, if that is the only way we understand discipleship, we miss the blessings that this lifelong pattern produces. People that have only gone through this type of discipleship may be prone to thinking that discipleship is something they have to do instead of something they get to do.

I would call the “have to” discipleship, law discipleship, and the “get to” discipleship, gospel discipleship. A law commands something, the gospel fulfills and provides the desire to follow the law. Jesus does call us to follow him and to do so with our whole lives (Lk. 9:62).

If we work on promoting gospel discipleship, we point people to the power the gospel has in causing us to want to follow Christ with our lives. This way we don’t weigh them down with commands to discipleship, but point them to the blessings of discipleship.

4. We Multiply It

Once just one other person seems to get it, then we can encourage them to do just what we did. We can help them locate someone in their sphere of influence with whom they can spend intentional time. We can help them biblically reinforce discipleship as a lifelong pattern.

The lifestyle of discipleship continues for them because we are continuing to pour into them as they pour into others. This process of discipleship transformation in the life of a person, a group of people, or a congregation begins with someone taking the first step turning the ship.

Our efforts in changing the view of discipleship in those around us are well worth our time. Most likely, our first attempts at trying to right the outlook on discipleship in our environment may revolve around teaching.

If we serve as a pastor, small group leader, Sunday school teacher, deacon, elder, friend, or coworker, we may be tempted to think that this will all be changed by simply teaching about what discipleship should be.

However, I would argue that unless it is modeled before it is taught in an informational sense, it will be rejected. It is true that the Bible comes to us with propositional truth that we are called to heed, but those truths are meant to shape our living.

This is a blind spot we can have without proper discipleship happening in our lives. If people can see the biblical vision of discipleship as a lifelong process rather than a programmatic system, it can also help with their regular consumption of the Bible.

If we can see God’s Word as already relevant to the small details of our lives and not just a list of truths we espouse, our communion with Christ will be all the more blessed. That, in fact, is the real payoff of the biblical model of lifelong discipleship. Our time with people, growing together in our knowledge of the Word and growing together in prayer, will only further develop our relationship with Christ.

—

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.

Trusting Jesus to Grow the Church

In 2004, the Lilly Endowment one of the world’s largest philanthropic foundations invested money into an initiative to answer this question: “What does it take to sustain pastors in such a way that they will flourish in ministry over the long haul?” This initiative (“Sustaining Pastoral Excellence”) was birthed out of statistical data showing a rise in pastors burning out and leaving ministry more rapidly than ever before and a belief that the local church was too important for this to continue.

Covenant Theological Seminary, which was given grant money to help address this question, started the Center for Ministry Leadership, to explore how pastors survive and thrive in ministry. Over a five-year span the center held summits where they brought in seasoned pastors and spouses to draw upon their experience, talk about various struggles, successes, concerns, and brainstorm ideas.

One of the primary conclusions the Center came to was:

“Every disciple – and every pastor – must have a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ and nurture that relationship in a regular and consistent manner. The dangers of not doing so are many, yet, for various reasons busy pastors often ignore or circumvent the process.”

This conclusion shouldn’t surprise us: think about Paul’s parting instructions to the Ephesian elders:

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” – Acts 20:28

The order is clear. Paul tells them to first pay careful attention to themselves then care for the flock. Yet, as the center concluded, most pastors get this out of whack at one time or another or worse get it out of whack continually. This is especially true in the nascent stages of church planting, when it feels like every aspect of the success of the plant depends on the work you put in. But as many pastors can attest to the results for establishing a practice of reverse priorities will lead to devastating results.

Listen to some of the comments from pastors who participated in the program:

“The sad fact is, for most of us in ministry, work for Christ comes before our relationship with Christ.”

“Our hearts are often thirsty for a word from God, but who has time?”

“I feel like Frodo. In the Fellowship of the Ring, he’s talking to Gandalf and says, ‘I feel like butter spread over too much bread.’ I just feel like I’m tired and running on fumes.”

“My relationships and ministry are presently taking place from a place of drought. No wonder I am tired, on edge, angry and restless.”

“I feel like a guy who is driving over the speed limit on a narrow mountain road without barriers. It’s only by the grace of God that I haven’t driven off”

Think about Acts 20:28 again and take a moment to list out some of the reasons why you don’t pay careful attention to yourself before taking care of the flock?

There are many reasons: We don’t know how, we’re lazy, we’re too busy, we have unrepentant sin, it’s hard to invest time, and so on. I remember that all of these “excuses” were at play early on in my own church planting experience. Although I knew I needed to rely on the Lord, I tended to only do this in areas related to my achievement rather than my affections or allegiance. In fact, as I’ve coached pastors over the years, I’ve found that this is one of the most common reasons we head down this path. Because we have an incessant driven-ness to succeed combined with a belief that it all depends on us, we often fail to pay attention to self.

Ambition and achievement isn’t always a bad thing. In John 15, we read that Jesus mentions “bearing fruit” seven times in a span of seventeen verses. It is good to accomplish much, to be fruitful and effective. This is clear from the passage. But it’s also clear fruit bearing must flow from abiding in Christ.

Peter Scazzero writes in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (p. 32):

“Work for God that is not nourished by a deep interior life with God will eventually be contaminated by other things such as ego, power, needing approval of and from others, and buying into the wrong ideas of success and the mistaken belief that we can’t fail.”

If we forget or ignore our identity in Christ and pursue achievement out of our own effort and ability, our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls will be unable to support the weight of this and we will crash.

Archibald Hart who is a psychologist writes, “Most ministers don’t burn out because they forget they are ministers. They burn out because they forget they are people.”

If we’re going to be faithful and fruitful disciples of Jesus who are able to effectively care for the church God is calling us to lead then we are going to need to live out of a relationship with Jesus that is nurtured on a consistent and ongoing basis. This practice needs to start at the beginning of your church planting journey or else you will develop destructive habits that will be difficult to overcome.

Consider the Apostle Paul’s words in Colossians 2:6-7, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

Think about how you entered God’s Kingdom. It wasn’t through self-dependence, reliance, or righteousness. Rather entrance into the kingdom came through humility, admitting our inability to save ourselves from sin’s punishment and enslavement, through trust in Jesus alone as the Savior who can forgive and reconcile us to the Father and through submission to him as Lord, living under his rule, care, and will.

Although we entered God’s kingdom by relying on Jesus, we often move on from there and live as if we need him + something else or we just live as if we no longer need him at all and place our trust in other things altogether. But Paul is reminding us that this is a foolish way to live this life. Instead our lives should be characterized by ongoing humility, trust, and submission. This is the way we are to walk.

Paul’s adds to his instruction with four additional statements in verse 7.

First he says we are “rooted in him.” For a tree to flourish the roots need to be firmly planted in soil that can produce healthy and growth. Paul is saying that is exactly what has occurred with us. We’ve been rooted and planted in Christ.

I like how Sam Storms describes this in The Hope of Glory: “God has graciously seeded my soul into the soil of Christ’s unchanging and unconquerable grace.”

Second, he reminds us “we are being built up in him.” Have you ever walked by a property that has an unfinished building with a foundation but no structure? It’s obvious from all the weeds and trash that overruns the property that the owner was unable to finish the project.

This doesn’t happen to those rooted in Christ. At times, we might look a little trashy and overrun with weeds but God is not finished with us and is building us up brick by brick; grace upon grace. He is finishing the work he started.

The third statement he makes is that “we are established in the faith.” As God once opened up our eyes to the truth of the gospel so that we’d see it and receive it by faith, he is continuing to show it and confirm it to us. There are days we are on shaky ground; our faith is wavering, we have doubts, anxiety, and questions about our leadership or the viability of the church. Yet God is working in and on us to strengthen us in the faith.

Notice how Paul says God goes about doing this: “just as you were taught”. The way he roots us in Christ through the gospel is the same way he builds us up in Christ and establishes us more firmly in the faith.

In a sermon on this passage, Ligon Duncan stated:

“All growth and progress in the Christian life must be consistent w/its beginning. If we began the Christian life by professing Christ as Lord, our living of the Christian life must be consistent with that profession. If Christ is the object of our faith, if He is the one who saves us, then surely it is Christ who must be the sphere of our spiritual growth and development.”

As we walk, we need to continually immerse ourselves in the depths of the gospel, remembering our identity and the security, hope, and riches that accompany being united to Christ. We need to walk with others who remind us of the message we probably just preached. We need to daily address doubts, fears, dreams, accomplishments, efforts, and idolatries by running to Jesus and living a life of ongoing humble, trust, and submission.

Finally, and this is by no means an afterthought for Paul, he writes that we should be “abounding in thanksgiving.” All of this is and continues to be his work of grace in our lives. He has given us every reason to overflow with affection and worship and the interesting thing is that as we “abound in thanksgiving” recalling his gracious way with us, this practice increases our affection and allegiance to him.

If you are embarking on the church planting journey put this walk into practice immediately. Failing to pay attention to yourself before you care for the flock might be sustainable for a moment, but it will eventually lead to a disengaged pastor who is at risk of derailing their life and ministry. And if you are a pastor who has failed in this area, it’s not too late to correct the course. Just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord start walking in him.

—

Jason Roberts is the founding Pastor of Crosscurrent Church, an Acts 29 church in Virginia Beach, VA.  Fourteen years ago while working for Spanish River Church in Boca Raton, FL, God began to lay the church planting calling on his heart and after some time of investigation and holy arm twisting, he packed up the family, moved back to “the Beach” and planted in the fall of 2002. For the past eight years, he has also given considerable time to coaching and training church planters and pastors. This past fall he transitioned into the corporate world where he now works as an Executive Coach for CACI, International, coaching senior and mid-level managers at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He still lives in Virginia Beach, with his wife of 23 years, Aimee and his five children.

Faithful Today and Prayerful for Tomorrow

I have always been inquisitive, so much so that my mom couldn’t go an hour without me asking where she was going, what we were having for dinner, or when dad would be home. It’s not just curiosity, but it’s also an innate desire to prepare. I can spend hours thinking about what to make for dinner, outfits for the week, or a single conversation needing to be had. Right now, you are likely thinking, “She’s crazy. I should stop here,” or there might be a small chance that this resonates. This sincere determination to know what’s ahead and prepare accordingly. I can’t think of anyone who enjoys being caught off guard. We want control and composure, and ultimately to be prepared for whatever is coming. I think this must be why the scriptures repeat over and over again how we must focus on today, how Jesus has gone before us, and the significance of God’s sovereignty. This is the spoken and inspired Word, but we still forget it’s truth.

And in the entire thread of Scripture, we read how God sent Jesus to go before us to completely fulfill the gospel and prepare the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. God’s faithfulness has never failed. It has been tested, it has been doubted, and it has proven unshakeable. Still, the question remains, why is it so difficult to trust God with tomorrow?

In Exodus, God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He provided manna for the day, and only that day. He declared faithfulness and commanded dependence. The people knew only how to follow God for the single day ahead of them. They hadn’t a choice to ponder his provision for the next day, week, year. They weren’t planning for anything; they were just walking forward.

How would our lives change if we were faithful today and prayerful for tomorrow? We get more caught up praying for today and promising faithfulness tomorrow.

At the end of the day, it’s fear. We are so afraid of the possibilities, the rejection, the weight of responsibility that we end up missing things. We miss grand opportunities, meaningful connections, and simple yet glorious moments. God’s displayed glory is held back when we neglect to ask for it.

We don’t pray.

When I look at Scripture, I see a lot of stories that demonstrate God’s sovereign will through his people’s dependence. Moses wouldn’t have led the Israelites if he hadn’t been commanded by the Lord to do so. The way set before the Israelites is a direct representation of the God who sent them on that way. They walked in obedience because they listened to God’s direction.

If we did pray for today and just walk forward, I have a feeling that we’d be walking more restfully, joyfully, and fruitfully. Our minds would not be anxiously preparing each moment, interaction, and opportunity. Instead, we could restfully trust in God to be who he says he is and we’d get to watch him provide us with victories one day at a time.

Our hearts would not feel the burden of responsibility to accomplish more than we’re asked. Rather, we would be open to listening for a still small voice that leads to God’s work. Our spirits would not fall into self-sufficiency, which quenches the Spirit and results in nothing. Instead, we would abide in him who produces fruit and faith that leads to heart worship.

These distinctions of fear and faith lead us out of death and into abundant life. The spiritual discipline of prayer takes care of tomorrow, and next week, and next year. If we can pray, we can rest. And if we can rest, we can trust God with tomorrow.

This is so much more than letting go of control; it is believing that Jesus did become a man who died for our sins and defeated the grave. Because if the gospel is true, and Jesus did this, then how can we doubt tomorrow? If the Kingdom of Heaven has been prepared for our arrival, is not tomorrow readied too?

Bruce Wilkinson says, “Simply put, God favors those who ask. He holds back nothing from those who want and earnestly long for what He wants.” This is my challenge to you. Pray earnestly for tomorrow, and walk boldly today. After living like this, evaluate the desires, opportunities, and trust that God provides. My guess is that favor will follow your faithful prayers.

—

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.

The Other Blessing of Family Worship

My daughter and two sons are six, four, and two years old respectively. That means that I am now down to just about 628 more Saturdays with Gracie, 716 with Silas, and 836 with Elijah before they’re all out of high school and enjoying the next chapter the Lord has for them. If God does indeed give my wife and I eighteen summers with Gracie before she graduates, that means we've already enjoyed a third of these summers with just twelve to go.

