When is the Gospel Not Good News?

Sometimes when we share our faith, we can sense the message is not getting through. We can feel that the good news we have about God’s love for the people of the world - highlighted and evidenced through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection - just doesn’t resonate as good news with the hearers of the message. How should we respond when the gospel is not “Good News”? If you are anything like me, you'll heartily agree that the message of the cross is in fact “Good News.” The gospel has the ability to inwardly transform a person so that the change in their heart spills out into the visible world of the gospel recipient. We believe that the gospel has the power to transform a person from the inside out and that this transformation is indeed good news to those who would receive it by simple faith.

So why do people reject the amazing truth that the gospel is good news? Here are three simple reasons. They are not exhaustive, and I am sure you can think of many more to add to the list:

When They are Not Ready to Receive the Good News

A wheel chair is an amazing invention! It provides a person the means to move from one place to another often with a good amount of independence. It can enhance the life of a person who has lost the use of their legs. It may raise that person’s self esteem if previously they have felt home-bound or isolated. It can enable them to participate in community or sporting events.

I imagine most of us able bodied people have not thought about this before. A wheelchair is good news to someone who has lost use of their legs – but to an able bodied person it is more than likely just ‘interesting’ news. The difference is found in the need for the wheelchair. Most of us do not need a wheelchair. Therefore we would be unlikely to value information about them.

The gospel is like this: many people do not receive the gospel simply because they do not yet perceive their need for it. This is why it is essential that we continue to preach the whole gospel that without God we are lost. Without Jesus, we are separated from God’s love and from God himself. Without the cross, there is no way back to the Father. Many people simply do not see their need for God. He is outside their need list. As preachers and missionaries we must communicate the gospel at a person’s point of need. This requires us to get to know people relationally and personally. This takes time as we will need to observe and listen to those we are sharing the gospel with.

When Their Hearts are Hard to the Good News

It is not unusual to come across someone who has hardened themselves to the good news that God loves them. Many people have hardened their hearts to Jesus. This is to be expected in a fallen and broken world. It is well known that when people are hurting they often put up defenses against being hurt again. These walls surround the heart and are often set up not just against human hurts but also against God who is perceived to be to blame.

The gospel shows us that God reaches out in love, and love is exactly what hurting people need. Think back over your life. When you were hurt by others how did you respond? I know that even with God on my side I have often taken offence and built mental barriers between myself and others (God included!) in order to ‘protect’ myself. Your friends and family are human like you. They will need the gospel to be incarnated in your lifestyle, actions, and compassion. Not only in your words. A simple response of active love is the first step to softening a persons’ heart toward you and the loving God we serve. Small steps and words of love are God’s good news to those who are hurting.

When They Don’t See Enough Evidence of the Good News

“But I have shown them so many passages of the Bible that prove who Jesus is and what he has done..." Have you ever felt this way? We might be moved to despair or frustration when our loved ones are not coming to Jesus.

Sharing scriptural support for belief in the gospel is good, but the gospel is not about revealing scripture to people. It is about revealing Jesus to people. We need to back up the verbal gospel message with lives that reflect the truth of the gospel. Our lives need to be bearing the fruit of the gospel that transforms us from the inside out. People need to see the fruit of the Holy Spirit evidenced in the day to day things we do. It’s not going to church that will convince a person that the gospel works (although it might!). It’s not just reading your Bible or praying that a person needs to see (although they might!).

They need to see how you handle conflict in Godly ways. How you treat your spouse. How you show hospitality unconditionally. How you make yourself available when needs arise. How you speak. How you act. Everything. It is sad but true that often the worst ‘advertisement’ for the gospel is the carrier of the gospel – me and you. I pray that this would not be the reason our friends, families, neighbors, work colleagues, and enemies reject the gospel. When people don't see the evidence, we need to return to God to soften our hearts to Him as we surrender our lives afresh to Him.

As we share the gospel, we need to really discern where the hearer is at in life and faith:

Are they oblivious to their need? Help them to see their need. Listen like Jesus

Are they hurting? Let the gospel be given in love in order to bring healing. Love like Jesus.

Do they lack true evidence that the Gospel transforms? Make sure your life matches up to gospel values. Live like Jesus.

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Stuart McCormack has worked as a shelf stacker, bingo caller, archivist, Youth Minister and is currently living out his calling to missional living in the secular workspace as a Targeted Youth Support Worker/mentor.  He co-leads “Vintage,” a missional community which is part of Kairos Network Church based in Harrogate North Yorkshire.  He is husband to Jenna and father to Noah, Bella and Sophia. In his spare time he tweets @missionalrev and blogs at www.missionalrev.wordpress.com

I Am Satisfied

Jesus says that being a disciple requires denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Him. If this is true, why is it possible to look across the landscape of Evangelicalism in America and see so little self-denial, cross bearing, following of Jesus? Why is prosperity theology so dominant in the American landscape? Why do Christians seem to struggle so intensely with the presence of pain in their lives? Could it be that we have misrepresented Jesus and His gospel? Could it be that we have corrupted the gospel into little more than an obligatory step in the process of judgment removal? In other words, is it a “get out of hell” card, and little more?

Consider the words of Isaiah 26:7-9;

The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous. 8 In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. 9 My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

Notice the words of Isaiah. He “longs” for God. His spirit “earnestly seeks” God. He says that God’s “name and remembrance” are the desire of his soul. I think this passage illustrates for us one of the massive missing elements in our understanding and telling of the gospel.

Often we speak of the gospel in terms of release from judgment. “You don’t want to go to hell when you die, do you?” Maybe more popular than that, “Do you know for sure, if you were to die tonight, that you would go to heaven?”. Using these popular forms of gospel telling we communicate an idea that each person has some sort of eternal obligation to “choose Christ” if we want to escape eternal judgment. Once they are convinced, we move from that to instructing the “new believer” in how they should live their life if they are to follow Christ. Behavior modification follows, and is incessant in its advance.

As a result, many make “decisions” for Christ, and then wonder why nothing is different. They wonder where this abundant life is that Jesus so readily promised. What often follows, then, is that they drop out of their faith practice at a horrific rate, and we chalk up their denial of the faith as another example of Satan at work, or maybe even a lack of commitment on their part. Maybe it is those things, or maybe it is something more?

When we consider the words of God in the Old Testament, as we have already seen, and the words of Jesus in the New Testament, we see an entirely different picture. We see a picture of a God who sees humanity mired in the quagmire of death-advancing sin. In spite of our inability to save ourselves, He takes it upon Himself to murder His Son in an effort to flood the world with grace, while remaining just and righteous at the same time. For those who would believe in Him, He promises eternal life, but this eternal life is not just “heaven”. No, it is something much more significant, and much more immediate. He promises that our eternal life, this state of eternal satisfaction with God, begins at the moment we trust in Jesus.

Consider the language that the psalmist uses in Psalm 67 to describe the response of those in distant nations who trust in God for the first time.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!

Praise! Joy! Singing in exultation! These are the characteristics of the redeemed! This is what seems to be so radically missing in our telling of our faith. God satisfies, and He satisfies completely.

This is why Jesus can call us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. In the church today we often seem to communicate this as if it is some sort of obligatory hardship, when Jesus is saying to us that it is an incredibly uneven trade. We give up ourselves, and we replace us, with Him! Denial of self is not drudgery, it is undeserved privilege! When we understand the depth of the satisfaction of Jesus, it is no big thing to trade in everything else for Him.

This is why the prosperity gospel is so appealing. We all deeply want to be satisfied, and the prosperity gospel affirms that. It believes that man should be completely satisfied, but it wrongly assumes that this satisfaction comes from more stuff, and not the Savior. As such, this false gospel must be condemned as the idol worship it is.

This is why faithful, authentic followers of Jesus can walk through excruciating pain, and yet still trust in God. Our satisfaction is not bound up in the momentary circumstances. We are satisfied with Jesus, and He is enough. This is why Job could say, “Though he slay me, I will hope in him.”

C.S. Lewis rightly identified the sad condition of the human heart when he said;

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

When the woman at the well came to Jesus, she was looking for a bit of water. Jesus, however, graced her with something far superior. He promised her living water which would never run dry. This was not just some allegorical term for life that would not end. This was a clear picture of the deeply soul satisfying life with Jesus. Everything else will fall short and lead one to emptiness, sadness and humanistic self-advancement. It will not satisfy. Jesus, on the other hand, satisfies, satisfies completely and alone satisfies.

So, do not settle for anything but Him. Ask yourself, like Isaiah, if you long for the presence of God? As you walk through struggle, run to Jesus. When you long for more than you have, find satisfaction in Jesus. When it seems like things do not happen as they should, trust in Jesus. Nothing else matters and nothing else provides, like Jesus.

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Cross-posted from Micah's personal blog.

Big Book Giveaway (Round 1)

  Often times, new websites have a hard time getting off the ground. Admittedly, we have been overwhelmed by the support Project TGM is already receiving... but that won't stop us from shameless promotion by giving away freebies!

The Goods

Compliments of Crossway Books, we are giving away:

Rules of Engagement

Here's how to enter:

• "Like" us on Facebook
• Share the "FREE BOOKS" post pinned at the top of our Facebook page
• Follow us on Twitter
• Retweet the "FREE BOOKS" post on our Twitter
• EXTRA CREDIT: Follow each of our contributors on Twitter

There will be five winners!

• One person wins the package of all four books
• Four others win one of the four books

May the odds be ever in your favor.........

*** Contest ends August 19, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. CST ***

The Intertwining of Theology, Gospel, Mission

Theology. Gospel. Mission. Let’s be honest. These words have not only been heard by many, but also defined by many. Trying to get 10 people in a room to agree to a definition of these would be like trying to get Obama and Bush to throw a birthday party for Ralph Nader. That’s right, I figured out a way to mention Ralph Nader in a post on theology, gospel, and mission.

I am not going to try and negate other definitions of these things but, rather, give insight on how I work these three terms out in my life on a daily basis.

When we think of these terms, it might be helpful to see them in this light:

1. Theology: Who is God?
2. Gospel: What has he done? Who are we?
3. Mission: What do we do?

When we can break these terms out in this way, it creates for us an umbrella that is easier to work out the understandings and intertwining of each with the other.

Theology: Who is God?

To work out the understanding of the gospel or mission, we need to first understand the character of God and who he is. God isn’t who he is because of what he does, but he just is who he is and out of his being comes his doing. This is exactly what he told Moses: “Tell the Egyptians, I am who I am.”

We learn who God is by the story he has written for us. We see over and over again in the story how he is defined. He is defined as love, a provider, a shield, a rock, wisdom, infinite, powerful, etc.

Many people like to overcomplicate theology and make it far more difficult than needed. I am not saying that there will not be some great debates in theology, but if more and more people immersed themselves in the overall story of God shown to us in the Bible, it gets far less complicated.

The more and more we understand who God is, the more and more we can see those things that are consistent with what he does.

I was recently talking to a young man who is my intern. He asked why something in his life was not working out how that he wanted. He didn’t know why God was allowing this trial to happen. I directed him back to the understanding of who God is. We know he is trustworthy, we know he is infinite, we know he is loving, we know he is our Dad, we know he is in control of all things. If this is true, can we trust that even though we are going through a trial, that God has it handled and he is one whom we can trust and submit to? He agreed, and went back to his Dad to pray that his faith would be increased.

If you don’t understand who God is first and jump right into what he does/has done, it won’t make sense. Plus, you can then attribute things to him that are outside of his character and blame God instead of trust him.  If this young man didn’t understand who God is, or I didn’t point him to those facts, then we can just come to the conclusion that God is mean and vindictive because we base God’s character on what we see… not what he’s told us.

The Gospel: What has God done?

If we understand who God is, then we can see clearly what he’s done.  The big mistake for most “evangelists” is they hand out the Gospel of John, without any reference to the reality of who God is (the entirety of the Scriptures… specifically the Old Testament).

If we know that God is love, wise, perfect, infinite, trustworthy, all powerful, etc. then we can move on to what he does out of his character. When we keep reading in the Scriptures that because God is love he is always pursuing his people (even though they are continually sinning), forgiving his people, disciplining his people and in a relationship with his people, we can then understand even further the good news, called the gospel.

When we learn that we are sinners, separated from God in need of a Savior to live a life on our behalf, die on our behalf, and raise to new life so we can be given the Spirit, it comes as no surprise when we learn that God sent his Son on our behalf. (I know there is a lot more to this story, but we want to be brief)

Why are we not surprised? Because it is completely consistent with his character and how he has always operated.  Not only that, but we can see how our Savior Jesus is the fulfillment of the shadows given in the stories previous to his coming. Again… consistent.

It is paramount that we know the story, and continually rehearse the story to ourselves and others in our community. Because the fact is, the gospel isn’t something that merely happens to us when we check a box, walk the aisle, and get dunked in tub with cheers and photographs. It happens the next day when we fall into sin and again, needing a Savior constantly.

When we realize who God is and the fact of what he’s done, we can see that our God is going to keep pursuing us, forgiving us, disciplining us and desires to have a relationship with us… because that’s how he has always operated.

The Gospel: Who are we?

We can’t skip over this important understanding. If God is who he is because of who he is and out of that is what he does, and we are made in his image, we need to realize we are the same way.

Out of our being, comes our doing.

Like my friend Caesar Kalinowski says, “We are human beings, not human doings.”

The fact is, that because of who God is and what he has done, we are now made new. We are now children of God, heirs to the throne. This has nothing to do with what we’ve done, but entirely of what God has done on our behalf.  God gives us a new identity.  Now we are not enemies of God, but his disciples.

