The Implications of A Globally Exalted God

I want to suggest that you take your time in reading through this article. Pause with me for a while today, if you are able, and reflect. I want to invite you to read, pray, think and work your way through this mutual reflection one section at a time. This invitation isn't a mandate, however, I do believe that this sort of slowing down and pondering might give us a better idea of what action to take as we assess things. So slow down, think, pray, and let's reflect together. 

The Grace of My Location

Where are you? Where are you from? I happen to be in middle of Wichita, Kansas. I was born in Colorado, lived all over the United States growing up, and spent most of my life up to this point in California. In every place I've lived there has been a few constants like language, currency, driving on the right side of the street, the message of the gospel, a church building of some fashion or another. For my entire lifetime it has been relatively easy to have access to what I consider the most valuable thing in all of life: the gospel.

I've lived in small rural towns, super-sized cities, and suburban developments. The gospel has always been an accessible reality for me. As I reflect on the fact of my national wanderings and my access to the gospel, I have to give thanks. God, by his kindness, has birthed me into a land where gospel access and gospel fluency is accessible fairly easily. Even the development of the Internet, because of my native language of English, allows me greater proximity to the gospel message, and probably to local believers in the gospel. I thank and praise the Lord for his kindness to me in that regard. What about you? Where have you lived? Did you have, or do you now have consistent and strong access to the gospel?

The Global Realities

Now, let me move the lens back to a wider panoramic. This last year I've already spent time in the second largest nation in the world, India. I've walked some of the neighborhoods of the largest city in the world, Tokyo. In each of these places the proximity of the gospel, and gospel expressions of churches and gospel communities was almost too small to even record. Conservative estimates state that for every four people in the United States there is one Christian¹. In Japan the ratio is exponentially higher. For every five hundred (500) people there might be one Christian². The Dunbar Number suggests that the average human being can only have and maintain about 150 personal relationships at one time. If there is only one Christian for every 500 people in Japan the likelihood of someone coming into proximity to the gospel message is nearly impossible.

I am not sure where our reflection has you at this point, but let's refrain for just a moment longer from drawing conclusions. Let's assess what we now know. Those who live in the United States and Western world have a greater proximity to gospel resources and gospel proclamation. Those in other parts of the world have a much larger, even seemingly impossible, gulf to cross in order to be in proximity to the gospel message and people. Take a moment and feel the burden of that.

Beginning at the End

Again, before we pull out implications, conclusions, ideas, or actions steps I want to challenge us to reflect. Three passages in Scripture have been the source of contemplation and meditation for me lately. They frame for me a perspective on my proximity to the gospel in light of the lack of access that my friends in India or Japan might have. They call me to action, not because of an apparent local need but because of the glorious nature of the God represented in them.

I'm the kind of person that likes to know the destination before I start the journey, so Revelation 5:9-10 is a good place for us to reflect. The scene is the worship in heaven of God and Christ. There the Father is seated, ruling, from his throne. A scroll is presented which causes great consternation among the angelic beings. Who is worthy to open it? As the scene shifts from angels to throne a Lamb "as though it had been slain" appears before the throne. The Lamb that had been slain is worthy to open the scroll. At the recognition of the one who is worthy to open the scroll a great chorus of song breaks out in the heavenly courts.

Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, 

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.

At the center of this song is a statement of purpose. Christ is worthy to open the scrolls because he shed his blood and bought back a people for God. And where are those people from? "From every tribe and language and people and nation." This says something about the great and ultimate purposes of God. The gospel will be received by some from every language and location on the earth. Indigenous peoples everywhere will worship Jesus as the one who purchased them back from their sins by his life, death and resurrection. To say it in a shorthand way, the gospel message and power will go global. Maybe we should reflect on that idea for a while. Nothing in heaven or earth or under the earth will be able to thwart or hinder or hold back God's purposes. The gospel will go global. Every tribe and language and people and nation will worship Jesus.

It's Too Light A Thing

But that isn't the only passage that has been stirring my heart lately. Isaiah 49:6 keeps me out of the myopic, small imagination that I have about the gospel's spread and advance.

And now the Lord says,

It is too light a thing that you should be my servant 

to raise up the tribes of Jacob 

and to bring back the preserved of Israel; 

I will make you as a light for the nations, 

that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

In this passage, the Father speaks to the Servant-Son and declares that for him to be just the servant or savior of one small people would be too inadequate for his glory. The idea of something being too light is for it to be too little, too small, or not glorious enough. It would be akin to saying that it wouldn't fit the dignity of the Queen of England to only let her visit Auxvasse, MO (population 901). The glory of God is far greater and far more majestic for the Savior to only be the redeemer of Israel.

The Father promises the Son that his light (or glory) would be for the nations. His salvation would reach to the end of the earth. To put it in modern parlance, Jesus being the savior of American's isn't enough. It's not glorious enough. One specific location or people in the world is not enough. The glory of God must be global, his saving power and grace but be known the very ends of the earth. That would be awesome. That would be glorious.

From The Land of the Rising Sun

Just a few Saturdays ago, I was afforded unimpeded time to read and pray. I haven't reading a whole lot in the Old Testament Minor Prophets in recent days. So I gave myself some time to read Malachi. As I was, a particular passage jumped off the page and proverbially hit my square between the eyes. Malachi 1:11 leveled me in all the right ways,

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.

From a global perspective the East will be a place that offers pure worship to Christ, just as the West will be. God resounds and tells us that his name, his great and glorious "name above all names" will be valued and treasured everywhere on the earth. The name of God, which encapsulates all that he is (see Exodus 34:6-7), will be worshipped, enjoyed, celebrated, praised, and declared throughout every nation on earth. There will be no place that does not worship the King of All Kings. As one author likes to say, "Put that in your theological pipe and smoke it."

The Implications of A Globally Exalted God

How do all these dots connect? First, we are graced to have free and frequent access to the gospel here in the United States. Second, God is a global God, his grace will be proclaimed and heralded and worshipped by every language, people and place. Jesus as the radiance of the glory of God will be exalted above all names everywhere. Third, there are still places on this planet that do not have gospel access and do not exalt and worship the name of Jesus. Which leads me to this conclusion: they will one day.

If God has promised that all the nations will worship him as Lord and Savior, and there are not places that are not doing that currently, it seems to me that the reasonable conclusion of this is there is a certainty that one day they will. The mission of global gospel-advance will be accomplished. God's will won't be thwarted and his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

What does this say to us in the here and now? How does this lead us to action? I could point out all the mission agencies and opportunities that are available for you to go and work in all the places of the world. I could tell you of the need for financial support for global mission and the way in which we need to send and support those going for the sake of the mission. I could show you starving children, poverty-stricken nations and destitution that only the gospel can redeem and restore. I could give you more statistics on the needs of unreached people for translated Scriptures, linguistic workers, church-planters, teachers, pastors, missionaries, engineers, and so on and so forth.

However, instead I want to call you to reflect and then act. Each of us has a part to play in advancing the mission and engaging the globe with the gospel. Where has God been directing you to serve and work? Go do it. Who has God placed in front of you to support and encourage and send? Support, encourage and send them. How has God called you to make much of his name from East to West? Get after it.

If the gospel going global and reaching the nations is a guarantee, then mobilize yourself, your resources, your church, your passions for the one sure thing that God has declared: "My name will be great among the nations." Let's be part of that global, missional movement of God for the sake of his glory!

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¹ Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life Report

² Mission Leader, Why So Few Christians in Japan

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

The Tension of Marriage and Mission

A World of Hope for Marriage

In the beginning God created the world and all living things, and it was good. He created everything to depend on and worship him, and it was good. The only thing God said was not good was for man to be alone. So he remedied that by making a woman out of man, and it too was good! The world started with great peace, love, worship, and joy. There was a connection to God and a connection to one another. Mankind cared for the planet, and life on Earth was healthy and satisfying. Today, the world is not like that. So what happened?

In Genesis 3, humanity turns away from its utter dependence on God and toward a dependence on self. Humans chose to serve themselves by trying to be God rather than to worship, obey and walk with God. Immediate brokenness and separation ensued. The husband and wife blamed each other, lied, hid from God, and were filled with shame and loneliness. Today, we live in a broken and isolated world that is still living under the curse of this Genesis 3 moment. What has been the solution to this curse? We continue to look to human wisdom to save us from our own mess.  We have seen this from the humans building the tower of Babel back in Genesis.  We also see this today in our culture’s drive to exalt ourselves by improving self-esteem and self-worth. This is also seen through this generation’s tireless fight to build an online self-monument via Twitter, About Me, Facebook, and other social networks.  In our brokenness, we continue to look to ourselves to provide healing; all the while our addiction-to-self continues to grow. This is foolishness.

How is this self-centeredness proving itself today? According to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 10 U.S. adults are clinically diagnosed with depression. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 43% of American children today are being raised without their Fathers—this percentage doesn’t reflect the level of involvement of these fathers as abusive, distant, or loving and highly engaged. In the U.S. there is one divorce every 13 seconds which equates to 6,646 divorces per day, and 46,523 divorces per week. In addition, every second, 28,258 internet users are viewing pornography. I could go on and on with these statistics. However, as disciple makers these are more than statistics because we know the people, we know the stories.

In the midst of all of this there is a Creator-God that embodies community. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are in perfect everlasting relationship with one another, existing in an eternal state of harmony, peace and love.  Stop and think about that.  They love each other perfectly. Serve each other perfectly. Submit to each other perfectly. Honor each other perfectly –forever. God is love.  And love is found in this relationship.

God the Son, Jesus Christ, came to this Earth to bring a people into this perfect relationship. In John 17, he prays to his Father that we would be one as they are one. This is one of the most scandalous, offensive prayers in history. Jesus asks the Father to make us—isolated, selfish, corrupt sinners—one with him and the Father. Blasphemy! But Jesus does not just pray; He sacrifices himself as the only way for this to happen. He takes the death that we deserve. Dying a humiliating, torturous, and lonely death on a filthy-Roman cross. He took the pain and separation of the curse, so that we might be one as he and the Father are one.

This is the gospel. This is good news—that sinful humans get to be family with God. Is this madness? Yes. Is this true? Yes. Does this change everything? Yes. Yes it does. We get to be with God and reflect this communal love. We also get to tell this broken world around us this true story of hope! Our loving God not only invites us into his loving family but into his loving mission. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is a scandalous prayer to unite us with him in both family and in mission! This is the role of the church.

The reality of the gospel is the backdrop and foundation that should shape our marriages, families, and the church. I am writing this article address the tension of missional living and the health of our marriages and families. I want to urge us to not to seek balance between family and mission, but to lead our families out of balance via loving God, loving our families, and loving others! The goal is not balance, or finding the line between leading our church and leading our families; the goal is that leaders, families, the church, and the lost would be one with God the Father and God the Son, just as they are one. This is our goal. The question is how do we achieve this goal? The short answer is through the cross and by the power of the Holy Spirit. But how does that work?

The Mystery of Marriage

In the beginning, God created man and woman to be image bearers of the Trinity. This is a mystery. Humanity images God. Genesis gives us insight on how we are to image God. It was not good to try and image God alone. Why? As we have already established, our God is not alone, but a God in relationship –God is community. So God creates man and woman to image God together. He creates marriage to be a way to begin, reveal, and reflect the mystery of the Trinity. Wow, no pressure! Let me state this again. Human relationships, and specifically marriage, are meant to reveal and reflect the glorious submission, harmony, and love of the Trinity. This is a mystery, however, most of us have had the privilege of seeing a beautiful marriage and were drawn to it.  Unified, gospel-centered marriages should draw us to worship the Trinity! This is why I argue that our goal is not to balance marriage and mission, because displaying a healthy marriage, in and of it-self, is mission! A healthy marriage is a God-ordained, God-created, mysterious way to proclaim the mystery of the Trinity, and this proclamation is mission.

Understanding Genesis should be more than enough to overwhelm us with the importance of a God-exalting marriage, but God’s story does not end in Genesis. In Ephesians 5, we are told that a marriage between one man and one woman displays the mystery of Jesus Christ’s love for the church. The mystery of Jesus’ John 17 prayer is on display in marriage. The fact that God became a man and died on a cross for the sins of the world can be exemplified through a Christ-centered marriage. A marriage where a man loves, serves, and sacrifices for his wife, and the wife submits and respects her husband shows off some of the mystery of Jesus and his bride the church. Unbelievable! Once again we see that a Christ-centered marriage put on display is, in and of itself, mission. God uses marriage to preach the gospel to the world. Is it any wonder that Satan wants so badly to attack marriages? The battle for gay-marriage, increasing divorce rates, and sexual addictions all make sense as a plan of attack for our enemy. Let us not be ignorant of the devil’s schemes. He wants to attack and destroy marriages.

Finally, it is not just marriage but parenting and family life. Two of the three members of the trinity are revealed to us as Father and as Son. God is revealed to us as a family. We are adopted by God the Father into a family and the church is described with many metaphors in scripture but none are more prevalent than family. The world looks to the church to understand that God is a family and the church looks to the family to understand that church is a family. Family is important. Loving fathers reflect to the world that our God is a loving father. Parents loving their children in front of the lost are conducting an act of mission. A healthy, God-centered family is missional because the world only has negative views of a father, and so when they hear that God is a Father they are hearing bad news. Earthly fathers get to display that this is good news! This is a weighty call, but it is a privilege. How we love, protect, nurture, and lead our children has a mighty impact on our mission! 

What Does This All Mean?

What this means is that mission is good for our family and our family is good for mission.  As we obey the Spirit on mission it will strengthen our family, and as we strengthen our family it will strengthen mission. The two are not mutually exclusive, but mutually fuel each other.

What this means is that families are on the frontlines of mission where there is spiritual warfare whether we want to admit it or not. It is easy to react to this by isolating and protecting the family in an anti-mission bubble, but this is actually more harmful because it ignores the call and joy of radical mission. It can propel families to believe a lie from the enemy. The opposite end of the spectrum is to force our families into sacrifices they are not ready or willing to make. The key is listening to the Holy Spirit through God’s word and community and letting that lead you and your family into mission.

What this means is that the home is a hub for mission. Part of displaying the mysteries of the Trinity and the gospel, and the love of God the Father is allowing people to witness it in the daily life of our homes. I know the home will get messy and even ruined, but we must remember what it cost our God to allow broken and messy people into his home. The gospel motivates us. Again there is a tension here. The home is a hub for mission but it is also to be a sanctuary. Our God does give us rest and we must be attentive to not make sacrifices in order to please man but to make the sacrifices God is calling us to. Listening to our wives, children and community can help us know what and when to say “yes” or “no” to opening the home.

What this means is that our goal for our children is not to fuel their self-worth or self-esteem but to point them to the joy of knowing and following Christ. We make it our aim to please God. We make it our aim to partner with our bride and Christ’s bride—the church—to model for our children and the lost the joy of giving up everything to follow Jesus into a life of love and adventure.

Remember this is not a balancing act or a chore. We get to be united with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We get to join in God’s great rescue plan for the world. We get to do this with our family and we get to do this with his family the local church. Let us rejoice and be glad in this!

Getting Practical

Practically speaking we can see that there is a great weight with marriage and family life. We can see that we have a real enemy who is trying to attack the church, families, and marriages. Below are 11 practical things that I have learned from other men who are fighting to live a life of mission with their family. I pray that these serve as helpful and practical guides:

1. Model repentance: We are the chief sinners in our families and need to be leading in confessing and turning from sin. If we cease to confess sin we will lose their trust or become a false god. Our role is to lead in pointing to a true God and reveal our need of Jesus and his work on the cross.
2. Model dependence: We must model a dependence on Jesus and show that we are needy for Jesus—we need his forgiveness, his love, and his grace daily. We model a dependence on God’s word and prayer and prove that our desire to be a family on mission is from the Lord and not just our crazy idea. Living this life of mission with the local church goes a long way in building trust.
3. Preach the gospel: If we are not preaching, teaching, and pleading with our household to believe the gospel daily, than how can we do this outside of our household? Remember that our wife and kids need to hear the good news of the gospel on a daily basis.
4. Encourage and Protect: Encourage family to use and pursue their unique spiritual gifts and callings. Encourage and make sacrifices to allow wife to get time with the women who challenge and encourage her. Make sure family serves primarily in the role they would be serving even if you were not in leadership. Protect them from lies from the devil and wolves; protect them from what the world says they should pursue and instead point them to what God’s word says.
5. Pursue: Never stop pursuing your bride. Work to win her love daily and work to prove your love daily.
6. Pray: Pray with and for your wife daily. Ask her where she needs prayer and pray for her specific needs. We cannot make the mistake of praying for everyone in the church and not our wives. Do the same with your kids!
7. Family Day: Take a day off weekly to hang out with the family and not do counseling, sermon prep, vision planning, etc. but just party with the family. This gives us a much-needed Sabbath and reminds you and the family that Christ is head of the church and it will all go on without you for a day. Show you really believe this by turning your cell phone off and not checking e-mail on these days.
8. Date night: Date your bride weekly. Let your leaders, church, and friends know you are doing this and that date night is a priority. Give permission to your community to make sure you are doing date nights. This comforts her to know that everyone knows that date night with her is a priority and that men will be holding you accountable to making it a priority. Turn off cell phone on date night.
9. Foster her identity: Call your bride a bride.  Never use negative nicknames like ball and chain, old’ lady, etc. She will live out of the identity you help foster for her. Ensure that it is an identity of her being the bride of Christ and your bride too!
10. Listening: We must develop ears to hear from God and from our family. Listen to your bride, as she is your God-given helper to help you know what to say yes to and what to say no to. Listen to her hesitations and passions. Listen to your children too. Is your family getting burnt out? Are they excited for mission? Are they scared? Do they miss their daddy? Does your bride feel loved or forgotten? Do they love the church and are they thankful their Daddy or husband leads in the church? Listen to God’s people, to your leaders, and your local church family.  God has given us them to build us up, serve us, and to point out our blind spots. We must be dedicated listeners if we are to lead our family on mission.
11. Do mission together: Finally, fuel each other’s missional ideas. It is not just the family sacrificing to follow you on mission but sometimes you sacrifice to follow what the Spirit is putting on your bride’s heart or your kid’s heart. Rally behind their ideas and do so as a family. This will build tremendous unity and make every dangerous gospel idea an idea that involves the whole family and not just one member of the family. While you are at it, do this with your local church. Mutually encourage each other’s faith and rally around each other’s missional ideas and dreams!

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Jake Chambers (@JakeJayChambers) is a member of Jesus’ bride - the church. He is the husband to his beautiful bride Lindsey, and a daddy to his boy Ezra, Roseanna and baby Jaya is on the way. 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 through leading, preaching, equipping, and pastoring. 

Other articles by Jake: Your Language Matters and Do Friends and Ministry Mix?