What a reminder of the value of every day with my family and the importance of spending those days well!

We only get a certain amount of time with our children and I believe that many desire more time with their family members, while longing for this time to be meaningful and consistent.

It seems people enjoy family time and want more of it. So how do we find this time and what should we do with it?

I believe the answer to both of these questions is found in the spiritual discipline of family worship.

FAMILY WORSHIP = FAMILY TIME 

Family worship is a call we see woven throughout Scripture, filled with blessings for the entire home. In my book, Gospel Family, I explore these blessings as a source of encouragement for the family considering times of family prayer, family devotions, and family discipleship.

But today, in light of the constant battle for our time and the time of our family, let us focus on just one of the many blessings that Family Worship brings—family time together.

A family that prays together, sings praises together, and enjoys reading the Bible together will inevitably find themselves blessed with more time together.

When we read the famous words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we not only catch a glimpse of family worship, but we also see that family time is assumed in any home that consistently enjoys family worship.

This passage describes a family that engages in family discipleship while sitting in the house together, while walking together, in the evenings before going to sleep, and in the mornings when first waking up.

We need to bring family worship through the front doors of our homes. We need to welcome this natural rhythm of family time and overcome the challenges we face while living in a culture that finds family meals uncommon and family conversations, free of smartphone distractions, just as rare.

Family worship cultivates a pattern of family time, inviting everyone in the home to push aside all distractions, take a break from all media, and just be still in the presence of God and one another for a few minutes every day. It simultaneously strengthens our relationship with the Lord and our relationships with our spouse and children.

MEANINGFUL FAMILY TIME

It’s not enough to just carve out time together, for some of the most stressed-out families are stressfully sprinting through life together, all-the-while, missing out on any profound connection or significant conversation. Just because we’re in the same room, at the same restaurant, stuck in the same traffic, or running the same errands, it doesn’t guarantee that we’re on the same page or growing together as a family at all.

Family worship doesn’t just produce family time. Family worship produces meaningful family time.

When a family engages the Word of God together, shares prayer requests together, or enjoys worship music together, there is a deeper connection as hearts are opened and real life, real concerns, real fears, real hopes, and real needs all begin to trump the ever-busy calendar.

Chores, meals, dishes, TV shows, video games, appointments, meetings, dance rehearsals, baseball practices, and even church events can easily hijack any given week, leaving us little meaningful, private, undistracted, family time.  But when we enjoy the presence of God together as a family while sitting around the house, while walking together, and before going to sleep, we protect the most important thing on every week’s calendar: family worship.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

This meaningful family time, our consistent time of family worship, doesn’t have to be complicated or overwhelming. Even if your family has never practiced family worship before, you can begin now by implementing these three things:

PRAY TOGETHER

Just spend a few minutes each day, sharing prayer needs and then praying together. One person can pray or every family member can have a turn praying. It’s often helpful to choose a prayer spot in the house so that the family gets used to the routine.

READ THE BIBLE TOGETHER

Choose a family Bible that works best for your family, whether it’s a translation that everyone can understand or, perhaps, a children’s story Bible that is age appropriate. Keep this Bible near the dinner table and read one story every time you sit down for dinner together. Ask a few questions about the verse or story and begin to cultivate an atmosphere in the home where spiritual discussions are normal. This will overflow into the natural rhythm of your days as you’re playing at the park, driving in the car, or getting ready for bed, for in those times, your spouse and children will feel more and more comfortable discussing spiritual and biblical questions.

WORSHIP TOGETHER WITH MUSIC

If someone in your family plays an instrument, encourage them to learn some praise songs your family loves. Or, you can simply sing together after your prayer time or at night before going to bed. Another way to bring worship music into the home is by simply creating a worship playlist on your phone or tablet that can be playing in the house and car throughout the day.

It’s amazing how these simple practices can transform the flow of family life in the home.

—

Jonathan Williams is the founder of Gospel Family Ministries (www.gospelfamily.org). He is also the author of Gospel Family. Jonathan enjoys this ministry alongside his wife, Jessica, and their three children, Gracie, Silas & Elijah. With a heart for families and the church, Jonathan also serves as the pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas.

Originally posted at Gospel Family. Used with permission.

The Gospel Between the Lines: an Interview with Rommel Ruiz, Illustrator of Golly’s Folly

Editor: We are excited to share an interview with Rommel Ruiz, illustrator of Golly’s Folly. Described as:

“Everything is meaningless”, King Solomon writes in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Inspired by this message, Golly’s Folly is a thrilling, adventurous story, dispelling the notion that things can satisfy.

The vibrant illustrations will carry your child along on Golly’s rollercoaster attempt to fulfill his desires with stuff. Share this much needed story about what truly matters, perfect for reading aloud.

Sean Nolan, Staff Writer GCD: Tell us about yourself?

Rommel Ruiz: I was born in the Dominican Republic and met my wife, Anny, there. She moved to the U.S. to study physical theater about ten years ago. I followed a couple of years after and also studied physical theater, and we married in 2008. We have two daughters: Bel and Lyz and our church home is Reality L.A.

GCD: What path led you to become an illustrator?

RR: As many of us growing up, I drew since as early as I can remember. I daydreamed at school while doodling in the corners of my notebooks. I credit growing up in the Church with my interest in the arts. Going to school for theater, I was inspired by my Christian worldview to use my gifts and talents to express it. At one point [my wife and I] even auditioned for Cirque du Soleil.

I compare my early years in the U.S. to the “three paths” in Lord of the Rings. I was pursuing my passion at the time, theater; while working as a freelance graphic designer; and trying to figure out marriage. I only considered illustration as a backup plan if theater didn’t work out. Even though I went to school for graphic design (years previous to coming to the U.S.) I didn’t have a direction for it. Then when my first daughter was born in 2013, I knew my life would change. I started focusing on illustration and working in my home studio.

I also should mention that I was working as a visual arts teacher at a middle school during most of these events. That was the most stretching endeavor of my life so far. At some point, my brother, Eleazar, approached me about helping him create a character to be a mascot for his studio. This eventually turned into Golly and the book.

GCD: With your background in theater, and as a creative, what do you think of the “Christian” film industry that has arisen in recent years?

RR: Oh man. I often wonder what kind of message those movies send to those who don’t identify as Christians. So many of them seem unrealistic and oversimplified. I have a hard time relating to them—and I am a Christian! They’ll try and depict someone praying and having all their problems solved. That has not been my experience. The Christian life is not that black and white.

On the other hand, there are movies that don’t portray a religious theme but ask questions that are far more universal and compelling to those who embrace the gospel. Take Contact starring Jodie Foster, for example. I think a film like that asks more universal questions about belief and faith that people can relate to than a lot of the things in the “Christian” market.

Another movie along these lines is The Book of Eli. It makes no effort to be overtly Christian but gives us much to think and talk about. Even the recent “Noah” movie, had a lot of good content for discussion, regardless of the criticism it has received from the Christian community.

Francis Schaeffer once said “Christian art is the expression of the whole life of the whole person as a Christian. What a Christian portrays in his art is the totality of life. Art is not to be solely a vehicle for some sort of self-conscious evangelism.”

There’s not such a thing as “Christian” or “worldly art,” there is just “art.” What we express in sound, word, movement and hands it's our worldview, what we believe and live for is the real catalyst for art. Often, the Church is guilty of being really unimaginative.

Like we’re afraid of people with questions, who don’t think like us. But God is big enough to handle questions and thoughts other than our own. The more I read God’s Word, the more questions are raised. I’m not afraid of the unknown, in fact, and I believe God owns the unknown.

GCD: Along those lines, when it comes to the creative process, how do you see your faith influencing it?

RR: My desire has always been to affect culture. Even when I practiced theatre, I wanted to make art that appealed to people outside of the Church—humanity as a whole. Yet, I’ve been changed by the gospel, so that would always be my foundation. I wanted the quality of my work to be so good that the world couldn’t ignore it.

The world has seen a lot of Christian art that was a poor reflection of the God it claimed to represent. As image bearers of God, anything we create should be awesome. Not because we are awesome, but because God is. That’s part of what drives Patrol Books. We want to do good stuff. It’s pushed us out of our comfort zones, but God calls us to use our gifts and talents for his glory and to affect the culture at large.

I take comfort in following in the footsteps of men like Tolkien and Lewis; they weave faith in between the lines

When I dive into the process of creating something, I take comfort in following in the footsteps of men like Tolkien and Lewis; they weave faith in between the lines. Life is not straightforward, I’ve told God: use me as you want. In this season of my life, I cannot fully devote myself to do exactly what I want because of natural constraints from life, but I told him to use me to the full—I want to do that for him.

But I don’t see the whole picture. It’s his story—not mine—it’s not black and white. I want to make art that brings that struggle. That is real. I want to communicate a beautiful truth…but it’s a truth that has many layers. It’s not an A-B-C super organized truth, real life is messy. I am a Christian first, and then I make art.

GCD: When you have clients paying you to make artwork for them, do you find it difficult to incorporate your faith into the project?

RR: Interesting question. No, I always try to bring my best and work with integrity. Which in itself is an outflowing of my faith and obedience to Christ (Col. 3:23).

But, when I take paying clients, they’re paying me to make visuals that will communicate their brand and message—with excellence and honesty. I don’t see a conflict in making it for paying clients as a living.

GCD: Have you found other Christians in the art community you look up to?

RR: Wow, too many to mention.

I’m currently being mentored by Matthew Bates, animator and character designer who has worked for Disney Animation and many other studios. Another amazing artist working at Disney is Armand Serrano and painter, writer, and thinker Makoto Fujimura.

I get a great degree of inspiration by guys like them, not just because of their incredible skills but because of their humility, character, and testimony in and out of their industries.

Also, I love the work of Don Clark, of Invisible Creature, Luke Flowers, and Josh Lewis, among many others.

GCD: What other influences have affected your art?

RR: Ufff, this one is hard as inspiration comes literally everywhere. But here we go:

From the top: Epic fantasy from Tolkien, like The Lord of the Rings and Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Even though it’s used for horror, there are interesting elements of transformation in there. Anything by Dr. Seuss. And I love the book, Where the Wild Things Are.

I’m influenced a lot by mid-century design. I also like Charley Harper, Martin and Alice Provensen, Ronald Searle, Eyvind Earle, Mary Blair, Maurice Noble, Jim Flora, and a lot of 1940s/50s animators. A lot of illustrators are being influenced by this time frame of illustrators. I’d like to explore other styles as well in the future.

GCD: Well it shows in the final product. The artwork in Golly’s Folly is impressive and beautiful. How long did it take you to finish it?

RR: It took three years because I had a full-time job and a family. It shouldn’t take more than a year normally, but I wanted to do my best and not compromise quality due to other commitments.

GCD: What sort of influence does being a father have on your work?

RR: The other day I took my family to Disneyland, and it was breathtaking to see my daughters just marvel at this world. Bel (my oldest daughter) was elated when Ariel (a parade actress) waved and smiled directly at her. I said to myself: I want my daughter to melt at the beauty of the gospel. So I want to create work that points her towards the beauty and awesomeness of our Creator.

When it comes to children’s books, it’s sort of a new world to me, I’m just soaking it in. I didn’t geek out on children’s books prior to now. Having kids is what has thrown me into the world of children’s literature. I know of a few children’s books that are distinctly Christian and also amazing.

But I wasn’t overly impressed with the art. It’s hard to find ten children’s books that are all incredible. Not that I’m saying our book is amazing, but that’s what we’re striving for. We want to merge really good art with really good theology, that’s our aim.

Because the gospel is beautiful, there should be no divide between truth and beauty. That’s where the vision for this first book came from.

GCD: A few fun questions: If you got stuck in an elevator with one famous/influential person (living or dead), who would it be? Why?

RR: Dietrich Bonhoeffer. While it’d be cool to sit with CS Lewis or Tolkien, something about Bonhoeffer during such a dark time in history and his radical response of faith is awe-inspiring. His understanding of being a light in the dark is so interesting to me.

GCD: The kids want to know: who would win in a fight—the Minions or Olaf and Elsa?

RR: [Laughing] As a father of two girls, Olaf and Elsa for sure.

GCD: What projects are you currently working on that you’re excited about? What should we expect from you in the future?

RR: Right now, I’m working on several projects; one is a graphic novel. I’m also in talks with a couple of children books.

GCD: Since our interest here at GCD is laser-focused on making, maturing, and multiplying disciples, when you create artwork, how do you think it can influence your viewers positively or negatively? Do you think it’s possible to nudge people closer to God via visual mediums?

RR: It would be a little arrogant for me as an artist to say that I could accomplish that. You need that spoken word, to best encounter God (Rom. 10:17). You need all senses engaged to properly experience God. If you remember the brazen serpent in the wilderness for Israel, they weren’t saved by it; it was just a symbol to represent the God who did save them (Num. 21; Jn. 3:14). It’s a checkpoint.

To be sure, God can use a movie, theater, dancing, a photograph, a painting. Anything that engages your senses can connect you to the one who created you. It’s a form of communication, but people place way too much expectation on art for being able to speak to someone.

There was a time when I thought art could transform someone in a way that was unrealistic. And to be sure, sometimes that can happen, art can bring us to look beyond what can be seen, but I think that is the exception and not the rule. While art is powerful, it isn’t a means in itself. When used correctly, it brings people beyond itself and points us to something greater.