If this is true, then it cannot be taken and our worth will never be gauged by our activities. We will never be told who we are because of our failures or successes.  We have to realize that we are already God’s children and accepted by him.

What is great about this is that we don’t even have to muster up on our own the belief in these truths, but God has sent his Spirit to comfort us, to confirm us, and to give us his power as the down payment for the glorified time to come when we join our God in Heaven.

Sure, fruit will flow from this, but we are never proven by our efforts, they are just an outflow of who God has now made us through his power, love, pursuit, and wisdom.

This is why it is so easy for Paul to say that he is the chief of all sinners, yet an adopted son of God. To live is Christ, to die is gain.

The Mission: What do we do?

After realizing who we are – changed, renewed, and made a child of God by his power – our first question in light of this is, “What should we now do?”

It’s quite obvious if one looks to what we have deemed “The Great Commission”:

Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:16-20

Notice some things before we get into the commission. First, they worshiped, but some still doubted! This gives me great comfort. Even though they had just seen with their eyes the risen Jesus, they still doubted. This did not remove them from God’s love, forgiveness, family, or mission though… Jesus just continues to tell them in the midst of their doubts that HE has been given all authority, NOT us. Not only this, but in Acts 1:8 Jesus repeats himself that the Spirit will give us power to be his witnesses to make disciples, not us.

So, not only is our identity all based on the works of Jesus, but so is our mission. This means that if we “fail” or we “succeed” (I put these terms in quotes because we all have our definition of these terms in everyday life, that might be defined different by an infinite God) God still accepts us and sends us out again for the mission.

What is the mission? This isn’t hard. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus who then make disciples of Jesus. Everything the church does should always be asking, “How does this make disciples and are we doing it in the most effective way that is making disciples of Jesus, not us?”

We need to be asking ourselves how we can show people who Jesus is through our/their head, heart, and hands. Meaning, how can we teach them how to understand with their mind, change their hearts to know him, and then go and do likewise with their feet to all nations?

We should always be looking at the life of the church and simply ask:

• What are we doing to make disciples of Jesus?
• What are we doing that is not making disciples of Jesus? Get rid of it
• What should we be doing to make disciples of Jesus? Add this to our lives

Are we doing things that are transferable so that disciples can then make more disciples? If it’s not easily transferable to “non-pastors” then we need to simplify it or rework it so that it becomes transferable.

So, one can see that as you look at theology, gospel, and mission they are very intertwined and cannot be separated.  When one lacks, the family of God lacks.

We need to consistently be in a community that will always be evaluating if we:

1. Know who God is
2. Know what God has done and know who we now are
3. Know what we must do

And we must always be putting to the forefront the understanding that these are all by grace, by the power of God for his glory… and his glory alone.

Spiritual Strength Training - Part Two

(Editor's note: Here's Spiritual Strength Training - Part One.)

The 7 R’s of Soul Care & Maintenance

Having set the practice of Soul Care and Spiritual Strength Training in the context of the Creator/Creature relationship, I now want to take you to seven “Service Bays” in the “Soul Care Garage.” As with your car, if you regularly service your soul, you’re far less likely to experience burnout, breakdown, or a crash.

But what if you’ve failed to service your soul? What if you’ve hit the wall, crashed, and burned? Well you need to visit the same seven Service Bays. You just need to spend longer in each of them.

Service Bay 1: Routine

Regular routine is one of the first things to fall by the wayside when we become too busy. We respond to increasing ministry demands by increasing our accessibility and availability. Our regular daily routine is squeezed, then disrupted, and then displaced.

We end up feeling like passive victims waiting for things to happen – emails to arrive, phones to ring, and requests for help to knock on the door. We are knocked from pillar to post, running from one crisis to another.

Even when we get some quiet, uninterrupted time, we are so tired and wrung-out that we lack the will and discipline to use that time wisely and well. We end up doing only what we feel like doing – which is not very much – as our wills and decisiveness are so weakened.

The first question I ask burned-out pastors is: “Tell me your daily routine.” Usually the answer is “I don’t have one… Every day is different.” I press further, “Is there nothing constant from one day to another?” Again, usually the answer is “No.”

The first thing I do is to get them to draw up a basic routine of sleeping, worshipping, eating, studying, etc. that they then commit to. God is a God of order, not of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33), and as his created image-bearers we glorify him when we live regular, orderly lives. He has made our bodies so that they flourish when they have a rhythm and regularity.

Now, of course, there are elements of ministry that we cannot predict or regulate, but we can usually do a lot more than we presently are regulating. Start with regular bed times and rise times. Read and pray in the same place at the same time each day, preferably in privacy, and before you see or speak to anyone else. Set family meal times and stick to them. The more regularity you can build into your day and your week, the more your body, mind, and soul will flourish.

Service Bay 2: Relaxation

We need to incorporate times of relaxation into our lives. This may involve finding a quiet spot at regular times throughout the day to simply pause for 5-10 minutes, calm down, and seek the peace of God in our lives. Unstretch the band, let the tension go, breathe deeply, pray, and remember God.

Jesus recognized his disciples need for relaxation when he took them “apart into a desert place, and rested a while” (Mark 6:31).

You’ll find lots of websites and books that outline many varied relaxation techniques. These are usually effective and easy to learn. Once you try some of these you’ll soon learn how tense you actually are. Many of us are living like a flexed muscle, coiled tight from tip-to-toe. Is it any wonder that we’re exhausted and feel aches and pains all over?

Many of us actually need to learn how to breathe properly again. When we are stressed, anxious, and tense, our breathing becomes shallow, starving our body and brain of oxygen, increasing the difficulty of physical and intellectual work. Again, websites abound with exercises that will help you to become conscious of your breathing habits and re-train them if you’ve learned bad habits.

As I mentioned before, creative breakthroughs are often made in quiet downtimes. I believe many preachers could do with working less on their sermons. What I mean by that is getting away from the commentaries and the computer and communing with God in quiet reflective walks. There are computer sermons, and there are communion sermons! There are sermons that collate others thoughts, and there are sermons that flow out of communion with God in his Word.

Service Bay 3: Recreation

Bodily exercise is profitable. Moderate physical exercise helps to expel unhealthy chemicals from our system and stimulates the production of helpful chemicals. Outdoor exercise has the added benefit of the sun’s healing rays. Spurgeon said: “The next best thing to the grace of God for a preacher is oxygen.”

John Wesley attributed his great age and remarkable usefulness even in his eighties to God’s power, prayer, and his regular exercise in the fresh air! William Blaikie said: “It is very certain that due attention to physical exercise is an essential condition of sustained vigorous preaching. The command to be “strong in the Lord” includes strength of body as well of strength of soul.”

Is God glorified in our bodies (1 Cor. 6:20) when we rob them of what they need to function properly? Do we glorify our Creator when we remain willingly ignorant of or reject the knowledge he has kindly provided in his created order, information that we need to keep our bodies healthy?

Service Bay 4: Rest

A Christian psychologist recently said to me that he starts most depressed people on three pills: “Good exercise, good diet, and good sleep!” That’s great advice, and I would encourage you to make use of the plentiful resources available today on these subjects.

As regular sleep patterns enable the body and mind to repair and re-charge, set fixed times for going to bed and getting up, and try to get a minimum of seven (and an ideal of eight hours) of sleep per night.

Remember God’s gift of weekly rest. Secure a weekly intellectual Sabbath to refresh your mind. The devotion of one day to rest will not lose you time but rather help you to gain it as the other days will be more decisive and vigorous.

My wife has forced me to take one day off a week throughout my ministry. Usually it was a Monday as we were home-schooling. Perhaps twice I managed to persuade her that I really needed to work on my day of rest. Both weeks were a disaster. Overall I accomplished less than I would have had I taken the day off and properly rested my body and mind.

It doesn’t say, “Six days you shall labor… unless you are a pastor who must work seven.” It’s a command. "Six days you shall labor, but the seventh is to be a Sabbath of rest.” It takes faith to obey this. Reason and society says, “If you work seven days, you’ll get more done!” But as you practice weekly Sabbath, you will begin to see how gracious, merciful, and wise God’s commands are.

Service Bay 5: Reprioritize

As our lives slowly yet inexorably grow more complicated and committed, especially in the ministry, we must regularly examine our life and see what we can do to reduce our commitments and obligations. We all do this to some extent – because we all realize that we cannot meet the needs of everyone – the question is more about how seriously and intentionally you do this.

Prevention is better than cure here. If you can learn to say “No” to certain ministry demands and opportunities, it’s a lot easier than having to pull out when you’ve already committed and raised expectations.

You will need to cut out many good things to do the best things. You will need to cut out some ministry to others in order to minister to yourself. The life of the minister is the life of his ministry (Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 4:6). What’s your greatest priority? YOUR SOUL!

A pastor's duties to his wife and children are not reduced by his duty to his flock. Rather, they are increased (1 Sam. 15:22-23).

Service Bay 6: Re-think

The final two R’s are especially important for those who feel that they’ve crash and burned.

One of the most common signs of burnout or depression is unhelpful thought patterns, which tend to distort our view of reality in a false and negative way. As the writers of Mind over Mood put it, “Our perception of an event or experience powerfully affects our emotional, behavioral, and physiological responses to it.” Or, as the Bible puts it: “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).

In my book, Christians Get Depressed Too, I describe 10 false thought patterns that reflect, but also contribute to, the symptoms of depression. Here’s a summary of some of them:

False extremes: This is a tendency to evaluate personal qualities in extreme, black-and-white categories. Shades of gray do not exist. This is sometimes called all-or-nothing thinking.

• Life example: You make one mistake in preaching a sermon conclude you are a total disaster.
• Biblical example: Despite most of his life being characterized by God’s blessing and prosperity, when Job passed through a time of suffering, he decided he must be an enemy of God (Job 13:24; 33:10).

False generalization: This happens when, after experiencing one unpleasant event, we conclude that the same thing will happen to us again and again.

• Life example: When you try to witness to someone, you are mocked, and you conclude that this will always happen to you and that you will never win a soul for Christ.
• Biblical example: At a low point in his own life, Jacob deduced that because Joseph was dead and Simeon was captive in Egypt that Benjamin would also be taken from him: “All these things are against me,” he generalized.

False filter: When we are depressed, we tend to pick out the negative in every situation and think about it alone, to the exclusion of everything else. We filter out anything positive and decide everything is negative.

• Life example: You heard something in a sermon you did not like or agree with and went home thinking and talking only about that part of the service.
• Biblical example: Despite having just seen God’s mighty and miraculous intervention on Mount Carmel, Elijah filtered out all the positives and focused only on the continued opposition of Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 19:10).

False transformation: We transform neutral or positive experiences into negative ones. The depressed person doesn’t ignore positive experiences. Rather, he or she disqualifies them or turns them into their opposite.

• Life example: If someone compliments you, you conclude that the person is just being hypocritical or that he or she is trying to get something from you.
• Biblical example: Jonah saw many Ninevites repent in response to his preaching. But in- stead of rejoicing in this positive experience, his mood slumped so low that he angrily asked God to take away his life (Jonah 4:3–4).

False mind reading: We may think that we can tell what someone is thinking about us, that the person hates us or views us as stupid. But such negative conclusions usually are not supported by the facts.

• Life example: Someone who used to talk to you at church now passes you with hardly a word, so you decide that you have fallen out of her favor. But, unknown to you, the person’s marriage is in deep trouble, and she is too embarrassed to risk talking to anyone.
• Biblical example: The psalmist one day concluded that all men were liars. On reflection, he admitted that this judgment was overly hasty (Ps. 116:11).

A couple more, quickly, in summary form:

False lens: This is when we view our fears, errors, or mistakes through a magnifying glass and deduce catastrophic consequences. Everything then is out of proportion. The other side of this is that while you maximize your faults with a magnifying glass, you also tend to look through the binoculars the wrong way when it comes to your assets—and minimize them.

False “shoulds”: Our lives may be dominated by “shoulds” or “oughts,” applied to ourselves or others. This heaps pressure on us and others to reach certain unattainable standards and causes frustration and resentment when we fail or when others fail us.

Step-by-Step Guide Out of False Thinking

These false thinking patterns are not only the symptoms of burnout and depression, they perpetuate and deepen them. They eventually cause physical symptoms, too. So, let me propose a biblical method that will help you to correct these false and damaging thought habits. And they are habits. We get into deep ruts in our thinking that are sometimes very difficult to get out of.

We must first identify false and unhelpful thought-patterns, then challenge them, and then change them. This isn’t optional: Christians are obliged to challenge falsehood and distortions of reality, especially when they find them in themselves.

Psalm 77 is a perfect example of Asaph’s investigating, challenging, and changing his thoughts, with God’s help, in order to raise his mood and spirits. There are also slightly more abbreviated versions of the same biblical strategy in Job 19, Psalm 42, 73, and Habakkuk 3. So, this is not “psychological mumbo-jumbo,” but true Bible-based Christian experience. In Christians Get Depressed Too, I go into this Biblical Re-thinking Training in much more detail.