5 Lies that Kill Obedience

When Mirela and I loaded up our belongings and headed to the northwest, we were filled with an incredible blend of expectation and zeal. We knew something major was happening, and God was going to let us be part of it. We didn't have a grand plan. We just had a genuine desire to serve and to start a church in Portland. It was a big adventure and we felt like pioneers on the Oregon Trail. As we crossed the Walla Walla mountains in eastern Oregon, we listened to Rich Mullen’s song, “You’re on the Verge of a Miracle.” We couldn’t wait to see mass revival in Portland. God placed us in a remarkable church planting team. We’ve seen lots of evidence of God’s grace in our lives and in the church. He has continually provided for our small church plant. We are thankful for many things. From the outside, it looks pretty good. Church planters come from all over the world to learn about what we are doing. Our missional communities multiply every year. We even have a cool website.

The reality is: life lived on the frontier is hard. We have seen only a handful of people come to Christ and be baptized. Church conflict is constant. It seems as though every time someone joins our church, another person leaves. About a third of the missional communities we start fail. All the while, our city continues to be desperately far from knowing the riches of the gospel. My neighbors constantly reject the good news of Jesus despite our best attempts to demonstrate and proclaim it to them. The city is not flourishing in the peace of salvation, but struggling in the chaos of brokenness. It doesn’t feel like the ‘miracle’ is happening. We sometimes wonder: “When will the revival come? Will we be around to see it?”

Lessons from China

It reminds me of the church in China. No, not the Chinese church of today, where thousands are baptized daily and they can’t print enough Bibles or equip enough pastors to keep up with the rapid multiplication of the church. Not that movement. I am reminded of the Chinese churches of Hudson Taylor, Robert Morrison, and the Cambridge Seven. They spent the best years of their lives laboring with little or no fruit. Despite decades of evangelism and service, they only witnessed a few conversions and a few new churches in their life times. By the time Mao banned religion, many, even within the missions movement, assumed China was ‘unreachable.’ These missionaries had seemingly wasted their lives.

However, the house church movement that began to erupt in the 1960s and continues today was built on the foundation of these missionaries. The converts they baptized became the backbone of today's movement. The few disciples they made, made more disciples, and they made disciples, and so on. The revival those missionaries prayed for came. It was just decades after they had died. The pioneering missionaries never saw the packed house churches or the all night baptism services. They didn't see their prayers answered. Yet, they faithfully served, at great personal cost, for years. They obeyed the call to go and make disciples without knowing their impact.

The Rewards of Obedience

What do you get for all your anonymous and resultless faithfulness? Nothing short of God. “Discipleship,” as Bonheofer writes, “means joy.” The reward is Christ himself. Often we get confused and think the rewards for obedience are big churches, lots of twitter followers, and the approval of our peers. We miss the promise of Christ.

How sick are we when we lust for the results of Christ’s work, thinking it could belong to us? When we prefer convert stories to Christ? Sadly, many of us will hope more for ‘success’ than we will hope for Christ.

If you follow Jesus, you may never see revival. Though you love your city, you may never see it transformed. But if you follow Jesus you are guaranteed this one thing: Jesus. Your fruit is the joy of obeying Jesus. Nothing else. The baptisms and church plants belong to God. Those are God’s work, not yours.

5 Lies that Kill Obedience

Our ability to quit and become sidetracked is great. Our hearts are constantly being attacked by lies that keep us from persevering in faith. These five lies are particularly successful. They are deceptive and effective in killing our conviction to follow Jesus and trust in his work.

1. “You are above this.”

This is the lie of strong pride. That the grunt work isn’t for you. I first heard this lie when I cleaned toilets for a church in Los Angeles. You may hear it while you are watching babies in the nursery Sunday after Sunday. Or when you get stood up once again by your not-yet believing friends for dinner. You hear it when your neighbors shun you for being crazy people who believe in Jesus. The lie is: “you are better then this.” When you believe this lie, you think you are entitled to fame. In reality, you are only entitled to be called a child of God, and that right was purchased by Christ. Don’t settle for position and fame. If you think you are above the job and task, you will not persevere in obedience.

2. “You are below this.”

Many times it also sounds like: “You don’t belong and you don’t deserve this.” This is a lie attacking Christ’s ability to work in and through you. If you believe this lie, you believe that God is not at work, but you are the one at work. This lie leads to fear and rejection of your identity as a son or daughter of God. It is also born out of comparison to others instead of Christ. What is so devastating about this lie is it paralyzes folks from obedience that would give God glory. No one is capable or skilled enough to do what God has called them to do. The Holy Spirit empowers us for the tasks and God is glorified in using us.

3. “If you were better, it would be easier.”

This one comes when things feel incredibly hard. It leads to self loathing and increased suffering. This lie shakes your sense of purpose. You begin to place yourself as the focal point of God’s work and conclude you are either in the way or driving it forward. When things improve, you believe it is because you have done better and have earned it. When things fail, you are certain it is your fault. Similar lies are: “You have to be good to be used for good.” Or: “You have to be smarter, better, quicker, more talented, more educated, rich and moral in order to do good.” This leads to a personal quest for self-rightness, excellence, and God's job. This lie essentially says: “You are this city’s savior.” Eventually you quit in desperation because you have labored without a savior.

4. “If it isn’t happening now, it never will.”

This lie says: "today is all there is and God can't work tomorrow. If God hasn’t answer your prayers for revival by now, he never will." When you believe it, you lose perspective on the scope of life and count everything you are doing as worthless. You are no longer content in obedience alone, but want to see what your obedience will create. This is nearsighted dreaming. This lie results in quick quitting or shrinking versions of worthwhile-God-given dreams. This is a lie people believe when the settle for less then the radical surrender and obedience God called them to. When we believe this lie we are saying, “God doesn’t care anymore or he can’t do it.”

5. “You are alone.”

This is the hardest one. Our sinful hearts leap to this lie when we are tired and discouraged. The goal of this lie is to isolate you and make you think no one else cares, and no one else is coming to help. No longer are you being obedient to God’s work, but now you feel like a hired hand. It is as if God is paying you to establish a franchise of his kingdom and is looking for a return on his investment.  Your belief in this lie says, “Jesus doesn’t love me or this city. He didn’t died for this city of for me...God abandones his people."

Gospel Motivation

At the heart of each these lies is an attack on your motivation and an attack on the gospel. The truth is Christ died for you. You are loved and you are his son or daughter (1 John 3:1). He has empowered you with his Spirit to be his witness (Acts 1:8). He will work in you and through you as he works all things together for good and conforms you to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:28-29). He is with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28).

When I was 11, my family moved to Lisbon, a city of five million people with fewer than 4 percent believing the gospel. Shortly after we arrived, my family went to a hill that overlooked the city we came to ‘win’ for Christ. My dad wept over it as he prayed for the people and for the gospel to take root and free people. We all cried. We had put everything on the line to follow Jesus to this city. We loved the city and we loved Jesus.

Soon it will be two decades since that day we prayed for that city, and the statistics are the same. My parents saw only a couple people baptized in over a decade of ministry there. They will never see or experience his prayers for the city being answered. What did they experience? God’s lavished grace in new ways; the gospel.

Are you willing to weep over your city for decades and never see your prayers answered, and plant seeds you never see germinate? What if your church never becomes nationally known? What if you don’t write books or speak at conferences? Is the gift of the gospel enough for you?

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Brad Watsonserves as a pastor of Bread&Wine Communities in Portland, Oregon. He is also the director of GospelCenteredDiscipleship.com. Brad is the co-author of Raised? Doubting the Resurrection. His greatest passion is to encourage and equip leaders for the mission of making disciples. He is Mirela's husband and Norah's dad.

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Related Resources:

Gospel Amnesia by Luma Simms (e-book)

Living the Mission by Winfield Bevins (article)

The Gospel and the Great Commission by Abe Meysenburg (article)

Why Entrepreneurs Don't Like Your Church

Most readers know me as a missional community practitioner and don’t realize I am also an entrepreneur. I currently own an investment portfolio management firm, and have for 10 years. I’ve started three other businesses, and will be starting another when we move to Phoenix later this year. I am a business starter, that’s my ‘day job.’ Most churches have a hard time getting entrepreneurs, like me, to join their mission and vision. We are either running from church or passively sitting in pews on Sunday. We have gifts and strengths to offer, but they lay dormant in the local church. Why? It isn't for a lack of asking. Pastors frequently attempt to pull the business owners in but are met with, “I’m too busy.” Excuses, like these, are usually a cloud of smoke to mask the true objections. My hope is to help shed some light on what lies beneath the "I'm too busy" objection.

A Big Problem

First, entrepreneurs are not more important or better than the rest of the church. However, we can all agree that the entrepreneur is usually a pretty odd specimen with unique gifts and abilities. The church can’t afford to have anyone’s gifts sidelined. The mission of the church is too important to miss out on a single part of the body. What does it say about our church, if a fraction of its gifts go unused, unengaged?

The entrepreneur is not super human, but they usually have a ton of capacity, they aren’t scared of risk, they love thinking outside the box, and they don’t mind submitting to leadership. What’s really interesting is that if they find something they are sold out for, they’ll call others to join them. They can become a huge ally for the church to aid in the understanding of making disciples who make disciples. The problem is that for many years the entrepreneur has been told to “fit into this box” or go elsewhere. Many have. Many entrepreneurs have decided to fulfill the great commission through para-church organizations and non-profits. I understand why.

What if you were a baseball player and were continually told by your coach that instead of playing baseball, you were going to knit scarfs? I’m guessing you’d find a different place to allow your talent to mature. In a sense, churches have been doing this for years with the entrepreneur. We don't put them in the game they were designed to play.

Entrepreneurs are so unique they can give a church's vision a run for its money, ask tough questions, and sharpen the leadership of the local church. They have the ability to challenge and push leaders in ways other folks can't. They cause us to dream bigger, get specific, empower others, and take major risks. So, why do entrepreneurs hate your church?

Your Vision is Too Small

What do I mean by “vision?” The mission of all followers of Jesus is to make disciples who make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). The vision for your local church is the how, where, and who of this commission. How are you going to make disciples? Where are you going to go? Who are you going to reach? Your church was placed on earth to make disciples. That is why you exist. If we all had the exact same vision for the how, where, and who we were going to make disciples of, then we might as well be one big church. But, the fact is, God has given each church a unique vision to carry out the mission he has given us all. Far too often, churches settle for a vision that is too small.

Entrepreneurs think big. Honestly, that’s also what makes us (entrepreneurs) fail sometimes. We think all our ideas are going to be the next big thing, when in reality, our dreams are often bigger than the marketplace can handle. However, these big dreams allow businesses to be born and succeed.

Entrepreneurs want to be part of something big, not something that is going to only affect those around the block. Now, those around the block might be the starting point to implement the vision, but shouldn’t be the end point. If you want entrepreneurs to be engaged on the mission in the context God has given your church, think big, not small.

Soma Communities told me they wanted to see 3,000 missional communities in the Seattle area. That’s 1 for every 1,000 people. That vision started with me getting after it, trained, and excited for multiplication. If they merely told me that they wanted me to go and start a missional community in my neighborhood, that would have been great and all, but the first thing I’d be thinking is: “Is that it? Is that where I stop?” Honestly, as an entrepreneur, to have that be the end goal, wouldn’t be exciting enough.

God is our example for casting vision. He told Abraham: “Your offspring will be numbered as the stars. The whole earth will be blessed through your family.” This is a big vision. God also said that we were to be his witnesses, not only to our neighbors and cities, but to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Think of this vision laid out by God in Genesis and Acts. It includes the people next door to you, but is also much bigger that that. God’s vision is simultaneously as small as a family and as big as the world.

So, when we hear this, we get excited. Not because we can do it on our own, but because we know that God can and he has given us the Spirit to empower us for the mission. This is a vision beyond our powers and requires us to rely on the Spirit. So, while others may balk at a large vision, the entrepreneur will be your ally in calling people to fulfilling the seemingly impossible. We need entrepreneurs calling us to push the envelope, to think beyond our neighborhood and consider the world. They will become a litmus test: if your vision is too small and doesn’t require risk, innovation, or creative thinking, they will pick up on this.

Your Vision is too Generic

Having a large vision is one thing, but if it is a generic vision, it will likely die. God’s vision for Abraham was big, but it was also specific. He told Abraham: “Go to the land I will show you.” At times, God is not always specific with us, but that’s okay. He’s God. But, what I do find interesting is how God treated Paul on the mission field. Paul listened to Jesus when he said, “you’ll be my witness even to the ends of the earth” (big vision) and then listened to the Spirit as he continued to instruct Paul where to go and where not go. It is amazing to watch how specific the Spirit was with Paul as he listened and relied on God (Acts 16).

What we’ll see in churches is that their vision is: “We want to glorify God in all the earth.”  Well, thanks? It is a big vision, but I can frankly do that without being connected to your specific church.

Give us some handles on what you mean. When Soma Communities says: “We want to see 3,000 Missional Communities in the Puget Sound area.” This gives me so much information right up front. I see a big vision: a number that they desire to attain. I also see the means by which they are going to see disciples made: missional communities. The vision tells folks how they plan on glorifying god in the earth. You don’t necessarily need to see a number, but put some sort of descriptive handles so we aren’t left to wander.

It’d be like me trying to secure a loan for my business and saying: “We want to be the best company in the whole world!” How? By being the best. Where? The world. Ridiculous. Entrepreneurs need specific vision.

Your Implementation is Too Restrictive

Many churches and pastors usually fail the most here. You literally take the best weapon from the entrepreneur out of their hand by wanting to control everything.

You tell them how things are going to run on Sunday, how things are going to run in your programs, and how things are going to work in their community, small group, or missional community.

Entrepreneurs are used to coming up with game plans and strategies based on who they are, what their context is, and who is working alongside them. Churches steal that mindset from the entrepreneur and tell them, “Our way or the highway.” And frankly, most entrepreneurs have said, “See ya later.”

Churches then chalk it up to us not wanting to submit to leadership, but that’s not it.  We don’t want to be controlled and manipulated into thinking the pastor knows it all and knows how our lives should work. That sounds a little harsh, but that’s how they see it.

Entrepreneurs are used to being handed the “rules” to live within as they deal with local government, tax laws, officials, etc. Once we figure out the “rules of engagement” we can take it and build our businesses within that framework.

Think like that when implementing your vision. How can the church set up a system where it allows the entrepreneurs to use their gifts instead of restrict them? In Soma Communities, the parameters or rules are: we believe that the primary organizing structure of the church is gospel communities on mission and how you work that out is up to you! They train, equip, and encourage. They don’t control.

The Austin Stone does this well, too. My friend Todd Engstrom, says, “For us inviting entrepreneurs into conversations that are in their fields, not just ours.  Most entrepreneurs hate the church because everything is pretty prescribed, and honestly not very complex. So, we help them think through ministry in their world, but allow them to be the experts.“ By inviting the entrepreneur into these conversations, Austin Stone has launched 9 different non-profits and unleashed leaders into full engagement in the mission of making disciples.

This is a dream for the entrepreneur. It allows us to work within the time frame that our businesses allow instead of having to be at programs, church services, or church buildings. To be part of most churches, you have to be at the church building more often than a hipster wears a scarf. Most business owners don’t have time for that. When they don’t show up to those events, they are made to feel guilty and less than a Christian for not showing up to the latest greatest event.

As a church, flip that scenario and say, “the mission and vision is critical; figure out how to make disciples in the ways that God has given you.” Empower folks! Free up the implementation of your vision to liberate more gifts. This respects the uniqueness of everyone’s design. We have all been made differently, with different gifts, with different schedules, and different ideas.

Your Methods Are Too Safe

God is sovereign, right? Don’t be a chicken pastor. If we can all agree that it’s God’s mission, God’s power, and God’s resources, why wouldn’t we risk everything we’ve got? Entrepreneurs are willing to try whatever it takes and are rarely controlled by the fear of failure. They thrive on risk and “going for it.”

Entrepreneurs can see right through the leaders who are more afraid of man than God.  They can see the fear of failure. They never want to be part of something safe and want to push the envelope with mission. They want to be sent to the places considered unsafe to live in, work in, and do ministry in.

Last year as Soma leadership, we prayed for leaders to be sent to Seattle, San Francisco, and Phoenix. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but the more I heard about Phoenix and some of the “hard things” about it, I knew I was ready.

People were saying:

• Phoenix has a ton of gangs and drugs and horrid schools.
• Phoenix is spread out and is more like a suburban context, which is impossible to do missional community life in.
• Phoenix is hard for relationship building. Most people just stay inside and don’t want to get to know other people.

All I heard was, “Yadda yadda yadda…” My wife thought through the above and said, “if all these (and other excuses) are true, shouldn’t we be the first to move in and show others about our God who lives in community? “

Pastors, stop being safe with your people. Call them to take risks in making disciples. If it doesn’t work, who cares? You’ll learn something. If you’re following Jesus, you have nothing to lose. It’s not even really a risk. God is in control and he is good at it. If you enable entrepreneurs to take risks, others will follow. Your church will quickly see the joy in following Jesus with reckless abandonment.

Final Word to Pastors

Honestly, if you are reading this and you are a pastor, know this: entrepreneurs desire to be part of what the local church is doing. They’re just tired of you thinking too small and being too timid. Dreaming big. Leading strong. Take risks. Entrepreneurs will follow you.

This article isn’t a fix-it-all. However, pastor and business starters are on the wrong page. This is meant to be a shout to the pastor from the pew on why you have been frustrated with us and we (entrepreneurs) have been frustrated with you.

I don’t believe that we are always right, or that we are better than any other person in your flock. But, for too long, we’ve been shelved and treated as though our gifts are a hindrance to the church instead of actual gifts.

If you can start to lean into these four basic things…you’ll be surprised how much you’ll see the entrepreneur get behind you and desire to be part of what the church is doing.

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Seth McBee is the adopted son of God, husband of one wife, and father of three. He’s a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a finance degree. By trade Seth is an Investment Portfolio Manager, serving as president of McBee Advisors, Inc as well as a missional community leader, preaching elder with Soma Communities in Renton, Washington, and executive team member of the GCM Collective. Twitter @sdmcbee.

Other article by Seth: Leading Joe Blow Into Mission, The Introverted Evangelist, and How Kids Learn to Follow Jesus.

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Also Read Proclaiming Jesus by Tony Merida.

Creating Culture in Your Living Room

Richard J. Mouw wrote a book on culture and common grace called He Shines In All That’s Fair. Philip Graham Ryken has a similar book called He Speaks To Me Everywhere. The idea, of course, is that there are glimpses of God everywhere, especially in culture. But what if you live in a cultural context which seems to lack any distinctive rays of individuality, creativity and especially God’s glory?

The Cultural Void

In Jeremiah 29, God tells His people to seek the welfare of the city of their captivity. For me, that is suburbia. Not cool suburbia where gentrification has transformed the past-its-prime strip mall into vintage clothing stores and hip coffee shops. We have Chili’s and Target and if it’s crowded, don’t worry because there’s another one just a couple of miles down the road. Our color palette is various shades of beige and the term “cookie cutter” adequately describes our home architecture. One day, when we moved back to Phoenix in 2008 to plant our church, we visited some friends in a neighboring subdivision. Turning into their neighborhood, one of my boys said: “We’re home!”