One reason I’d love to influence and disciple creative types is to help them see that their identity is more than just the art they create. I’ve been stuck in the performance trap and getting depressed when my production of art didn’t fulfill me. And I’d love to point other artists beyond what they create to the Creator that made them and the Savior that died to redeem them.

GCD: Rommel, thank you so much for your time and for the sweat and blood you put into this book. I look forward to reading it to my kids some day!

Note: Golly’s Folly is available Tuesday, October 18th worldwide. It is the debut release by Patrol Books.

—

Rommel Ruiz was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and strives to create good works with joy, imagination, and curiosity. He is driven by telling a memorable story and crafting powerful messages for clients and audiences.

With over thirteen years of experience working as an in-house and freelance designer/illustrator for a variety of industries, Rommel brings diverse talents and artistic perspectives to every project.

He is a happy husband to Anny (also a designer) and a thankful father to two joyful girls.

Is Your Community Proximately Safe or Ultimately Safe?

While in college, I sat down with my dear Grandmother H. during one of my stays with my grandfather and her; we convened in their living room, which had a distinct Japanese esthetic from the items they collected over their years as missionaries there. Normally, we would have sat in her kitchen, playing Monopoly or Skip-bo, or I would have stood against the kitchen counter, watching her bake and cook while I pealed some of her small but satisfying cookies away from the Tupperware where I knew I would almost always find them. For class, I had been assigned to interview a woman whom I considered a mentor. There in the living room that day sat one. She is the kind of tried and true, faithful, sacrificial, and hospitable person you just hope you have a bit of (or more than a bit of) in you as a granddaughter. During our soudan—Japanese for conference—that day, she shared a quote with me that held with her through the years. It was from Corrie ten Boom, “The center of his will is our only safety.” My grandma thought those words were good; I thought of their life, taking an ocean liner over to a new country as a young family, raising children without other family anywhere nearby, seeking others’ benefit and teaching her children to do the same, and in terms of possessions, voluntarily not having much. So, yes, this phrase resonated with her, that the center of God’s will is the safest place to be.

She tucked those words of safety into my soul, something good that would not be pealed away. The initial sweetness that I received from her—like games or times together in her kitchen to teach me about how to make her pie crust from scratch—was accompanied by a different kind of sweetness too. The safety I gained at that pivotal time in my life and still gain through my grandparents is through their wise clarity about truth and through their uplifting affirmations about my own faith. Faith—what a wonderful thing to affirm in another person. I’ll always cherish their joy in my faith. They know that my only real safety is with God, and so, used the proximate safety of our times together to lead me, in various ways, to my true safety with him.

When reading the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, how fitting to think of them in terms of safety too—at least in part, considering the remainder of Revelation after these letters contains prophecies about a tribulation time in which believers will be anything but, in an earthly sense, safe. During that time, the church will want to stay as close to Christ’s will as possible, as close to his heart as possible. So must we too.

These letters gauge how I’ve understood the epistles and Gospels—like a check-in toward the conclusion of the Bible to help me know if I have done the work of interpretation correctly. If we understand what Christ has taught and since nothing is new under the sun, these letters address and report what our collective concerns are to be as well.

Christ’s remarks in these letters also give us an example of how to think of the presence or absence of truth in each other. Typically, he has affirmations and admonitions for each church. The act of teaching each other, directly or indirectly, to remember the truth in our thinking, loving, and doing—we are wise to view this not as being judgmental, but as being discerning and caring; we ought to promote each other’s true safety. Yet, if admonishing one another in the truth ever keeps us from freely and openly affirming one another as well—as Christ does both—well, I know that signals trouble in my own heart to repent of.

Now, through drawing our attention to the themes of Christ’s remarks in the seven letters, we are taught to how to have a safe community, bringing each other to the center of his will in our interactions.

Safe Community is Affirming

Christ is attentive to giving affirmations in these letters; where he sees deeds of righteousness and holiness, he is quick to speak it (Rev 2:2, 13, 19, 3:4, 3:8). Where he sees a cause for compassion, he is quick to speak words of care, and remind of his kind of riches (Rev 2:9, 3:18). Safe community follows his example and looks for every opportunity, every expression of genuine faith in Christ—even a glimmer—that seeks the Word and ways of God. This is an active pursuit, to search out in each other what is honoring to God—affirming each other’s faith, love, purity, service, and deeds. As we do, we encourage each other that to live according to his ways is to overcome and be rewarded (Rev 2:11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21).

Safe Community is Discerning

Safe community is also discerning about sin. Christ is concerned that we not tolerate evil deeds done by those in our communities (Rev 2:2, 6, 20). He also desires that we test those we follow to see if they are teaching us the truth; he is glad for the purity that comes when we can identify those who are not teaching his truth (Rev 2:2). He desires that we give each other opportunity, even generous opportunity, for repentance (Rev 2:5, 16, 21-22, 3:3, 19). And through this all, he desires that we be clear about the standard of sin versus goodness (Rev 3:17-18), and that we never lead each other or permit influencers to lead each other into sin or unfaithfulness (Rev 2:14). He desires that our deeds of righteousness and holiness continue to grow (Rev 2:19). He desires that we remember our motivation, our zeal for Christ, in everything we do (Rev 2:4; 3:15, 19).

Safe Community is Stretching

Throughout these letters to the seven churches, there is a theme of perseverance and endurance (Rev 2:10, 17, 25, 3:10). Safe community stretches toward our goal of Christ because we know that Christ’s sanctifying work in us is never done on this earth. There is always more to learn of him and more ways we can turn to his goodness. Scripture often acknowledges that we will suffer and be handed evil. So, safe community assumes the priority of encouraging each other to not grow weary in keeping his Word (Rev 3:8, 10), to be faithful—even to death if God should ever ask martyrdom of any one of us—to suffer without fear (Rev 2:10), and to suffer without denying him or his Name (Rev 2:13, 3:8). Safe community stretches us toward these ends, prodding complacency and encouraging active obedience to Christ in every somber or every mundane situation we are presently called to endure.

Safe Community is Scriptural

We find how to do each of these points in God’s Word—to know what is sin and what is good, to understand affirmations and rewards of faith, and to endure with zeal for him. Even when pursuing these, we are still left needing more than each other. We are called to each other, to the same faith, and to use our gifts in each other’s service. But we cannot perfectly understand each other even when we share in common the most important part of our lives. Even when we share in the priorities of Christ, we are not able to change each other’s hearts or give each other complete understanding. Further, each one of us answers to Christ. Note that he sees some in the church at Thyatira who are practicing evil and some who are not. He addresses both groups with a different message (Rev 3:24). So, in safe Christian community, we direct each other toward God’s revealed will in His Word because He understands our hearts and He is our final authority. So, safe Christian community directs each other to our God who understands us in his Word as our authority.

The resonant security I have found with my family and with my grandparents comes through having these same purposes—the same Lord. We desire to go back to his Word again and again. This is what they have done for me; and by being further ahead, they have afforded me much. In reflection, feeling understood by my grandparents is not what makes being with them one of my favorite places, though I am much understood; it hasn’t been the cookies or Monopoly games, though they have been much appreciated and are cherished. At the base, what makes being with my grandparents one of my favorite places to be has been our commonality and their unique role in my life to encourage me toward Christ, such that I am helped to find my safety in his will. This kind of safety in Christian community, whether in a soudan or in a coffee shop, transcends generations, cultures, and more.

It seems that we can be afraid of entering into this kind of community because of fear—that we will be quick to judge each other. We should make every effort to avoid judgment by increasing our affirmation of others’ faith and knowing we cannot see the church through a single lens, especially if Christ does not. But if God’s will is our safety, being judged by each other while pursuing his will shouldn’t be our worst fear. After all, if being judged results in helping us discover a way to be more faithful to Christ—then praise God that we have drawn nearer to our goal. Being judged is far from the worst that a fellow Christian can do to me, but I am grieved if we cannot share in Christ’s priorities together for fear of it.

Instead, we ought to be most concerned about Christian communities that we not set proximate safeties (i.e., not being judged) as ultimate safeties when, instead, proximate safeties can aid and accompany our growth toward the ultimate safety of God’s will. Setting proximate safeties up as ultimate safeties in Christian community means that our inevitable failures in judging each other or making each other uncomfortable, for example, will severely deter us from seeking the revealed will of God that Christ has given us in his letters to the seven churches. Christians, the only real safety is the kind that will matter in the end. Grow with me and bear with some proximate “danger” of undo judgment for the purpose of moving toward thriving in ultimate safety.

Christian, your faith is my joy. I have great gratitude to God for the faithfulness, love, and service in you. Persevere in discernment and clarity about sin; do not grow weary of doing what is good. Endure and you will overcome; suffer hardship well, for our King will come on the clouds very soon. And never forget his Word. See your greatest safety in the center of his will so that you can remain steadfast and be readied for his coming.

—

Lianna Davis (@liannadavis) is wed to Tyler and mom to two girls, one who lives in heaven and one who lives on earth. She serves with Hope Mommies, a non-profit organization sharing the hope of Christ with bereaved mothers, and is co-founder at Of Larks, a blog for theologically-minded women writers and readers.

Reclaiming Faith Formation

When I first came to faith in Jesus, I floundered. I was 18, I had just started college, I came out of a family that largely didn't discuss issues of faith, and the only exposure to a community of faith was a confirmation class in a Lutheran church my family attended once a year. More or less I was told: “Now that you believe, here is a list of things that ‘good Christians’ does.” Based on where I was, I didn't like the church very much, and I was largely disinterested in the idea of God. I wasn't a very disciplined person; I barely graduated high school. Then in coming to faith, I was thrust into a very disciplined practice, one that not only was interested in the idea of God but everything hinges on his existence and presence in the world. Can you see why I might have floundered?

As I stumbled through those early years of faith, I finally managed to discover some level of discipline and even the ability to discern the voice of the Spirit of God. I eventually would go on to California Baptist University (CBU) upon acknowledging a call to vocational ministry to study theology. There I learned how to study the Bible well; I had world-class professors who not only helped me to understand right thinking about the Kingdom (good orthodoxy) but also helped me understand how to be engaged in right action in the Kingdom (good orthopraxy).

While attending CBU, I ran into many other students who shared my experience. Some of them came to faith at an early age, some later. Many of us had a shared experience, we came to faith and were given a list of things that “good Christians” do with little instruction beyond that.

There had to be another way to learn the teachings and practices of Jesus though right?

In the early years of faith, I rejected anything that smelled of my previous experience. In those years of confirmation (before coming to faith), a bad taste was left in my mouth. The experience was stale and largely narrow. It was one of the things that pushed me away from God, rather than drawing me closer. However, during my studies at CBU, I became intrigued by church history, particularly in the areas of how the church approached faith formation. Oddly enough an experience that served to push me far from God began to draw me closer.

As I peeled back the layers of church history, I discovered that the ancient Church had a process of faith formation that was very rich and comprehensive. It dealt not only with how a person would have good orthodoxy but also good orthopraxy.

The process is called catechesis.

The catechetical process has been used in a variety of ways. Some traditions use it solely to teach the ways of Christ to new converts leading to baptism. Others use it as a process to bring people from unbelief into belief. In either way of using catechesis, there is a structure that the church used to help a new or potential convert know what it means to be a part of the church. In the ancient church, it was not sufficient enough to leave a person to figure out what it means to be a Christian on their own.

Catechesis in the ancient church consisted of four stages and three rites. Robert Webber put together a helpful table in his book Ancient Future Evangelism.

Regarding this process Webber writes: “The journey of disciple making and Christian formation is clearly ordered around the cycle of believing, behaving, and belonging and is accomplished in the context of the worshiping community.” Notice that in the process Webber outlines we see that discipleship begins before conversion and is carried out through the life of a person.

I am convinced that the catechesis used by the ancient church was largely based on what they knew about how Jesus called and instructed his disciples. While it may not be clear as to when the disciples were baptized, we clearly see Jesus calling the disciples to come and see (Lk. 5:1-11), as they believe he teaches them the ways of the kingdom (Matt. 5-7), he prepares him for the work ahead (Lk. 14:25-34), and he sends them into mission (Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15; Lk. 24:46-47; Jn. 20:21; Acts 1:8).

Jesus regularly invited the disciples to believe, behave, and belong. In the midst of these things, Jesus would then refine the disciples in a variety of ways that sought to see them fully mature in their faith and action.

Why not use a structure like this in faith formation today?

The church today should return to such a process. Catechism is not only helpful in the work of seeing a disciple mature (as is it’s primary use in most church traditions today) but also to introduce people to the Kingdom. In the catechetical process, you are offering people a place to belong on their road to belief. It is an opportunity for the pre-convert to not only learn how to think about God but also how to live in the community of faith.

To often I am concerned that many churches see a person come to belief, yet leave them there with some version of the sentiment “Peace be with you, go and do likewise.” Imagine if we brought a person from pre-conversion to maturity in Christ and along the way allowed them to practice believing, behaving, and belonging. It would not have to follow such a structure of the ancient church; it simply might encompass the four primary parts of the process: evangelize, disciple, spiritually mature, and membership (assimilation).

The process is a marathon, not a sprint.

We must be careful though not to let the process become a program. The very nature of a process is to recognize that one is transformed in the heart, mind, and will. This doesn't happen in a cookie cutter fashion. What is most beneficial is to have a frame with which to work in but allow the content to be fluid as the person is being transformed by the gospel. As you work through the gospel with a person, you must be fluid enough to address issues as they arise rather than expect them to fit into programmatic frameworks.