Service Bay 7: Return

The aim of all these other service bays is a return to a Christ-centered life, a life lived in communion with the Lord Jesus. Yes, dare I say it, a personal relationship with Jesus. We want a life connected to him, obedient to him, imaging him, glorifying him, and worshipping him. Here are a few things I’ve found helpful in returning to the Lord:

• Guard personal Bible reading and prayer time as jealously as you guard your own children.
• Pray out loud. Find a place where you can pray out loud without embarrassment. Hearing your own prayers helps to improve the clarity and intensity of prayer.
• Make singing part of your personal and family devotions.
• Carve out uninterrupted study time in 2-3 hour blocks at least four days a week.
• Read Christ-centered books. Don’t let your love of missiology, ecclesiology, eschatology, apologetics, evangelism, etc. push out daily personal communion with Christ. Why not start with John Owen, Volume 1 on the Glory of Christ, or Volume 7 on Spiritual Mindedness; John Flavel, Volume 1 on Christ the Fountain of Life.
• Read for your own soul rather than for ministry to others. It makes a big difference to the personal edification you get from reading if, from time-to-time, you determine that you will not use anything in a certain book for ministry purposes.
• Listen to Christ-centered sermons from various pastors. We have a wealth of online resources at sites such as SermonAudio.com. I like to listen to preachers outside my own tradition as I often find their approach to texts quite refreshing and stimulating.
• Disconnect from Twitter, Facebook, email for several hours at a time. Discipline yourself to check the internet only a certain number of times a day.
• Seek accountability with another pastor or elder. Read through the 7 R’s, agree on parameters, and commit to regular accounting.

Please visit the Soul Care Garage regularly. The more frequently you visit it, the less time you will spend in each of the service bays. It will save you from the Pastor’s wrecker’s yard, and if you’re already there, get a tow over to this garage and start working your way through the bays until you’re fit for the road again!

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David Murray was a pastor in Scotland for 13 years before accepting a call in 2007 to be Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology in Puritan Reformed Seminary. He continues to preach most Sundays in Grand Rapids and the surrounding area. He is the author of Christians Get Depressed Too and How Sermons Work. He is also President of HeadHeartHand Media, a small Christian film company. David is married to Shona and they have four children ranging from 8 to 16. You can read his blog at HeadHeartHand.org/blog or follow him on Twitter @davidpmurray.

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For more in-depth resources for pastors, check out Tony Merida's Proclaiming Jesus.

For more free articles for pastors, read: Winfield Bevins' What is Gospel-Centered Ministry, JR Vassar's Domain of Influence, Jared Wilson's Five Ways to Keep Church Discipline from Seeming Weird.

Be Fruitful and Multiply Disciples

Historically, movements have stopped because they were primarily leader-led information dumps. Information isn’t a bad thing, but information-driven movements are limited in influence. Why should we create disciple multiplying movements? How can we create them? It’s What We Were Made For In the garden of Eden, we see that image bearers of God we were made to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:22, 26-28). By issuing his first “great commission,” God did not merely intend for us to have more people over for Thanksgiving dinner. Rather, he wanted his beautiful image to fill the entire earth through the multiplication of his image bearers. But through Adam, we sinned and were separated from God.

In the attempt to author our own story, we sought center stage–pushing God’s goals for us aside. We sought to multiply our image for the sake of our own fame rather than God’s fame.

When someone repents and turns to God, it is our responsibility to show them their new mission by pointing back to the garden. We must show how their mission is all about multiplying for the sake of God’s glory not multiplying a life that is all about them and their legacy.

Most small groups in churches believe their goal is to get to know each other or form a close bond. If this is the goal, multiplication will never be desired. Drawing close to one another is not the goal of missional community, but making disciples who make disciples is (being fruitful and multiplying images of Jesus). Drawing close to one another happens because Jesus has given us the same Father, and we are a part of the same family. So, forming a close bond is a bi-product rather than the goal of living together on mission as family.

This Must be on Our Lips If our goal is to make disciples who make disciples (to be fruitful and multiply), then this must be on our lips constantly. I tell those who aren’t even followers of Jesus yet, that we desire to see communities like ours across the world doing the same thing. So, when they join our community as a follower of Jesus, they’ve already been discipled to know that we desire multiplication.

But it doesn’t stop there. We continue to talk about it as a group and continue to seek to hear from the Spirit on his timing and his power to send us out. The best way I can describe this is by relating it to your child. Do you desire to see your child stay in your house until they die? Or do you desire to see them leave the house and have a family of their own? Do you then wait until they are 18 and spring this on them and then kick them out? Or, do you continue talking to them about it, train them and seek for them to be ready when the day comes to leave your house and go and be fruitful and multiply with their new family? This is the same thing we need to be doing with our church families. We need to seek to see them grow in maturity and grow in the gospel so that they too can lead a family of missionary servants to live out the effects of the gospel with those around them.

People often ask me how I make it easy for our groups to multiply. I say the same thing every time: You must regularly talk about multiplication and train the next group for its certainty. It must always be on your lips and prayers, and always on your people’s lips and prayers. If it’s not, then it will be very difficult when it happens–like kicking out your unsuspecting child and telling them it’s healthy.

Transforming and Transferable You will do well by building the foundation of multiplication. You will also do well by regularly talking about it and listening to the Spirit in the process. But what happens if you have no leaders to lead the multiplication? This is where many groups and movements fail. The reason is that people in the group look at the leader and think, “There’s no way I can do what he’s doing. This takes too much time and too much theological knowledge.” Not only that, but you’ve merely spoken about multiplication without transforming people’s hearts to seek it out.

Merely talking about making disciples is sometimes fun and it’s a great theological exercise for the mind. But mere talk and theologizing rarely inspire people to make disciples.

If you desire to see others gripped to make disciples, you must not only penetrate their intellect. You must also aim at their hearts. If you merely aim at their heads with theological reasons why it’s good to make disciples, people will always come up with reasons why they are not convinced of its realities.

I think of Jonathan Edwards when he spoke of God’s holiness and grace and compared it to honey.[1]

In this way, he says, there is a difference between having an opinion that God is holy and gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. A man may have the former, that knows not how honey tastes; but a man cannot have the latter unless he has an idea of the taste of honey in his mind. So there is a difference between believing that a person is beautiful, and having a sense of his beauty. The former may be obtained by hearsay, but the latter only by seeing the countenance. When the heart is sensible of the beauty and amiableness of a thing, it necessarily feels pleasure in the apprehension. It is implied in a person’s being heartily sensible of the loveliness of a thing, that the idea of it is sweet and pleasant to his soul; which is a far different thing from having a rational opinion that it is excellent.

So, we must, as leaders, show others what it means to make disciples. When a follower of Jesus sees new disciples being made, and they are a part of it, their heart will rejoice. And like honey on the lips, they will desire more honey instead of merely talking about honey. Jesus did the same with the blind man in John 9. He healed him, so that the blind man would taste and see that the Lord was good. Then he supported that heart-transforming act, to theologically tackle the implications of who Jesus was afterward in John 9:35-41. Notice the way the blind man desired others to taste and see that the Lord Jesus was good–because his heart was transformed.

Not only do we seek to transform, but we must also make sure what we do is transferable. I have many things I can share from experience that I believe are transferable for my people, but you must ask yourself these types of questions:

• Do I need a theological degree to lead the community like I do? Remember, not all people like to read and study as much as many of us pastors do. If we want to create a movement of disciple-making, then we have to move away from leading from a position of “trained” men, into leading like “untrained” men. (By the way, I’ve never been to seminary, nor am I paid by the church.)

• Do I need to be paid by the church to have the time to do what I do? See above.

• What resources are available to give future leaders so that they don’t feel like they have to think of new topics to discuss and study in their Missional Community? I do not do any book studies in the Bible that cause me to do an immeasurable amount of study and reading on my own. If I do, then people will see the group as one that can only be led by someone with my capacity. Instead, I use easily transferable studies (e.g., check out  www.bild.org)

• How can I model all of this, so that I am going to be able to transfer leadership, instead of being the functional savior for our groups? Make sure you lead as you want others to lead. Don’t do studies that can only be led by a seminarian. Don’t do so many activities that can only be done by those with a job inside the church. Remember, as you lead, you are discipling those in your group on what it looks like to lead a group of disciple-makers. You can’t say one thing and model another. They’ll see right through that.

Because I have worked hard to hear the Spirit’s leading in this, 80% of those that are a part of the Missional Communities in my expression within Soma Communities desire to lead MCs at some point. When I baptized a new disciple, he first desired to lead a group of disciple-makers. He saw this as the only option for someone who was a follower of Jesus and, that it wasn’t anything special. In spite of being a new disciple, he didn’t see this as some “high calling” only for a few.

Since we want to lay the foundation of multiplication, we regularly talk about making disciples who make disciples. We seek to do this by modeling it for them in ways easily transferable. New disciples often can’t wait to lead others in the making of disciples who multiply to make more disciples.

So, go! Be fruitful disciples of Jesus by multiplying his beautiful image everywhere.

¹ http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/edwards_light.html

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Cross-posted from Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

Yes, And vs. No, Because

Last August on vacation I read Tina Fey’s Bossypants and I’m not ashamed to say that I loved it. I laughed a lot but was also challenged by the leadership lessons that she expressed and learned through her career and from Lorne Michaels. I started to read it and think about how these lessons could shape the church and the way Christians approach God. One of the lessons she highlights is from her years of improv and specifically the rules of improv, which we used when I participated in Man Question and it changed the whole dynamic of relational interaction. She says this…

The first rule of improvisation is AGREE. Always agree and SAY YES. When you’re improvising and I say, “Freeze, I have a gun,” and you say “That’s not a gun. It’s your finger. You’re pointing your finger at me,” our improvised scene has ground to a halt. But if I say, “Freeze, I have a gun!” and you say, “The gun I gave you for Christmas! You bastard!” then we have started a scene because we have AGREED that my finger is in fact a Christmas gun.

Now, obviously in real life you’re not always going to agree with evertthing everyone says. But the Rule of Agreement reminds you to “respect what your partner has created” and to at least start from an open-minded place. Start with a YES and see where that takes you.

The second rule of improvisation is not only to say yes, but YES, AND. You are supposed to agree and then add something of your own…To me YES, AND means don’t be afraid to contribute. It’s your responsibility to contribute. Always make sure you’re adding something to the discussion. Your initiations are worthwhile.

When I look at the alternative of YES, AND, it’s NO, BECAUSE which is really the beginning of an argument if you think about it. If someone presents an idea and it’s immediately met with “No, because…” how deflating is that? While Yes, And invites opportunity and creative thinking, No, Because invites debate and to follow the status quo.

She talks about how this plays out in life.

As an improviser, I always find it jarring when I meet someone in real life whose first answer is no. “No, we can’t do that.” “No, that’s not in the budget.” “No, I will not hold your hand for a dollar.” What kind of way is that to live?

But as I read it, I really started to think about the difference between church plants and established churches, which is directly related to start-ups and established companies.

Yes, And vs. No, Because in the Church

A church plant approaches everything with Yes, And. The possibilities are endless, but an established church has a No, Because filter that it runs everything through based on traditions, denominations, or “that’s just the way we do it” mentalities.

Now, I’m not suggesting we take a Yes, And approach with theology, but I am saying we do so with the way we approach “doing church” and how the church carries out the mission of God to love and serve your neighbor as yourself. In that realm, the possibilities are endless unless you have a No, Because culture.

The problem is that a No, Because culture kills any chance of creating an innovative environment for methodology. It sees new missional methodologies as challenging your “right way” instead of being open to adopting a new way of doing things that may enable you and your church to bless your neighborhood and thrive as a community that loves one another.

Cultivating a Yes, And culture where it’s “your responsibility to contribute” provides the opportunity to be open to new ideas and even new people speaking into the way things are done. It invites the voices of everyone to take ownership of the outcome.

Even when the And presents a potential contradiction to the initial idea, you are creating a collaborative environment where everyone is engaged and looking to contribute to the solution rather than maintain the status quo.

This is what happened in Man Question discussing masculinity with straight, gay, and bisexual men. The ideas eventually contradicted themselves, but the Yes, And rules provided the environment where everyone was willing to share their ideas and give credence to listen and process the ideas of others. This led to greater and deeper conversations because of the willingness to let an idea run its course with somewhat competing ideas.

When a church adopts a No, Because mentality with its methods, it is beginning the process of dying as a church. It becomes a nostalgic organization looking to keep things the way they were or maintain the current way, instead of seeing the church community do greater things than they’ve ever done.

A church should never abandon the Yes, And with methods.

Yes, And vs. No, Because with God

These thoughts have been bouncing around in my head since August and I mainly thought of them in terms of church until I went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle Prayer Meeting.

As I stood with thousands of others praying to God for healing, for reconciliation of marriages, for children to be set free from drugs, I was so challenged that my prayer life was being hindered by a No, Because mentality with God. Instead of asking God to do great things, I was saying “No, God won’t listen to that because there are more important things.” “No, I can’t pray that because I’m had a rough week with too many mistakes in my life.”

Even my theology presented a No, Because roadblock in prayer, saying “No, God doesn’t seem to do the same thing He did in the book of Acts in the Bible so I shouldn’t ask for those things.”

I began to sense that I was living in the No, Because mentality with God that I disliked seeing in the church.

Adopting the Yes, And mentality has changed the way I sit in church meetings discussing our community groups, how we equip families, how we empower people to be great at their jobs, secure in their singleness, pursuing covenant marriage at the right time.

It’s also changed how I pray, coming to talk with God with an open-mindedness that He may want to do something outside my theological box I like to put God in so I can manage my relationship with Him.

As the end of the year approaches, we all look back at what we want to change and do differently in the coming year. Adopting a Yes, And mentality may be the best thing you do for your life, your job, your ministry, and your relationship with God.

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Cross-posted from Gentrified.