I live in Suburbia and I love music, especially live music. Suburban exile means that live music has been stripped from the fabric of our culture with the exception of the occasional lip-sync act at the mall food court. It’s as if the Taliban came in silencing the music, but the special forces are outside the camp trying to drive us out by pumping in “lowest-common-denominator, auto-tuned, mid-era power pop” until we snap. I have to drive close to an hour for quality live music venues.

My first reaction to such an obvious injustice was to blog about it. Once I had done that, I want to do something about it. Though I was tempted to simply complain about my lot in life, Andy Crouch had already pulled my card. In Culture Making, he argues that instead of simply “critiquing” or “copying” culture, we should “create” culture. If our surrounding culture lacks flavor, we should be the salt.

One way to think about the gospel is in terms of “fall reversal.” When Adam and Eve mistrusted and disobeyed on our behalf, they cast everyone after them and all of creation into slavery to sin, decay, disorder, and death. Yet their task to “subdue the earth,” or to bring order from chaos, was not nullified; it just became more difficult. As Adam and Eve wandered from the garden, they left remnants of order behind them, glimpses of God’s character. They were still charged with the task of bringing God’s image to bear in and through a now-broken creation. This charge extends to God’s people to this day, primarily in and through the Gospel.

This is true on several different levels. As the Holy Spirit awakens rebelliously dead souls to life in Christ, the fall is being reversed. The dead are brought to life and God’s people are sent into every sphere of life to show who God is and what he’s like. Likewise, when we bring order from the chaos of life, when we seek justice, when we build community, or when we pursue beauty we are bringing God’s image to bear on the world he created. Therefore, those who have been brought from death to life ought to be at the forefront of creating culture.

A friend and I decided to do something about our city’s musical barrenness. We started hosting concerts at our homes. Not like those sketchy house parties you used to go to where that one band from high school rocked teen angst out of hand-me-down amps and you tried to protect your Dixie cup from the mosh pit in the backyard (no, wait, maybe that was just me). We host musical performances where community is built around artistic expression and we do this for a number of reasons.

We Believe In A Creator God & Culture Is Important

Our God is a creator god who spoke creation into existence and created us in his image.This means that we have creative capacities like God. We can’t create out of nothing but we can take what God has given us and shape it into new statements. We can bring order from the chaos. Not only is this what our God did (Genesis 1 and 2), it is what he has charged mankind with as well.

Many refer to Genesis 1:28 as the "cultural mandate.” We are to shape the world around us, extend God’s order and beauty, and bring order to chaos. It’s telling that the biblical story does not end with a return to the Garden. It begins in a garden but ends in a city. We are commanded to create culture.

The idea of “culture” has taken on various meanings. At its root, the word culture is derived from the Latin cultura, which is a form of colere, meaning to “plow or till.” The idea was one of “cultivation,” particularly in an agronomic context. Hence, the word agriculture. God’s command to “subdue the earth” was also a command to create culture.

Culture is about more than worldview and ideas. Culture is, as Andy Crouch argues: “the name for our relentless, restless human effort to take the world as it’s given to us and make something else” (p. 23). It includes artifacts, music, television shows, newspaper articles, sporting events, origami, that last great meal you had and everything in between. Culture is everywhere and it matters. More than we realize.

When we create culture, we are showing the world what God is like; who he is and what he values. He has brought order from chaos, beauty from tumult and he has charged his people to do the same. When we bring a moment of comfort to a friend’s sorrow, when we create a piece of art from the left-over magazine scraps, when we open our homes, when we have a yard-sale for a friend, when we create music or just open up a space for that to happen, we are creating a culture that demonstrates the character of God. The culture that we leave behind says more about the God we worship than it says about us.

If all we leave behind is a choked thoroughfare of strip-mall banality, dotted with chain stores and microwaved restaurants, what are we telling the world about the God we worship? That he is willing to make things just tasty enough to get people through the door but not spicy enough to drive anyone away? What are we communicating when our “art” competes with the starving artists’ clearance sale this weekend at that shady motel?

Christians should make the best culture because we have the least to fear and the most to celebrate because we have been given life! I worship a God who brought order from the chaos and continues to do so in every area of my life and has given me a desire to see beauty spring forth from the parched ground of suburbia.

We have been called to celebrate the creator through creating. We cannot create out of nothing, but we can point to the God who can as we make new discoveries out of what he has left us. Culture matters because the culture we create says a lot about the god(s) we worship. Our mediocre art says, “our God is comfort.” Our reality T.V. shows say, “our god is at-least-I’m-not-that-messed-up.”

My friend and I were not content with the various shades of beige culture of our suburbia so we set out to create a better story pointing to a God who is beautiful and spurs me on to love, appreciate, and create beauty.

God’s People Are Called To Better the City Of Their Captivity

While establishing His covenant with Abram, God says He is blessing Abram and his descendants “so that you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12). God shows his love not just to his people but through his people.

Society should be better because we, his people, are present. This extends to our enemies. In Jeremiah 29:7, God tells his exiled people to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Our love for God should manifest itself in the betterment of our cities.

We have not only been called to “preach the gospel” (the message of reconciliation), but to be ‘salt and light,” making things better (the ministry of reconciliation). I wonder, if my church family disappeared overnight, would our city even know the difference? We don’t seek to better the city just for our “best life now” but to reflect a God who has not left his creation abandoned.

The city should be filled with creativity, celebration, and community. House Shows, when seen through this lens, become a kaleidoscopic. They give us a glimpse of something more, something that resonates with the way we know things ought to be.

Jesus Brought The Better Wine

When considering culture, most of the attention is focused on the “cultural mandate” of Genesis 1. This is important because it is the foundation of interacting with culture. But there is more to your home than a foundation. From a Christian perspective, we should ask how the cultural mandate is changed (if at all) by Jesus.

Not only did God call his people to seek the welfare of their captors, he accomplished this through Jesus who entered into the sinful world to bring freedom. Jesus didn’t just enter culture, he made it better. He used community to bring people towards belief instead of using belief to exclude people from community. He brought the better wine. He made people consider their motives. He listened. He healed. He left behind not only words that people could remember but a different culture they could experience.

We don’t host concerts just because we love good music. We belong to a God who not only commanded us to go to the ends of the earth to create culture but primarily to make disciples. Though we do not use the concerts as evangelistic events, we make sure that we have friends there who can listen, declare, and demonstrate the gospel as the Spirit leads. Jesus demonstrated that this sometimes means creating spaces where those who don’t believe feel more comfortable than those who already do. Music is an important way to bridge these boundaries.

Music Brings Us Together And Lowers Social Boundaries

Music can be powerful. People who love the same music often feel a bond. People who have experienced the same music live together often feel a bond. A good performer can encourage self-examination and discovery while also being entertaining. House shows provide a unique opportunity to engage people in the realm of the creative while also being accessible. As people attend more than one of our house shows, we wee deep, meaningful discussions arise in the context of relationship. Music can be a powerful tool in building a community that wants more than what the current version of life seems to have to offer. House shows provide a valuable, non-threatening way to build community.

Artists Are Often Our Prophetic Voices

Not only can music lower social barriers, it can also make us acutely aware of the world’s problems in a unique way. Artists in general, and musicians in particular, are often the prophetic voices of a generation. Songwriters are often the ones saying what the rest of us innately feel: something’s not right. Though the musician may not be a Christian, we are able to enter one another’s story knowing that we agree that things are not the way they should be. This is a great opportunity for people who not only realize that things are broken but who have also been touched by the Great Physician.

Other Ideas

Music certainly isn’t the only way to pursue this vision. You might consider hosting a poetry or spoken word night, craft night, wood carving fire-pit nights, or sponsoring artists. You could even partner with local restaurant/coffee shop to host an artist’s opening night, song writer groups, film makers’ night, etc. You don’t even have to have any talent yourself. But you must believe that God gives us glimpses of himself when we bring order from chaos and beauty from the broken.

How has God called you to seek the welfare of your city?

What does it look like in action?

Here is video of Aaron Spiro (Soma Tacoma) performing at one of our house shows.

Tips on how to start a house show movement in your city: House Show Tips

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Brent Thomas (MDiv) and his wife Kristi live in Glendale, AZ with four biological sons and one foster child. Brent pastored in KY and TX before moving back to AZ to plant Church of the Cross which exists to make, mature, and multiply disciples through gospel, community, and mission. He sometimes writes at Holiday At The Sea and hosts house shows with The Habañero Collective.

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Read more in Proclaiming Jesus by Tony Merida

Read more free articles on mission in Mission is Where You Live by Jeremy Writebole and Sonnets and Discipleship by Deborah Murphy.

Why Aren't We Missional?

Our cities, towns, and neighborhoods need Christ. The gospel would be good news to them if they heard it. As our culture quickly moves from being formed by a Christian story to a culture that is void of any Christian storyline, the stakes are being raised. People are actively running from anything resembling the Christian faith. Leaders have to quickly move our people to live on mission to reach the people who have no desire to know anything about Jesus. Yet, the majority of the church is not compelled to live a life on mission. You would think that if we have accepted the gospel and received forgiveness, we would run to a lost world and share the hope we have found. However, this is often not the case. We talk a good game, but we are not missional.

Why?

Here are a few of the reasons I have observed in my own life, my church's life for why we not living a lives compelled by the mission of God.

We Are Too Busy

This busyness is not only from work, family, or hobbies, it is from the church attempting to build up the church. We pack people's nights and weekends with church-based activities. All of these things cause an undue stress and unneeded internal strife between doing what the church is doing or being with lost people. If the people who are part of your church are busy every night and weekend with church stuff, how will they ever be able to reach lost people?

Essentially, we have exchanged the good news of Jesus, which results in resting in his work, for the ‘good news’ of a busy life which results in frantic fatigue. We do so for a plethora of reasons and for a variety of idols. But at the core, don’t live on mission, because we don’t actually believe the gospel. Our lives are cluttered with believing alternate stories of redemption and hope, all which we desperately cling to for our salvation. We honestly believe,

• “If I work hard enough, I will have everything I need.”
• "If my kids get a well-rounded childhood with art, sports, school, and friends, they will have the good life."
• "If I check Facebook every ten minutes, I will find acceptance." 

As church leaders we need to start by repenting. Often times, we gauge our value and worth in just how busy our church is. Busyness does not equal living on mission, let alone holiness. We toil thinking that if we get more things done and more balls rolling the kingdom will come. We must confess our sin of not trusting God’s goodness and control. God brings his kingdom; we participate in it. Beyond repentance, we need to take an honest look at  our calendar. What is really part of the mission and what isn't? What are good things at the wrong time? What does your calendar say about what you believe?

I am a type-a person. I get things done and much of what I do is based on what my calendar is calling for that day. As I began to better understand the Spirit empowering me for mission it has caused two things to happen. First, I have had to be ok with my plans being hijacked by God. For example, when I am on my way to a meeting, running late, and I pass a guy biking in the pouring rain and the Spirit gently prompts me to help this guy (this just happened two nights ago). The second, is I have stopped doing much of what I had previously thought was so important because I started asking the Spirit the question: “What would you have me do?”

We Don't Know How 

Far too many people think there is a magical equation, or formula that they need to master before they can minister to those who do not know Jesus. They are waiting for their pastor or leader to tell them the right combination of words and actions to unlocking the gates of heaven for lost souls. However there is not one magical formula, there are only people who live changed by the gospel and proclaim that gospel!

I am not against education or seminary, but often times pastors are educated and they talk like it. Many folks are left thinking, 'I am not that smart, I could never explain that' or 'I don't fully understand the difference between Calvinism and Armimism'. The good news is we don't have to be that smart. We have to be faithful to live out and proclaim the gospel, and allow the Spirit to do the rest (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Sometimes, people really don’t know how to live with gospel intentionality, or walk across the room and articulate, in any method, the gospel. People don't know because:

1. They have never seen someone do it.
2. They have never been given any tips on how to articulate the gospel or how to demonstrate the gospel.

Simply, folks have never seen or been taught how to rely on the Spirit, so they don't. People don’t have to go to seminary to be on mission, but they have to be equipped. If you are leading a church or community, you can’t simply say "go and do it"--you have to model, teach, and encourage.

We Don't Care 

Since we have made the church service, the church programs, and the church functions all about those who attend, we have also made their Christian walk all about them, the individual Christian. Since it is about them, they don't really care about other people, especially those who do not believe what we believe. What is the point in caring about lost people?

I know of one pastor who recently had a couple leave his church because they claimed there weren’t enough programs for their kids. Yet, this couple was in a missional community with unbelievers who were on the cusp of coming to know the good news of Jesus. They simply didn’t care to be part of seeing those people go from death to life. They were more concerned about what they wanted, than the lost. Their decision was based on what they needed from the church instead of what they could give to the world outside it.

The gospel is we are redeemed sinners brought into an amazing family, the family of God. So, it is not a bad thing to focus on caring for one another, but even in our caring we should be motivated by our love and service to King Jesus. Our Christian walk is not about our hapiness or doing what we want. It is about proclaiming the King, and living our lives as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of us. This needs to come not only from the pulpit, but also in the way we structure our church life.

Lack of Prayer and Spirit leading 

We don't pray. We don't trust the Spirit to work; therefore, the mission is on our shoulders, not God's. He is the one who leads, guides, and works--not us. Pastor, you need to know this. Church family, you need to know, understand, and embrace this truth. Seek the Spirit to change your heart to actually love the lost and lead you to reach them. If you're busy, seek the Spirit to free up some time in your life so you can actually do what the Bible has called us to do.

This one is simple, you and I need to be about prayer. Plain and simple. I have come to realize in my own life that daily the Spirit is opening doors for me to proclaim and portray his amazing message of grace. These have been there for years in my life, but it wasn't until I started asking, "God as I walk into the quick lube to change my oil, would you open my eyes to what you have for me?" did I start to notice what God was doing. Seek and ask. Rely on God as he sends you on his mission.

You are not living on Mission

Finally, and maybe most importantly, the leader is not living on mission, so how can those in the church live on mission. I know far too many pastors who do not actually have much, if any, interaction with unbelievers--unless they happen to stumble into their Sunday service. Pastor, this is not fulfilling the great commission. We cannot find a biblical model for pastors preparing sermons for 30 hours a week in an office only to emerge and preach for 45 minutes on Sunday. Instead, we see the apostles and elders of the church living in among the people. Going from house to house, in the temple courts, and wherever the Spirit lead them proclaiming Jesus to a lost people. Many of us would do well to read less books, read less blogs and spend time investing in people. Yes, pastor give yourself to prayer and study of the Word (Acts 6), but may we not neglect actually serving others, and no preaching a message on Sunday does not fulfilling this.

If you are a pastor and do not have anyone who would call you their friend outside of your church family, then you are actually unqualified to be an elder by Paul's standards. When we look at the requirements of an overseer of the church, there are two things that directly apply to the overseer having relationships with those who do not yet know Jesus. The first is that he is to be hospitable (1 Tim. 3:2) and the second is even more apparent, it is that he is to be well thought of by outsiders (1 Tim. 3:7). Being well thought of does not mean that you don't blow your lawn clippings on your neighbor's lawn, or that you clean up after your kids leave their toys on their property. It means more than that. It means that people actually know you, and like you. Pastor, church leader, disciple maker, let me ask you this question, “Do you have people in your life who do not know Jesus that you would call friend and who would call you friend?” The question is not do you know people who attend your church who don't know Jesus, but do you know people who are your friends and it has nothing to do with the fact that they attend your service, went to a wedding you did, or know someone who is in your church family.

What it Will Take?

To be a disciple that lives on mission you have to be in and among the world. If we are ever going to be affective in our call to make disciples, and in leading our church to be people who make disciples, we have to wrestle with these objections and answer with the gospel. If your church family is not having conversations about Jesus, if there are not new people coming to know Jesus, let us not look at the programs that we are lacking, but may we look at our own schedules and hearts. How have we structured our lives? How are we seeking the Spirit? How are we living? Are we intentionally looking outward and building relationships with people who do not know Jesus?

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Josh Cousineau was a youth pastor for over 5 years & is now the lead pastor of Redemption Hill Community, which launched in Auburn ME in 2012. Josh is married to his high school sweetheart, Anna. They have 4 amazing children (3 boys & 1 girl). Their daughter was adopted from Uganda in 2011. Josh blogs at http://joshcousineau.com

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For more insights into evangelism & discipleship, check-out Jonathan Dodson’s Unbelievable Gospel.

Into All the World: Count Zinzendorf and the Moravian Missionary Movement

Winfield Bevins serves as lead pastor of Church of the Outer Banks, which he founded in 2005. He is the author of dozens of several popular eBooks including Grow: Reproducing through Organic Discipleship. He also recently wrote Creed: Connect to the Basic Essentials of the Christian Faith. He lives in the beautiful beach community of the Outer Banks with his wife Kay and two daughters. _

“I have but one passion—it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field, and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ." - Count Ludwig Von Zinzendorf

North America has become the new mission field. There are 120 million unchurched people in the United States, making it the largest mission field in the Western hemisphere and the fifth largest mission field on earth.[1] On top of all of this, nearly 4,000 churches close every year in North America. And nearly 8o% of all evangelical churches in the U.S. have either stopped growing or are in decline![2]

What does this mean for the church in North America? Simple: We are not reproducing disciples. Despite this uncertain future for the church in North America, all is not lost. God is not surprised by these statistics or the spiritual state of our nation. The West can be won again.

All we have to do is look to the pages of church history to find great examples of missionary disciple-making movements that reached the nations for Christ. What we need now is a missionary discipleship movement that will reach the 120 million unchurched people in North America and beyond.

The Rich Young Ruler Who Said Yes

One of the greatest missionary movements of all time began with the rich young ruler who said yes. Count Ludwig Von Zinzendorf was born into a wealthy noble family and belonged to one of the most ancient of noble families in Austria. Six weeks after young Ludwig’s birth, his father died of tuberculosis and his mother married again when he was four years old. At this time, he was sent to live with his pietistic Lutheran grandmother who did much to shape his character and faith.

He fell in love with Jesus at the age of six and continued to mature in Christ throughout his school years. He grew up with regular times of prayer, Bible reading, and hymn-singing. His dearest treasure next to the Bible was Luther’s Smaller Catechism. Zinzendorf was a star student, and by the age of 15 he could read the classics and the New Testament in Greek and was fluent in Latin and French.

Zinzendorf eventually pursued his university studies at Wittenberg, which was a strong hold of Lutheran theology. Once he finished his studies at Wittenberg he embarked grand tour of various centers of learning throughout Europe. Then in 1720, he went to Paris where he stayed for six months. He toured Versailles, and even formed a friendship with Roman Catholic Cardinal Noailles Roman.