By embracing such a structure toward faith formation, we can focus both on the church being a mile wide and deep. Seeing the multitudes come to faith in Jesus, while also see them grown in their maturity. In some ways, it is like pushing a bolder down a hill. You first have to spend time getting it into position; it can be a long and slow process. However, once it catches momentum very little can stop it. Let the church reclaim a process of faith formation that not only sees people come to faith but see them mature to active participants in the kingdom through the church.

—

Paul Hoffman (BAT California Baptist University, M.A. Southwestern Seminary) is the planting pastor of KALEO Communities in Portland, OR. www.kaleopdx.com @paulchoffman 

The Compassion of Community

An incoming freshman texted me at 11pm, which is approximately thirty minutes past my bedtime, and said she needed help. I immediately met her. She just got hit with the news that her mom was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. Her eyes filled with emotional tears, her breathing labored as she tried to speak through the sobs, and her shoulders slumped and shook with despair. I hardly knew this girl, but her grief drew out my compassion. Just as I felt my own eyes well up, my best friend and roommate walked into the room laughing. She had received a funny text and looked up to share the joke when she saw our current state. Immediately, she rushed to us and offered warmth and sympathy. She didn’t even ask this girl’s name but jumped in the mess to provide comfort.

When the young girl left and my roommate asked more about her, we both recognized the beauty in the pain. We didn’t have to know one another to share her mourning. It was a domino effect that happened both quickly and very naturally. If discipleship should look anything like the ministry of Jesus, then what we had just experienced was a very real representation. It reminded me that witness, compassion, and community are essential to a lifestyle of discipleship.

John 11:34-36

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

This excerpt is from the story of the relationship between Jesus, Lazarus, Mary and Martha. The series of compassion is unavoidable. However, earlier in this chapter Jesus is first told the news about Lazarus, and he responds confidently and unafraid of the consequences. Jesus is God, and his authority is duly noted in his initial words.

“This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

He doesn’t seem overly concerned for the emotional health of his friends, but simply declares that this tragedy will lead to his ultimate glory. Some may even say that he seemed to lack sensitivity towards the situation. However, just a few lines down, we see Jesus weeping over the friendship lost. How could a few lines cultivate such a change in response?

Clearly, he walked into an atmosphere that was emotionally intense. The text says that the anguish he witnessed in Mary and Martha moved his spirit and he was greatly troubled. His compassion was so deep that it caused uncontrollable sadness, and he wept. He cried so much that the people who had been ridiculing him a few verses before, turned and said “See how he loved him!” He didn’t hide his pain, and he didn’t declare his omniscience. He shared in mourning, he sowed tears, and he discipled those around him by doing so. He also validated their grief even though he knew Lazarus would be resurrected. The significance of identifying and sharing in pain was more than a teaching moment.

Discipleship in Community

This sliver of Jesus ministry helps illustrate something we don’t often give much opportunity—discipleship in community. Intentional discipleship is often secluded from community and has instead been left for meaningful talks in coffee shops or church on Sunday morning. This limitation is a disservice to all of us but also our community. Jesus went to Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. He entered into their lives and loved deeply as he ministered to them. Lazarus and Jesus were known as close friends, but Mary and Martha were there too. Jesus didn’t choose to isolate his relationship with Lazarus but brought his ministry into the community. Even deeper, the surrounding community received the benefit of their discipleship when they grieved the loss of Lazarus. Jesus knew that the community would reap great wisdom, even if it wasn’t exclusively sown into them.

Ironically, I can think of another story where community overlapped discipleship in my life. It was before an evening event, and the girl I disciple was expressing heartbreak over a boy. Her words, her insecurity, and her confusion were all so familiar. I wrestled similarly when I was in high school and couldn’t find freedom from the incessant self-doubt.

In the moment, I didn’t have any wisdom to offer, so I just sat and listened. My boyfriend called me and asked if I was ready to go and, on a time crunch, I said yes but asked for him to come in to get me. When he arrived he apologized for intruding and turned to leave, but I asked for him to come and sit. I encouraged her to share her heart with him, and I watched the conversation unfold. As she divulged self-doubt, insecurity, and rejection, I watched him fight for her in protection. I heard him express compassion and regard for her heart ache. It was the first time she ever had her value and self worth validated by a man. He didn’t gain by entering into her story, but she’ll forever remember the Truth he spoke. His vantage point was what she needed. He did what I couldn’t do because I invited him in. The grace of God is so often found in community. The body of Christ works together, fulfilling different roles and strengths at different times in the one true story.

Evidences of Community

John 11 shares numerous evidences of love shared in community. For example, Jesus left his plans to comfort his friends, Mary and Martha led Jesus in compassion, Jesus wept over Lazarus, the community around them witnessed, and Lazarus was resurrected. The story is an unexpected account of a raw ministry. They mourned together because they loved together.

Real life ministry is not taking every moment to teach, it’s not using every silence to impart wisdom, and it’s certainly not isolating from the pain. The ministry that Jesus gives is his presence—that’s the strongest witness of discipleship in community. The ability to step back and just be with people.

My challenge for you is to do this yourself. Invite people into the unknown and risky places of your heart, and don’t be afraid to step into someone else's. Don’t fear the complex boundaries of community just let your presence witness.

—

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.

Tamar and God’s Grace

I’ve sat around dinner tables when friends have sarcastically competed for the “most broken family.” To prove it, they half-mockingly, half-lightheartedly told childhood stories. Many stories were enough to make you sick to your stomach and bring tears to your eyes even though they were told with a laugh. The reality of pain and scars from family is a self-evident reality. Family can be the Trojan horse, expected to be a gift but bringing wounds instead. There aren’t quick salves for the pain and brokenness that comes from families.

But as I read through the Bible, I’m thankful that God communicates about painful families. His Scriptures don’t communicate about perfect TV sitcom families (which we’ve learned over the years are just contrived anyway).

And if anyone could compete in that story-telling dinner, Tamar could. Genesis 38, Tamar’s story, is a mess. No one wants to preach or teach it. What do we do with this story? Where do you find the grace? Where’s the hope? Oh, but it’s there because God is there.

The Scene of This Family

Judah has just seen his brother sold into slavery. It was his idea, actually, and he has watched his father mourn the loss. The deception must be eating him. Immediately after, Judah leaves his brothers, finds a friend, and decides to live like someone who does not know the Lord God. His corruption is a stark contrast to how the brother he cast off will respond to temptation in Egypt in Genesis 39.

The storyline of Genesis so far has given us hope that God would one day bring a child who would reverse the curse from sin (Gen. 3:15). This child would bless all the families of the earth (Gen. 12:3). The line would bring kings (Gen. 35:11). The promise has been traced from Eve to Abraham and now to Jacob and one of his sons. The emphasis on Judah in this chapter gives us a hint—he’s the son. He’s the one who will bring the descendant who gives hope to the world (which is later confirmed in Gen. 49:10). So we lean forward and pay attention to Judah.

Tamar’s Desperation

So even in Judah’s evil choices thus far, we watch for his children. He marries, but the Lord puts his first son to death because of his wickedness. Judah rightly tells his second son to marry the widow, Tamar. But for his great selfishness (not wanting another heir), the Lord punishes the second son. He also died.

According to the rules of family responsibility, Judah should give his third son to Tamar and provide for her, or he should release her to marry someone else. Judah does neither. He tells her to return home, so he abrogates responsibility to care for her. He won’t release her to marry another. She’s stuck, still bound to Judah’s family but without a husband. She waits. She waits to be provided for and to marry the last son.

But times passes, and she is not given to her promised husband, Judah’s sole living child. During this period in history, a husband cared for you by protecting you. Because of Judah’s decision, Tamar is not only denied the hope of children but also protection, for who knows how long her father will live. She is in a desperate situation. She can have no husband other than Judah’s son, or by Canaanite law, she could be given in marriage to Judah himself.

This family has already seen the consequences of wickedness in deaths, and now a man’s choice to ignore his responsibilities has left a widow desperate. To add to the misery, there is no child, no descendant of this family yet, and though they may not know it, the entire world is relying on this child to come. These are the broken family stories that could be told at Tamar’s dinner table.

Tamar’s Deception

Tamar is stuck, desperate. She turns to deception and dresses in a veil to meet Judah. He offers to pay her for sex and impregnates her. Perhaps this result is exactly what she planned. After all, by the laws of the land, if she cannot have the third son, he is next in line as her husband. But we don’t know what her plan was. Much of the stories of Bible are descriptive. They aren’t endorsed by God, but they tell you the mess as it happened. The moral of the story here is not to deceive family to have a baby, but it is to show that God still saves.

We get a taste of his salvation when we realize that there is a child coming! We can almost feel the audience gasp when they recognize a baby’s imminent arrival so that the line will continue. But the danger doesn’t end there. Now Judah who put Tamar in this hopeless position in the first place threatens her life in the most brutal way—death by fire while alive (v. 24). We hold our breath again.

But she is saved. The truth comes out and at the climax of the story, Tamar is not burned. Rather she is finally given a safe place, a formal place in Judah’s family, and twins are born. A breach has been made, pushing and shoving and pain and wounds, but look! There is not just one child, but two!

God Welcomes the Rejected

Tamar lost her husband, was rejected by the second son, Onan, then rejected by Judah himself. She had no hope, and the family who was designed to care for her brought only pain. But God saw her and was working to welcome her.

We may not see God’s hand explicitly mentioned in the text after the death of Onan, but he is there. Just like in the life of Ruth, even in the pain of death and desperation, God can work to bring salvation. God does exactly this with Tamar. He brought her to a permanent place in Judah’s family with provision and protection (Gen. 38:26) then, he gave her the crucial children.

Because many years later, Ruth would marry the great, great, great, great grandson of that first twin. And Ruth’s child would be the great-grandfather of David. The line would continue. The line would lead us all the way to Matthew 1:3 where we see Tamar’s name with both her children, ancestors of the Hope of the world—Jesus Christ. God brought a child into Tamar’s life to bring her a family. He also brought that child to bring her salvation—Her Savior would come ultimately from the baby she held. The rejected woman was welcomed not just into Judah’s family but into the family of God.

What do we do with Tamar’s story? The Israelites would have read this text from Moses and seen a broken family, the disobedience of Judah, and the deception of Tamar, and they would have learned that God works to bring salvation even in the midst of brokenness, disobedience, and deception.

Pain from families is real and scarring, but the R-rated story of Tamar shows that it does not keep God from working and bringing salvation. Jesus’ genealogical tree portrays the kind of people he came to love, heal, and welcome into his family. You may be able to tell some shocking stories at my dinner table. These kinds of stories break my heart. Even still, God is here to work for salvation for you, and, because of the Son from Tamar’s broken home, he welcomes you and me into his family.

—

Taylor Turkington has worked for a church in the Portland area for the last six years, teaching, discipling, and training. She loves being involved in the equipping and encouraging of people for the work God has given them. Before her church life, Taylor worked as a missionary in Eastern Europe and graduated from Western Seminary with an M.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies. Currently, Taylor is a student at Western in the D.Min. program. She loves teaching the Bible and speaks at seminars, retreats, and conferences. Taylor is a co-founder and co-director of the Verity Fellowship.

Adapted from “Where's the Hope for Tamar?" Used with permission.

The Emmaus Model of Ministry

What can we learn from that “walk to Emmaus” about ministering to the people God has placed in our path? In Luke 24, Jesus gives us a ministry model worth imitating. Four ministries served two hopeless travelers on one road in a single day, yet they show us the history-shaping life and ministry of Jesus on a small scale. He walked with us, talked with us, taught us, and brought us to himself through the taking, breaking, and giving of his body for us. These are the ministries of incarnation, inquiry, interpretation, and ignition.

The Ministry of INCARNATION | Draw Near

The ministry of incarnation happens when we become love in the flesh with up close compassion and personal pursuit of the heart. When he found the downtrodden disciples on the road to Emmaus "Jesus himself drew near and went with them" (Lk. 24:15). He showed up in the flesh, entered their world, and physically walked alongside these two disciples.

I love Eugene Peterson's description of Christ’s incarnation in this paraphrase of John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood." He moved into their life, into that particular page of their story at that messy moment. In the ministry of incarnation, we draw near to the people in our path by taking the time to enter into their world and story right now, right where they are. But like Jesus, we go there with a prayerful purpose.

The Ministry of INQUIRY | Draw Out

What did Jesus do after he showed up? He drew out their hearts’ hopes, fears, and desires by paying attention to and poking around in their story with curious questions. This is the ministry of inquiry.

First, he paid attention to their story. He made an effort to listen to them. He walked with them for a while before he said anything. He was aware of and interested in their conversation and their concerns. He was listening for their hopes, fears, and desires as “they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened” (verse 14).

Next, he began to poke around in their story a little bit. He started asking questions. He not only listened but also wanted to learn more (as if he needed to!). Jesus’ compassion made him curious, and so he asked, "What is this conversation that you are having?" “And they stood still, looking sad,” Luke noted. We must stop there with Jesus and see the sadness in their eyes and hear the hurt in their voices.

We, too, can offer the people in our path the ministry of inquiry, drawing out their hearts by using curious questions to explore their smaller story as we prepare to tell them the Larger Story of Jesus.

The Ministry of INTERPRETATION | Draw Connections and Draw Them Up

After Jesus drew near these disciples and began to draw them out, he then began to draw connections between their small story and His Large Story, and thus he drew them up into that Larger Story. This is the ministry of interpretation.