Essay on the State of Evangelical Parenting

A story in The Atlantic by Lori Gottlieb entitled “How to Land Your Kid in Therapy” raises some helpful questions about modern parenting and how it is stimulating narcissism.  There is some strong language in the piece, so I’m not linking to it.  I will, however, quote a section to show the strength of the ideas in the article:

Another teacher I spoke with, a 58-year-old mother of grown children who has been teaching kindergarten for 17 years, told me she feels that parents are increasingly getting in the way of their children’s development. “I see the way their parents treat them,” she said, “and there’s a big adjustment when they get into my class. It’s good for them to realize that they aren’t the center of the world, that sometimes other people’s feelings matter more than theirs at a particular moment—but it only helps if they’re getting the same limit-setting at home. If not, they become impulsive, because they’re not thinking about anybody else.”

The point continues:

This same teacher—who asked not to be identified, for fear of losing her job—says she sees many parents who think they’re setting limits, when actually, they’re just being wishy-washy. “A kid will say, ‘Can we get ice cream on the way home?’ And the parent will say, ‘No, it’s not our day. Ice-cream day is Friday.’ Then the child will push and negotiate, and the parent, who probably thinks negotiating is ‘honoring her child’s opinion,’ will say, ‘Fine, we’ll get ice cream today, but don’t ask me tomorrow, because the answer is no!’” The teacher laughed. “Every year, parents come to me and say, ‘Why won’t my child listen to me? Why won’t she take no for an answer?’ And I say, ‘Your child won’t take no for an answer, because the answer is never no!’”

These provocative insights, of course, are really just good old-fashioned common sense.  Saying no to a child–what an idea!  This is the stuff of ground-breaking, cover-making wisdom at present.

I’d like to use this piece to offer a few thoughts on the current state of evangelical parenting.  Many of us do focus on developing self-esteem in our children, which has a few positive and many negative effects–good because our children know we love them and are interested in what they do, bad because they can all too easily learn self-centeredness instead of God-centeredness.  That, to say the very least, is a problem, as is the practice of rewarding children for mediocrity and even failure.

But there’s a parallel issue that concerns me about the “parenting style” of many of us today.  It is theological: we love grace.  We so exult in God’s lavish grace–and nothing is more worthy of exulting in, or exalting–that we lose sight of other important biblical-theological concepts.  Like what, you say?  Like the law.  The law does not and cannot save.  Only the gospel can.  But the law is nonetheless of great value to us in forming character, understanding God’s nature, and driving us to the mercy offered us in Christ (see Galatians 3:24).

How does this apply to modern evangelical parenting?  I’m concerned that many evangelicals who prize God’s sovereign goodness as I do are diminishing the importance of rules, morals, and appropriate behavior.  Let’s be clear–I’m not advocating moralism. I don’t want kids to grow up with hard-and-fast ethical boundaries but no grace, no love, no affection.  I guess I’m theologically greedy.  I want both.  I want a home that is driven by and centered in and soaked through with grace.  God-rooted grace should drive the life of a family such that love, not law, is the dominant trait one picks up about a Christian family when one spends time with it.  ”What was it about the Harpers?  They interact with one another in such a loving way.  Why?”  That’s the kind of question people should ask after being around our godly families.

To read the rest, visit the BibleMesh blog, where this piece is posted in full.

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Cross-posted from Owen's personal blog.

Is Disciple a Verb

We were a young church plant, still struggling to map out our DNA, our essentials, the values upon which we wanted to build our arm of the body of Christ. We had our definitive statements on paper, but we were puzzled about how to make them live and breathe. We knew what we felt called to, but living out that calling in real time was proving to be another thing entirely. We felt called to discipleship. To bring together a group of people who intentionally lived life together, encouraging one another’s spiritual growth. We wanted to enjoy Christ together, love other people well, and engage the world around us in a meaningful, life-changing way. We envisioned this type of intentional discipleship happening in small groups of 3 or 4, little cells of people spurring one another on to live the life Jesus called us to live.

We thought it sounded simple enough, but problems arose which clouded this vision and made us all see a little blurry. How do we convince people to engage in this type of intimate discipleship when they have never seen it done? How do we ensure that what goes on within those relationships remains gospel-centered and Jesus-focused? How do we form the groups? How do we incorporate newcomers? How do we encourage these discipleship groups to reach the lost?

We certainly weren’t suffering from a lack of interest. “Disciple” had become a buzz-word in our little church family, especially among people in their 20s. We would often hear questions such as “Are you discipling anyone?” or “Do you know anyone who could disciple me?” floating around in conversations. We rejoiced in the interest in discipleship but continued to struggle with how to make it happen in reality.

Is "Disciple" a Verb?

One summer, we decided to utilize a sermon series to tackle these problems and wrestle them to the mat. After each message, one of our leaders would facilitate a discussion in which anyone could ask a question relating to the topic. We were hoping to provide clarity about our vision of discipleship and what that could look like in our church body. A lot of great questions were asked that summer and thoughtful answers given in response.

One morning, however, a question was asked that stumped the facilitator. The question-asker was actually a friend of ours visiting from out of town. He had been doing a lot of thinking about discipleship himself and was intrigued with our discussion. After listening to questions regarding “discipling” other people he raised his hand and asked the question, “Is ‘disciple’ a verb?”

Silence.

I don’t know whether our facilitator temporarily lost his grasp of English grammar or whether the question honestly didn’t make sense, but the question stumped him. “Is ‘disciple’ a verb?” It was a little cheeky of our friend to ask it that way, really. It might have been more helpful to our discussion if he went ahead and asked the questions behind the question. What he was really getting at was something more like, “How is the word 'disciple' used in the New Testament?  As a noun, indicating a person, or as a verb, indicating an action? Are we using the term correctly? Or are we perhaps misusing it?”

Though our friend’s question wasn’t answered well that morning, it prompted me to do a little thinking and research. I knew what he was getting at. The word “disciple” or mathetes in Greek is a noun and is used in the New Testament as such. It refers to a person. A New Testament disciple is a person who is committed to learning from and following Jesus. But in contemporary church circles, it is popular to use the word as a verb: “So and so is ‘discipling’ me.”

So which is it? A noun or a verb? The question can be answered with grammatical ease. In the New Testament, mathetes is used as a noun: disciple, student, learner, follower. A closely related word, matheteuo, is a verb used several times in the New Testament, such as when Jesus instructs his disciples to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19).

The action of “making disciples” we have shortened to the term “discipling" - kind of a funny little word that spellcheck continually rejects, but it makes the point. Using “disciple” as a verb indicates the action Jesus commanded when he told us to “make disciples” of all nations. By “discipling” people, we are attempting to obey Jesus by “making disciples.”

The Real Question

But there is a deeper question underlying the issue of grammar. I’m not sure if our friend intended this question or not, but it’s a question I’ve been asking myself. Does the way we use the word “disciple” indicate something about our hearts? About our preferences? Do we prefer the noun of being a disciple or the verb of making disciples?

“Disciple” as a Noun

I can see dangers with an overemphasis either way. If people are more comfortable with “disciple” as a noun, then hopefully they are engaging their own discipleship well. They are seeking after Jesus in the Scriptures, determined to follow him and apply the gift of the gospel to their lives. But if there is no activity of discipleship directed toward others in their lives, I think they’re missing something. They may be taking responsibility for their own discipleship, but not the discipleship of others. They are not obeying Jesus’ command to “make disciples.”

I see evidence of this in our church body. We are a young congregation, both in the age of our church as a whole and in the age of the individuals. To be “old” in our church is to be over the age of 35! The people in this upper age bracket seem to engage their own discipleship well for the most part, but are often unaware that the droves of younger people around them need encouragement. They are more comfortable with being a disciple than making disciples.

“Disciple” as a Verb

But the danger can swing the other way as well.  When people shift the use of “disciple” from a noun to a verb, a new set of issues arises.  It is possible that this group of people is more comfortable with the activity of making disciples than with the state of being a disciple.  They spend their lives investing in their relationships with others, but neglect the most important relationship of all, the one with Jesus himself.

Jonathan Dodson illustrates this distinction well in his recent book Gospel-Centered Discipleship.  Dodson admits that at one point in his spiritual journey, “disciple became more of a verb than a noun, less of an identity and more of an activity.”[1]

He describes that when he was focused on “disciple” as an activity, it was as though he were standing at the top of the stairs of discipleship, looking down on the disciples in his living room. He was comfortable dispensing his knowledge to the eager disciples, but was not willing to come down the stairs and join them on eye-level. In other words, he was more comfortable making disciples than being a disciple.

I see this shift in our church family as well. We are all buzzing around talking about who is discipling who, focusing on the activity of discipleship. But are we as concerned with the importance of being disciples? Are we more interested in seeking a discipler than in seeking Jesus? Are we taking responsibility for our own spiritual growth? Have we forgotten that, regardless of who may or may not be discipling us, we are disciples of Jesus?

The Answer to the Question

So the answer our friend’s question is yes. “Disciple” is a verb. But “disciple” is also a noun. We must live out both senses of the word if we want to do discipleship well. We must take our personal discipleship seriously as well as the discipleship of the other people we’re connected to in the body of Christ. We need to be emphasizing the activity and the state of being of the word “disciple” if we’re to engage the process of discipleship the way Jesus intended.

We don’t have all our questions on discipleship answered in our church, but we’re growing. We’re encouraging the people in our church body both to “own their own spiritual growth” as well as engage in discipleship with other people.  We’re trying to consistently model both how to be a disciple and how to make disciples. That much of our vision, at least, is clear. As for the other blurry problems, well, I guess we need another raised hand after a sermon. Hopefully that next difficult question won’t involve grammar.

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[1] Jonathan Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), 16.

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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, soaking up the joys of toddlers and teenagers at the same time. Lindsay holds an M.A. in Christian Thought from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and enjoys teaching and writing about what’s she’s learning. She is passionate about discipleship and blogs regularly about it at Kitchen Stool.

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For more resources on being a disciple and disciple making, check out: Jonathan Dodson's Unbelievable Gospel.

Free articles on disciple-making: The Image Conscious Disciple by Jonathan Dodson, A Story of Gospel Community by Seth McBee, and Discipleship 101: How to Disciple a New Believer by Justin Buzzard.

What is a Missional Community?

This is the question that the Verge Network has been asking a number of leaders on their website, this is the question that many churches around the country and world are asking, and this is the question I deal with on a daily basis as someone who oversees community groups, which we view as gospel communities on mission. It’s a vital question for the church, which is typically seen as a Sunday event and maybe a small group bible study or Sunday school. Somewhere along the way, the common understanding of church became a place to go instead of a people who are going. A place to attend, instead of a people with a message to extend. The gospel was never to be kept inside of a church building, but was meant to define all of a Christian’s life and then lived out in a community that seeks to love and care for others.

The origins of the missional community idea are found in Acts chapter 2 in the scriptures that show a community responding to the good news of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection by being devoted to God, devoted to one another, and devoted to including their friends and neighbors in the good news. Church history shows us St. Patrick who lived this out in a community that eventually evangelized all of Ireland this way.

So now the church is asking, what happened? How do we return to being a people that extend the message and mercy of Jesus Christ, the good news of a good Savior to the world around us? How does missions become normal and local instead of being seen as only an overseas endeavor?

In comes missional community. The name spells it out, a community of people that live on mission together. But as the Verge Network has proved with their question, every church and leader has their own way of living it out.

Ultimately, a missional community is about principles more than it is about exact practicals. The various definitions and forms that happen all over the country and world all carry the same principles but are practically lived out differently depending on leadership and context.

Those primary principles appear to be:

1. Gospel Identity: Everyone in the world lives defined by a certain identity. For the church & those in missional communities, that identity is found as someone saved by Jesus Christ’s work, not our efforts, and then sent as missionaries into the world. We’re not just blessed by God in Christ, we are also meant to be a blessing to others. We are missionaries because God is a missionary and we get to represent what He is like.
2. Community on Mission: Missional Communities is an acknowledgement that our salvation is not an individual, “me & my God” thing, but we are saved into a family or community that cares for one another and serves others together. When a community receives good news, it shares good news.
3. Gather around Mission: The missional community gathers around a specific evangelistic mission. Whether that’s a specific affinity group that everyone cares for or a geographic area where they live, each community has a specific group of people they want to extend the love of Christ to & serve them with the deeds of Christ. I’ve recently seen a greater emphasis on proximity rather than affinity.
4. Discipleship is the key to sustainability: In the past, churches relied on a singular dynamic leader & in some instances that is still the case, but missional communities focuses on enabling every person to be a missionary & minister (or leader) in serving other people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Missional communities will only be as missional as their discipleship. Are they creating & enabling more people to be leaders? Are they making it simple & transferable? If not, it won’t last.
5. Multiplication: The goal of a missional community is not to grow large in numbers of people, but to create new expressions of community & compassionate mission. They see as their end, multiplying into many communities and spreading the gracious message of Jesus to as many people as possible.

As I mentioned earlier, various churches and leaders do it differently and summarize it in a variety of ways. It typically focuses on core values as they define their practice.

The Austin Stone has God, Gospel, Mission. Austin City Life, Soma Communities, Kaleo San Diego, and The Crowded House, from England, have formed the GCM Collective to share resources centered around Gospel, Community, and Mission.

3DM, originally from England, has Up, In, Out. Neil Cole says Divine Truth, Nurturing Relationships, Apostolic Mission. JR Woodward lists 5 things. Felicity Dale summarizes it as a multiplying family that shares life together on mission. Christian Community Church in Chicago, which puts on Exponential which is centered around the idea of missional communities this year uses the terms Grow, Connect, Expand.

If I understood what Alan Hirsch was saying half the time, I might be able to summarize it similarly, but his accent entrances me. I know he is saying profound and great things, I just have trouble summarizing it. His latest book, Right Here, Right Now, is fantastic and summarizes the movements of a missional community as Move Out, Move In, Move Alongside, Move From.