Despite all the beauty of Europe, nothing could compare to  an encounter that Zinzendorf had in the art museum at Dusseldorf where he encountered the Christ in an amazing way. While viewing Domenico Feti’s painting “Ecce Homo,” a portrait of the suffering thorn-crowned Jesus, and reading the inscription below it, “I have done this for you; what have you done for me?” Zinzendorf said to himself, “I have loved Him for a long time, but I have never actually done anything for Him. From now on I will do whatever He leads me to do.”

In May 1721, Zinzendorf purchased his grandmother’s estate at Berthelsdorf. He married Countess Erdmuth Dorothea von Reuss, sister of his friend Henry on September 7, 1722. She was a strong believer and devoted to Pietism. For a time, Zinzendorf devoted himself to matters of state in Dresden.

Everything would change one eventful day when a Moravian refuge ended up at his door in Dresden. The man’s name was Christian David. He had heard that Zinzendorf would open his home to oppressed Moravian refuges. Zinzendorf agreed to the request and a group of ten Moravians arrived in December 1722. His manor became known as  “Herrnhut”, meaning “the Lord’s watch” or “on the watch for the Lord.” This was only the beginning. By May 1725, 90 Moravians had settled at Herrnhut. By late 1726, the population had swelled to 300.

Trouble eventually began to enter the group over differences in liturgy, economic pressures, language difficulties, and other issues. Zinzendorf began meeting with different families for prayer and counsel and helped regain a spirit of unity and love.   He drew up a covenant calling upon them 'to seek out and emphasize the points in which they agreed' rather than focusing on their differences. This started a process of reconciliation and revival among members of the community. On May 12th, 1727 they all signed an agreement to dedicate their lives to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. At this time, small groups were organized to provide the people with a special spiritual affinity to one another.

100-Year Prayer Watch

1727 was an important year. It marked a spiritual turning point in the Moravian community where a spirit of prayer began to spread among them. They covenanted together to meet often to pour out their hearts in prayer and hymns. On August 5th, the Count spent the whole night in prayer with about 12 to 14 others following a large meeting for prayer at midnight. Then a few days later, on Wednesday, August 13th 1727, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them all. The Moravians experienced a powerful “Pentecost” during a communion service where the Spirit came upon Zinzendorf and the community. This experience radically changed the community and sparked a flame of prayer and missions that would burn for decades to come. Looking back on that day, Zinzendorf later recalled: “The whole place represented truly a visible habitation of God among men.”

This marked the beginning of the Moravians' commitment to a round-the-clock “prayer watch” that continued nonstop for over a hundred years. On the 26th of August, 24 men and 24 women covenanted together to continue praying in intervals of one hour each, day and night, each hour allocated by lots to different people. The next day, 24 men and 24 women covenanted together to spend at least one hour each day in scheduled prayer. Others joined the intercessors and the number increased to 77. They all carefully observed the hour which had been appointed for them and they had a weekly meeting where prayer needs were given to them.

The spirit of prayer was not just for the adults of the community, but even spread to the children as well. The children were also touched by God and began to pray a similar plan among themselves. The children's prayers and supplications had a powerful effect on the whole community. Parents and others members of the community were deeply moved by the prayers of the children for revival and missions.

From that time onward the Moravians prayed continuously for revival and the missionary expansion of the gospel. As members of the Moravian church continued nonstop in this "Hourly Intercession" they became known as "God's Happy People." Their prayers became the catalyst for one of the world’s greatest missionary movements.

Into All the World

Within a short time, Herrnhut became a missionary launching pad that would send out missionaries throughout the world. They gathered small groups of individuals who gathered for prayer and Bible study and traveled across Europe sharing the gospel with everyone they met, especially the outcasts of society. Out of this grew a network of small groups that eventually became known as the "Diaspora."

Under Zinzendorf’s leadership, Moravian missionaries went out to into all the world in an unprecedented way that had never been seen before! On Sunday, December 13, 1732, after almost ten weeks at sea, the ship sailed into the harbor of St. Thomas to reach slaves for Christ. This was a difficult time where many of the missionaries died. Twenty-two of the first 29 died, forcing them to retreat from St. Croix for a time. Despite trials and difficulties, missionaries continued to go out from Herrnhut into all the world.

By the time Zinzendorf died in 1760, after 28 years of cross-cultural mission, the Moravians had sent out 226 missionaries and entered 10 different countries. Mission stations had been established in Danish St. Thomas, in the West Indies (1732); Greenland (1733); Georgia, North America (1734); Lapland (1735); Surinam, or Dutch Guiana, on the north coast of South America (1735); Cape Town, South Africa (1737); Elmina, Dutch headquarters in the Gold Coast (1737); Demarara, now known as Guyana, South America (1738); and to the British colonial island of Jamaica (1754), and Antigua (1756). In 1760, there were 49 men and 17 women serving in 13 stations around the world ministering to over 6,000 people.

Moravian passion for mission was grounded one thing, and one thing alone. Zinzendorf said, “I have but one passion—it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field, and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ."  Over the years his passion for Jesus grew, as did his passion for the lost. He was determined to evangelize the world through raising up and sending out Moravian missionaries who were equipped only with a  simple love for Jesus and the spirit of prayer.

A seal was designed to express their new found missionary zeal. The seal was composed of a lamb with the cross of resurrection and a banner of triumph with the motto, "Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him." The Moravians were missionaries of the gospel. They followed the call of the Lamb to go preach the gospel to all nations. In 1791, the Moravians beautifully explain their motivation for missions: "The simple motive of the brethren for sending missionaries to distant nations was and is an ardent desire to promote the salvation of their fellow men, by making known to them the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ.”

Influence on John Wesley

The Moravians had a great impact on John Wesley when became acquainted with a group of Moravians on his way to Georgia, during his stay, and on his return to England. The Moravians demonstrated a simple faith and assurance of salvation through the inner witness of the Spirit. He was impressed with their confidence, piety, and assurance of faith. On February 7, 1736, while in Georgia, a Moravian leader by the name of August Gottlieb Spangenburg began to question Wesley’s faith. Wesley recounts the dialogue:

He said, “My brother, I must first ask you one or two questions. Have you the witness within yourself? Does the Spirit of God bear witness with your spirit, that you are a child of God?” I was surprised, and knew not what to answer. He observed it and asked, “Do you know Jesus Christ?” I paused, and said, “I know he is Savoir of the world.” “True,” replied he; “but do you know he has saved you?” I answered, “I hope he has died to save me.” He only added, “ Do you know yourself?” I said, “I do.” But I fear they were vain words.”[3]

They were instrumental in leading him to search for an inward Christianity of the heart. On the way back to England, John wrote, “I went to America to convert the Indians; but oh, who shall convert me? Who, is he that will deliver me from this evil heart of unbelief?” This was no doubt written in comparison with the assurance that Wesley witnessed among the Moravians.

When he returned to England, Wesley spent several months in spiritual distress and deep introspection. He was challenged by the example of simple faith in Christ that the Moravians had demonstrated before him. John and his brother Charles met another Moravian by the name of Peter Böhler in England. He convinced John further that conversion happened in an instant and that a real Christian would have an assurance of their salvation.

The Moravian’s impact upon Wesley cannot be overestimated. From the Moravians he learned faith, assurance, and Christian experience, which are rooted in the experiential work of the Holy Spirit. Their lasting influence can be seen in Wesley’s concept of the “witness of the Spirit” which can be found throughout his writings especially in his sermons.

Later Years

Missionary success came with a price to Zinzendorf and his followers. His opponents sought to undermine him and his ministry and in 1736, he was banished from Saxony. He took the family with him west to Wetteravia, near Frankfurt, and found residence in an old castle called the Ronneburg. Here a new settlement, Herrnhaag, would thrive nearby, surpassing Herrnhut in size. Over the following years, the missionaries' endeavors continued to spread throughout the world. In 1747 alone, 200 missionaries went out to posts of duty as missionaries to the New World among the Diaspora. Zinzendorf spent the remainder of his days leading the growing Moravian movement, traveling, teaching, and encouraging others to follow Christ.

Zinzendorf lived out his last days at Herrnhut. The year 1760 marked 28 years in Moravian missions. In the final days of his life he became weak and feeble. Nearing death on May 8, 1760, he said to Bishop David Nitschmann at his bedside:

“Did you suppose in the beginning that the Savior would do as much as we now really see, in the various Moravian settlements, amongst the children of God of other denominations and amongst the heathen? I only entreated of him a few of the firstfruits of the latter, but there are now thousands of them. Nitschmann, what a formidable caravan from our church already stands around the Lamb!”

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[1] George Hunter, "The Rationale for a Culturally Relevant Worship Service," Journal of the American Society of Church Growth, Worship and Growth. 7 (1996): 131).

[2] Win Arn, The Pastor's Manual for Effective Ministry. Monrovia, Calif.: Church Growth, 1988. 16.

[3] Thomas Jackson, The Works of John Wesley. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1979), 1:23.

Who is Your Neighbor? Well, Who Are You?

"Who is my neighbor?" an earnest lawyer asks Jesus in Luke 10:29. We soon learn it's one of those conversations that's padded out in advance. He asks a question to set up something he wants to say. He was earnest to "justify himself," as Luke makes clear. And obviously, he was feeling pretty good about how it was going through verse 28. But then comes the curve ball. Whatever this lawyer had in mind for the answer, it wasn't the story Jesus told. And it's not what we would expect either. Yes, we may all know the parable of the Good Samaritan, but it can be a little confusing. The “neighbor,” it would appear, is the man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho who was beaten and left for dead (Luke 10:30). The neighbor is the object, the one of whom the three other characters encounter. But in the end, Jesus says the Samaritan who helped his man "proved to be the neighbor" (Luke 12:36–37).

So here we are, along with the lawyer, trying to figure out whom we're supposed to love, and Jesus turns the question around. Look at this man who acts in mercy. Stop asking, "Who is my neighbor?" There are deeper questions to ponder. As John Piper explains, "When we are done trying to establish, 'Is this my neighbor?' — the decisive issue of love remains: What kind of person am I?" (What Jesus Demands from the World, [Crossway, 2006], 264).

"Who are you?" — that's the question.

Are we going to be like this Samaritan who gives help when help is needed? Or are we going to be caught up in questions about who we're supposed to help, and when and where and how, and what if it will make me late for Sunday School?

What grounds the way we think about neighbors is actually our identity, not theirs. What matters first is who we are.

Grace for Standing and Action

In his book, Union with Christ, Todd Billings builds on Calvin's teaching on the "double grace of justification and sanctification." He explains that when we are made new in Christ we receive forgiveness of sins and Christ's righteousness — we are saved from God's wrath. And we also receive new life by the Spirit — we are saved to fellowship with God and love others.

This is a radical truth. In Christ we are given a right standing before God (justification), and we are propelled in love for God and others by the new power of his Spirit in us (sanctification).

This affects the way we see those around us. It's not because they've become something different, but because we have. God's justifying work for us and transforming work in us commissions a path of good works prepared beforehand "that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). On this path are real people with real lives full of real stories. And now when we encounter them, they are a divine call to us. They are an opportunity — a welcomed mandate — for us to be who we are in Christ.

Of course, we could make a thousand qualifiers. The Good Samaritan didn't give his spare change to fill an empty whiskey bottle, and that’s not the best use of our resources either. But perhaps we should have some concern that we get lost in these qualifiers too often — about when help can hurt and who are the poor and what's not the Great Commission. These are all important questions, and we do well to give them careful thought.

But while we think — and think we must — may we never lose sight that the central issue has to do with how the gospel miracle bears on our own souls. God has made us new creatures in Christ — righteous before him and empowered to love others for his sake.

Editor's Note: This is a repost of "Who is Your Neighbor? Well, Who Are You?" from the Desiring God blog. It appears here with the author’s permission.

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Jonathan Parnell is a content strategist at Desiring God. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Melissa, and their three children: Elizabeth, Hannah, and Micah. Twitter: @jonathanparnell

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For more free articles, read: Send Well by Lindsay Fooshee and Mission is Where You Are by Jeremy Writebol.

For more on mission, read: Unbelievable Gospel by Jonathan Dodson

The Presence of Advent

What is the single greatest fear that most people have about the Advent season, especially Christmas day? I doubt it has to do with finding the perfect gift. Nor does it seem like the inevitable holiday weight-gain would rank as the greatest fear. Debates over religion and politics at the dinner table might earn a higher rank but even those fights are nothing compared to a deeper fear of the soul.

What might be the single greatest fear during Christmas?

I believe it to be the lack of presence. Not a lack of presents (or gifts) but a lack of presence. No one wants to be alone during this season. We sing songs about being home for Christmas. Many Christmas films riff on the theme of being separated from family and loved ones at Christmas. We cower at the thought of waking up to ourselves with no lit tree, no joyful laughter, and with nobody to share the day. Consider the very ghosts that haunted Scrooge in Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, they haunted him with lonely Christmases.  Studies indicate that depression hits widows and widowers deepest at the holidays. I can almost guess that a full 98% of people reading this article would prefer to have someone, even if they didn't really like them, to be with on Christmas over spending it with no one at all.

What is it about Advent that reveals this fear in almost all of us? If we look at the very nature of what Advent means we will find the very reason being physically alone during this season troubles so many. At its core Advent is more than just remembering the coming of God into our existence, Advent is about the actual presence of God in our existence. Advent is the one season that reminds us that God is with us. So, when we consider a season that tells us God is with us and yet functionally experience it in loneliness a massive discord hits. The discord, for most, isn't with God, it's within ourselves. We should be experiencing presence. We should be with others and God should be with us.

Presence on the Way

Four hundred years is a very long time to wait. The United States of America has barely existed for half of that time. It would be nearly impossible to understand then the absence and silence from God for that long. However, that is exactly where the people of Israel were. National culture and identity would go through an immense rewriting if it had been four hundred years since you had a prophetic word from the national center of worship activity. Certainly brief and dim glimpses of recovery and hope came and recharged everyone's expectations but they were just that, brief and dim.  Sure, they had the prophetic words of old to lean on. Isaiah did promise Emmanuel, even if that was seven hundred years ago.

Then, rumors started cropping up. Angelic visitations occurred. Barren old women conceived. Kings from the East traveled West. A nation immigrated within itself because of a census. A virgin was with child. Then, the rumors died down. Things went back to normal for another thirty years until a shabbily dressed man like Elijah began to speak for God in the wilderness. He was no respecter of persons and calls kings, priests, and publicans to repent. A nation finally received a prophetic word: “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is present. God is with us. Emmanuel has come.”

Yes, Emmanuel, God-With-Us. He was attested to be God by his words and works by doing things only God could do. God-With-Us possessing authority to drive out sin, devils, and death. God-With-Us doing justice, loving the outcast, and the stranger. God-With-Us dinning with the drunkards, the harlots, and the sinners. God-With-Us clothed in the material flesh of our bodies, Emanuel experienced the physical limitations, pains, and agonies of our condition. God-With-Us bearing the wrath of God in our place for our offenses against God and taking our very own death-blow. God-With-Us being laid in a tomb dead for three days, he, God-With-Us, was miraculously raised to glorious new life again by the power of God--securing resurrection life for all who trust in him. God-With-Us sent his eternal presence to indwell and empower us for lives of glory and mission. He hasn’t left us, in fact, God-With-Us has come, became flesh and lived in our very domain and gifted us his eternal presence so we would always be with him.

Advent as a Missional Teacher

This is what Advent points us towards. A seasonal reminder of presence. An annual celebration of God’s personal intervention and presence with us. Advent teaches us that God is with us and that God is for us. Advent shows us God-in-action working for his glory and for our good.  Our reflection of this reality can not leave us to merely feel good about God With Us, it must propel us forward to display the God whose image we bear.

Advent becomes a missional teacher to us as we consider that God shares life with broken, messed up, needy, people of disrepute. As we increasingly consider God-With-Us we must ask ourselves are we displaying this reality to the world? Are we showing lonely people God-With-Us by our presence with them? Are we enacting this good news for the same broken, messed up, needy, people of disrepute that God hung out with?

As much as Advent is a season for gathering with family and friends, for the church it is a missional launching point for us to inhabit and take the gospel to the world. The world sits and waits year after year for a savior. They make functional saviors of sex, power, possessions, comfort, and a billion other idols they can find. Yet, all the while being let down year after year by their little, failing, and distant gods. The world is waiting, the Savior has come, the church must be present!

Practically this boils down to one thing: be with them. In the same way God was became present the world he sends us to go and be with the world. Be at the parties, the Christmas programs, the neighborhood celebrations, the family dinners, and the company gift-exchange. As you are with them, love them. Be the presence that the lonely, lost, waiting world is so eager to receive. Show them their savior through your love, by the way you honor them, give them dignity, listen to their stories, and hear their hurts.

A rocket-science degree isn’t mandatory for this, just ask the Holy Spirit to show you someone that he can display his presence to through your presence with them, and then follow his lead. Go be present with the world because God is present with you. The world waits for God-With-Us and we are blessed to display that God is with us!

Jeremy Writebol (@jwritebol) is the husband of Stephanie and daddy of Allison and Ethan. He lives and works in Wichita, KS as the Community Pastor at Journey the Way and the director of Porterbrook Kansas. His book, everPresent Gospel, is forthcoming on GCD Press and he writes at jwritebol.net.

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Read more on Advent: The Object of Our Hope by Jonathan Dodson and  download the free devotional, Come Lord Jesus Come by Will Walker and Nathan Sherman.

What to Do with a Told Gospel

Editor's Note: This is a repost of What to Do with a Told Gospel from the Desiring God blog. It appears here with the author's permission. ---

It was a beautiful Saturday morning, the kind nobody in Minnesota takes for granted. The sun was running strong, the air was happy, the sky had never been more blue. My family and I were finishing up breakfast outside when I opened the Bible for some kid-friendly devotional thoughts.

On this particular morning our four-year-old was digging it. Maybe it was the change of scenery, or maybe the Fruit Loops, but something had her leaning forward, all ears. I was sharing about what it means to be messengers for Jesus in 2 Corinthians 5:20–21. The reason we had moved here, I explained, is because God wants our neighbors to know him. Plain and simple. We have good news, really good news — the kind of news that compels us to tell it. Amen then, and breakfast was over.

Within ten minutes we closed down the cereal and laced up our shoes for a stroll around the block.

Elizabeth (our four-year-old) took one step out the front door and gladly bellowed, "Neighbors! Hey, neighbors! Come out! We're here to tell you about God!"

People heard her.

I've sat on this scene for months because, to be honest, I've not been sure what to do with it. What was she thinking? Was she street-preaching? Doesn't she get the value of relationships? Was she trying to give attractional ministry one last hooray? I've mulled that picture over several times and tried to stamp it as cute but misguided. Admirable, but not serious. Deconstructing the zeal of a four-year-old — I know, it's embarrassing.

But here we are now. I think I get it. The fact of the matter, blaring the loudest that morning, is that a little girl bridged the most necessary application from what I said to how she takes walks. That is, she connected what the Bible teaches to how she really lives (and her dad has a lot to learn).