They had grown up hearing all the stories of the coming Messiah all of their lives, but still, they were like those to whom Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures looking for eternal life, but you missed Me. You're supposed to come to Me!" (Jn. 5:39-40). These guys had the Scriptures, but they didn't have Jesus. They knew the Bible, but they hadn't connected all the dots so that Jesus appeared on every page, making sense of the whole Story.

So, he took the time to draw the connections for them by beginning with Moses in Genesis, then walking them through the Scriptures, interpreting them, translating them, explaining them, so that they could see him and see that the Scriptures were all about him (Lk. 24:27).

We must take the time to take our friends to the Story of Jesus, drawing connections between one Bible passage and the others, showing them how Jesus is the center of it all, and drawing them up into the Larger Story God is telling, so that they might interpret their stories in light of his. It’s only when we talk with them on their journeys and “open to them the Scriptures” that the Spirit draws them to Jesus and sets their hearts ablaze with faith, hope, and love in him (Lk. 24:32).

The Ministry of IGNITION | Draw Them to Jesus

Jesus’ fourth ministry to these disciples was the ministry of ignition. By drawing those connections, Jesus drew them up into the Larger Story. He was ultimately drawing them to Himself. That's where he wanted this journey to take them. Pay attention to what happens to these disciples. When Jesus enables them to rightly place their faith and hope in him as he is offered in the pages of Scripture, the Spirit of God ignites them and sets their hearts ablaze with love for him and others.

It may have happened like this:

When he opened the Scriptures to them on the road, he lit the fuse, and their hearts began to burn. 10, 9, 8, 7, . . .

Then at the right time, when he was ready, 6, 5, 4, . . .

Dinner with the disciples in Emmaus, 3, 2, 1, . . .

“When He was at table with them, He took the bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them” . . . IGNITION! He opened the eyes of their hearts so that they recognized Him as the Jesus who had served them bread in those same actions just days before.

He drew them to himself and BLAST OFF! He's gone, and so are they. Immediately they run back to Jerusalem. It's already nightfall, and they’re back on the road, but now a whole day’s journey must have felt like a 100-yard dash. They go straight back to that Christ-and-people-loving community and that Christ-and-people-loving mission to which Jesus had called them on Thursday night. In the ministry of ignition, Jesus drew these disciples to himself and set them ablaze with passion for God and compassion for people by enlightening their eyes and inflaming their hearts to see and to serve him for who he really is. He was not the redeemer they wanted, but now they know he is the Redeemer they needed.

It is worth noting that the ministry of ignition is the one ministry that we can’t quite do the way Jesus did. “No one can come to me,” Jesus said, “unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). Only God can draw people to Jesus so that they see his glory and catch fire (2 Cor. 4:4-6). None of us have the power to ignite faith, hope, and love in the life of any person; only the Spirit can do that (John 6:63; Romans 8:2). Our participation in Jesus’ ministry of ignition is to pray that God would light the fire, that he would draw them to Jesus (Ephesians 1:16-18).

We pray that he would open the eyes of the hearts of the people in our paths to pay attention to his Word, just as he did for Lydia in Acts 16:14. Jesus invites us into the ministry of ignition by asking us to pray for the Spirit to come in blazing power to set hearts on fire with faith, hope, and love in Jesus as He is offered in the gospel story we’re telling the people in our paths (Luke 24:49-53; Acts 1:14 – 2:47).

The Emmaus Model of Ministry: incarnation, inquiry, interpretation and ignition. He did them for us, and he gave them for us to do. The book of the Acts of the Apostles, which is actually Luke: Volume Two, documents the continuation of these ministries in the lives of the disciples. Luke began Acts saying, “Remember in my first book I told you all that Jesus began to do and teach. Now I'm going to tell you what he continues to do and teach by the power of his Spirit through His people." May God grant us grace to continue the Emmaus ministry of Jesus with Jesus in the power of his Spirit.

—

Jimmy Davis is an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America currently serving the good folks at Metrocrest Presbyterian Church in Carrollton, TX. He occasionally shares some thoughts and resources at The Cruciform Life Blog, Twitter @cruciformlife, and Facebook. He is the author of Cruciform: Living the Cross-Shaped Life.

Short-Term Trips, Long-Term Discipleship

I’ve earned a few mission trip merit badges. I weeded a sidewalk in Pittsburgh’s Northside, built a house in Ensenada, cleaned up hurricane debris in New Orleans, and took a picture with an orphan in Piedras Negras, Mexico (all before I finished high school). I might not be wearing a sash, but I am sporting a pair of dirty corduroy Toms—the universal, millennial symbol for “Ask me about my latest mission trip.” Like many other twenty-somethings in the church, I am a fully initiated member of the mission trip generation—including earning some merit badges, but also ripping them off after reading When Helping Hurts as a college student (which is not the intention of the book). I left the party of short-term mission trips and felt the hangover of embarrassment, disillusionment, and lament after joining the growing herd of mission trip naysayers.

Now, twelve years since my first mission trip, I am preparing to send a group from the church where I pastor in Pittsburgh to our partners in the Dominican Republic. As a sender instead of a goer, I have been able to reflect on the ups and downs of my own mission trip lifecycle—including seasons of blind optimism and unbridled pessimism. In the tension, one question kept coming back to mind: Why would I send people into the nations whom I would never send to my neighbors?

As I thought about this question, it sparked a more positive question: How can we train people for short-term mission trips among the nations whom we could also trust with long-term missional engagement among our neighbors? The short answer: discipleship.

In addition to forming long-term partnerships, it is mission critical to frame short-term trips within long-term discipleship. Listen to how Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert describe this:

In the midst of compiling resources, exploring the complexity of poverty alleviation, and casting a different vision for what a short-term trip can be, do not lose sight of the bigger picture: this is actually a process of discipleship.

What might it look like to reframe short-term mission trips as the final project of a six-month discipleship intensive—with two more months of follow-up after the trip? With the help of some excellent resources and the inspiration of some effective churches, we’ve landed on the following four goals for the training process at our church: gospel clarity, spiritual integrity, cultural agility, and team unity.

Gospel Clarity

What makes the good news so good? The first time someone asked me that question it changed my life. In The Unbelievable Gospel, Jonathan Dodson asks it this way, “What does the death and resurrection of a first-century Messiah have to do with twenty-first-century people?”

If we do not know how to answer that question, maybe we should invest our money in the Peace Corps instead of a plane ticket.

As part of the discipleship process, goers need to develop such familiarity with the gospel that they can nuance or contextualize it for any person or situation without changing its core—a skill Jeff Vanderstelt calls gospel fluency. Like Paul, we need firsthand knowledge of the gospel “in which [we] stand, and in which [we] are being saved” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-4).

This process might involve exploring some rich gospel texts together, speaking the gospel into each other’s lives, practicing evangelism with our teammates, and sharing our own gospel stories (or “testimonies”) of how the good news interrupted life as normal. If we are uncomfortable sharing the gospel with people who speak the same language, we will not suddenly be comfortable sharing the gospel in a foreign language or through a translator.

Spiritual Integrity

Spiritual integrity is a life where the gap between what you say you believe and how you actually live is progressively getting smaller. It’s not something you decide to have on the first morning of your mission trip—sweaty, exhausted, and mosquito-bitten on the top bunk in a new time zone. It’s the fruit of intentional spiritual training long before the trip itself (see Dallas Willard’s The Spirit of the Disciplines). Paul describes it to Timothy like this:

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is some of value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Jesus himself prepared for his own extended season of intense ministry with solitude, Scripture, and fasting (cf. Mt. 4:1-11) and ended particularly trying days with a morning of solitude and prayer (Mk. 1:35). As a team, this might involve preparing for the trip with a weekend retreat, memorizing a few Scriptures, confessing sins, or fasting for 48-hours together.

Cultural Agility

A professor once told me, “Often we think people are rejecting the gospel when they are actually just rejecting our clothes.” Without gospel clarity and cultural awareness, we can accidentally package our cultural values (changeable things) with the gospel itself (an unchangeable thing)—just like the missionaries in Galatia (cf. Gal. 2). In doing so, we end up dragging our home culture through everything we do in our host culture. Paul had a different method, though:

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them . . . I have become all things to all people, that by all means, I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.

Like Paul, anyone going on a short-term trip (even if it’s just to another domestic city) needs to develop cultural agility. Culture is sticky, and navigating the twin extremes of colonialism and pluralism is hard. As part of the discipleship process, this might involve unpacking some of the hidden cultural values we carry and discussing some strategies for entering into another culture as a servant (see Duane Elmer’s Cross-Cultural Servanthood).

Team Unity

Short-term mission trips are extended group projects that involve people from different backgrounds, personalities, and cultures. Most people hate group projects (myself included) and do not realize they are signing up for one when they apply to be on a team. Many of them have never had more than surface-level conversations with each other before joining a trip.

Without intentionality, the result is conflict and frustration.

Walking “with all humility and gentleness and patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2-3) doesn’t happen overnight. It takes eating meals together, fundraising together, sharing stories with each other, practicing spiritual gifts, and even confessing sins to one another. In short, team unity takes practice.

A Final Thought

In a stroke of irony, I am writing this article in an upscale coffee shop only a few blocks from the location of my first “inner-city” mission trip as an eighth-grader. If you told me that I needed to be trained in these things back then, I probably would have decided to stay home instead. I just wanted to “help” (as well as get away from my parents, share headphones with the girl I liked and see the mysterious city of Pittsburgh).

If you choose to reframe short-term missions trips as one piece of long-term discipleship, you might hit some resistance. Taking a week out of your life to go serve is already asking a lot from people, but adding six months of training on the front end can feel like too much. In the end, though, it’s worth it. These things matter whether you’re a thousand miles away or on your front porch.

—

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

God Is Holding Out On Me

Right now I’m tempted to believe that God is holding out on me. There. I said it.

I planned to postpone writing this until I could speak about my unbelief in the past tense. Like most of you I’m more comfortable sharing my struggles when I can see them in the rearview mirror (with a lesson in my back pocket of course!). It feels godlier to say, “Six months ago I was tempted to look at porn or binge shop or cheat on that exam. But now I’m trusting in Christ’s work.”

I can’t help but think that this subtly undermines the gospel. Christ isn’t only sufficient for us when we’re past our temptations. He’s more than sufficient in the midst of them. Thus, Christians are free to share present tense struggles that elevate a high view of Christ even as we walk through real doubt and unbelief.

Present Tense Kind of Doubts

Lately, it seems like nothing falls into place. Nothing comes easily to me. I wrestle. I strive. I fight. And . . . nothing. There’s a little voice within that enjoys pointing out that if God were really in control of the whole universe, then it would be easy for him to change my circumstances. It would take him no effort whatsoever to make a tweak here and there and poof! my life would be fixed. That voice takes my good theology—a high view of God’s meticulous rule—and comes to poor conclusions that God is withholding something good from me.

You understand this feeling, don’t you? Even as you read about my doubts, you’re internalizing your own. Perhaps it looks like one of the following equations:

• God is the Creator of life + You are barren = He is withholding good from you
• God is the Author of marriage + You are single = He is withholding good from you
• God is Owner of universe + You are broke = He is withholding good from you

Scenarios such as these tempt us to disbelieve and distort God’s character. We feel that God’s holding out on us—that he's stingy. We conclude that we’ll just have to make things happen for ourselves. Like Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11), we’re presented with an opportunity to believe the lies and to try and secure our desires apart from God’s provision and perfect timing.

For the most part, we know that these thoughts aren’t rational. God is sovereign, and God is good. There’s nothing in our experience that can change that. Then again, doubt and unbelief are rarely rational. But they sure are powerful! The more we focus on the lies and feed the doubts the more powerful that unbelief becomes. And the more powerful the unbelief becomes, the more convinced we get that we need to go out and make something happen for ourselves.

Choosing to Form Habits of Belief

It’s at this very moment, the present moment when unbelief rears its ugly head, that you and I have a choice to make. We can preach God’s truth to ourselves and allow it to strengthen our belief or listen to the lies and allow it to strengthen our unbelief. Either way, something will grow stronger. There’s no neutral ground. It’s not like we can just wait it out and see what happens. The path of passivity (“maybe tomorrow I will feel like God is good and gracious”) will only deepen unbelief. If we wait until tomorrow to believe God is good, upon waking up, we’ll discover that the unbelief has spread throughout our soul like terminal cancer.

But, if you are in Christ, the temptation to unbelief is not the final word. We can choose a different path! We have One who walked before us and was tempted as we are yet remained sinless (Heb. 4:15), so that he might offer himself as a sinless substitute in the place of unrighteous sinners (2 Cor. 5:21). Through our union with Jesus we can “receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Moreover, Christ serves as an example of what it looks like to perfectly trust the Father in the face of temptation by speaking out truth and resisting the Devil in the power of the Spirit (Matt. 4:4,7,10).

As we’re progressively conformed to Jesus’ image, we can choose the path he chose. We’ve been set free from sin so we can pursue righteousness. We are not enslaved to unbelief anymore. You don’t have to keep doing what you’ve always done.

You can form new habits of belief that builds your confidence in God on a daily basis:

You can verbally refute lies (whether personal, demonic, or worldly) the minute they pop into your head.

You can cry out to the Spirit to help you when you feel weak and overwhelmed with unbelief.

You can read, meditate on, and memorize Scripture to renew your mind.

You can confess your doubts to a friend and ask them to pray for you.