The practicals of all of these leaders in this idea vary, but the principles do not. Practicals range from size, house church or megachurch, content, location, discipleship methods, and on and on, but the principles are the necessary components for each individual church and leader to wrestle with and define in their context. The message and principles must be contextualized rather than merely adopting the practicals.

The non-negotiable is that to be a career missionary alongside a community and missional community, or whatever you call it, has become to most effective means for churches to live out this truth to our world.

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Cross-posted from Gentrified.

A Child's Gospel

(Editor’s Note: This is the third article of a three part series entitled Kids in the Family of God. Here is Part One and Part Two.) I don’t think it’s biased to say my 23-1/2 month-old daughter is the cutest child God ever created. (Though she may be rivaled in two weeks when our second kiddo is born.) But coupling that statement with biblical truth, I should rightly say, “She’s the cutest little ball of depravity ever created!” From as early as three months, we knew our daughter was selfish, self-serving, and self-focused. Honestly, how could she be anything else!?

As she’s grown, and as we lovingly discipline her, we’re learning to speak not of good or bad - of “trying hard” and succeeding and failing. Instead, we speak of obedience and authority and discipline. As parents, we try (though we often fail) to reflect the loving-parent-ness of God when we explain to her – whether she can understand or not – that we know what’s best for her, and even if it hurts her feelings, she needs to obey because God put us in her life to reflect him.

By engaging kids, we see brokenness restored, over and over and over.

When we see her move from disobedience to obedience, we see an echo of the gospel. Humanity was created to obey. Our fallen nature pulls us to disobey. Her obedience is common grace as God turns her heart to listen and act.

When we lovingly have those corrective conversations in our community, two things occur: first, we display gospel-focused discipline for other parents and for those who will be parents one day. We learn from other parents in their loving discipline as well. Second, no matter what someone’s family history is, or how they were raised and disciplined, our community experiences together what it means to address the heart in our own disobedience. While we encourage our community not to carry out discipline in front of others, we do have these corrective conversations, and doing so has led to great discussions on our own tendencies, and our need for God to change our own hearts.

Corrective discipline is just one example of seeing brokenness restored in our children. When one child hurts another (intentionally or otherwise), we see forgiveness asked and granted, and a relationship restored. Even thinking on physical restoration, kids seem to get sick, bloody, stubbed, and bonked far more and far easier than grown-ups. But they also seem to bounce back with far more ease than our aged bodies do!

In seeing health restored after sickness, in seeing black and blue toes return to normal, even in seeing teary eyes turn into joyful squeals, we see brokenness restored. In the same way that Jesus’ physical healing pointed toward his spiritual work, all of these little restorations are echoes of the objective reality of God’s restorative work in his creation. Paul explains this in his letter to the Colossians: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20).

Raising kids in the family of God allows you to see these things often - in your own children and in others.

Kids’ Need for You - Your Need for God

Most of us are familiar with verses like “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Luke 18:17) and “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4). But when we really stop to think of what these verses mean, we see the gospel echoed in the life of a child.

Think of what a baby is able to do. Nothing. Young children are completely reliant on something outside of themselves: to provide for them, to nourish them, to care for them, to teach them, to do everything for them. Think of an elementary child. They’ve figured out how to walk and feed themselves, but they’re full of questions. They don’t know “this” or “that,” and they turn to someone “greater than themselves” (to use overly-obvious language for the metaphor I’m getting at) for answers. Even the rebellious teenager still needs Mom and Dad far more than they let on, and if the relationship is healthy, even adult children ask their parents for advice.

“Receiving the kingdom… like a little child” speaks of our great need - our inability to receive the kingdom by attaining it, by self-reliance, by our own work, action, and volition. We need something outside ourselves and greater than ourselves to deliver the kingdom to us. The only position we’re able to take before our heavenly Father is “humble… like a child” – full of nothing but a desperate need for God the Spirit to convict us of sin, enact his salvation, and continually apply the truth of our inability to areas of sin, selfishness, and evil. In objective salvation and in ongoing discipleship, children remind us of our need for God. Because whatever it is, without his work in and through us, we can’t do it.

Parents have the blessing of seeing this day in and day out. But as our entire church participates with our children, in communities and during gatherings, everyone can see reflections of our own position before God. Whether providing snacks, rocking to sleep, drying tears, opening a jar, cleaning up a spill, leading a song, saying a prayer, changing a diaper, picking up a toy, protecting against allergies, praying for, or otherwise serving our kids, we’re reminded of our great childlike need as we meet the needs of children.

Breaking idols

This has been alluded to already in this series of posts, but a third way we see the gospel is to realize that raising kids in the family of God reveals our hearts, and reveals our idols. Here are just a few examples:

• Embarrassment by a kid running, or making a noise, in a gathering of the church, might display a “fear of man” idol – you care more than you should, about what “they” think of you and your parenting.
• Annoyance with a child’s comment during a community meeting might display a lack of patience, which might be a control issue and/or selfishness over (in your mind) the “wasted time.”
• Stifling your child’s comments, for fear of what they might say, might be another control issue, as you distrust that God’s sovereign goodness extends even to your child – even if that means God uses your kid’s comment to humble you!
• Many parents don’t want other parents to speak into their family. While some advice-giving is ill-placed, self-sufficiency and pride is revealed in disregarding, or disallowing, godly counsel and wisdom from folks who are removed from your family’s daily patterns and rhythms. (One of the greatest parenting rebukes we’ve received was from a college guy – I despised him for a moment “what right do you have…” but he was removed enough to see objectively what I couldn’t!)
• Harsh words that slip out toward your child might reveal your lacking understanding of grace or at least your lack of displaying that grace.

What is revealed about how you treat your kids and the kids in your community?

I close this posts with wise words from Tim Chester:

"In You Can Change [Crossway, 2010] I identify four truths about God (the four Gs as some have characterized them):

• God is great – so we don’t have to be in control
• God is glorious – so we don’t have to fear others
• God is good – so we don’t have to look elsewhere
• God is gracious – so we don’t have to prove ourselves

“All our sinful behavioural and negative emotions stem from a failure at a functional level to believe one of these truths. So they’re a great diagnostic tool – both for ourselves and when pastoring others. But more importantly, they offer hope. Learning to have faith in these areas offers the real prospect of change through faith. It means we are speaking good news to people and that’s what we’re after – gospel-centred change. Legalism says, ‘You must not . . .’ The gospel says, ‘You need not . . . because God is bigger and better than sin.’"

Beyond biblical principles to follow and beyond experiential practice, the heart of raising kids in the family of God is that – in parents, in community members, in attendees of the church gathering, and in anyone else who participates in the corporate life – God uses children as one very-easy-to-see-way to reveal our idols. Through children, he shines a light on our selfishness. Through children, he shows our need for grace when we fail our children and other parents. And through children, he consistently points us toward the unquenchable need to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).

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Ben Connelly lives in Fort Worth, TX, with his wife and daughter (with another on the way this fall). He started The City Church in 2010 and lives on mission by teaching public speaking at TCU. Ben sits on the board of a few city-focused organizations, trains occasionally across the country, and writes at benconnelly.net. Twitter: @connellyben

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Parents, for more resources on discipling your children at home, check out Winfield Bevin's Beginner's Guide to Family Worship.

Managing Social Media (before it manages you)

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of social media. I’m convinced it’s an incredible tool to expand your reach, advance gospel causes, sharpen your communication skills, and on top of all that, it’s fun. However, social media also has the potential to consume your time, kill actual relationships with real people and divert your attention from things that matter. So, from the perspective of a pastor, how can we redeem social media? How can we manage it well, so that it doesn’t manage us? While this is by no means an exhaustive list, here are a four principles that I’ve thought through recently and have found to be helpful.

1. Get rid of notifications. One of the benefits of social media is the immediacy of it. News travels faster, and sooner, via Twitter than other method ever known. With that said, immediacy can often translate into an unnecessary sense of urgency. If you are not careful you will find yourself thinking that you have to always be available, and always be ready with a reply. The truth is, most of what you see/reply to can wait. To make this happen, I eliminated the notification options from Facebook and Twitter. I still have both of them on my phone, I just don’t get emails or notifications anymore. This helps me to respond when I have time, not when everyone else responds to me.

2. Get away, while not getting away. I have found that having occasional periods where I get away from social media is good for my soul. Rest is always helpful, and resting from social media is no different. I want to be certain that I control my social media habits, not vice versa. Now, those who know me might be surprised to hear that because it often seems like I’m always online. This is where good social media tools come in handy. Through the benefit of software like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite I am able to schedule updates, and I regularly use this feature. I will take a day’s break from social media, and schedule a number of updates to post to Twitter &/or Facebook while I’m gone. This allows me to consistently update gospel coaching information, which I think is one of the great values of social media, while personally getting away from it all. So get away, while not getting away.

3. Real people come first. By this I don’t mean that people online are not real people. I do, however, think that face to face interaction with people will always trump every other method of communication. So, when face to face, dump the social media. No checking up on your status, looking for replies or “likes”, no updating the latest bit of news, while you are conversing with others. I’ll admit, I often fail at this. Social media should always be a means to enhancing and/or fostering relationships with people that are physically present around you. Don’t sacrifice that, then, for the sake of your online presence.

4. Embrace the dichotomy. Classic media sources were all about “the news”. They were professional, precise and rarely revealed anyone’s personal lives, unless that is, the personal life was newsworthy. Social media, however, is seen by many people as exactly the opposite. They view it as narcissism run amok. It is the pinnacle of arrogance, they might say, to assume that others are interested, or should be interested, in the mundane realities of your everyday life. The truth is, however, that social media stands somewhere between the two maintaining a unique dichotomy. It is personal, no doubt, but it’s also more effective as a news vehicle than any sort of classic model. With that said, embrace both realities. I love social media because it allows me to engage people in my church on a much more consistent basis than I ever would apart from it. I also love it because I am able to extend the pulpit throughout the week as I attempt to provide gospel coaching to the people God has given me to shepherd. However, it’s also a blast because I get to share with people how amazing my wife is, how incredible my daughters are and how much fun my favorite sports teams are to root for. The truth is, this side of me might often be one that many in my church would never see. If not for this helpful medium the pastor would continue to be viewed as this unapproachable, truth teller, that exists in a different world than the average guy. Social media helps them to learn otherwise. It shows that I’m a bit of a mess, relying on grace like they are. That is a huge benefit in the corner of social media. So, embrace the dichotomy. Recognize it for what it is, and use it as much as possible, within that tension. You and the people you lead will be better for it.

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Cross-posted from Micah's personal blog.

On the Trinity, Gospel, Local Church, and More

What is the value of church history?  I attempt to answer this very important question here in a video interview with Christianity.com conducted at the 2011 national conference of The Gospel Coalition.  I reference the doctrine of the Trinity–currently a hot-button issue due to the matter of modalism raised in light of the Elephant Room video series–to show that while historical theology does not create truth, it certainly allows Christians to put together biblical insights, to systematize doctrine for the flourishing of God’s people and the defense of God’s name.  (That’s Athanasius, Trinitarian theologian par excellence, to the root, by the way.) You can watch the featured Christianity.com video here.  Here is a list of other videos that I did for this organization, which is committed to putting out rich doctrinal content to aid Christians in their walk with Christ.  I’m thankful for the chance to have made a small contribution and hope that these videos stimulate thought and learning.  They were very fun to do.  Most are between 2-3 minutes.

Here are the topics I talked about in bite-size pieces:

• How should we interpret 1 Timothy 2:12?
• What was God doing before He created the world? (fun question!)
• What is the gospel?
• What church history books should every Christian read? (Marsden!)
• Why should every Christian belong to a local church?
• Who are the Puritans and what can we learn from them? (bunch of kill-joys)
• Why should a busy pastor study theology?

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Cross-posted from Owen's personal blog.

The Neighborhood Mission Start Up

People in our age often want to be told what to do so they can follow the directions. The dangerous thing is that if we just tell people what to do, then we not only become their functional savior for mission, we also avoid training them as leaders. This enables followers to stay followers and keeps leaders as their idols. We become the Holy Spirit for them, and when something in their life isn’t working, they don’t go the King. They come to another finite servant for direction. They become our disciple, not a disciple of Jesus. I’ll actually be speaking more on this understanding of leadership development at the GCM National Conference in September. So, what do I tell these people that inquire about how to live Christ's mission in their neighborhood (without making them feel stupid for asking a question that was prodded by the Spirit)?

Jesus tells us to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

He also tells us in Acts 1:8 that he’ll send us power by way of the Spirit to empower us for mission… to be his witnesses. (Notice witness is a noun, not a verb. You are the witness. It’s not something you do, but someone you are by His power.)

If we take these two principles to the neighborhood, what might that look like?

What would you attend if you were invited by a neighbor?

This seems very simple, but most don’t do this easy task. There is a great list given over at Verge by Josh Reeves - good dude by the way - called 25 Simple Ways to Missional to Your Neighborhood. Over at the GCM Collective there is a great document by Jeff Vanderstelt called Contextualization Assessment Starter. These are two great tools to start your mind thinking, but I have a very simple way to start. Simply ask yourself and your family, what would you attend if a neighbor invited you?

Would you attend a church service?

Would you attend a picket line?

Would you attend a “school” during the summer at another place in the city?

Some event where someone is trying to sell you trinkets?

Maybe some of you are thinking…"Yes I would!"

If so, try it out. See if it works. If not, think through other things that you might attend.

A front yard BBQ? A Saturday morning breakfast? An ice cream party? A UFC fight party?