Believing & Telling

Every Christian knows there is something about the gospel that drives us to tell it. There is some indivisible connection between believing it and making it known. It is good news, after all, and news is just that — news. Perhaps it would help, then, to re-highlight this simplest, most fundamental reason why we speak the gospel to others: because the gospel is essentially a told gospel.

There is good theological rationale here. One could start with what it means that God is a communicative agent. That he speaks and has always spoken in the intra-Trinitarian majesty of the Father and the Son by the Spirit. The knowledge of God's identity has always diffused itself. And undoubtedly, if this principle is found in his eternal essence, it will be detected in the preeminent word of who he is. More could be said here, but let's get to the Bible. Consider two texts.

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. - 1 Timothy 3:16 (emphasis added)

This is a succinct dose of doctrine, perhaps a creedal formulation from the early church, maybe even a hymn. But whether that's the case or not, it's at least a memorable Pauline expression that distills the identity of Jesus into doxological prose. And essential to this confession of Jesus is that he is proclaimed among the nations. He is a spoken Jesus. A heralded King. One, in fact, who is heard and believed.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. - Colossians 1:21–23 (emphasis added)

Look closely at that phrase "the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven." Here’s one of those rare exceptions where it helps to take a peak at the original language. John Piper explains:

The Greek for the phrase “which has been proclaimed” is tou kēruchthentos). This is a substantival participle which we could render “the proclaimed one” in English. It is in apposition with “the gospel” (tou euangeliou . . . tou kēruchthentos) — “the gospel . . . the proclaimed one.” (Has the Gospel Been Preached to the Whole Creation Already?)

Basically, Paul calls the gospel the "proclaimed-in-all-creation gospel." He refers to the gospel as what it is. The gospel is proclaimed. It is told. We don't get to opt out for a more myopic brand. There’s no less expensive version without that feature. There's not a gospel for social butterflies and then another for introverts. Everyone of us has only ever believed the told gospel, if we’ve believed the real gospel at all.

And the simplest, most natural implication of believing this gospel is that we ourselves tell it. We tell the good news in which we hope because hoping in told good news inevitably compels our telling it, too.

But There's a Problem

So then why don't we? According to a recent survey from Lifeway Research, we Christians don't seem to be telling people about Jesus very much. If we believe a "proclaimed-in-all-creation gospel," but we don’t proclaim it ourselves, what gives?

Training, resources, equipping, examples — all of these are good and important. And we've seen a fair share of them the last twenty years. But what if it's simpler that that? (I’m speaking as a poor evangelist here.) Might it be that we don't tell the gospel because we're missing something in how we understand it? Maybe the lack of our telling it points to a deficiency in our grasp of its inherent toldness? Maybe we've skimmed over the gospel's built-in compulsion to not just believe, but believe and speak. Maybe the real need is not additional components of training, but deeper wonders to mine, depths by which to be overcome — so that the step from gospel to mission is not a moving beyond but a moving further in.

Do you know what God has done?

Remember the story of the sinful woman who washed Jesus's feet with her tears. She fell before him in awe, bewildered by his presence and mercy. And no one else got it. "This man isn't a prophet," the Pharisee criticized, "he doesn't know who this woman is!" The disciples may have been baffled, too, until Jesus tells a story.

Two men owed debts, one debt was a day's wage, the other a year's income. The debt of both men were cancelled, and Jesus asks which of these men would love the lender more. Simon responds, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt" (Luke 7:43). Then we begin to see. . . The cluelessness of those bystanders corresponds to their ignorance of mercy. The crowd didn't understand the woman's devotion because they didn't understand what it means to be forgiven. That's why they responded so dumbly, so critical, so jaw-dropped and confused. Here was a reality — a beautiful, holy reality — that they could not wrap their heads around because they haven't tasted the depths of Jesus's grace.

And maybe that's our problem with evangelism. We don't tell the told gospel because we've loss sight of what it means to be forgiven. All this talk of mission might as well be a broken prostitute washing Jesus's feet. It is nonsense to us unless we remember our debt. Unless we're flooded again with the news that it's cancelled — the news that it's cancelled, which we heard, which we were told.

The news that makes us step out the front doors of comfort and civility, and say, "Neighbor! Hey, neighbor! I’m here to tell you about God!"

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Jonathan Parnell is a content strategist at Desiring God. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Melissa, and their three children: Elizabeth, Hannah, and Micah. Twitter: @jonathanparnell

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For more resources on spreading the good news of Christ's renewing work in our lives, check out Proclaiming Jesus by Tony Merida.

For more free articles on discipleship, read Justification & Hope in the Gospel by Jason Garwood and How to Cultivate Fresh Faith in the Gospel by Jonathan Dodson.

From Moralism to Evangelism

When people hear the story of my family and how God has rescued us from the American Dream into a sacrificial calling of discipleship, after spending almost 6 years in my neighborhood doing nothing for our neighbors besides condemning them, they often ask “Why?” What was it that caused me to change from a self-centered life to one that seeks to show off who Jesus is and what he has done? This question has to be asked. Not only asked but answered. If we just give the “how tos” of discipleship, we'll only help foster moralists who can follow the new “rules of discipleship.” If we express an understanding of why we're called to discipleship, then we'll move the discussion away from moralism and dispel the myth that the church is only an institution, another corporation in need of investors. By boldly offering our reasons for following Christ on mission, we can inspire movement, multiplication, and joy - a genuine dialogue with the Holy Spirit.

Basically, we need to ask, “Why does the gospel change us from inward love of self to outward love of God and neighbor?”

Kill Moralism Or It Will Kill You

When I moved to my neighborhood almost 9 years ago now, I was involved with a local church and became a champion of moralism. I seriously won the gold medal of moralism. I could have easily battled the best of them and come out on top as I built up my Ebeneezer of pride, thumbing my nose at those who weren’t as holy as I.

Then I woke up one morning at around 3am and asked myself, “If I died tonight, would I go to heaven?”

I thought through my works of righteousness and knew that all my best works on this earth were simply fodder for sermon illustrations. All my righteousness pointed to how great I was and how lacking the hearers were. Basically, my works were to create disciples of Seth who would be ready and willing to follow me and parrot my every word. Realizing this early that morning, I was no longer sure if I would go to heaven. In fact, the more I thought about heaven, the more I was sure I wasn’t going. All my best works were muddied with self.

Then I read a verse that made me angry with God. I mean not so angry that I’d swear because my holy tongue would never utter such disgrace. Anyways, here was God's word to me that morning:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. - Matthew 11:28

I had to laugh. For me, being a Christian was anything but easy. It was a burden. My life was so heavy, so difficult. Maybe Jesus died for my sins, but it was my job to “get to it” so I could be sanctified. Whether it was praying more, reading my bible more, using people as a checklist/project to feel better about myself, or serving the church more... whatever these things were, they weren’t easy or light.

I took holiness to mean that it was us versus them.  Saints versus Sinners. God's people versus the World.  Me versus Them.

The only reason I interacted with neighbors was to knock on their door, give them a bible, tell them they were going to hell, and be glad I did my work. I was sure they'd never repent because the road is narrow. I was the only one on it. Lonely. Hurting. Weary. Heavy-laden.

Be Rescued, Rest, & Then Work

My good friends weren’t taking super-holy lifestyle to kindly. Praise God for them. They asked me to listen to some preachers they knew were godly and gospel centered.

Then, one of them asked me: How do you know you are saved and one of God’s children?

I responded: By testing my works

He asked: How is that going? Do you ever pass that test?

I somberly answered: I’ve never passed that test

He then showed me this from Calvin:

If we have been chosen in him, we shall not find assurance of our election in ourselves; and not even in God the Father, if we conceive him as severed from his Son. Christ, then, is the mirror wherein we must, and without self-deception may, contemplate our own election. For since it is into his body that the Father has destined those to be engrafted whom he has willed from eternity to be his own, that he may hold as sons all whom he acknowledges to be among his members, we have a sufficiently clear and firm testimony that we have been inscribed in the book of life (cf. Rev. 21:27) if we are in communion with Christ - John Calvin - Inst. III.xxiv.5

My friend asked me: What if your works weren’t the barometer of assurance of salvation but the works of Jesus were?

I exclaimed: That would change everything!

What ended up happening throughout this conversation and throughout my journey out of legalism is the word of God became powerful to my heart.

Jesus says in Matthew that those who hear his words and put them into practice are wise, and those who listen to his words and do not put them into practice are fools. That passage rings true in every aspect of missional living.

I thought back to the words of Jesus when he said that his yoke was easy and his burden was light. Either Jesus was a liar or I wasn’t understanding the gospel and didn’t understand that it was actually good news.

If I lived in light Jesus as the mirror of my election, then the gospel would be very good news. The yoke of missional living would be easy and the burden would be light. God rescues moralists. So rest... then work with his power.

Old Hearts Die Hard

God took me and my family out of that church and landed us with Soma Communities. This was like being taken out of slavery into not only freedom but a palace. It wasn't the old church’s fault, it was completely my heart's fault for desiring self more than God.

As we moved to another church family and Soma started to speak what it looked like to live on mission, all my wife and I heard was "do this, do that." We again felt as though moralism was being piled on. We were still hearing what we wanted to hear instead of what was actually being said. Moralism doesn’t die quickly. The gospel must be applied by the Spirit over and over again.

At this point in our journey, we were just sitting back and taking everything in. We were asked to lead in certain ways, but I still didn't trust the moralist living inside me. I didn’t want to open up the cage to let him out quite yet. He needed to be slaughtered by the sword of the Spirit.

One day, we finally heard what our brothers Jeff Vanderstelt and Caesar Kalinowski were actually saying. Jeff was preaching and he said the following:

When Jesus was at his baptism, the Spirit descended like a dove and God said, “This is my Son with whom I am well pleased.” Do you know that if you trust in the works of Jesus that God says the same thing about you because of his Son?!  God is well pleased with you! Not because of anything you have done or will do but because of Jesus. You can do nothing to gain his acceptance. You can do nothing to please him any more. You can do nothing so that the Father will love you more. Jesus has done everything on your behalf so that you are accepted and loved.

When I heard this, the scales off my moralistic eyes were shattered. I was now starting to understand what God meant when he said his Spirit would replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19).

It wasn’t just this one time but every week. The good news was being preached to my heart and to my wife’s heart. The gospel wasn’t just a term, but it was now good news. We saw that the gospel wasn't something that happened 2000 years ago. It is for us today. It gives us hope for tomorrow:

1. We have been saved from the penalty of sin (justification)
2. We are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification) and...
3. We will be saved from the presence of sin.

Our justification (by Christ) leads to our sanctification (by the Spirit). That’s glorification.

It is all by the work of God. It is nothing we do! This is good news. In Christ, the yoke of discipleship is easy. Support by the Spirit, the burden of missional living is light. I could do nothing for the rest of my life, and God would love me the same. This freedom gripped my heart and caused me to finally worship God in Spirit and truth (and stop worshiping myself).

Discipleship Models Collapse Without the Gospel

The “Why?” of changing from internal living to sacrificial living came about because the gospel was finally good news to my heart.  When this happened, my wife and I couldn’t resist… our natural reaction, our natural inclination, our natural conclusion was this: People need to hear and experience this gospel.

We had no idea where to start, so we went to my now close friend, Caesar Kalinowski, and asked him, “We want to make disciples of Jesus, how do we start?”

He said, “Go home and ask the Spirit, ‘What’s Next?' It’s his mission and it’s by his power, so he’ll let you know.”

The rest is history. (To get a better idea of where I’m coming from, you can read this article: A Story of Gospel Community.)

When we are so gripped by good news, we don’t need an evangelism class, we naturally desire to share it. The reason people don’t want to share the gospel is because it’s not good news to them. It’s not today’s news. It's like telling folks we landed on the moon, old hat, distant.

But, when you preach, teach, live, and disciple others how the gospel is good news for them today, they become instant evangelists.

Caesar didn’t give me some model to follow, some class to attend, or some pre-written conversation to follow. He, along with my brothers, gave me the gospel. The water that never runs dry. The bread of life. The Alpha and the Omega. When a thirty soul receives water, he’ll go and tell the other thirsty souls where to find life.

Here are some questions to consider asking yourself and of your community:

• Do you believe you were saved by God's work and not your own?
• Do you still believe you have to do more to be saved from God’s wrath and loved as God’s child?
• Do you work hard at religious activity to be accepted and loved by God?
• Do you work tirelessly at your job in order to gain significance and security?
• What happens when you disobey God? Do you live with guilt and shame? Do you beat yourself up endlessly?
• Or do you go to the cross and receive the grace of the gospel?
• How's your "yoke" feeling these days?

May we believe the wisdom of God when he says: My yoke is easy and my burden is light!

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Seth McBee is the adopted son of God, husband of one wife, and father of three. He’s a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a finance degree. By trade Seth is an Investment Portfolio Manager, serving as president of McBee Advisors, Inc as well as a missional community leader, preaching elder with Soma Communities in Renton, Washington, and executive team member of the GCM Collective. Twitter @sdmcbee

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To go more in depth into the gospel centered life, read Unbelievable Gospel by Jonathan Dodson. Now available in print.

For more free articles about missional living, read Mission is Where You Live by Jeremy Writebol and Revival: Ways & Means by Tim Keller.

Mission Is Where You Live

“I just don’t know any lost people.” “I find it so hard to meet people that don’t know Jesus.” “Sharing my life and faith with unbeliever is so difficult. Apart from going to a bar I don’t know where they are at.” These are all excuses I’ve made for my failure to know, bless, and share Jesus with unbelievers. I hear these statements regularly among other Christians as well. It’s as if unbelievers are actually physically lost, and finding them is like finding a unicorn or a white elephant--exceptionally rare. Underneath these excuses is a common reality: I haven’t really been present in the locations where I've lived. Recently, it occurred to me that I’m not really thinking about the whole concept of mission and evangelism in a clear light. A friend asked me a pointed question once that brought me to repentance and helped me rediscover an important tool in living a life “on mission.” The question was this: how could I live in the same house for over three years and not know the stories and situations of the people that lived within 100 yards of me? Several answers were apparent (lack of love, disobedience, etc.) but the real answer that stood out was that I wasn’t really present in my neighborhood.

Oh sure, I was physically there. I ate, drank, slept, played, worked, laughed, cried, and did everything a physically present person would do. However, none of my neighbors would have known it or cared about it. To them I didn’t exist. And they didn’t exist for me either. So when I said, “I don’t know any lost people,” I was technically right. I had failed to live my life in their life. And this was the beginning of the awakening for me. How did I come to know God? He actually came and lived in my life. How can I find lost people? Live my life, where I am at, in their life.

I’m willing to bet that if you are reading this, you have a similar situation. Most of the world lives in highly dense, urban areas, surrounded on all sides by neighbors. Over eighty percent of Americans live in what is classified as an urban area. All of that to say the lost are out there; you probably live next to them. But do you really live in their lives? Would they be able to affirm your existence?

God is Everywhere---God is Here

As a parent my kids often ask me questions that have stumped philosophers for centuries. One of the questions my kids would ask early on is, “Where is God?” This always gives me an opportunity to talk about the character and attributes of God. One of the things I share with them is the “omnipresence” of God; God is present fully everywhere at all times. For creatures that are limited to seeing only the physical, trying to comprehend a being who is everywhere all the time and fully, is a recipe for making your brain explode. Most Christians would affirm that God is everywhere just the same as they would affirm that the lost are everywhere. The only problem is “everywhere” often means “no where.”  We can’t see God, so we really wonder if he is here. We don’t know the lost, so we really wonder if they exist.

But the Bible gives us a greater perspective regarding the presence of God. Not only is he everywhere and present at all times, but he has uniquely and clearly disclosed his presence with his people all through history. The story of God’s presence with his people begins in the garden. God made a good place for his people and dwelt with them (Genesis 2). The Scriptures tell us that God lived in the presence of our first parents. As sin entered the picture the relationship broke. No longer was humanity in the presence of God. Instead, distance and separation from the place of God was the consequence of rebellion against him (Genesis 3:23-24). Though God evicted Adam and Eve from the temple of his presence, he continued to be present with his people as the story of redemption unfolds. Through burning bushes, the ark of the covenant, pillars of cloud and fire, tabernacle tents, and temple buildings, God effectively, but not fully, displayed his presence with his people. Until, that is, he lived in our lives.

Jesus, fully present

John’s introduction to his Gospel brings this aspect of the presence of God fully into view. Jesus, as John writes, became flesh and dwelt with us (John 1:14). God with us. Jesus is the one who fixed the break between God and man. He is the presence every shadow-symbol of the Old Testament points toward. As John put it, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he [Jesus] has made known” (John 1:18). God became a man and lived among us. He lived in our lives. God with us.

Not only is God with us, but he is God for us. Jesus came not just to hang out in our ghettos (as compared to heavenly realms, that is); he came to live the life of righteousness we failed over and over again to live. He came to die the wrath-deserving death we were entitled to because of our rebellion (Galatians 3:13). He came to live again so that the reality of rebirth would be ours and his power would be shown to encompass all things.

Now push-back is natural here. Where is this Jesus? How is “God with us” because I don’t see him in my living room or across the street? These are honest questions. The reality, however, is not that God has once again left our lives. No, the reality is that he has doubly reinforced his presence in our lives. He has given us two ways of seeing his glory and knowing him on a daily basis:

1. We’ve been given the promised Holy Spirit. The fullness of God dwelling within us daily. By virtue of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, he has sent his very presence and nature to be our Helper, Comforter, and Advocate (John 13:15-17). He has given every believer everywhere his life to live in ours. Paul confessed this by saying, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives within me” (Galatians 2:20). Christ lives in our lives through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
2. He’s also given us the church. Jesus has given us community in himself. As believers, we have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit in order to live the life of Jesus in the lives of others. We are the tangible, physical demonstration of the invisible God (John 13:24-25). We are the reflection of his glory to the lost world. The story is being written right now. To the lost, God’s existence is debatable unless they’ve seen the life of a person inhabited by the Holy Spirit lived in front of them. As the church lives its life, it must live in the life of the world (1 Peter 2:12). This is how the presence of God is made real and manifest to the world.

Living In the Lives of Others

My neighbor, Herb, walks his dog up and down our street daily. Usually in the early evening right before dusk, I see Herb plodding along with his dog. Does Herb know I exist? Would he care?

If we see that God has not abandoned us, and has not withdrawn his presence from us, but actually has done the exact opposite and inhabited our world, then we can begin to see how to live among our neighbors. Herb knows I exist, but that’s because I’ve gone out to Herb. I’ve lived in his life. I’ve invited Herb into my life. When Herb walks his dog, he stops and talks and tells me his story. As I learned how God has always placed his presence in the midst of His people, I began to see how I can meet and befriend and know lost people. I must live in their lives.

This might sound daunting. It certainly is, mainly because we don’t want to give up our comfort. Going outside and walking with Herb while he walks the dog and talks doesn't always feel normal. But it happens. Inviting my neighbors into my home can be risky. Letting my children meet people that probably don’t share the same values as we do is dangerous. Yet this is exactly what our Savior has done. He has lived in our lives.