You can meet with God’s people on a Sunday or mid-week gathering to hear the truth and worship God.

The point is we have a choice. Jesus’ work on our behalf breaks the fatalistic patterns of sin in our lives and gives us supernatural power to battle unbelief. We don’t have to be resigned to our unbelief. We can be different. We can be like Jesus!

An Exercise In Trust

Today, in my present struggle, I’m going to choose to follow Jesus by refuting the enemy’s lies and speaking God’s truth out loud. Sure, nothing’s coming easily to me. Life feels hard. But I refuse to believe God’s being stingy. I know he’s not stingy because of the gospel:

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things. – Romans 8:32

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. – Ephesians 1:3

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. – James 1:16-17

When I meditate on these truths, my doubts are obliterated. Our God is a good God who gives us good gifts. There’s no way he could be stingy towards me—he’s given me his very own Son! Any feelings regarding my current circumstances simply cannot hold up in the face of the cross. I’m choosing to exercise trust in God because he is 100 percent trustworthy.

What about you? As you stand at the intersection of belief or doubt, what choice are you going to make to feed your faith in God? What Scriptures are you going to use to refute the lies of the enemy? Who are you doing life with that can help you fight the fight of faith? How will you exercise trust in God during moments of unbelief?

—

Whitney Woollard is passionate about equipping others to read and study God’s Word well resulting maturing affection for Christ and his glorious gospel message. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and a Masters of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary. Whitney and her husband Neal currently live in Portland, OR where they call Hinson Baptist Church home. Visit her writing homepage whitneywoollard.com.

Powerful Things Are Beautiful: an Interview with Eleazar and Rebekah Ruiz, Authors of Golly’s Folly

Editor: We are excited to share an interview with Eleazar and Rebekah Ruiz, writers of Golly's Folly. Described as:

“Everything is meaningless”, King Solomon writes in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Inspired by this message, Golly’s Folly is a thrilling, adventurous story, dispelling the notion that things can satisfy.

The vibrant illustrations will carry your child along on Golly’s rollercoaster attempt to fulfill his desires with stuff. Share this much needed story about what truly matters, perfect for reading aloud.

GCD: Tell us a little bit about yourselves.

ER: I grew up in the Dominican Republic and moved to the states in 2008. Bekah and I met at Bible College in 2010 and got married a year later.

For most of my life, I thought I was called to youth ministry. An uncle of mine is a pastor of a Spanish-speaking church in San Jose, so pastoral ministry was a part of my family, I swore it would be a part of my life. I grew up in the church. My worldview shaped my plans for the future. When I found out youth ministry wasn’t for me, it was a huge blow, I didn’t know what I was going to do.

I had been doing graphic design on the side for other people and some churches. As I began to seek other options outside of youth ministry, I recognized God had gifted me as a designer and not a pastor. Since then I’ve been using those gifts for God’s glory. I work for Faithlife (the makers of Logos Bible Software) as a full-time senior designer. And previously worked as the Art Director at Mars Hill Church.

Currently, I wear multiple hats: graphic designer, illustrator, publisher, and writer. I’m passionate about incorporating God’s Word into all that I do.

BR: I am a little mixture: spent 12 years in Texas and 12 years in Portland with a small stint in California. And now we both reside in Seattle and love the Northwest. I studied Elementary Education and was a substitute teacher before enrolling in Bible College. I quickly became employed at the Bible College as a Librarian and taught a class to college kids (that was a change in audience)!

Pre-order Golly’s Folly today 

GCD: What’s your current church and ministry within it?

BR: Sound City Bible Church in Seattle is our home and we’re quite involved. I work in the children’s ministry.

ER: and I serve as one of the graphic designers.

GCD: Where did the concept for Golly’s Folly come from?

ER: It’s almost entirely autobiographical of myself. I am Golly.

It’s essentially my own struggle to answer the questions of identity: Who am I? What am I here for? In pursuing these questions I realized I was seeking these answers in the wrong places.

I thought, as a man, that if I reached a certain income level then I’d be fulfilled. Or if I landed a certain career I’d be satisfied. But as soon as I’d accomplish the goal it wouldn’t satisfy me. It was empty to me. I became frustrated, and thought, “I can’t be the only person struggling like this. There has to be another way to fill this void.”

One day I was on a plane and I decided to start writing a story about these experiences. From there I showed it to Bekah and then my brother, Rommel. Golly’s Folly is my heart poured out in color and presented to kids. It represents my own dissatisfaction with the vanity of life. But it is also true of all humanity who seeks fulfillment apart from God, it is the struggle of Ecclesiastes.

BR: The first draft seemed more like a chapter book. But things evolved from there and three years later, here we are.

GCD: Why did you decide to publish Golly’s Folly independently and start Patrol Books instead of seeking an established publisher?

ER: In the three-year process of working on Golly’s Folly we pursued a few options. We considered crowdfunding. I’ve worked for some publishers and know people in the industry and was encouraged by others to pursue self-publication. For my first book, I wanted to avoid the rollercoaster of having to talk to dozens of publishers.

Patrol books was birthed out of the desire to meet the following three goals in book publishing:

• To publish books that represented great theological truth with clarity.
• To publish books with great artistic work and design.
• To pay visual artists fairly and elevate them to equal recognition as authors.

Patrol books simply tries to combine biblical theology, beautiful visuals, and paying artists fairly. We’re a publisher created by artists and for artists to try and help those with a passion for this field and value them for their endeavors.

GCD: How did you come up with the name Patrol Books?

ER: Good question. I love the work of Massimo Vignelli who once said, “the life of a designer, is a life of fight against the ugliness.” He was an impressive and accomplished designer and died just about two years ago. He found meaning and purpose in making things beautiful—even though his worldview was not influenced by the Bible—he wanted to make things beautiful. His mission was to make things that people see every day the most beautiful things people would engage with.

I resonated a lot with that as someone in the Church, wanting to bring that sort of intentionality in work that would represent our God. I want to fight the ugly. I want to strive for things to be beautiful. It’s my passion.

Our tagline for Patrol Books is: powerful things are beautiful. The gospel is powerful, and presentations of it must reflect its beauty. Any presentation of God’s truth that is ugly is a misrepresentation of who God is. There’s nothing ugly in the Gospel so why should it be represented in a way that does not produce awe and wonder? We want to take that power and beauty of the gospel and produce awe in the hearts and minds of people. We desire to be vigilant about patrolling our products to make sure they are gorgeous and biblically faithful. We are unwilling to compromise beauty because the gospel is worthy of that beauty.

We seek to find ways to communicate life-changing stories of God’s redemptive work with beautiful imagery. We want our readers to be blown away by both the aesthetic and the content.

GCD: Who has influenced you most as an author?

ER: My middle name is “Hobbit”

GCD: (I pause, and laugh, unsure if this is a joke) Wait, seriously?

ER: [Laughing] Not seriously. But I can’t understate the influence Tolkien and Lewis have had on me. They were brilliant at telling biblical stories in a relevant and meaningful way while remaining original and creative.

Max Lucado has a gift for capturing an innocence that I love. His book You are Special is a great book for kids. And lately, C.S. Fritz’s Cottonmouth series is fantastic.

BR: Dr. Seuss’s rhyme schemes are a huge influence on me as well.

GCD: Rebekah, tell us how your teaching background has affected the creation of Golly’s Folly.

BR: It was fun to be the voice of the target audience. Because I know elementary aged kids, I wanted to keep those from public schools, private schools, and churches in mind. We carefully thought out how to reach this age group and audience. What are their likes, dislikes, development stages, life struggles, what would make them laugh, what would capture their attention?

GCD: So you've stated the influence Lewis and Tolkien have had on you, am I understanding correctly that, similar to them, you're trying to teach gospel themes without direct use of 'God' or 'Jesus' name?

ER: When I read Narnia, for example, I see how Lewis used objects like “candy” and characters like the “lion” and the “beaver” in order to appeal to a young audience that, unfortunately, wouldn’t be engaged any other way. Taking it even further, Jesus did the same when teaching the crowds about the complicated themes of the kingdom of God. Jesus used metaphors in order to reach his audience. I believe, we have the freedom to do the same.

GCD: What sorts of challenges did you face in working together as a collaborative unit?

ER: One of the challenges was trimming out a tremendous amount of content in order to make it understandable for the attention span of a four-year-old. We cut out about ninety percent of the original content in order to condense it down to just one point that kids can take home. Bekah was fighting for less, I was fighting for more. (laughing)

BR: One of the benefits of working with family is that we were able to play off of each other’s strengths. However, there was also a lot of pushback until we felt like we really brought our best to the table.

ER: Bekah was a huge blessing in that she helped give voice to the age group of children we wanted to represent. She put up guardrails to help make sure none of the art was too dark or mature for young children. At times Rommel and I would present some themes—which are truths few children’s book try to tackle—in a darker way than would be appropriate for the age group we wanted to reach.

BR: I would ask, “What would a seven-year-old think if he or she saw this illustration?” “Do you think it could be too dark for them?” “Do you think they can grasp the weight of this theme?” From there we worked to condense the book to one point kids could take home.

GCD: So what is that one point you want kids to take away from Golly’s Folly?

BR: The majority of the story is spent on Golly’s rollercoaster of seeking. At the end, he repents of his folly and returns to his father because he recognizes ultimate fulfillment is found in him. The point is to teach kids to seek God above all else.

ER: Golly is made to be a character worth laughing at. But it is also tragic that all humans will chase after things that ultimately don’t satisfy. So we attempted to tell it in a funny way, but the truth is actually quite sad. When we are separated from God we do crazy and stupid stuff. As Ecclesiastes puts it, “madness resides in the hearts of the children of men.”

Note: [At this point Rebekah insists on reading me one of their favorite lines from the book, which we think is also worth sharing.]

When it came to the crown, he’d gladly wait

The stuff, the facts, the fun, might feel great,

But the love of the father made him happy inside

And he had lessons to learn at the father’s side.

The stuff, the facts, the fun, might feel great, But the love of the father made him happy inside

GCD: What role do you think Golly’s Folly will play in making disciples of the next generation?

ER: I think we’ve found a way to communicate a part of the Bible that few have tried to teach to children. Adults are often aware of life’s vanity, but we can’t overlook the need that kids have to hear that their hearts will seek meaning in things other than God.

I’m not naive enough to think our book will spare them going through it, but we hope it will give them a foundation from which they can more easily recognize it when it happens. Their subconscious might retain the truths taught in the book for a later day when it happens to them. We look forward to teaching our own kids someday, should God give them to us.

BR: We wanted to write a book that dealt with some heavier themes that aren’t commonly shared in children’s books. We think it is a good age for kids to learn these themes and we think they can handle the subject matter.

ER: I think we were able to tell the stories that children will resonate with. Golly is tempted by pleasure, wisdom, and possessions, the same things that are dealt with in Ecclesiastes. At one point we wrestled with the question, “how could you communicate pleasure to a child without being rated R?”

GCD: The kids want to know, who would win in a fight: Pikachu or Dora the Explorer?

ER: [Without missing a beat] Pikachu.

BR: [Turning to Eleazar] I’m not sure, Eleazar, Dora has some sass…

GCD: If you were able to share a meal with one writer/theologian, living or dead, who would it be?

ER: Tolkien

BR: The Apostle Paul

GCD: What’s next for you two and Patrol Books?

ER: You’re the first to hear it, but our intention for Golly’s Folly has always been to make it a series of books. We’ve already got the outline for the second book completed. As for Patrol, we’re mostly focused on making it a sustainable business so that we can bring more great books with beautiful aesthetic to people. My dream is to bring the best illustrators with the best theologians to write books together. I want to bring the best of these two worlds to fill your bookshelves.

Note: Golly’s Folly is now available for pre-sale and will be released on October 18th worldwide. It is the debut release by Patrol Books.

— Eleazar Ruiz was born and raised in the Dominican Republic where he discovered his love for creative arts and vibrant colors.In addition to creative arts, Eleazar has deep interest in theology so in 2010 he attended Bible College to pursue a Bachelors in Theological Studies.

He has seven years of experience working simultaneously in the worlds of freelance, in-house teams & design firms. In his professional career he has done anything from leading design teams to being the only in-house designer. That includes art directing for a group of 14 churches with an online audience of millions, a publishing company, and a record label.

Rebekah Ruiz studied Elementary Education at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. She spent half of her life in Dallas, Texas and half in Portland, Oregon and has spent her career in various academic settings such as elementary schools, colleges and a library.

She loves the sun, all things silly and teaching a bright-eyed learner! Bekah’s ideal Saturday would involve a lot of coffee and friends.

Eleazar and his wife Rebekah met at Bible College in 2010. He and Rebekah currently reside in greater Seattle, Washington.

4 Differences Between Small Towns and Big Cities

Significant differences exist between small towns and larger cities when it comes to being on mission. Below are four factors that significantly affect mission in small towns. Some of these have a positive effect on mission; others, a negative effect. This list isn’t comprehensive, but it’s a good starting point for analyzing and discussing the unique factors that affect mission in a small town.

Small towns desperately need normal, everyday people like farmers, factory workers, and small business owners who act like missionaries to reach their neighbors for Christ

Factor #1: Religious Non-Christians 

Not many people in small towns are atheists, Muslim, or new agers. Instead, small towns tend to be loaded with religious non-Christians. They may not go to church very often, but they generally believe that God exists and the Bible probably has something to say about him. Small towns tend to attract and retain people who are more traditional in their outlook on life compared to those in larger cities.