What you will find through this process is the demographics of your neighborhood. When I started, one of the things I tried was inviting over people for a UFC fight. Literally no one showed up. Most of the folks I talked to afterwards said that they just weren’t interested in the UFC. That was the pits for me, because I dig me some ultimate fighting, but that gave me a better understanding of the neighborhood. Also, I got a chance to ask the next question to my neighbor:

What do you enjoy doing?

Now I get ideas, plus some ways to engage my neighbor for their story.

Neighbor: I really enjoy things I can do with my whole family.

Me: Oh, you have kids? How old are they? What are their names, etc.? What do you guys enjoy as a family?

Just with that small question, you're already beginning your contextualized understanding of your neighborhood.

You’ll also notice you'll start to engage your neighbors, whether they are in your “demographic” or not.  This doesn’t simply “work” if you are in a neighborhood surrounded by people like you. It will also work in those neighborhoods where you are not like your neighbors. You can try some things you like. They might fail. But that just gives you a chance to engage neighbors to see what they enjoy and what would draw them out to engage the community as a whole.

How would you like to be invited to engage community?

The next question people ask me is this:

I have an idea to engage neighbors. How should I invite them?

I just turn the question back on them:

How would you like to be invited to something from someone you don’t know? What kind of invitation would you ignore? What kind of invitation would cause you to engage?

I don’t know about you, but I would ignore most things sent to me in the mail or something just left on my doorstep. For me, I would respond positively from a face-to-face interaction, with something left behind with the information.

This is exactly what I decided to do three years ago in our neighborhood. I took flyers around to our neighbors, knocked on their doors and introduced myself to them and invited them to our 4^th of July party. This created many opportunities for conversation and many have come to our community events because of a simple introduction.

For others, email might work, Facebook (I have a community Facebook group now that we’ve built relationships), evite, etc.  Think through different ways to communicate to people, to engage them in the ways that your neighborhood is comfortable with.

Sent by His Power

This is the greatest part.  You have the power of the eternal God, the embodiment of wisdom, inside you for his glory.

After thinking through the first two questions of how we can love our neighbors like we love ourselves, we must not forget the first part. The commandment to love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

We need to go to our God to simply ask him what he’d like us to do next with his power. When we go through what things we are going to do to engage our neighbors, or any other group, we must first ask our Dad. "Dad, what’s next with this neighborhood to show off your glory?"

Then listen…

Then do what he tells you.

It might be huge, or it might be small. The important thing is to be obedient to him after he tells you what he desires. This doesn’t mean it will “work” in your eyes (such as the UFC thing above), but it means you're allowing your eternal Dad to determine what you NEED to do to make you more like Jesus and for others around you to see his glory and fame.

I fully believe if we think through these three easy steps, we’ll engage our neighborhoods and other groups around us much more often with more power and positive response from those around us.

Yes, you’ll end up sacrificing your time, your money and your possessions, but in the end isn’t this what we are called to do as followers of Jesus?

Love others as you love yourself by the power of the Spirit, and watch the work God will do.

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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. In his down time, he likes to do CrossFit, cook BBQ, and host pancake ebelskiver breakfasts at his home. Twitter @sdmcbee

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For more information on taking the gospel to the streets, check out Jonathan Dodson's Unbelievable Gospel.

For more free articles on missional living read: Invite & Invest to Make Disciples by Greg Gibson, Theology is for Everyone by David Fairchild, and The Gospel & Our Neighbors by Alvin Reid.

Christians and Internet Presence: A Roundtable

About a year ago, I sat down with some friends of mine in a virtual roundtable to speak on the benefits and downfalls of social media and blogging for Christians. What a great way to introduce Project TGM! These men who have experience with popularity in the blogging and social media world (with 4-to-5-digit Twitter followers and top 200 Christian blogs) joined me to discuss. It is my aim that this discussion would help you personally and the Church as a whole consider the Kingdom implications of blogging and social media.

The Panel:

Trevin Wax

BLOG: Kingdom People

TWITTER: trevinwax -

Steve McCoy

BLOG: Reformissionary

TWITTER: stevekmccoy -

Jared Wilson

BLOG: Gospel-Driven Church

TWITTER: jaredcwilson

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In an age when everyone has a presence on the internet, should Christians consider blogging? And if so, what should they aim for?

TREVIN WAX: What should a Christian blogger aim for? Let’s start with the no-no’s. Certainly not fame or blog traffic. Someone once asked me what it’s like to be famous in the blogworld, and my response was, “like being Homecoming king of a class of twelve.” It’s just not a big deal. The blogosphere is a neat thing, but it’s also a gigantic echo chamber, and the noisy links create the false perception that we are very important and have something so valuable to say. That’s not to say there’s nothing good in blogging – but we need to remember: to ground our importance or value in anything other than the gospel (including a good thing like a blog) is idolatrous, no matter how well we think we write. (This is one reason I take every July off from blogging. It’s good for my soul. It reminds me that I don’t need to get wrapped up in that world too much.)

What should we aim for? Generally speaking, the glory of God and the good of the church. That’s general, you say, so not so helpful. But to get more specific would require me to make rules that might not apply to all blogs. Some blogs are intended to be challenging for church leaders. Other blogs try to provide helpful book reviews to people who want to read more. Some blogs are personal commentaries sprinkled with insights into the Christian life. Other blogs link to good content on the web. I think a Justin Taylor has a specific aim quite different than say, Tim Challies. Justin is more a curator of content, whereas Tim is a creator of content. The specific aims are different, but I think both guys are trying to serve the church in their own way.

*BRANDON SMITH: The ultimate aim, as Trevin so perfectly stated is “the glory of God and the good of the church.” To me, this even includes the Christian who isn’t necessarily blogging about Christianity. If a Christian wants to start a sports blog, family blog, or random photos blog then they should do so with clear Biblical ethics and practice.

There is a cultural myth that states that God is separate from our work, hobbies, etc. There is nothing further from the truth because God is the God of our ENTIRE lives, not just our “spiritual” life. With that in mind, whatever we do on a blog or social network should still reflect Christ and not place you below reproach. Are you perfect? No, and that isn’t my point. But, it goes without saying that blogging in a way that is sinful or causes your brothers/sisters to stumble is not wise.

*JARED WILSON: I agree, and I really like Trevin’s emphasis on how the blog world is not a big deal. I encourage bloggers, especially those who are well-known to somewhat well-known, to have close friends who simply don’t care. They don’t read, aren’t interested, don’t care. I would encourage this extra especially to well-known Christian bloggers who pastor churches or have book deals or what-have-you. Surround yourself with people who are unimpressed by anything that happens online. Maybe find some who don’t even own a computer!

*STEVE MCCOY: Blogging can be kind of whatever you want it to be. A Christian may want to start a blog in the hope of generating revenue for their kids’ college education by putting up good online deals for pots and pans. Whatever, have fun, make some cash. But I’m guessing you mean a “Christian blog” in which someone says God-stuff. Fair enough.

First, as Trevin mentioned, aim for God’s glory and the blessing of others. Blogs, like everything else, are about loving God, neighbor, brother & sister, and enemy. I built my blog to gain relationships with like-minded church leaders and Christians. It includes other personal passions (family, music, photography), but ultimately I want it to be God-glorifying & human edifying.

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Tell your pastor about your blog for accountability. Or maybe find a trusted, knowledgeable friend who can challenge you when necessary on what you are writing. When I started my blog years ago and my best friend, Joe Thorn, started his (both of us younger pastors), we read everything each other wrote and talked regularly on the phone about content. We’d often have each other read what we wrote before we posted it to make sure we weren’t being idiots. I’m sure I made a lot of changes before posting things. Build in accountability.

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Second, aim at excellence. I’ve deleted more posts before posting them than I’ve posted. I’ve sat on posts for weeks because I just wasn’t writing clearly on an issue yet. Blogs get feedback, and you want to have thought things through well before feedback comes. One way to be excellent in your blogging is to developing your voice slowly by pointing to others a lot. There are people already out there probably saying it better than you can say it. I have a popular blog and I say things, but it’s best known for being the location of a massive page filled with Tim Keller resources.

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In an article from Fast Company, the assertion was made that social media (and Twitter in particular) is not an effective tool for influence due mainly to the short shelf life of status’ and massive amount of users. Can social media truly have a positive influence on Christianity, both locally and worldwide?

*JARED WILSON: I may be a terrible person to ask this question, because I don’t spend much time thinking about how much influence social media has. I suppose if I were trying to be a professional blogger (or tweeter) or made a daily connection between my blogging/tweeting and promoting my writing, I would. But my basic reaction to the Fast Company appraisal of social media’s lack of influence is: okay.

Obviously I am interested in some level of influence, or else I wouldn’t post my thoughts in public forums for others to read. But the context of thinking of social media as a “tool” to influence others — and here I think of self-appointed marketing gurus, some of the pastorpreneurial tribe, and anybody who obsessively monitors their stats and rankings — seems so strange to me. In the early days, it was easy to be a big blogger fish in a small blogging pond if you could be personable and interesting. But the emphasis back then was on conversation so much more than self-promotion or influence. Comment threads were where the magic happened. Now everybody’s too busy posting to discuss below the posts. You have to go to the really polarizing blogs to find dialogue in the comments, and even then it looks more like a flame war than a town square hashing-out. At most places where you find lots of comments, most of them are just one-shot “Good post; I agree” type stuff. It used to be a few bloggers, many readers/commenters. Now everybody blogs, the conversation has quelled, and the drive to distinguish one’s self can be very tempting. I suppose that Fast Company article may discourage some folks really bent on being “agents of change” (as I’ve seen some social media users refer to themselves).

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Can social media have a positive influence on Christianity? Yes, locally and worldwide. But probably not in the sense the Fast Company is talking about, in that sense of heavy influence. But social media edifies me when I’m reading the right people. I know so-called “gospel tweets” have taken some hits in the past year for being sappy or corny or unworthy of the gospel itself — just this morning one fellow told me one of my tweets was insipid — but I love to read others’ chewing on the gospel. It has a positive influence on me. It helps me revel. And all of us here probably receive messages throughout the year from folks who say a particular post or tweet encouraged them, addressed some concern of the day, etc. So use of social media that glorifies God — whether it’s reveling in the gospel, reflecting on a Scripture, or just in the spirit of Christian camaraderie being silly among friends — can be a positive influence in someone’s need of the moment. Our days go by fast; our needs change. I would think a short-shelf-life medium like Twitter might be keenly appropriate for encouragement in that context. '

*STEVE MCCOY: Yes, no question. It’s just a tool for communication and relationships. Tweets pass away, but Twitterers remain. Each tweet I read impacts me, develops some aspect of my relationship with the author, etc. Couldn’t we be answering this same question about phone calls? For me social media isn’t about permanence of what is said but the permanence of those saying it.

Jared is actually a good example for me on this. Over time following Jared on Twitter we interacted a bit but didn’t really know each other. Once he tweeted about an article he published on a certain site. I DM’d him to ask if we could have a phone conversation. I asked him about how his blog article got published as I was considering doing some publication of things I was writing.  He gave some feedback and we hung up. Now he’s editing a book where I was able to submit a chapter. Twitter has created lasting, positive influence in these ways, though the individual tweets along the way may have dissolved into the ether.

`

In other words, we can’t just stand back and listen to the hum of a million tweets with short shelf life. We have to focus in on thousands of relationships, and down to one relationship between two twitterers, and see what’s happening right now between them that’s going to last.

`

*TREVIN WAX: Jared, you are right about the way the blog world has evolved in the past few years. Recently, I was talking with a popular blogger from a different evangelical stream (not Reformed – at all) and we were lamenting the way that the blogosphere has solidified people into very distinct camps. Years ago, YRR guys would comment over at Emerging Village, and vice versa. Since there were fewer blogs, there was more conversation that crossed over into other theological and philosophical camps. Now, with the proliferation of blogs, there is less of that conversation. Reformed-types read certain blogs. Church-growth guys read other blogs. Etc. There’s no longer much conversation between camps taking place, and when conversation does happen, it’s more like lobbing a grenade into someone else’s camp. Nobody is to blame for this development, for it’s only natural that readers would gravitate toward good blogs that serve the need of their particular tribe. But I think it’s good for our Christian witness if we hold firm theological convictions without succumbing to theological tribalism.

`

*BRANDON SMITH: I don’t know that social media, Twitter in particular, can have a “lasting” influence like a book or piece of audio/video. At best, you can select a tweet as a favorite and save it. But eventually even that will fall into a jumbled list of tweets. Facebook, as far as I’ve seen, has even less options for saving a particular status.

`

What social media can do is help you develop a relationship to the personality and mind of the particular tweeter, as Steve mentioned. Also, I may not always remember every tweet that I read, but I’m positive that the main ideas in many of the great Gospel tweets will stick with me. Many times, I will be asked a particular theological question or something else and I will answer but not necessarily remember where I read or heard the idea. Regardless, the knowledge impressed my mind in a way that I was able to repeat/teach it to someone else. Furthermore, that idea stuck in my heart and lifted my soul so much that it was ingrained in memory. In that way, social media can have a great long-term influence if used for edification. It brings me joy to think that God could have used 140 characters that I wrote to impact someone, even if they cannot cite me as the source.

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In the debate over “Christian Hollywood,” there are two sides: Those who believe that any sort of fame for a Christian is idolatrous or prideful and those who believe that fame is good if used as a platform for Jesus. Is fame something that Christians should avoid or embrace?