So how do we live in the lives of our neighbors? How do we inhabit their world so that we can show them a God who has inhabited our lives?

1. Be present in your neighborhood. For so many, especially in the suburbs, it’s easy to come home after work, pull into the garage, and disappear into our homes. We must be intentional to be outside our homes. Use every opportunity to leave the garage door open, be in the front yard, out in the open amongst your neighbors. Talk with them, learn their names, invite them into your space, go to their space.
2. Bless your neighborhood. It used to be that when a new person moved into a neighborhood, a few neighbors would go visit the new neighbor and bless them with some cookies or pie or something as a way to meet and get to know the new folks. I’ve moved into three different houses in the last seven years and have yet to see a plate of cookies. I use this as a small example to challenge us to live in a neighborhood intentionally to bless and give. You don’t have to take cookies to the new neighbor, but do something to bless a neighbor. Walk over and give in some way, bless and be kind to them.
3. Bring in your neighbors. When was the last time you invited a neighbor over for dinner or barbecue? We can live in the lives of our neighbors by inviting them into our homes, into our spaces, and letting them see our lives up close. How will our neighbors know what the love of Jesus is like if they don’t see the love of Jesus lived in our homes and families. What would happen on your block or in your apartment complex if you invited a neighbor over for a meal on a frequent basis?

Being, blessing, bringing are three simple strategies toward living in the lives of our neighbors. As we pursue Christ and bear the image of a God who has lived in our lives by living in the lives of the lost we will find the lost.

Try It---It works

Not too long ago we hosted a block party for our neighbors. We did it with our missional community because we want to reach the neighborhood of Wichita where I live. Several neighbors we didn’t know stopped by, had a hot dog, and did something I thought was unexpected. They stayed in my front yard and talked. For hours. As they talked, I began to learn their stories, hear some of their griefs, laugh at their jokes, live in their lives. As my wife and I were cleaning up, she looked at me and said, “I finally feel like I know lost people in my neighborhood. I finally feel like I know my neighbors.” We rejoiced and praised God that for once “the lost” were real people that we could put names and faces to. And they’ve now put a name and a face with “Christians.” We’re praying that they become the disciples of Jesus we are seeking to be.

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Jeremy Writebol is the husband of Stephanie, daddy of Allison and Ethan, and lives and works in Wichita, KS as the Community Pastor at Journey the Way. He is the director of Porterbrook Kansas and writes at jwritebol.net.

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To go deeper into living a gospel centered life in your neighborhood, read Unbelievable Gospel by Jonathan Dodson.

For more free articles from Jeremy Writebol about missional living, check out Discipleship in the Sporting-Life and Redeeming Fantasy Football.

Justification & Hope in the Gospel

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.Romans 8:1

I grew up with this understanding that discipleship happened in a classroom in front of a flannelgraph and that the only way to grow as a follower of Jesus was to sign up for Bible studies, attend Sunday school, get your kids to VBS, don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t have sex and be good. Rules, rules and more rules. It was a cyclical pattern of condemnation. I could never be good enough.

When Jesus commissioned us to make disciples he certainly desired for us to engage the world. We are to go to the nations, teach them to observe what Jesus said, baptize them, and then do it again—all with the gospel Story as the center. But what I was missing was real life-on-life, Spirit empowered, Story-formed community.

It’s not, “Come to Jesus, join our church and then get discipled.” It’s, “Here is the gospel. Here’s what Jesus has done for you. Repent and believe, and live a life on mission with the Church through the power of the Spirit as you learn to make disciples who make disciples. Your life, which is not your life now, is to be gospel-saturated and set on fire for the mission. Now go.” The gospel Story tells of freedom from condemnation. If freedom to live a life on mission comes with the gospel driving your life, what holds us back? Let's take a look at a couple of all too familiar scenarios.

Condemnation Scenario One

We sat in my office, and I listened to her story for nearly an hour. She was in tears as anger, bitterness, frustration, anxiety, depression, and uncertainty all plagued her. She had moved out of the house away from her husband, and things were not going well. I had a couple of meetings with the two of them, but we never seemed to be able to get anywhere with the situation. They had both been married before and now this marriage was about to crumble. Again. She couldn’t live with herself if another marriage fell apart. Not this time.

She talked a lot about the problems in their marriage, but the common, underlying theme in all of her analysis was condemnation. How could God still love me? Why would God allow this to happen? I still feel ashamed of my past. I still feel distant from God. There is no way I can live like this and still have a relationship with Jesus.

Condemnation Scenario Two

Steven (not his real name) is not a Christian. He had been coming to our worship gatherings for quite a while now, and sat in the back curiously looking around. If he as a not-yet-believer was likened to anything, it would be that of a window shopper. He enjoyed browsing the flurry of activity that was a Sunday morning. He was here each week and was engaged with everything, especially the sermon. He was here each week and was engaged with everything, especially the sermon, though he didn’t necessarily care for our music. Almost every week, I would stand in the back of the auditorium and greet him, and he thanked me for my message each time.

Steven and I got to know each other as he took the initiative to come meet with me. I had previously given him a Bible and he had been reading it every single day. As far as I could tell he’d read the New Testament a couple of times over. Steven was searching.

One day he sat on the couch in my office and told me his story. His background didn’t shock me, for I had worked in the social work field in inner-city Philadelphia during seminary, but I was blown away by the fact that he was still alive. Steven interrupted me that day (which was highly unusual because he was normally quiet and reserved) and said, “Pastor Jason, I understand why Jesus died. I understand my sin. I’m not ready to become a Christian yet.”

What in the world do I do with this, I thought. The man had heard the gospel over and over again, was reading his Bible, talking with me, praying with me, and had a better attendance at our Sunday gatherings than most everyone else. What gives? Then he told me, “I don’t understand how God could accept me.”

Justification in the Gospel

Both scenarios I laid out above are about shame; both have guilt. Both are desiring to be accepted by God. One is a believer struggling with identity; the other is not yet a believer struggling with identity. But both require the same approach to discipleship: the gospel. This gospel says that you are accepted, not because of anything you have done or will do, but because of what Jesus has done. You are accepted now!

The Apostle Paul was intoxicated with the gospel. He was stunned by Jesus and penned the greatest theological treatise ever written. In the Letter to the Romans, Paul’s entire premise hinges on this all-important doctrine of justification. He says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

This word, “therefore,” is the crescendo of all things gospel-centered. It is a powerful word especially because of where it is in chapter eight. Paul has just laid out in the previous chapters the doctrine of sin and justification and in Romans 7:23-25 says that we have an impressive victory won “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Backing up even further, Paul says in Romans 7:6, “But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”

Don’t miss this statement. Paul is giving us a new grid to work with, and it is that of the Spirit’s working in our life because we died with Jesus. This is a significant part of Paul’s robust doctrine of justification. We are free from the law of sin and death! (Romans 8:2). And “now” we have this status—this right-standing-before-God status that was inaugurated by Jesus, and because of what he has done we have been united with him. Justification is always connected to our union with Christ.

Paul says that the condemnation is gone. It’s finished. Obliterated. Never-to-return. The fruit of sin is death and because we have peace with God, because of what Jesus has done, we are acquitted. Sin and death were condemned on the cross. Their verdict was rendered “finished” by Jesus’ substitutionary death. The Spirit in our life points us back to that reality over and over again, to drink deeply from the gospel well. The future verdict of “not guilty” has been given to us now. We’ve been adopted (Romans 8:15). We’ve been changed. We’ve experienced the gospel.

Gospel Identity through the Trinity

At the center of all things discipleship is an identity crisis. Finding hope with the doctrine of justification requires that we look deeply at our identities. At our church I use something I call “The Trinitarian Story” with our people. The Father, Son, and Spirit are all at work in the mission of God. Each Person plays a role during the life of the believer. The Father is our heavenly father and we are a family. The Son is Lord and came to serve us, so we worship him as servants. The Spirit was sent by Jesus to shape us as a community on mission, and therefore we are missionaries. Each of these identities are connected to the gospel. Each of these give us a profound sense of worth, dignity, and value. Notice that we don’t give ourselves this worth; it comes from God.

Taking it a bit further, I’ve heard fellow Soma Communities pastor Jeff Vanderstelt and others talk about four key gospel-fluent questions for whatever you find yourself dealing with in life (be it success, problems, sin, or trial). I have framed them this way:

1. Who is God?
2. What has God done in Christ?
3. Who does that now make me?
4. What’s next, Holy Spirit?

The key to growing in holiness by the power of the Spirit is to learn to appropriate the gospel and do so by connecting it to our identities. We must learn to allow the Spirit the opportunity to help us revisit this, over and over again.

Hope in the Gospel

My counsel to these two? No matter the circumstance, trial, or tribulation, you can find hope. Paul says that nothing can separate us from Jesus (Romans 8:35-39). Nothing. Do you believe it? Now let's try the gospel-fluent questions:

Questions 1: Who is God? He is Righteous, therefore he is Judge.

Question 2: What has God done in Christ? He has offered his Son Jesus as a substitution for our sin. Jesus bore the wrath of God on himself in our place, and in doing so was crucified and raised on the third day. Scripture says that this Christ event is what gave us justification.

Question 3: Who does that now make me? A justified sinner, saved by God’s grace, who’s condemnation is null and void. My guilt has been destroyed, my shame put to death. I can now be a joyful person because Jesus has taken my punishment.

Question 4: What’s next, Holy Spirit? Rest in my justification, praising God for the gospel. I can find hope because Jesus stepped in my place to get me.

Counseling and discipling in these situations is incredibly difficult. It takes time. It takes us remembering the gospel and learning to listen while making fresh applications of what Jesus has done. By God’s grace, there is hope. May we spur on our efforts of disciple-making by the power of the Spirit for the glory of God, resting in what Jesus has done to justify us.

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Jason M. Garwood (M.Div., Biblical Theological Seminary) serves as Lead Pastor of Colwood Church in Caro, MI. Jason and his wife, Mary, have two children, Elijah and Avery. He enjoys theological banter, good pizza, tinkering around on the iPad and fighting for joy. He blogs at the Storied Jesus. Connect with him on Twitter: @jasongarwood

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To go deeper into the gospel, check out Unbelievable Gospel by Jonathan Dodson. 

For more free articles about realizing your gospel identity, read The Love of Our Father by Jake Chambers and Rethinking Devotion by Matt Manry.

The Problem with Proselytizing

No exaggeration, there was a time when I took Deuteronomy 6:7 to mean that the only form of truly godly education was home-education:

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. - Deuteronomy 6:7

D.A. Carson is known to say, “My father used to tell me that a text without a context becomes a pretext for a proof text, so when I was still quite young I learned to look at the context." In my insistence on homeschooling, I was not applying Carson's piece of solid wisdom. I justified my view. I claimed that flowing from this verse a case is made for homeschooling only. Later, I expanded my view to include classical Christian schools or homeschooling only.

During those years I invested a lot of my time recruiting for these two methods. At one point, I gave a friend a book the premise of which was basically “homeschool at all costs.” I was so black and white about homeschooling that I offended my friend deeply.

As I've looked back on it over the years, I remember talking a lot about being more “godly.” It was always about becoming “holy” and being more “godly.” The things I had in mind to accomplish this holiness/godliness was a long list of what we used to call “distinctives.” Besides homeschooling or classical Christian school, this list included: no youth groups; no Sunday school; no church programs; women can read books together but not Bible study; singing Psalms and hymns only and preferably in 4-part harmony; communion every week (and must be with wine); healthy natural diet. I best stop here. The list is very long. It even contains things that are good, but upholding them as I did - especially in prideful opposition to brothers and sisters in Christ - was the opposite of holiness and godliness.

Believe me when I say I was able to justify all these things from Scripture, and to top it all off - as if this wasn't enough - I had a healthy dose of mockery and scoffing for those who were not “like-minded.” Maybe you have your own list.

I have tried to unravel what coalesced in my thinking and brought me to that point.

What are we sharing?

Over the last year or so I realized how much easier it is for people to become excited about something that works for them or has been a blessing in their lives. We want to share it with everyone we know. Except sometimes it's not just a simple sharing. There's pressure to go with the particular brand/idea/method that we're advocating.

In my experience, we are so often more excited and more pushy and more willing to talk about all kinds of things (e.g. cloth diapers vs. disposable, organic eating, natural baby birth, parenting and education methods) rather than sharing the gospel or talking about Jesus. I'm not casting blame. I had to confront this in my own heart.

There was a time when I was convinced that speaking theological truths to each other was actually out of bounds for godly, obedient Christian women. My rationale was that women should only learn the Scriptures from their husbands and spend their time with other women concentrating on being better keepers of their homes. Obviously, with this mindset, participating in organized women's Bible studies was out of the question, and I imagined that “sharpening” would come through organic relationships. I find it beautiful that in God's mysterious providence he has now put it on my heart to teach and lead Bible studies for women. I now long for women to make their greatest treasure Jesus and the Scriptures.

The Problem with Proselytizing

I understand that not everyone falls into, or has fallen into, this way of thinking. You don't have to take proselytizing to the extremes that I did to stumble in this way. Why do we find it more palatable, or even preferable, to spend more of our time “sharing” or talking each other into things that fall into the category of freedom in Christ, instead of investing our precious time with each other talking about the depths of the gospel? This is the problem with proselytizing.

In Unbelievable Gospel Jonathan Dodson has some hard truths to say about proselytizing versus evangelizing. These things can be just as easily applied to a group where all are Christians—proselytizing, instead of sharpening one another according to Scripture, instead of discipling one another.

Dodson sets up this convicting contrast:

“Proselytizing is motivated by recruitment. Those who proselytize try to recruit people to different things... The proselytizer puts faith in rational arguments and in social networks. Whatever is of greatest value to us motivates our proselytizing. Depending on your values, Christianity may have its strongest expression in a political party, a moral code, a view of the book of Revelation, form or denomination of church, or doctrinal stance. Notice that none of these are focused on Jesus. We all recruit to what we think is most important. Men recruit to sports teams; women recruit to fashion trends. In the case of the proselytizer, he recruits to faith in a messiah and lord other than Jesus. On the whole, faith is placed in the messiah of church and the lord of doctrine. This false gospel goes something like: 'If you join the right church and get the right doctrine, then you can be saved.' The true gospel simply says: 'If you join Jesus through repentance and faith, then he will save you.' Quite different.” (emphasis added)

And here's where it really hurt:

“The proselytizer’s good news is that you can swap out your inferior beliefs and community for her superior beliefs and better community (which is offensive).”

The Opportunity for Evangelizing

In my opinion, Dodson nails it. You can substitute any of your hobby horses for the examples he gives. The bottom line is that for one reason or another we all at times would much rather “recruit” someone in order that they be more like-minded with us, then to help them have the mind of Christ. In our prideful shallow hearts, we are all about our “kingdom of one,” rather than the kingdom of God, as Paul Tripp puts it.

It's helpful to ask how and why sincere Christians fall into the trap of proselytizing rather than evangelizing unbelievers or sharpening fellow believers in Christ. Here is a short list of what I learned when I searched my own heart. (There will be different rationales for different folks):

1. I insulated myself and my children as much as possible from unbelievers, and from believers whom I considered to be not as mature of Christians as I would prefer. Obviously this led to absolutely zero evangelistic opportunities. It also led to a lack of discipleship. I didn't want to take the time with people who I considered to be less sanctified than I was. I only wanted to be around people who were “like-minded” with me and living their lives the way I thought “godly” people should. My reward for this type of living: gospel amnesia, isolation, lack of grace and compassion, judgmentalism, self-righteousness, and rigidness.
2. I preferred to proselytize women to what I believed to be the high watermarks of sanctification defined by what I had read or heard instead of the actual Scriptures. This caused me to be more willing and excited to give out books that I believed would convince others of my view. (Of course I was operating out of blindness since I had not taken the time myself to read widely and compare these authors to the Scriptures and to other authors.)
3. I was more excited about our life choices then I was about my Lord and Savior. That made it easier to talk about all the things we can “do” to be “better” or “godly.”
4. I was more willing to recruit women to the things I was excited about because I sincerely believed that these were the things that could change their life for the better. Because I was not washing my soul with the gospel, daily, I put my faith and hope for transformation in something else—something other than Christ.
5. I was more willing to recruit women to my way of things because it made me look like I had all the answers.

We need to take this Scripture to heart and not think it was just for all those foolish Pharisees two thousand years ago:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. —Matthew 23:15

Why would Jesus give such a rebuke? Because they were proselytizing in order to turn people to their way of living and being “clean” instead of seeking to turn the hearts of people toward God himself. As John Piper has said in God is the Gospel, even the blessings of God are not to be what we desire. Yes, God is the gospel! We are to desire God himself.

It wasn't until God opened my eyes and brought me face to face with Jesus again that I was able to start “gospeling” instead of recruiting—discipling and sharpening instead of proselytizing. The friend I gave that homeschooling book to forgave me for my pushy, immature offensiveness. But our relationship was never the same again. I had gone too far. We were able to say goodbye as sisters in Christ when I moved away, but I have thought about her often over the years—so many things I would take back if I could.

I am grateful that through the convicting and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, I am not that woman anymore, but these habits are hard to break. I need Jesus! I need a deep full-orbed understanding of the gospel. I need books like Unbelievable Gospel to wake me up. And I need loving brothers and sisters in Christ to model true evangelism and communal sharpening for me.

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Luma Simms (@lumasimms) is a wife and mother of five delightful children between the ages of 1 and 18. She studied physics and law before Christ led her to become a writer, blogger, and Bible study teacher. Her book Gospel Amnesia is forthcoming on GCD Press. She blogs regularly at Gospel Grace.

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For more insights on authentically sharing the gospel, check out Jonathan Dodson's Unbelievable Gospel. We're now offering a Print Edition.

For more free resources on gospel centered living, read: Stephen Witmer's Psalm 127 & 3 Ways to Live or Ben Connelly's A Child's Gospel.

Satan in the Suburbs

Satan. Lucifer. Beelzebub. The devil. Whatever you want to call him, most of us treat the adversary as though he is a biblical fairy tale. Historically, it seems as though Satan gets too much play or none at all. We either blame everything (including burnt toast) on him, or nothing. Rarely have we dealt with him in the middle, knowing he's against us, but understanding our Father is greater. For my life, I've mainly dealt with the devil as an afterthought. I have believed in Satan because as the song goes … the Bible tells me so, but I have never believed that he influences my everyday life.  He’s there, but don’t mention him.

Here is what I have found out, practically, about the devil as I have tried to live out the mission of making disciples in my suburban neighborhood:

1. Satan attacks disciple making.
2. Don’t be surprised when he attacks.
3. God is glorious, so we don’t have to fear others, including the devil.

Satan attacks disciple making

What I have found out is that Satan is present among disciple makers who are actually doing the enemy's will masked in God's favor. What do I mean by this?