Religious non-Christians are generally receptive to talking about God and church, but it’s fair to say that they are also inoculated against the gospel. When a person is inoculated they receive a vaccine that is a weak strain of a virus. The body’s immune system then proceeds to adapt so that when it comes in contact with the real strain of the virus, it can easily fight it off.

Similarly, religious non-Christians grow up in churches that give them a weak strain of the gospel and, consequently, they build up an immunity to the real gospel. That’s why conversations with them about the gospel and faith often end with them nodding their head in agreement with everything you say, even though they don’t truly understand what you’re talking about.

Practical Advice 

Mission can never be done in the absence of prayer, but you’ll especially realize this when you’re on mission to religious non-Christians in a small town. Patience, taking a long-term approach to mission, is important. You won’t typically see many “microwave” conversions among religious non-Christians; instead, you’ll usually see “crockpot” conversions because it typically takes a long time for them to realize they have a weak strain of the gospel.

But take heart, because the Holy Spirit is sovereign over the crockpot! This is why it’s wise to avoid relying too much on short presentations of the gospel. More often than not, mission among religious non-Christians takes extended examinations of the lordship of Christ and the nature of the gospel before those concepts start to click in a meaningful way. This is why you should consider inviting people to your church, your small group, or to go through an extended one-on-one or couple-to-couple evangelistic Bible study.

People are often starving for a place to belong before they believe. This belonging kind of environment should be a safe place for religious non-Christians to enter into community and see—up close and personal—how their weak strain of the gospel contrasts with the power and abundant life of the true gospel.

Religious non-Christians also tend to have a high regard for the Bible. That’s why they’re generally not freaked out by opening the Bible at church, reading it in small group, or talking about it casually. However, even though they have a high regard for the Bible, the vast majority of them don’t know what it says because they’ve rarely been encouraged to read it for themselves. Therefore, don’t be afraid to conversationally use Scripture to discuss the gospel and faith. You’ll be surprised at how effective this is!

Factor #2: Change and Conformity 

For a variety of reasons, people in small towns are not typically open to change in comparison to people who live in larger cities. But this isn’t necessarily bad, because when people actually do change, they aren’t likely to change back to their old ways. This is often the case when someone becomes a Christian in a small town: they aren’t likely to turn their back on Jesus after they’ve switched their allegiance to him.

Similarly, the lack of change in small towns often leads to a high degree of conformity. For better or worse, there is a relatively narrow range of acceptable behaviors, choices, and ideas that people are generally expected to adhere to in a small town. And the smaller a town is, the narrower the range! For people who have odd personalities or embrace non-traditional behaviors, it’s often difficult to be respected in the goldfish bowl of a small town. In fact, Christians like this might even have a reputation that is ultimately at odds with their mission.

Practical Advice 

A veteran pastor in a small town once told me, “You can’t be weird in a small town. You need to be normal. You can’t scare people and expect to advance the gospel. You can maybe get away with being weird in Seattle or Chicago and still be great at evangelism but that doesn’t work in a small town.” If you think this might describe you, I would suggest talking with your pastor or a trusted friend and get their advice so that mission can advance in your spheres of influence.

Factor #3: Reputations Are Hard to Shake 

It’s often said that newspapers in small towns don’t report the news, they confirm the news. That’s because people know who you are and parts of your life are common knowledge around town (which wouldn’t be the case in a larger city). In fact, many people who live in small towns end up being celebrities without trying, and for all the wrong reasons. Even your police record will be common knowledge because all the citations are listed in the newspaper! For better or worse, people tend to know about the details and integrity of your marriage, family, and business. That’s why reputations are hard to shake in small towns and they tend to follow us around like our shadows.

Practical Advice

The reputation of the gospel is strongly tied to the reputation of our marriage, family, and business. This is especially true in a small town. This reality can be a helpful asset to your mission, or an incredible liability. If you are committed to being on mission in your town, it might be helpful to sit down with your pastor or a trusted friend and reverse-

In other words, if you want the reputation of your marriage, family, and business to point to the gospel, then you’ll need to decide on the series of steps you may need to take to make that happen.

However, as you go through this process, don’t accidentally make your reputation into an idol. If you do, you probably won’t take meaningful risks for the gospel, because your deepest desire will be to protect your reputation instead of advancing the mission.

Factor #4: The “Ten and Done” Principle 

A veteran pastor in a small town made a simple but insightful observation to me a few years ago about relationships in small towns. He called it the “ten and done” principle, and it forever changed the way I understood social dynamics and mission in small towns.

The “ten and done” principle is when people in a small towns typically make room for ten slots in their life for friendships, and once their ten slots are filled, then they are done building friendships. They aren’t necessarily done being friendly, but they are done inserting new friends into their slots. Each person’s slots consist of permanent and non-permanent friendships.

The permanent slots are friendships that are poured in cement. These permanent friendships usually consist of a person’s family, a few friends they grew up with, or other people they’ve grown close to along the way. The non-permanent slots may rotate depending on circumstances and stage of life.

For example, when a young mom has little kids she might have some of the young moms from her play group in some of her non-permanent slots. However, when her kids are older and play on a high-school soccer team, she might have different parents in her non-permanent slots from that group.

Keep in mind that this is only a principle, and not a rule, because it’s not equally true for everyone who lives in a small town. Some people might have a meager amount of non-permanent slots while others might have an abundance of them. Some might have considerably more than ten slots but they’re all permanent, while others might have far less than ten slots, due to their personality and social sensibilities.

Moreover, the cultural climate in some parts of the country can breed unspoken expectations for people to have higher or lower amounts of slots. But even though each person and place is different, the “ten and done” principle generally holds true for small towns across America. Many of us who have lived in small towns have certainly seen it in practice!

Practical Advice 

The “ten and done” principle creates a diversity of challenges when it comes to mission in small towns. If relationships are the foundation of mission in small towns, how should we do mission with this principle in mind? Below is a collection of thoughts that address this question.

New people tend to be the “low-hanging fruit” for mission in a small town, because not many of their slots are filled. Longtime residents need the gospel as much as anyone, but new residents are often the easiest people to connect with for the sake of mission.

Make room for non-permanent slots in your life for the sake of mission. If you don’t have non-permanent slots open, take account of your relationships and ask God how he wants to organize and prioritize your friendships. If you do have non-permanent slots open, be devoted to praying about which non-Christians God might place in your slots.

Don’t assume you know which non-Christians have non-permanent slots open. Be prudent in praying for wisdom and don’t jump to conclusions about who’s interested and available to build a reciprocal friendship with you.

For a variety of reasons, people who are single typically have more time and availability than their married counterparts. And they also tend to have a higher number of slots available than those who are married. Singles often have the potential to be some of the best missionaries in town. If you are single, consider leveraging this season of your life for the sake of mission.

The “ten and done” principle often means that being on mission at our workplaces is remarkably strategic. Many people in small towns have their extended families living in the area and they fill up each other’s slots. Consequently, some extended families in small towns could virtually be considered unreached people groups! One of the most strategic ways to reach these families is to be on mission in our workplaces, because people from these families are forced to be around their Christian co-workers for eight hours every day.

Some non-Christians have all their permanent slots filled with family and childhood friends. Therefore, consider strategically praying that God would boldly bring individual people like this to Christ so that they can be on mission to the rest of their family and childhood friends. This is one way that God infiltrates closed networks of family and friends in small towns. There are many people in small towns who have testimonies where God saved them and powerfully used them to reach their closed network of family and friends. Let’s pray that this would happen more often!

If your family takes up all your slots and they are already Christians, consider holding a family-wide discussion about what doing mission in your town should look like. Family is good and a blessing from God, but is your family’s mission focused on community with each other or are you a community that’s focused on mission?

—

Aaron Morrow (M.A. Moody Bible Institute) is one of the pastors of River City Church in Dubuque, Iowa, which was planted in 2016. He and his wife Becky have three daughters named Leah, Maggie, and Gracie.

Excerpted from Aaron Morrow’s Small Town Mission

State of Affairs

There are a lot of people angry at the church today. Everyone has their reasons. I will say upfront that I love the church unapologetically. I have spent ten years working with churches and thirty years as part of the church. With that being said, there has been a growing unrest building inside of me for a while.

Once we are in Christ, we are no longer orphans. Everyone has a place in the people of God.

My intention here is not to point a finger and throw rocks from the outside but to mourn from the inside. I offer it as a starting point for some of a conversation already happening around us.

The Church Today

The church is in a unique and dangerous place today. The constant pressure to show some tangible success has pressed pastors and staff to produce. Whether it’s attention grabbing worship services, catchy sermon series, or a relevant experience, churches are starting to become producers of religious good and services, not existing for much more. Church models that have had success in other places are packaged, reproduced, and implemented in varying contexts all over with hopes that they might experience that same sort of success quickly to see tangible results.

See, we have become obsessed with numbers. We told ourselves that we care about numbers because, “Numbers are people and people are souls,” and we have dived headfirst into the number-driven deep end of the pool:

• How many people came Sunday?
• How much money was given?
• How many kids showed up?
• How many small groups do we have?
• How much will _______ cost?
• How many people go to ______ church?

And on and on it goes.

A study in 2013 found that churches spent eighty-two percent of her budget on personnel, buildings, and administration expenses. Hey, that’s horrible, OK?

We complain and sincerely mourn that people show up to our services and don’t want to go deeper. They like the music or the preaching style and just come to get “filled up for the week.” We know that’s a recipe for disaster. They come because they like the sermon series that is centered on a topic, movie, or pop culture icon. We walk away hoping they got the real message. We talk in our meetings about how we want people to experience a “real, deep relationship with Christ” and we know that’s the point. But, in our very next breaths, we spend our time crafting services that require people to sit shoulder-to-shoulder facing a stage and, for the most part, sitting quietly and listening to the preacher. The preacher who in turn spends his time during these services telling people, “This isn’t the point” and “There is more to being a Christian than showing up to a service”—which is completely true (and I am thankful for people who say that) but completely confusing at the same time.

Sunday Is Coming

Monday comes around though, and we know we have to produce something so that people will hopefully come back to hear the message. So we learn the new worship songs, prepare the graphics, go over the transitions so that everything is smooth. We see what the larger churches are doing to get some ideas and try to recreate it. We spend twenty (or more) hours during the week prepping for a forty-five minute to an hour service.

We then meet the people in our churches; the people who show up to our services. They are good people, and we care about them. Because we do care deeply about them we know they need more than just a Sunday; we do too! We know the danger of that type of thinking and what it leads to, so we decide we are going to help. We are going to help people assimilate into the life of the church; we call it the “Assimilation Ministry.” Well, that sounds creepy. Where else does anyone talk like that? It has a good heart, but we try to explain the importance of connecting with people from the stage in the most impersonal way and how we have set up a few ways to do that. You know sort of like some weird blind dates.

To make people feel welcome, we pass out free stuff to new people, make special parking spaces, maybe give out a staff members novel, a CD of our songs, and welcome them to an informational gathering to learn more.

All the while, everyone knows people don’t want or have the time to come to that, and we miss the easiest idea in the mess. Go to them and hang out. Ironically, we give out all these things and setup these gatherings to bring people into the life of the church only to bring them into the corporate and institutional life of the church. I have seen new people visit a church, go to a meeting, serve in a position, burn out, and leave the church in six months time more than I care to say. They were never really any closer with the people, but they did help the Sundays go!

Then we have people burned by the church in some ways, walking around talking about how bad the church is:

• That it’s impersonal.
• That it just cares about what they give monetarily or service wise.
• That they couldn’t connect with anyone.
• That the Pastor is unapproachable.
• That there isn’t enough services for their kids.
• That the sermons got too long or their were too many worship songs.
• That the prayers started taking too long, I just wanted to hear the songs; people sat in my seat, or the lyrics were not clear enough.

A Messy State

On and on it goes. It never stops. Why? Well, we set it up that way. We created a system where people could come and get what they want, the way they want it, and nothing was asked of them. Or when something was asked of them they found another place that didn’t ask. We taught them being a Christian was really about living a good life and finding a Sunday morning service they like, one that was not too convicting, didn’t require too much action on what they heard, and didn’t require committing to the other people next to them. We gave them a club, not a movement. We offered a yacht club without the boats and a Christianity without Jesus.

And now we are living in that mess. People walk around thinking they understand the church enough to hate it; in reality, they know so little and are a danger to anyone in earshot. And I don’t blame them completely! I blame us—the pastors, staff members, and leaders who kept the vicious cycle going. We all knew something was off, but we didn’t want to upset the boat too much. We saw the other guys who did that, and they were kicked off violently. We weren’t sure we could swim in those waters too long. We didn’t want to change anything because then, “People may not come.” And we were right. They kept coming and going, like people in Target, waiting to get their goods and checkout in a nice orderly fashion. We created hubs of people that got a little bit of Jesus and were OK with it until it didn’t fit their time/schedules/preferences. So maybe it’s all of our faults—people for wanting it and the churches for providing it.

All that being said, let me say this: You need the church. I need the church. We all need the church. That church idea was never an option. It was part of the point. Should you gather? Yes! Should churches have some form of gatherings with teaching, music, fellowship, and so on? Of, course! But if everything seems broken what should do?

Be Honest

Everyone with the same likes, contexts, and passions gather together—football teams, kids sports, neighborhoods, coworkers and so on. Stop using the ridiculous excuse you don’t have time, or it’s not worth it. You do, and it is; it’s just not important to you. Start there, wonder why it’s not, and make some changes.