*BRANDON SMITH: “Christian Hollywood” in and of itself is nothing new to the church. Men like Charles Spurgeon donned billboards in England and the duo of George Whitefield and John Wesley preached to packed churches and pastures. Today, however, it is definitely at its height. With media the way it is, Christians can become famous through books, podcasts, blogs, megachurches, and getting on CNN like John MacArthur, Rick Warren, and Al Mohler. We also see role models such as Tim Tebow rise up in pop culture representing Jesus, and representing Him well. In all of these examples, there has been an extremely positive impression left on Christianity as a whole, in my opinion. Of course, the flip side is watching the painful fall of pastors’ public ministries which no doubt fuels the detractors of Christians in the limelight.

The question really comes down to motive. Joining “Christian Hollywood,” wherever you define that line to be, is something that should absolutely not be aimed for. Some of the most idolatrous people that I have met are those trying to get famous.  It’s dangerous to even think of it as “fame;” I prefer the operative word “influence.” There is certainly nothing wrong with influence if your motives are to see the lost saved and the church edified. We are all sinners with the tendency to think we “deserve” something and we want to be recognized. This part of our insecure pride is probably unavoidable, but the temptation is manageable if you rely and lean on the grace of God alone. We could all go the Kirk Cameron Fireproof route and smash our computers or avoid technology like the Amish, but I think it’s much more helpful to pray and beg the Spirit to break our egos.

In relation to blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc., I think Jared made a great admission in an earlier question when he stated, “Obviously I am interested in some level of influence, or else I wouldn’t post my thoughts in public forums for others to read.” If you own a blog or frequently post on social networking sites, then the chances are that you desire to be heard. I don’t think that this desire should be demonized, but you should be sensitive to what is driving this desire. Is it to be the next John Piper and see your name on books, or is it to use your God-given writing talents or theological insights to see the Kingdom advanced? I always remind myself of this: God has given me X number of blog readers, Twitter followers, Facebook friends, and other contacts in order to glorify Him and fulfill the Great Commission in whatever small or large way He has granted me to do so. I would be remiss to prostitute His gifts for my own gain.

*TREVIN WAX: Brandon, I agree that there is nothing inherently evil in thinking you have something valuable to say. Everyone who ever preaches or teaches could be accused of pride if that were the case. Dave Harvey’s Rescuing Ambition has been helpful to me in thinking through the ways that ambition can be harnessed for the glory of God. Yet, I must admit that however much we try, even our best motives are tainted by sin. If we think they aren’t, we deceive ourselves. So blogging (like teaching, preaching, writing, etc.) must take place within a context of continual repentance, with the added hope of stewarding wisely whatever amount of influence God gives us.

*STEVE MCCOY: I think it’s complicated. Some famous Christians are shaming Christ and others are making Him known. Some are getting rich off books for selfish reasons and others are providing resources that are changing lives. Fame seems to be associated with pride, yet some of the famous Christians who have influenced me most are known because they are generous and humble and speak with a sense of God and eternity.

Brandon mentioned motives and influence. A few years ago I heard John MacArthur say something in a 9 Marks (Mark Dever) interview that, I think, puts the desire for influence under the best motives. MacArthur said, “I’ve concentrated on the depth of my ministry and God’s taken care of the breadth of it.” Sounds good to me.

`

*JARED WILSON: I hope this doesn’t sound like I’m dodging the question, but I’m not sure “avoid” or “embrace” are the only two options for Christians. I think we should just be faithful to the callings, private and public, that God puts before us. In that sense, fame is neutral. There were men of God who were famous in the land in Bible times. Fame is not something to embrace, of course, as a self-exalting pursuit, but neither something we are morally bound to avoid. In some cases, I’d think avoidance of exposure or recognition can be a form of false humility, a type of self-centeredness all its own.

___

What are some practical ways that social media and blogging can benefit churches, church leaders, and their audience?

*STEVE MCCOY: First thing, know your audience. What are local people using? What are people in your church using? Where I live Facebook is very popular. Twitter and blogging are not that big. If I spend my time trying to connect with people in a way they don’t want to connect, I’ll be spinning my wheels.

`

Because Facebook is so widely used it can be a helpful tool for communication both as a church and individually. I actively use Facebook to connect to local people. I have several local friends and I keep up with their lives. We are Facebook friends with all our kids’ teachers, many of their friends’ parents, and so on. People are allowing us to know them better. Why not do that? For our church, Facebook gives us a place to connect in a place where they already go. We get to connect people to information about our church, invite them to events, and so on. Our church members use Facebook to invite people to events when our church puts out announcements on Facebook. I just had a non-attender message me on Facebook because he’s eager for our next Pub Talk (connection ministry).

`

For me as a pastor I’ve used Twitter and blogging heavily, but mostly to connect to other church leaders outside my local area. I need like-minded friends in ministry. I can’t fully explain the benefit and blessing of being connecting to hundreds of church leaders through my blog and Twitter. It is truly a kind of community. It doesn’t replace true community, it compliments it and expands it. For example, I’m attending the Desiring God Pastors Conference in a month and I already know of a dozen other guys going and wanting to hang together. Every conference I’ve attended in the last 5-6 years has been a social media family reunion for me. I love and need these co-laborers in Christ.

`

Because of these relationships through social media I’ve had hundreds of people praying for my wife, I’ve been provided more than $6,000 for a new van (without asking!), been invited to speak at a conference, endorsed books, found guys to lead worship and fill my pulpit, and a bunch more.

`

What I’ve just begun to see locally is crossover. Nearly all our visitors are from something web-based. Many are beginning to connect to use because they’ve found my personal blog or Twitter account. And it has been providing the opportunity to minister locally when my original intent was to connect with leaders internationally. Very thankful for that.

`

*BRANDON SMITH: For me, my Twitter followers are almost entirely people who read my blog, are members in the PLNTD Network community that I used to admin., or are other pastors and leaders that I like to read and connect with. My Facebook, on the other hand, is about 50% of that group and 50% friends and family. My blog subscribers and readers are also rather balanced between people I know and do not know.

`

On Facebook and Twitter, I use the same guidelines: roughly 1/10 of my statuses are of a personal nature and the rest are quotes, links, etc. that relate to the Christian life. Although I have vastly different audiences on each, I see social media and my blog as a major extension of my ministry. There are plenty of people updating where they are going or what coffee they’re drinking; how many people use it to edify the body? '

*JARED WILSON: My experience mirrors Steve’s fairly closely except for his last statement on receiving visitors based on web-based information. I live in an area where very few adults are on social media. Many are on Facebook, particularly teenagers, but virtually no one’s on Twitter. There is a sizable minority here in rural Vermont who aren’t on the Internet or don’t even have a computer. And then among those over 30 who access the web, they are rarely on any kind of social media.

But my context is not the norm, obviously. Most other areas of the country are more plugged in. My previous church in Nashville had its own Twitter account, and we used that, along with our Facebook page, to keep followers updated on events and information. It was rarely used for discussion or study or anything substantive, however. It was almost purely informational, and I think that’s the primary way churches can use social media. I may be in a minority on this view, but I am very averse to the idea of a church trying to engage something called community online. I’m not naive enough to think meaningful exchanges can’t happen — because I’ve been in some — but I’ve been blogging and plugged-in long enough to be realistic about the limitations of non-verbal, non-face-to-face ministry and discipleship. I find “internet campuses” ludicrous. And I worry about the rapid un-incarnation of church life that’s in the design of increased church leverage of social media.

`

The best practical way social media can benefit churches and leaders is through the rapid updating of informational “bullet points.”

`

But like Steve, even though none of my church members are on Twitter, very few are on Facebook, and even fewer have a blog or website of any kind, I am edified as a church leader by the ongoing conversation on these sites with other pastors, writers, and leaders in other areas.

`

*TREVIN WAX: I’ve found the same to be true in my experience. Social media gives us the opportunity to connect with people in our churches. And blogs allow us to connect with like-minded ministers who are laboring for the kingdom in other churches. I’m always encouraged when someone connects with me and mentions that they have been helped in some way by the blog. Blogging connects me to a network of other ministers striving to be faithful to the gospel, and the encouragement that comes from that connection is incalculable.

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Cross-posted from Modern March.

Church Discipline Wasn't Just a New Testament Thing

Oddly enough, I've been doing a lot of research and reading on church discipline lately. Don't worry though, I was researching a blog post for one of my bosses, and there was also a new B&H release on the subject—Those Who Must Give an Account. That was all last week. Then this morning's Bible reading (using the 4+1 plan from Read the Bible for Life) dropped me into Numbers 5.

The Lord instructed Moses: “Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse. You must send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.” The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the Lord instructed Moses.

Sure does look familiar. Those who were members of God's family were put out of the flock when they were found to be unclean.

Leprosy, now specifically known as Hansen's disease, was akin to death in Biblical times. There was no way back into fellowship with God's people unless you had been cleansed by God and inspected by the priest (see Leviticus 13). If one had leprosy, one was basically living as though dead.

While interesting to study and debate at times, Church discipline is never enjoyable in its application. For if one takes joy in exercising discipline over unrepentant sin, there are greater issues at hand.

The same could be said for those cast out due to leprosy. Family members and friends would no doubt be devastated by the news. They would likely cry out in desperation for healing.

Our response to Church discipline should be similar. It should be marked with brokenness for those who are unrepentant. We should cry out for their spiritual healing. And if/when they return, we should welcome them with open arms, ecstatic that they are once again in fellowship with the community.

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Jonathan Howe serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at LifeWay Christian Resources, the host and producer of Rainer on Leadership and SBC This Week. Jonathan writes weekly at ThomRainer.com on topics ranging from social media to websites and church communications.

Street Grace

Do you know any sign flippers? You know the dudes that stand on busy street corners with giant signs advertising the local cellphone or subway sandwich shop? They usually dance, yell, and flip the sign in order bring in customers. I know the sign flipper on El Cajon and College Ave. His name is Joe. He is new to the job and new to our community. He has a girlfriend from the Ukraine named Arena. He flips a good sign. Not so flashy and flamboyant that you feel awkward at the stop light but also not sleeping on the job. Joe is one of the most encouraging dudes I have met. He loves a good sermon and always lets his pastor know it. The other day at a community baby shower Joe won the, “who can chug root beer out of a baby bottle the fastest contest.” He is a legend around these parts now.

Street Signs

How did I meet Joe? Well the first time was at basketball game at the park right - after he'd drunk a 40. Lately, Joe has been hanging with Doug. Doug is almost 50 and has a big heart for our whole community. Doug is well known for having a pretty sweet ride. He owns a used but fashionable baby stroller that has a bungee corded garbage can connected to it - Big time! The garbage can is filled with empty cans and bottles he recycles. Sometimes it is also loaded with not so empty beer cans too. One week he parked his ride in front of our Sunday gathering, and it was packed.

Welcome to church. Would you like a cold one?

I have spent most of my life believing the lie that the Doug’s and Joe’s of the world aren’t worth my time. And I have been missing out on following my God into an abundant life of service and new friendships.

As a Christian I worship a God that went out of his way to serve those that society had deemed outcast. His band of followers were hated tax collectors, lowly fishermen and prostitutes. He didn’t avoid outcasts. He sought them out and washed their feet. This is the life of Jesus, this is our radical God.

Consider the weight of grace in our everyday life. Jesus says that the last on earth will be the first in the Kingdom of heaven. He even goes as far to say that how we treat the least of these is how we are treating him. Jesus went out of his way to love, cherish, heal and transform the lives of the very least in his city. Grace defines the life Christ lived on earth and the life he calls his disciples to follow him into.

Christ sees beyond our cultural stigmas and stereotypes and instead sees the people he has created to love and be loved, a people that he created to image him. Where the world sees losers and outcast our God sees Kingdom celebrities! Jesus didn’t just start programs for the outcast in his city (not that these are bad) but instead he shared life with them. Today, he invites all of his followers to share life with some of His Kingdom’s most famous people. I don’t want to miss out on this!

Scared by Grace?

From the outside, taking grace to the streets looks scary and lame, but Christ promises that he came to give life abundant. Jesus is not just talking about having a free meal or a program. Instead, Christ invites us to share his grace with even the most disenfranchised. To share grace with some of His Kingdom’s most famous people!

Our church doesn’t have any programs for feeding the homeless and/or impoverished. We have grown in knowing the Kingdom celebrities in our community by sharing our lives with them. We simply hang out where they hang out and invite them to hang out with us. We play basketball, board games, laugh, share meals, watch movies and help each other out. That’s right, we help each other out!

Even the most downtrodden folks have some mad skills, and if you get to know them you will find many are often eager to help and serve. My deck was just re-stained while I was on vacation by a good friend who without Christ I would have missed out on even knowing.

Keeping it Real

I don’t want to paint an unrealistic picture, loving and living out grace to Kingdom celebrities can be messy, heartbreaking, exhausting and expensive. But last I checked, Christ endured much more to love me and he did it for the joy set before him. Loving and following Jesus into the nooks and crannies of your city will cost you everything, but it will gain you much more.

Jesus says that how we treat the least of these is how we are treating him. He identifies with the hurting and broken to the point of dying a torturous death on a filthy Roman cross. He died the death that was created to publicly humiliate the very worst people in all of society. And he chose this death for the joy set before him. The joy of seeing lives be restored and stories be redeemed.

The gospel reminds us that we are the least of these. Identifying with the messy and broken should be easy for a group of people that believe they are so messy and broken God had to shed his blood to restore them.

The first step to loving the poor and disenfranchised in your city is realizing you are the least of these. From the CEO of the multi-million dollar company to the cashier at the taco stand, we all are equally poor and broken without Christ. And we all have the potential to be eternally rich with Christ!

We serve the broken because we are broken and he serves us. We love the unlovable because we are unlovable and he loves us.