For years, I never made disciples of Jesus. Did I make disciples? Yes. Everyone makes disciples, it’s either of yourself or of Jesus. This is one way Satan attacks discipleship. Although I believed I was making good little moralist people whom God would be so glad to have on his team, I was actually drafting soldiers that were fighting well against the gospel--making the gospel seem unnecessary. I was doing Satan’s work for him.

A little over three years ago, the tides changed. Stripped of my moralism, the good news was finally … good news.  Although I grew up in the church my whole life, not until the law was shown to be subject to the Savior instead of the savior itself, did I see how beautiful the news truly was. When this happened, everything changed.

I stopped making disciples of  myself (or at least did my best to stop that kind of self glorifying work). I started to do whatever I could to show others Jesus and what he was like. Instead of expecting sinners to come to me, I started to go to them. Instead of expecting sinners to clean themselves up so they could come to the church, I realized I was as filthy as anyone, and that I am the church only because of grace. And because of that grace, I could go to people where they were and show them and tell them the good news in a way that would really be good news to them. To bring the gospel in a way that made an impact on them where they were in that moment.

As my family started to live this out, everything seemed to be going well. Very well. Neighborhood events, dinners, people seeing and hearing the good news in many different ways. Within this picture of gospel community, Satan made a vicious attack on us--spiritually. He attacked us with the very people we were reaching out to.

We have lived in the same neighborhood for eight years. For the first five years, we never did anything to make disciples of Jesus. For the past three, we have done everything we could to self-sacrifice for the sake of making disciples of Jesus.  Have we done this perfectly? By no means. It’s interesting that we were left alone for the first five years, but now during the last three, Satan has been on the prowl like a roaring lion.

Instead of attacking us by physical illness, something Job-like, it came as a knock at the door. It was a neighbor we had been tirelessly reaching out to, trying to show Jesus to his whole family. He came on a Friday, when he knew I wouldn't be home. For twenty minutes, he cussed at my wife, saying he had put up with her for eight years, but in reality had hated her the entire time. He then listed off ways in which he found her to be disgusting. These things he listed--these charges that weren't grounded in reality--though they hadn't really happened, they were the four things my wife had been trying deeply to rid herself of since leaving our previous church where we were once the good little moralists. The only people who knew the depth of these four struggles were myself and my wife. Our MC (missional community) knew most of them, but not the depth of the hurt these four things had caused our souls. God knew everything, and we came to find out, so did Satan.

Shortly after, my wife called to let me know what happened. As a husband, I was furious. I had to decide if I’d go to jail, or respond to my enemy in love. Would I disciple my family and the neighborhood to Jesus, or to myself?

I gave him a call, we spoke, and I called out his lies where they needed to be called out. In the end, I told him we’d respect his wishes for our families not to interact further. I did my best to show him love, all the while wanting to take him to the wood shed. We live literally ten feet apart.

Don’t Be Surprised When Satan Attacks

We are told many times that we’ll be hated, attacked, and despised for living a life of hope and peace. We need to be ready to be attacked. Peter even says don’t be surprised by the fiery ordeal amongst you. Jesus says to know that we’ll be hated because they first hated him.

When my wife was attacked by our neighbor, our first thought was, “Why?”  If I listed all the ways we’d loved this family, you’d think I was making it up. Again, a reminder that we should never be loving others for what we’ll get from them, but only because of how much our Father has loved us.

On the question of why Satan attacks, he attacked us because of what was happening in the neighborhood. We have had so many people see Jesus and hear about Jesus in the last three years in our neighborhood that Satan could not take us being on his turf any more. If he is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, who is a lion going to attack? A lion attacks for food or for protection of the herd. I believe he was attacking here because he was trying to protect his herd against his enemy: Jesus.

When you are on the mission field, doing the work of Jesus, Satan will attack to keep the eyes of his herd closed to the glories of Jesus. Instead of merely attacking the work, he attacks those that are doing the work to nip the work in the bud.  If he can rid the neighborhood of us, then he can rid the light from the darkness. Not because we are special, but because we are the workmen of Jesus being used by the Spirit to show off who he is.

Why my wife? Peter tells us to love our wives like a weaker vessel, put in our vernacular, like a prized vase that you take great care of and keep from breaking. Satan figured that if he could take out my wife, she’d crumble and our disciple making would be over. Satan has not only attacked my wife through our neighbor, but he has also shown up in visions and dreams of demons surrounding her, trying to show her his strength against her. I’ll add something to this a little further down.

So, why did this neighbor attack my wife, or really us as a family? This neighbor knows us pretty well, as our family is very open and honest about our struggles and our lives in general. He knows who we trust and the hope and peace we have in Jesus. When you live in such a way where you have an honest hope and trust in something greater than yourself, and there is no explaining it away, you end up showing others that they actually don’t live in true peace and hope. We believe in the end, this neighbor started to see that his life was being threatened by us. He had a view of what Christians were, namely hypocrites that don’t look like Jesus in any way. Now he had people living ten feet away from him, loving him without restrictions, without any strings attached, and I believe it crushed his view of not only Jesus, but of his whole life, which he thought was peaceful and hopeful. When that crashed around him, he attacked because he didn’t know what else to do.

This isn’t some “look how great we’ve been to our neighbor” act, but it is the reality of the Scriptures. Think through this.  Why was Jesus hated? Because he showed the people that their deeds were evil (John 7:7; John 15:18-23). Why will we be persecuted? Because we live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 3:12). When we do these things, we are discipling people to Jesus, and this kicks against not only the individualistic American Dream but against Satan himself.

So, as you prepare to live a life on mission to show off Jesus … be ready. Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. That someone is you.

God is glorious, so I don't have to fear others, including Satan

The beautiful thing about all this is that God is glorious; he is greater than all things and beings and is in complete control. Therefore, we fear nothing or no one, including the devil.

After this happened to my wife, I told her that it was time for us to rest and allow God to defend himself in this matter, and that we didn’t need to defend ourselves. We told no one, besides our MC, as we didn’t desire to spread rumors or slander against our neighbor. During this time, many emotions bubbled up. This was not a time where we were perfect, nor handled it like stoics. There were times of fierce anger, lots of screaming about the situation and asking God why he was allowing this to happen. After the incident on the porch, another time the family attacked my nine-year-old’s character. They were persistent. We didn’t know if we’d ever reach out to our community again because the hurt to our family ran so deep.

We didn’t hide these emotions from each other, God, or our missional community. One beautiful thing about this was the wisdom and insight we received from God through our people. Two women had visions and dreams about our neighborhood and the attack that was happening. One described it as demon possession and that much prayer needed to happen for the family. Not only that, but this woman and her husband offered us up a place to stay if we desired to flee from the devil and his schemes. It was a beautiful time for our MC family. Another woman said that God gave her a vision of not only the army of darkness that surrounded our house, but that God confirmed for her and us that the army of God was protecting us and would one day send us to proclaim the good news again.

One of my elders spoke to us telling us that Jesus had many people that hated him, and he still partied in their midst. Jesus literally was at parties where his enemies were and they would scorn him in front of others. This elder reminded us of the good news of who God is and our calling to love others for the sake of the glory of God.

As we prayed, my wife was given a vision. It was in the middle of the night and she woke in terror. She saw demonic beings up and down our walls seeking to attack her. I was leaving to speak at a conference, and Satan was telling her that when I left, he was going to attack her. That was when another beautiful thing happened: my wife felt comfort. Terror left her. Fear was gone. Peace and joy filled her as she told Satan:

"My husband is not my protector. He is not my savior. He is not the one who ensures my safety. The only one who can protect me, save me, and ensure my safety is the God of the universe. And I call him Daddy.

Through all of this attack, although our emotions were up and down, Satan failed. Jesus won. Our Jesus allowed this to happen to bring us closer to him and to understand why we are on the mission field. It is not about ourselves or what we’ll get from it. It’s not so we can grab attention or get anything from those we serve. There is only one reason we are on the mission field--to show off who Jesus is.

As we show off who Jesus is, the God who is all glorious brings us along in his power and protection so that we’ll press more into him and the understanding of his glory and might and not our own. Satan thought that by trying to break my wife, he’d win. What he did instead was to press my wife even further into the loving arms of her true Savior, her true Protector, her true Salvation. And by doing this, he strengthened my understanding of what it means to love my wife and trust that my Heavenly Dad loves her far more than I do.

When we begin to understand this, we can press even further into the mission of making disciples who make disciples, knowing that Satan is ready to attack, but that our Protector is there and ready at our defense for the sake of his glory.

It’s his mission. It’s his power. It’s for his glory.

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Seth McBee is the adopted son of God, husband of one wife, and father of three. He’s a graduate of Seattle Pacific University with a finance degree. By trade Seth is an Investment Portfolio Manager, serving as president of McBee Advisors, Inc as well as a missional community leader, preaching elder with Soma Communities in Renton, Washington, and executive team member of the GCM Collective. Twitter @sdmcbee

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To go more in depth into the gospel centered life, read Unbelievable Gospel by Jonathan Dodson.

For more free articles about spiritual warfare, read Spiritual Warfare Prayer by Winfield Bevins.

Send Well

When my husband first told me he felt called to church planting, I had no idea what that meant. Does it mean we move every few years, helping new churches get started like Paul did as an apostle? (I was fond of reminding him that Paul wasn’t married with toddlers in tow.) Or could it mean that we simply coach new church plants from our home church, keeping our family in one spot? Are we the ones sending … or being sent? The past decade or so has answered “yes” to all of those questions. We have physically moved twice to help new church plants get started. My husband loves this part of his calling: building something from the ground up. For the most part, I have enjoyed it, too. Even with the hassle of relocating the family, it’s exciting to be a part of a new adventure, something new you sense God wants to do.

Recently, however, the church plant we have served for six years is readying itself to plant another church. Having been sent, we are now discovering what it feels like to be on the “sending” end. It’s certainly exciting as the scent of a new adventure swirls in the air again, but it’s a little sobering, too. This time we are not the ones packing our bags. We’re the ones standing in the driveway, waving goodbye. 

Jesus sent them out

In Mark chapter 3, we find Jesus in the thick of his early ministry. The religious leaders plot to destroy him. The local crowds follow him, harassing him, in their desperation to receive healing. One night he couldn't even get into his own house to have supper because of the people surrounding him and demanding his attention.

Of course, Jesus would want to choose some friends to be close to him. Of course, he would want a small group of people around him who understood his mission and could help him accomplish it. These same friends could help him fend off the pressing crowds and protect him from being crushed by them. They could help him find food and lodging and assist with day-to-day life. Later, they are the ones he would turn to when his life is in danger.

So he called these friends by name and invited them to live life closely with him. We see the names of the twelve disciples in Mark 3: 16-19. Though Jesus did interact with the crowds, he poured himself more intentionally into a few. A handful of guys who were committed to following him and helping him. Companions. Friends. "And he appointed the twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him ..." (Mark 3:14).

But wait. Jesus didn't call his disciples to be with him just so he could have some buddies for support and companionship. Surely that was part of it, but it was much, much more.  I cut off the remainder of the verse earlier. Here's the whole thing: "And he appointed the twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons" (3:14-15, italics added).

Jesus knew his mission depended on the sending. He didn’t gather the twelve for the comfort of having friends he could do life with. He gathered the twelve in order to send them out to preach with authority. To change the world. To push back evil. To transform hearts so that the kingdom could expand.

My struggle to send

I like the gathering part of discipleship. Invite people in, focus on a few, fill their mugs again and again with freshly brewed tea as we talk about life and what we're learning. I like the "so that they might be with him" part.

Honestly, the "sending" is the part of discipleship I don't particularly like. Gather them in and then "send them out."  Focus on a few so they can go and do likewise. Fill all those mugs so that the people sitting around the table can go and pour themselves out for other people who do not yet know Jesus.  I know this is what it's all about. Reproduction. Multiplication. Growing the kingdom. Making disciples.

But I’m learning that sending well is hard to do. It’s hard to let people go -- to send them on new adventures while we regroup and start over. This is what we do as people committed to discipleship. We do what Jesus did. We gather disciples in, invest in them deeply, and then send them out to make more disciples. We wave goodbye.

Any parent of a teenager knows that this is difficult to do well. My oldest is beginning to look at colleges. The "sending out" is coming soon. My husband and I have spent nearly seventeen years investing in him and discipling him, but soon it will be time to let go. To send him on to whatever adventure God has next for him. Sending involves loss. We suffer personal loss, but we trust in great kingdom gain.

Mary’s struggle to send

Maybe that's a little of what Mary was feeling when she gathered up her family and went down to Capernaum to see what in the world her oldest son was up to (see Mark 3:21, 31-35). I'm sure she wanted to grab Jesus by the collar and drag him back home just like any self-respecting mom would want to do. Even Mary apparently hadn't grasped the fullness of the big truth: she had raised Jesus in order to send him out. Maybe she sensed that sending him out would result in his death. In her loss.

I'm sure that in the following years she began to grasp that hard truth. And since we don't have evidence of her continuing to follow Jesus around begging him to come home, she probably did the hard work of letting him go. She knew it was the right thing to do.  The kingdom of God depended, in part, upon Mary sending Jesus out well. Though she grieved deeply at the foot of his cross a few years later, I hope she had the sense of the great gain that had been purchased by her son’s sacrifice. Mary's sacrifice as a mother is a part of that redemptive story.

Striving to send well

A handful of women I have invested in on a weekly basis over the last few years is planning to join the new church plant. During the next few months, they will begin to break away from our community and begin the adventure of starting something new. Realistically, we will not meet weekly anymore. It’s time for me to send them out. We will still be connected in Christ, of course, but inevitably our relationships must change. Though I feel privileged to be a part of a church that is committed to planning new churches, I’m feeling the loss involved with the sending.

Hopefully, our discipleship times together have been saturated by the gospel. Hopefully, I have modeled something worth replicating. Hopefully, these women will carry the truth of the gospel with them to people who do not yet know Jesus. Though the loss of relationship hurts, these hopes breathe life. There might even be joy mixed with the pain of sending.

Let the Gospel Prepare You

The very gospel we have been fighting to believe together will help us through this next phase of discipleship. We remember that because God had so much love for the world, he sent Jesus into that world (John 3:16). God the Father suffered loss as he sent his son to save a people who would brutally kill him. But that loss led to great gain. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection have made a way for many, many lost souls to find their way home. As I remind myself of this gospel every day, I find the strength to release and send well.

Now as I fill the kettle and brew the tea, I remind myself -- the reason I invite people to sit around my table for discipleship is not so that I can gather a group of like-minded people together to live life with. It’s so I can invest the gospel in them, and send them out to do the same with others. It's hard, yes. But it's not about my comfort or my aversion to loss. It's about more and more people being gathered into the kingdom. So let’s enjoy the time around the table together. But let’s also remind ourselves why we’re sitting there: so that many, many more might join us at that heavenly table. Enjoy being together, but don't forget to prepare your heart to enjoy the sending.

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Lindsay Powell Fooshee is married to John, a pastor at Redeemer Community Church and church planter with Acts 29. They are raising 3 great kids in East Tennessee. Lindsay holds an M.A. in Christian Thought from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and blogs regularly at Kitchen Stool.

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To read more about sending out disciples, check out Proclaiming Jesus by Tony Merida.

For more free articles about gospel centered discipleship, check out Is Disciple A Verb also by Lindsay Fooshee and What is Missional Culture & Why Does It Matter? by JR Woodward.

Defining Gospel Centered Mission

Editor's Note: This is a repost of Mission. It appears here with the writer's permission. ---

A lot of Christian terms get thrown around. "Mission" is defiantly one of those terms. Mission is key to the church, and should be valued and practiced by a church that wants to be faithful to Scripture.

Gospel centered mission can be defined as: Glorifying God by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus for the sake of gathering God’s people to him.

There are four key truths about mission throughout the gospel of John that will help us be better missionaries for Jesus in our context.

1. Incarnation (Example of Mission)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (John 1:14-16)

Jesus is the greatest example of a missionary. The incarnation of Jesus (God becoming a man) gives us the example of contextualization. Jesus came from the culture of heaven to the culture of earth. He ate their food, wore their clothes, spoke their language, went to parties, had friends, and worked a job. He learned the culture, and engaged the people in his context. He also helps us understand we are to come in grace and truth. This means that we come humbly and full of compassion. We listen to people, show interest in them, and care for them just as Jesus did. However, this also means we will call out sin, hate sin, fight against the culture's idols, and proclaim the redemption of God through Jesus. We need to dwell among the people in our city, proclaiming God’s grace and truth.

2. Salvation (Heart of Mission)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)

These two verses show us God’s heart behind his mission. He wants to see people saved. God desires that people believe in the life, death, and resurrection of his Son for eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to condemn us (for we already were because of sin), but to save us.

3. The glory of God (Purpose of Mission)

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24)

Our purpose for mission should be aligned with Jesus' purpose for mission: to glorify God. Our main motive for spreading the gospel is to see people come under the rule of Christ. We want to see the glory of God made known to the world. God desires that the world be full of the knowledge of his glory. When we join him on mission we faithfully desire to see him glorified through the proclamation of the gospel.

4. Spirit empowered (Power of Mission)

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending “you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21)

We receive authority from Jesus himself because he himself has all authority (Matthew 28:18-20). Just as the Father sent the Son, and the Father and Son send the Spirit, so the Son and the Spirit send and empower us for mission. This is our source of power for the mission. We have the Holy Spirit of God to empower us to witness to the nations of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

Faithful in Mission

Gospel centered mission is key to the vibrancy and health of the local church. We are commanded by Jesus to be faithful missionaries who understand our context, have passion to see the lost saved, for the glory of God, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Garrett Ventry is a church planting intern at Vintage 21 Church in Raleigh. He serves under the regional director of the Acts 29 Network's southeast region. He is also a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Megan live in Raleigh. Twitter: @GarrettVentry

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To read more on sharing the gospel, see Unbelievable Gospel, by Johathan Dodson.

For more free articles on gospel centered missions, see Missional Living in a Complex World, by JD Payne, and What is Missional Culture & Why Does It Matter? by JR Woodward.

Discipleship in the Sporting-life

One of the common frustrations I hear from Christians is often tied to a misunderstanding of what discipleship is. For many discipleship is some mystical journey that entails deprivation and discipline in order to reach a stage of enlightenment that few share. For others discipleship involves deep academic study, the mastery of ancient languages, and usually a few diplomas to hang on their walls. Some have made discipleship an add-on option to Christianity, like a sunroof on a new car. I suspect much of what underlies all this confusion is that we’ve twisted the concept of discipleship into something we wouldn’t recognize in ordinary daily life. We wouldn’t know what discipleship was if it stared us right in the face. And yet, we do know what discipleship is. We might not know how to label or categorize it, but discipleship is intrinsically seen in our passions for sports. Furthermore, the multi-billion dollar sports industry shows us just how good at making disciples we really are. The trouble for many of us is that we fail to translate what is common and ordinary for our daily lives into an understanding of what Christianity really looks like.  We’ve deeply separated the concepts of sacred and secular. We won’t allow ourselves to see how discipleship happens in everyday life.