Maybe you got hurt by someone in the church. Get healing. I’m sure you have had people hurt you in ways before, and I hope you tried finding some healing. If not, approach them. Talk with them just like you would in your neighborhood, kids sports events, a coworker, and other places. A broken relationship does not make the church bad; it just makes it full of broken people. . . . And you are welcome in, too!

Maybe you didn’t like the preaching, worship, pastor, building, wall color, etc. Just think about that one. Maybe you have a good reason not to go back there. So go somewhere else. Or maybe you have a terrible reason, and you need to get over it.

Maybe you are the pastor, leader, or staff member who is just frustrated day in and day out because you are part of it and want more. Instead of yelling at a bunch of people, start engaging. Start doing what you know you should be doing. Don’t tell others what they should or shouldn't do unless you are doing it.

It’s About Jesus

One day my daughter was crying about being so hungry “she could die.” So, I took out my iPhone and showed a picture of children starving in third-world countries. I then showed her everything we had in our house and how much God had blessed us with and how the children there would be overwhelmed with all the stuff we had. She ate very happily after that. Likewise, there are Christians around the world that are meeting in the cover of darkness and caves in fear for their lives. They don’t have the time nor would they ever care to concern themselves with these things. They just want Jesus.

Church is a gathered people who have come to the very deep fundamental realization that they are in desperate need of the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you do not believe that, then don’t go, but if you want to or are trying to figure it out, go! Just know the point is not to make you feel welcome (though we may try), it is to paint a very clear picture of how great God truly is.

If you are a pastor or leader in the church, can I ask you a serious question? Do you believe that it’s all about Jesus? Do you ultimately trust God that the call of the church is not success but faithfulness?

Do you remember that he builds the church and we just get to tell the story? Can you be content in knowing God can do more with twelve followers than thousands of attenders?

—

Greg has served in various pastoral roles in churches in NY and FL over the course of 10 years. Greg now lives in FL with his wife and two children where he is helping churches and church planters equip the church to make disciples in everyday ways in everyday places. You can read more from Greg at www.gregsmiths.com

Originally appeared at www.gregsmiths.com. Used with permission.

Joyful Perseverance in a Hard Cultural Soil

One story is told of a medical missionary who went to reach a tribal people in a remote area of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1912. After seventeen years of laboring in the mission field, he went home utterly discouraged thinking he had failed. Several decades after he died, much to their amazement, a team of missionaries discovered a network of reproducing churches where he was stationed. At the moment, some of our brothers and sisters among the least reached people groups are hit by the harsh realities of following Christ, being stripped of their dignities, and flogged for the sake of the gospel. But they are embracing suffering in the cause of making disciples (Col. 1: 24). Remembering those who are persecuted for the sake of the gospel ignites my faith to persevere in our context (Heb. 13: 3, Phils. 1: 14). How about you? What are the daily challenges you face in making disciples in your context?

Every Cultural Soil Is Hard Without the Spirit

Our context in Japan presents itself with a unique set of challenges. The Japanese are the second largest unreached people group. And discipleship is costly! Jesus left the comfort of his vast heavenly home and entered our small world to live a perfect life we could not live and died the death we should have died. Because of him, we can enter into cultures—and bring lost people into his vast Kingdom with the gospel.

If you’re called to go and make disciples in a poverty stricken area in Africa, you give up the comforts of a developed country to live according to the standards of the people. Likewise, to live as a missionary in Japan and make disciples is costly, spiritually and culturally. The cost of living also goes higher up. Some missiologists have even called it the missionary graveyard because many missionaries go home discouraged after years of sacrifice (sometimes with little to no fruit).

But when Jesus calls us to leave everything behind and follow him, he's calling us to better things than the things he has called us to leave behind. He has called us to himself first, and then to a people group—wherever that may be.

Many Unreached Places in Our Hearts

Many places are still unreached by the gospel in our hearts. Personally, my greatest struggle as a disciple maker is that I want people to believe in the gospel and grow quickly so that they can make other disciples and multiply (2 Tim. 2: 2). In this process, I often forget how slow my sanctification is. When I first came to Christ, my life changed dramatically. In a matter of few months, everything in my life turned around. Because of the unique nature of my conversion experience, I tend to expect (by default) that same kind of progress in others. But I often forget, momentarily, that I am what I am today only by God’s grace (1 Cor. 15: 10). I forget that trying to make disciples without the power of the Spirit is like trying to drive a speedboat without the engine. I cannot disciple a person, much less disciple myself, apart from prayerful reliance on the power of the Spirit (Jn 15: 5). I’ve come to realize that making disciples is more like getting into a sail boat and letting the sails up, so that when the wind (the Spirit) blows we are blown further into the sea—by the power of the wind (Jn 3: 8, Rom. 8: 14).

In our disciple-making journey, the most crucial thing to remember is that we are being discipled ourselves. We are disciple-learners before we are disciple-makers. We are constantly in need of someone to teach us. And the Spirit of Christ who lives in us teaches us about all things (Jn 14: 26). In this disciple-making journey, we must stay teachable, as the Holy Spirit has come to conform us to the image of Christ (I Cor. 3, Rom. 8: 29). Who we are becoming is as important (if not more important) as what we do. And we can rest in our hearts knowing that only Jesus can truly be Jesus to people.  He must live his life in and through us (Gal. 2: 20).

As Bonhoeffer puts it:

“[Jesus] stands between us and God, and for that very reason he stands between us and all other men and things. He is the Mediator, not only between God and man, but between man and man, between man and reality. Since the whole world was created through him and unto him (John 1:3; 1st Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:2), he is the sole Mediator in the world.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In this sense, only Jesus can be Jesus to others—working in and through us.

Planting And Watering Gospel Seeds

All we can do is to plant gospel seeds in the soil of a culture and prayerfully rest in God’s Spirit to raise up disciples who look like Jesus. Take, for example, the parable of the sower of the seed (Mk 4: 1-20). The parable has no focus on the strength or skill of the sower. Surely, the sower needs some basic knowledge to cultivate the soil, plant seeds, and water it. In some cultures, it takes time to cultivate the soil. Language must be learned; relationships must be built, and communities must be formed.

Moreover, Christians must have a good reputation with outsiders (I Tim. 3:7). We must stay in the community for the long haul, becoming all things to all men to save some (I Cor. 9: 22). People’s stories must be learned well before we bring the gospel to bear on them. Spiritual strongholds must be broken down (Eph. 6, 2 Cor. 10: 4). And people need to see the gospel changing us for them to believe in the credibility of our message (I Tim. 4: 16). So disciple-making has a lot to do with faithfulness, joy, and patience—all of which are also the work of the Spirit in us (Gal. 5: 22).

But if we look carefully, it doesn’t say that the soil wasn’t producing because the sower was performing poorly. What the sower was dealing with was the type of soil in which the seeds fell into. Although some fell on the rocky ground, along the path and thorns, the parable shows us the hope of the gospel:

“Those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold” — Mark 4: 20 (emphasis mine)

It doesn’t tell us how long it took, and he does not know how the seeds grew.

All the sower does is what every farmer does: “He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how” (Mk 4: 27 emphasis mine). All of them heard the gospel, but these are hearts that have been prepared by the Spirit.  The sower can improve in what he or she does, but the Spirit prepares the “good soil” and multiplies disciples. Didn’t the greatest church planter say the same thing?

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth”  – I Corinthians 3: 6, 7 (emphasis mine)

Therefore, we are joyful even when people take an interest in us and start to trust us. Like parents, we enjoy seeing small steps taken by our people. It's like observing a baby taking his or her first steps. We take great delight in the little progress our people make even in their attitudes, as one missionary puts it:

"Ministry joys come whenever a person moves a step closer to Jesus, whether it is learning to trust us, becoming curious about why we are here or who Jesus is, showing an openness to change, seeking after God, or actually entering the kingdom. But it takes time. And this is the challenge" – Send Missionary

Jesus said that if “a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies. . . . It bears much fruit” (Jn 12: 24). Be encouraged. Keep tilling. Sometimes, the soil must be cultivated before gospel seeds can be sown, take root, and grow. It often takes time!

Remember, the growth of the disciple is not dependent on the skill of the disciple-maker, in the same way as the growth of the seed does not depend on the ability of the farmer, but on the seed and the condition of the soil. The power is in the seed (Matt. 13: 31) and the “good soil” prepared by the Spirit. Jesus is discipling all of us by the power of the Spirit. He has commanded us to do that which only he alone can do (Matt. 28: 18, 19), so that in our disciple-making we might rely on him and he might receive the glory.

In the end, we have great hopes that just as Jesus fell to the ground, died and produced many disciples, his Spirit will work through us, and in the lives of those he has called us to disciple (Jn 15: 16).

—

Joey Zorina is a church planter with The Bridge Fellowship in an artistic neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan.  He writes articles, essays and devotionals for Living Life, and blogs occasionally @outsidecampers and @regeneration). He asks that you please pray for them and the Japanese.  You can connect with him at https://twitter.com/JoeyZorina

Freedom From the Future

As I read the Psalms, one of the things I notice is how aware the writers were of their enemies. It used to make me feel uncomfortable to read prayers to God asking for their enemies utter destruction. By Psalms 3, David is saying, “Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.” Is this the same David who was a man after God’s own heart? He didn’t only know that he had an enemy, he prayed and believed that God would bust them right in the mouth. I’m much more gentle with my enemies.

Jesus does not simply call us to be a lovely community together, but he sends us out to our neighborhoods, towns, and cities to declare and demonstrate the gospel.

Even though I’m not contested by enemies in the way David was, I do face opposition. Every day I fight with one who lies in wait for me. Around every turn, he reminds me that I do not measure up to where I thought I’d be at this stage of life. He was further along when he was here. I sin much more than he does. He uproots every gospel seed that’s sown in my heart and tells me God isn’t pleased with me. Whenever I ease into contentment with where God has me, he reminds me I haven’t arrived and at this pace I probably never will. He is the chief discourager and thief of every good gift I receive. The measuring stick is always growing with him, and it always lies just beyond my reach.

My Future Self

You probably think I have a horrible friend that I need to drop. No, he’s not a friend. He’s my future self that I’ve spent years envisioning, crafting into a likeness that I think God will approve of. I have created a monster that lives inside my head, and the monster is me. I’ve spent years dreaming of what I’d become, jobs I could have, and things I could do. I forget that things are always easier to accomplish in the future than they are in the present. My future self dangles the carrot of what could be in front of me as I tell myself I’m running the race with endurance and selfishly quote Hebrews 12:1. The carrot is always moving, though. I never get to taste the joy of being because I’m consumed with becoming.

Becoming isn’t all bad. We’re called to become more like Christ, more obedient, and more faithful. But when my becoming is fueled by a desire to get God’s approval instead of being conformed to the image God has already declared me to be in, becoming turns destructive. I’m driven to become who I wish I was and believe the lie that God will love me more. I begin to believe that God doesn’t love me as I am, but he will love who I’ll become. So, my life is spent trying to become someone God can love. The question at the end of every day is, “Have I become more lovable to God today?” The answer is always no because tomorrow brings unending opportunities for change. The potential of what I could then reminds me that who I am now is not enough.

The false gospel is that God only loves some future version of myself. I often live in the hope that God would one day be pleased with who I will become. He would surely love married Jonny more than single Jonny, working Jonny more than student Jonny, or pastor Jonny more than intern Jonny. It doesn’t take a long look at who I am now to see there are still some major flaws and a lot potential for growth. If I can change for the better, my reasoning goes, then God must love that better, more improved version of me much more than he loves this me that is still struggling with such petty sins.

God Loves Me Now

The gospel, however, brings a world-shattering truth to this present moment: God loves me now. His grace that’s been lavished upon me isn’t contingent on some changes that I have to make in the future, or else I’ll run the risk of getting his blessings revoked. No, his grace is sufficient for my weaknesses today. He looks upon all of my present weakness as opportunities to show himself strong. The gospel of Jesus is one of in-the-moment grace. And there’s no other kind of grace.

Living in the shadow of the idol of my future self is a life of always wondering if I’ve managed to measure up. The joy of the gospel, though, is that I’m more accepted than I could ever hope. I’m more loved than I could ever imagine. I have more access to God than I could ever dream of. All this is true in spite of me being wildly undeserving. The problem is that I was looking in the wrong place for this acceptance and love. Looking in the mirror, I found myself to be utterly displeasing to God. But some days I’ll still wake up, take a long look at myself, and be assured that God can’t be pleased with me yet.

The breakthrough comes as my gaze turns to Jesus. My standing with God is not based on how much I have accomplished in the past or on how much I will do in the future. God now looks at me and says the same thing he says of Jesus: “This is my son with whom I am well pleased.” I’m not right in his eyes because of anything I’ve done. I’m loved, accepted, justified, and accepted because of who Jesus is.

The gospel frees me to be present. Guilt and shame don’t have to fill my head at the end of every day as I run through all the things I could have done better. I can lay my head on my pillow at night and know that God’s love for me was meant for this very moment. There’s hope for joy at this moment. God loves me in spite of me. His ever-present love is the freedom from the bondage of always trying to measure up.

—

Jonny Day (@jonnysday) loves living in Woodstock, GA with his wife, Kerri. He works as a contractor with the North American Mission Board to help pastors lead their churches to be on mission. He’s working on his Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.