Discipleship is always happening.  It might not be Christian discipleship, but we are always being and making disciples of something.  The question remains how can the sporting-life help us see what Christian discipleship is?

Discipleship DNA

In his book,  Disciple, Bill Clem identifies four strands of discipleship DNA. These traits show-up in the sporting-life on a daily basis. In fact, these four strands of discipleship DNA are lived out almost subconsciously by fans of particular teams or sports. By comparison, they show us what a life of Christian discipleship can really look like. Simply put, a life of discipleship gives us an identity, directs us in worship, gathers us into community, and sends us on mission.

Identity

I like to listen to sports radio. From time-to-time I will laugh about the way fans talk about sports and the teams they like. Inevitably they speak in the first person: “If we would have started a different quarterback, we would have won.”

My favorite is the off-season talk, “We just need to draft that great running back and acquire another hot free agent, and I am sure we will win the championship!”-as if the person talking has any influence in the front-office at all.

Why do they talk that way?  It's because sporting-life can give us an identity - so much so that we include our lives as part of the life of the team. Their victories are our victories. Their losses our losses.

As Christians our discipleship is about an identity as well. We were once defined as “no people” and ” and “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3). But because of the grace of God and the work of Jesus we are given a new identity.  Peter declares that who we are before God is now defined as a “royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [God’s] own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). The Scriptures tell us that we are now loved, alive, raised up, God’s workmanship, sons and daughters, and so on (Ephesians 2:4-10).

We have a new identity in Jesus. Just as the sporting-life gives us an identity around a particular team or club, Christian discipleship redefines our identity from sinner to saint. When we think about Christian discipleship, we are calling people to live in this new identity and reality.  We are calling them to “put on Christ,” to receive his grace and turn from lost, dead and doomed to loved, redeemed and reconciled. Discipleship begins with identity.

Worship

Worship? At a football game? Seriously?! Yes, absolutely.  Think about it. Where in culture do thousands gather weekly and cheer, sing, cry, celebrate, and lift up the fame of another? It happens in sporting events all over the globe. Discipleship is about the object of our worship and the sporting-life provides an example of an object of worship.

We will talk about our teams during the week and how great they are. We decorate our homes, vehicles, faces, and kids with colors and logos. We want others in our neighborhood to know exactly who we think is the best and spend our team cheering for them. We cry when our team disappoints us, rejoice when they win, and every off-season deeply hope our team fulfills our wishes and expectations. Worship is a major aspect of discipleship.

So how is worship for the Christian disciple to be any different? We have a greater and better object to celebrate, sing over, rejoice in, declare, and exalt (Revelation 5:9-10). Jesus and his work on our behalf is worthy of much greater song, affection, devotion, and praise than any other object. One reason our worship of God is so anemic is because we don’t see and feel just how awesome and worthy he is. Discipleship gives us an object of worship. Christian discipleship gives us the Greatest One to worship.

Community

Sports fans are notorious for the communities they form around their teams and sports. It is estimated that American’s spent eleven billion dollars on Super Bowl parties this year.

We gather in homes, bars, stadiums, or anywhere with a TV so we can see the game. Rarely, do we do it alone. And for the occasional individual who travels to these gathering sites alone it won’t be long before they're surrounded by others cheering on the same team. The sporting-life brings us into community with others.

Christian discipleship is no different. We are not saved into individuality but into community. Our identities are marked as “a chosen race” and a “people for God’s own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). These are plural identities. When we live as disciples of Jesus, we are gathering into community because of his saving work. We identify with others because of the shared life of the gospel. We serve, love, forgive, confess, encourage one another because of the community God has formed by the gospel.

Discipleship is living together as a community in, around, and for the gospel.

Mission

It has always amazed me how sport franchises can have such a global following. Why do people in New Mexico care anything about the Premier Football (Soccer) League in Europe? It has to be because someone made them a disciple of a team. Someone went on mission and told them about the team, showed them some highlights, sat down and watched a game with them.

One person told another and showed them just how great Manchester United is. And the person being discipled believed it. The next thing you know they bought a kit and made the wallpaper on their laptop screen a team logo. They started going to the local sports bars and watching games and discovered there were other fans of the team and started hanging out and talking with them. Shortly thereafter the converted fan was telling his neighbor about the team and inviting the neighbor to watch the game. The next week the neighbor was seen applying a team decal to the tailgate of his pick-up truck. Disciples make disciples who make disciples.

Christian discipleship is the same. We tell people and show people the greatness and goodness of God (Romans 10:17). We live lives of compelling love and speak words of compelling grace to the lost (1 Peter 2:12). We invite them into our lives and our homes and into our communities and show them all that Jesus has done for us and in us and through us (John 13:34-35). We let them see us worshipping Jesus and declaring our affections and devotion to him. As this happens we pray that God would open their eyes to the beauty and grace of Jesus and that He would replace their identity as sinners with a new identity of grace. As that happens the cycle begins again. Disciples make disciples who make disciples.

Discipleship always demonstrates itself in mission. Whether it technological discipleship, celebrity discipleship, athletic discipleship, or Christian discipleship, disciples of something always find themselves on a mission to make more disciples.

Discipleship in the Sporting-life

A question remains though: how do we move and make disciples in a context where sports are the gods that are worshipped? How do we see lives transformed when folks are so captivated by the glory of youth and athletics that the glory of God can hardly be comprehended? A few brief practices are beneficial for walking into the sporting-life on mission for Jesus.

• Inhabit sporting spaces and places - We must be present in the lives of those being discipled by sports. We will never gain traction to earn respect and speak the gospel into the lives of those we never inhabit space and place with. Frequent a sports bar. Coach kids sports leagues. Be present in the lives and rhythms of a sporting community. I coached an under-nine soccer team and was able to get to know the parents. I didn’t know anything about soccer really. I just wanted to have fun with these kids and get to know their parents.  As the season passed, I was able to develop these relationships and see them become a platform for sharing the gospel.

• Invest in those consumed by the sporting-life - I speak of investment on several fronts here. Being involved in the life of another for the sake of the gospel will cost you something. However your investment will demonstrate the seriousness of the gospel. Buy tickets and go to games with lost friends. Spend time with them on their turf watching sports. Sign up to play in the city sports leagues. Wichita Parks and Recreation, for instance, offers all sorts of adult sports opportunities from basketball and volleyball to a wiffleball league. Even if you are not a very good athlete, the goal is to be investing in the lives of others.  Humble yourself and go as a missionary into these cultures. The key here is high relational contact. Be in their world.

• Be attentive to their lives beyond sports - It’s nearly impossible to share the gospel with someone while you are watching the Super Bowl. But the relational traction that you have developed with someone else while inhabiting and investing in them will lead to other opportunities beyond the game to share Jesus. Look for these areas. Don’t merely associate with lost people around sports. Listen to their stories, discover their life rhythms, include them in your everyday life.  Invite them into your story, and more importantly invite them, as your lives connect, into the story of Jesus.  Show them a better identity, a more glorious one to worship, a more faithful community and a greater and more valuable mission for life.

• Be patient, take your time - This is by no means an overnight process or event. It takes patience and endurance. It was two years before a friend that I was investing in through the tools of the sporting-life opened the door for me to talk about Christ with him. We can’t give up after a few weeks or the end of the season. Disciple-making is a long-term, low-key, intentional activity. Stick with it. Continue to inhabit their lives. Continue to invest in them. Pray for them and the opportunity to share the gospel all the while living out the implications of the gospel before them. Let your urgency be in prayer and before God and your endurance be toward your lost friends.

I’m convinced that we have muddled the concept of discipleship. We’ve made it sound like college calculus more than everyday life and have forgotten what ordinary everyday discipleship is. The reality is every human being knows a lot more about discipleship than they think they do. Sometimes is merely takes seeing how discipleship plays out in another context to make it more clear for our own. Jesus didn’t tell Peter he would never fish again. He told him that he would fish for a different catch (Matthew 4:19). In the same way, Christ hasn’t called us to reinvent the wheel when it comes to discipleship, he’s just called us to make disciples of a different nature (Matthew 28:19-20). Let’s use the practices and paradigms of sporting-life discipleship to engage in eternal, Christian discipleship. Let’s be disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus.

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Jeremy Writebol is Christian who really enjoys sports. He is the husband of Stephanie, daddy of Allison and Ethan, and lives and works in Wichita, KS as the Community Pastor at Journey the Way. He is the director of Porterbrook Kansas and writes at jwritebol.net.

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For more resources on how to share the gospel authentically, check out Unbelievable Gospel by Jonathan Dodson.

For more free articles on making the gospel part of your everyday life, read: The Neighborhood Missions Startup by Seth McBee, Messy Discipleship by Jake Chambers, and Plant the Gospel, Plant Churches by Tony Merida.

Missional Living in a Complex World

Editor's Note: This is a repost of an article that originally appeared in J.D.'s blog: Missional Living in a Complex World. It appears here with the writer's permission. ---

Missional living is not rocket science. When we look at the great number of discussions and writings about “missional,” it is easy to assume that the matter is difficult to understand – and close to impossible to live out in our world today. This is certainly not the case. Now, while I’m all for such discussions and publications (and have contributed to the conversation), the reality is that missional living is nothing new for the church.

Missional Living Occurs When ...

Missional living occurs when Kingdom Citizens live according to the Kingdom Ethic. People enter the Kingdom of God through the confession that Jesus is Messiah (Matt 16:13-19), and begin to live according to the standard of the King. His ethic transcends the ethics of the kingdoms of this world. Take a look at the Kingdom Ethic Jesus taught:

• “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt 5:27-28)
• “You have heard it said ... ‘You shall not murder,’ ... but I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” (Matt 5:21-22)
• "The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them. Not so with you. ... The first must be a slave …” (Matt 20:25-27)
• "Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 18:4)

The Kingdom Ethic is the standard by which Kingdom Citizens are to live in relation to God (Matt 22:37-40), other Kingdom Citizens (Matt 18:15-20), and those who are outside of the Kingdom (Matt 28:18-20). Packed into this divine rule is what we find throughout the Scriptures. As a Kingdom Citizen, we do not have the option to relate to God on our terms or desires. There are appropriate guidelines by which we engage with other brothers and sisters. This rule instructs us on how to interact with those who have never confessed Christ as Lord.

And while this ethic is to be lived out in covenant with other Kingdom Citizens in what is understood to be Kingdom Communities (i.e., local churches), missional living is specifically directed toward the relationships with those outside of the Kingdom.

(A note: While space will not permit me to address the comprehensive nature of the other two relationships related to Kingdom living, it is important to understand that a breakdown in fellowship in these other two areas hinders missional living. When Kingdom Citizens walk out of fellowship with God and other brothers and sisters, global disciple-making is hindered. When the Spirit of God is grieved, Kingdom expansion is affected.)

Missional Living Requires …

Both actions and words are requirements for missional living. Kingdom Citizens are to “let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:16) But Kingdom Citizens must also preach the gospel in season and out of season (Tim 4:2). We cannot do one without the other. While some situations will require that we spend most of the time living out the Kingdom Ethic before unbelievers (1 Peter 3:1-2), we must proclaim the gospel. Without the sharing of repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus (Acts 20:21), no one will be saved.  Other situations will require more time spent on our words. Peter’s encounter with Cornelius is an example of this matter. And while Peter spent most of his time preaching, his loving actions as a Jewish man being willing to enter into the home of a Gentile communicated the nature of the Kingdom Ethic (Acts 10).

The following diagram, developed by my friend and colleague, Tim Beougher, reveals the range Kingdom Citizens often find themselves in as they journey through life encountering those outside of the Kingdom. Sometimes we’re closer to the right, other times we are near the left. Many times we find ourselves somewhere between the two poles.

Study this passage, and feel free to use my outline when teaching others.

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

—Colossians 4:2-6.

Let's consider six principles for missional living from this passage.

1.  Missional Living Must be Done Prayerfully

We need to pray for opportunities to connect with people and share the gospel with them. Paul desired prayer for such opportunities. We must also trust in God to open such doors for the message. We need to pray for opportunities, words to speak, and for open hearts to the good news.

2.  Missional Living Must be Done with Gospel Clarity

The mystery of the gospel has been revealed; now we must clearly communicate the truth to others. Our language (and actions) must be understood. We are to watch our language and constantly be asking, “How are they ‘hearing’ what I am communicating by my words and deeds?”

3.  Missional Living Must be Done Wisely

Literally, we are “in wisdom, to be walking.” This walk is our lifestyle. Do we live wisely in relation to those outside the Kingdom? Unfortunately, many people today are not interested in Jesus because they know some of his followers. Are our lives reflecting the Kingdom Ethic, or do we manifest the ethics of another kingdom?

4.  Missional Living Must be Done Intentionally

We must go throughout our day with “Great Commission Eyes.” A wise evangelist of yesteryear once stated, “When I meet new people, I always see an ‘L’ or an ‘S’ on their foreheads. The 'L' stands for ‘lost’ and the 'S' stands for ‘saved’. I assume that everyone has an ‘L’ until I know for certain that they are followers of Jesus.” This is a good practice for us to follow. Missional living does not just happen. We must be intentional about it. We must be intentional about gospel engagement.

5.  Missional Living Must be Done Graciously

Paul notes that our speech should always be gracious and seasoned with salt. Whenever people encounter us, do they see grace or a grouch? Humility or a hypocrite? Joy or a jerk? Love or a liar?  1 Peter 3:15-16 is a great verse to memorize:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

6.  Missional Living Must be Done Flexibly

The never-changing gospel must be communicated in ever-changing situations. Paul writes that we should know how to answer each person. This means that a customized approach is necessary when it comes to sharing the gospel. We must be students of God’s Word and ready to respond appropriately to others.

Obedience is not a complicated matter. As I said before, missional living is not rocket science. So, let’s take off our white lab coats, put away our scientific calculators, stop analyzing and debating the trajectories as to who gets to go to the moon, and start living out of the calling we have received.

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J. D. Payne serves as the pastor for church multiplication with The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. He is married to Sarah who is a physician in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, working part-time at a clinic for uninsured populations in Birmingham, Alabama. They have three young children Hannah, Rachel, and Joel. 

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To read more about missional living, check out Tony Merida’s Proclaiming Jesus.

For more free articles on this topic, see Living the Mission, by Winfield Bevins, and Transformative Grace, by Jason Seville. 

Mission: Suburbs

Editor's Note: This is a repost of Mission: Suburbs. It appears here with the writer's permission. ---

The Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples is often quoted when discussing world missions. Jesus sends his disciples out to make more disciples.

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

– Matthew 28:18-20

I remember sitting in a seminary class and the professor began talking to us about the Greek and the idea that the word ‘Go’ in the Great Commission could really be read, “As you go” or “While you are going.”  This opened my eyes to an understanding that Jesus' command doesn’t only apply to world missions, but to living our lives as missionaries.  As we go, we make disciples.

This truth brings meaning and purpose to those of us who reside in the security of suburbia. This is not written as an opinionated diatribe towards those who live in the suburbs. I live in and minister to people of the suburbs. It’s a reminder that all peoples matter to God, and that you don’t have to go to obscure lands to make disciples. To be honest, if you are not an effective missionary where you are--as you go--then what makes you think you have any authority serving as a missionary elsewhere?

WE HAVE A MISSION IN SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOODS

To serve as a missionary in a suburban context has several inherent complications. People in suburbia enjoy their individuality and privacy. They are busy and often living beyond their means. We need to realize that we have a mission at hand, not in a far off land, but down our street, in our schools, in the stores and restaurants we patronize. There are people all around us who are separated from God and need to know and love Jesus.

The question is whether you will make disciples as you go, or will you wait for other, more professional people, to do it for you?

I often receive questions on how to be a missionary in a suburban context. Here are a few things to keep in mind as we consider our calling to make disciples as we go:

1. People Matter to God: This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s good to remember that God has sent us into the world as His ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) to bring the message of reconciliation. We are not sent to only reach those like us, but to minister to all whom we come in contact with.
2. Places of Impact: We are creatures of habit. We all have places that we frequently go to eat, shop, and play. Remember, the people who work in these places are often dismissed, but this is a great place to start building intentional relationships. Not only is it important to minister to them, but also they can connect us with other regulars.
3. Go Out in Pairs: The mission we are on is a communal mission and an individual one. We are not just inviting people to ‘church’, but calling people out of darkness into light, from death to life, from isolation to biblical community.  Jesus sent his disciples 2-by-2, so we should be intentional about being on mission together. Examples of this include BBQ’s, play dates, library activities with kids, work out spots, etc.
4. The Golden Rule: Remember what it was like to be lost? If not, then you should begin there. Isolation from God may give the appearance of freedom, but ultimately leads to death. We need to do for others what we would hope they would do for us, especially when it comes to sharing spiritual truths.
5. People are NOT Projects: One of the most arrogant things we can do is to treat people as projects. People do not need to be ‘worked on’; they need to be loved on. What are ways that you can serve them, speak to them, and treat them in a way that communicates your love for Jesus and your love for them?
6. It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint:  We never know when God is going to regenerate a person. That’s not our business. What we are to be about is making disciples as we go. Befriending people, serving people, and pointing people to Jesus with our lives and our words. This could take years in some instances.  Perhaps it is just as much about your sanctification as it is about their salvation.
7. Jesus Saves People / You Are the Mid-Wife: I’m often stunned how bad theology leads to ineffective evangelistic lifestyles. People get paralyzed when they believe that they are the one’s to save people. What I mean is, when people believe that it’s up to them to lead a person to the Lord, they get stuck with fear or prideful with their ‘success.’ Keeping in mind that God is the sovereign King who is able to save even the hardest of people, should give us rest in His provision. Our calling is to be faithful to the Gospel, to share the faith, and to serve as midwives to those who are born again.

FAITHFUL & INTENTIONAL

These points are valid regardless of your context. It is important to note that while we are in a unique context living in suburbia, we are not relieved from the commission at hand. We must be faithful to present Jesus in our lives, words, families, and deeds.

We live in a fallen world that is in great need of redemption and restoration. The question is whether you will make disicples as you go, or will you wait for other, more professional people, to do it for you? Let’s not fall into the suburban stereotype of outsourcing local missions, rather, let us invest into our communities, connect with our neighbors, and continually strive to be intentional about seeing lives transformed by Jesus.

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Casey Cease  is husband to his high school sweetheart, Steph, and they have a beautiful daughter named Braelyn and another little girl on the way. He serves as the Lead Pastor of Christ Community Church  in Magnolia, TX and travels and speaks throughout the United States. His first book about his tragic car crash and his journey to faith in Jesus, Tragedy to Truth, will be released February 2013 through Lucid Books.

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For more ideas on missional living, check out Tony Merida’s Proclaiming Jesus.

For more free articles on missional culture and neighborhood missions, see What is Missional Culture & Why Does It Matter, by JR Woodward, and The Neighborhood Mission Start Up, by Seth McBee.