These truths take the pressure off. We can love those different than us by living normal life together. Learn each others stories, hang out, share a meal, play a game and help each other out. That’s right, help each other out! You will be surprised who can serve, help and encourage you when you realize you are just another broken human in need of Jesus.

So who do you name drop? Do you know the people in your neighborhood that Jesus considers famous? Do you treat the CEO differently than the sign-flipper? Are you more patient with the rich and famous than the down and out?

I know the sign flipper on El Cajon and College Ave. His name is Joe.

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Jake Chambers: A member of Jesus’ bride - the church, husband to his beautiful bride Lindsey, and a daddy to his boy Ezra. 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. You can read more of his writing at reddoorlife.tv.

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For a more in-depth discussion of authentically living out the mission of the gospel, check out Jonathan Dodson's Unbelievable Gospel.

For free articles on blending gospel-centered mission and community in the your everyday life, read: Lindsay Fooshee's The Unqualified Disciple, Winfield Bevins' How Jesus Made Disciples, and Jeff Vanderstelt's Gospel Hospitality.

Gospel Love & Arranged Marriage

Before we moved to Dubai four years ago to plant a church the only information I had about arranged marriages was what I saw in movies. As I’ve come to minister alongside and disciple some wonderful, Spirit-filled women in arranged marriages, the gospel has shaped my ministry in this context.

Obstacles & Opportunities

While marriages that are arranged present some unique obstacles, unique opportunities have also surfaced. Said another way, the gospel is for everyone, and followers of Christ are called to set aside cultural presuppositions as we make disciples. Examples of this abound in the Book of Acts and in Paul's letters. Our calling is no different now.

It is my hope that in sharing the lessons I've learned about discipleship and arranged marriages that some principles and examples of grace will speak to the ability of the gospel to transcend geo-political and cultural boundaries with the message of hope and renewal and salvation found only in Christ Jesus.

Gospel Hope for Arranged Marriages

I know we may be tempted to think that perhaps some relationships are outside the realm of gospel application. Some issues and situations are just too different, we reason. But the gospel is thoroughly relevant to any and all relationships. God, in his all-powerful sovereignty, governs our relationships—even the relationships that seem from the outset to be entirely orchestrated by us.

The gospel even informs and shapes arranged marriages.

There are many varieties of arranged marriages, but not a single one of them is planned outside of the providential will of our sovereign God.

Some arranged marriages are brilliant testimonies to God’s manifold wisdom as thoughtful parents and young adults are guided by the Holy Spirit. Some arranged marriages speak of God’s common grace and his merciful redemption in spite of our faithlessness and reckless planning. And sadly, some arranged marriages are cause for mourning as families and couples’ lives intersect with each other in the midst unrighteous deeds that will bring God’s judgment if they don’t escape through trusting the Son. One such example of this would be the arranged marriages of “child brides,” in which case legal authorities ought to intervene to protect the rights of children to not be given in marriage.

It goes to follow that some “love marriages” (as they are commonly called) are testimonies to God’s manifold wisdom. Some are beautiful pictures of his redeeming love despite our failures. And some desperately need to be introduced to Christ Jesus, the one who epitomizes, initiates, and sustains love.

In our consideration of how the gospel is thoroughly relevant to arranged marriages, it is evident that arranged marriages are not dissimilar to love marriages in their dependence on Jesus Christ for all things pertaining to life and godliness.

The Opportunities of Differences - Vested Interest

As similar as arranged marriages and love marriages are in their dependence on the gospel, there are some practical differences to note. I’ll mention two of these unique qualities of arranged marriages and their relationship to gospel-centered discipleship.

A first note of difference is that in an arranged marriage the community and family have a greater degree of collective input in match-making and the perseverance of the marriage. This vested interest in a marriage often results in a greater degree of accountability for the new couple. The new couple is expected to fall in line with the expectations of the community and family in almost every arena of married life. This vested interest on the part of the community can mean increased support for the new couple. For the sake of the community, families and neighbors are more likely to come alongside new couples with practical helps and counsel.

The gospel sustains arranged marriages in communities that are reborn through imperishable seed. The gospel is also thoroughly relevant to arranged marriages in non-Christian contexts as well. In these cases, the couples must remain intentionally and deeply committed to fellowship in their local church where gospel-centered discipleship can happen. As the couple receives encouragement and edification from the gospel-centered community, they shine as lights in a dark world.

The Opportunities of Differences - Working Knowledge

A second note of difference is that in many arranged marriages the new couple does not enter marriage with a “working knowledge” of their spouse. Their families may have been friends since they were children, but often in cultures that practice arranged marriages the young men and young women do not socially intermix. In these cases, the practical discussions that occur in premarital counseling are territory that is likely covered after the covenant of marriage has already been made.

In this instance the foundation of the gospel is even more obvious. When encouraging a friend to stay faithful to their arranged marriage you do not have the surface-level motive of “Remember why you got married” as a motivator from which to draw. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19) becomes manifestly important! We must choose to love one another with the strength that Christ provides to the praise of God the Father. This strength comes from being rooted and grounded in the love of Christ as it is displayed in the gospel of grace.

Don’t be reluctant to counsel your friend in an arranged marriage toward their dependence on Jesus Christ as the author of their faith. The trunk of their family tree may look different, but the roots of the gospel are the same and the fruits of the Spirit are universally sweet.

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Gloria Furman is a member of Redeemer Church of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where her husband Dave is the pastor. They have three children - Aliza, Norah, and Judson. Gloria blogs regularly at Domestic Kingdom.

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For more on living the mission of Christ, check-out Winfield's book Grow: Reproducing Through Organic Discipleship.

For more free mission resources, see: A Gospel for the Muslim by JD Greear, Raising Gospel Centered Children by Luma Simms, and Discipleship 101: How to Disciple a New Believer by Justin Buzzard.

Spiritual Strength Training - Part One

(Editor's note: Here's Spiritual Strength Training - Part Two.)

Most pastoral problems, such as burnout, backsliding, depression, begin with neglect of the body.

Let me say that again in a different way. From what I’ve seen and experienced, most pastoral soul-care problems begin with neglect of the body, a lack of strength training. Soul-care problems do not usually begin with channel-surfing or with a click of the mouse, nor with wandering eyes or hands, nor with shortening or missing private devotions. They begin by neglecting the body, by denying or ignoring its many varied needs. The other problems inevitably and inexorably follow.

Theological Problem

This question of spiritual strength training is not merely a practical problem or a physical issue. This is also theological problem, a problem that’s associated with a wrong view of God. And it’s not just a slightly wrong view. Its error is fundamental and foundational because it concerns the fundamental and foundational truth that God is our Creator.

That’s the very first truth that’s revealed to us in Scripture. And it’s first for a reason. It’s because if we go wrong there, we run a great risk of going wrong everywhere else. Now some of you are thinking, “Don’t insult me, man. I believe in God as Creator. I defend God as Creator. I fight those who deny God as Creator. I can even prove God is Creator. How can you say that my soul-care problems arise from denying God as Creator?" Well, maybe we are not denying God as Creator with our lips, but some of us are with our lives.

Creationists living like Evolutionists

There are lots of people who call God “Lord” but don’t live as His servants. And there are lots of people – yes, even pastors - who call God Creator and preach God as Creator, but who live like evolutionists. Some pastors give the impression that the ministry is about the survival of the fittest! (OR THE FATTEST!)

God’s Creatorhood has massive implications for the way we live and the way we do ministry. Although we usually skim over that chapter in our Systematic Theologies and rush on to more “gospel-centered” material, I’ve become increasingly convinced that we cannot be gospel-centered unless we are also Creator-centered. We cannot live as zealous saints unless we first of all live as dependent creatures. The soul and body are so intertwined and inter-connected that we will make no progress in soul-care unless we start with, and go on with body-care.

Our Maker’s Instructions

How would you feel if you built a remote control model car for your children, only to come back home a few days later to hear that they had broken it by trying to use it as a plane? You’d say, “I gave you instructions, why didn’t you follow them?” Similarly, God has given us instructions about how to live as creatures. To some of us God may be saying, “Why are you trying to live as angels or as disembodied spirits? Why aren’t you following my instructions?”

God publishes his instruction in various places in His Word, but also, especially in this subject area, in his World. Increasingly he is allowing scientists and researchers to discover how the body functions best. For example, yesterday I saw research that was headlined, “The more you sit, the sooner you will die!” That made me sit up! In fact it made me stand up!! That’s my loving Creator’s instructions coming to me via reliable research, which I read through the spectacles of Scripture. We ignore such gracious instruction at our peril.

The body is a complicated mix of physical material and physical forces: electricity, chemistry, physics, biology, plumbing, gasses, pumps, siphons, lubrication, buttons, switches, receptors, etc. Then there’s the soul, way more complex than the body and completely inaccessible to empirical research methods. Although we have some Biblical data to mine and research, yielding us some basics about the soul’s capacities and abilities, so much about the soul remains a mystery. Then you put complex body and complex soul together and what do you get – multiple complexities!  How do they relate, how do they interact? How do problems in the body affect the soul and vice versa?

Biblical Link

The Bible confirms a link between distorted thoughts or emotions and many of our bodily ailments: “A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones” (Prov. 17:22).  Guilt also damages the body (Psalm 32:3–4).

And what about feelings and thoughts? Where do they originate? What do they influence and impact? What do they link with and overlap with? How come when our body is sick, even with a common cold or allergy, that our thoughts, feelings, and even our spiritual life are impacted? Does that go the other way as well? It seems to. When our spiritual life is damaged, it often seems to impact our bodies as well. When our emotions are depressed, so many things go wrong with our bodies as well.  Doctors call this psychosomatic (mind/body) illness.

Layers of Complexity

Then throw on top of all that the conscience and the will? Do they operate independently or are they simply part of the soul? Are they affected by the body and/or just the soul? Analysis of the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual contributions to each situation is so difficult. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote:

Christians don’t understand how physical, psychological, and spiritual realms interrelate because Satan muddies the boundaries. Many of our troubles are caused because we think a problem is spiritual when it is physical or we think a problem is physical when it is emotional or spiritual.

The complexity and interconnectivity of human nature, means that the health of the body effects the health of the soul and vice versa. And it also means that it’s not easy to figure out the contribution of each to our problems! One thing is for sure, we cannot neglect one realm and expect the other not to suffer the consequences.

Creatures, by definition, are less than their Creator. He is infinite; we are finite. He is unlimited; we are limited. Hopefully none of us really think that we are unlimited. However most of us think we are less limited than we actually are. We certainly vastly over-estimate our physical strength, emotional stamina, moral courage, spiritual maturity, volitional muscle, and conscience steel.

Crashing and Burning

Underestimating our limitations and over-estimating our abilities can only have one outcome – weakness, fraying, and eventually breaking. Try it with anything – your car engine, a towrope, your computer, etc. Underestimate the limitations and over-estimate the abilities and you will eventually blow the engine, break the rope, and crash the computer.

Why do we think it’s any different with ourselves? Some people may break after two weeks or two years. Others may take much longer. It’s these people who especially need to be careful because their habits have become so engrained that they no longer pay attention to any warning signs. It’s like the elastic band. Better it snap before you pull it too tight, because the stronger the band - the further you can stretch it - the more forceful and damaging the eventual snap.

Changing and Challenging Limits

Our limitations also change through the years and seasons of life. Hormones and brain chemistry change, our responsibilities increase as marriage and children come along, “events” come along, stressful and painful providences that stretch and strain us.

Some initially do very well under huge stress. I’ve seen people pass through multiple horrendous troubles, and everyone’s amazed at their fortitude and perseverance. Then, maybe something smaller comes along years later, and they fall apart. They break down. Everyone looks on in amazement, “How can they not cope with this?” But the stress on our bodies and minds is cumulative. The straw that broke the camels back came after years of beating with a very heavy club! Everyone has limits.

Isn’t it strange that we very rarely take health advice for ourselves until we lose our health!? Health advice is for others isn’t it? We must find out our limits – physical, spiritual, emotional, moral, etc. – and we may need someone objective to help us with this. And when we find them, we must accept and work within them.

Men and women with very high limits must not impose them on those with lower limits. And those with lower limits must not impose that on those with higher limits. Let not the lower limit people be jealous of the higher limit people. Let not the higher limit people despise the lower. Let those that think they stand, take heed lest they fall. God has his way of humbling us and showing us our limitations.

We are Dependent Creatures

Even before the Fall, Adam and Eve were dependent upon their Creator. That’s how they were made. They leaned upon him, sought help from him, and sought to live in a way that pleased him. Independence did not cross their minds…until they heard, “You shall be as gods…You won’t need God. You can do without God. You can be god yourself. You can depend on yourself, on your own wisdom and strength.” And what a disaster ensued!

Many of us are theologically dependent but experientially independent. We depend on God with our lips but not with our lives. We say we lean on him for everything, but he rarely feels our weight. And disaster is often the result.

Imagine you’re in New York City with your family. Your two-year-old is just learning to walk and decides to experiment when you get to Times Square. He hops out the pushchair and starts walking away from you. You call out, “Come back, stay with me!” No answer. You run after him and try to grab his hand. He pulls away and keeps going toward the crowds and the cars. And all the while he’s saying, “Daddy, I love you!”

Some of us are living like this. Our Creator’s name is on our lips, but we are not living in dependence upon him. We say we love him but we never lean on him. And that puts us in far greater danger – physical, moral, and spiritual danger – than the two-year-old in Times Square!

Two-way Protection

God has not just made our souls to protect our bodies, but our bodies to protect our souls. If we are sleeping well, resting well, exercising well, eating well, our minds are clearer, our wills are stronger, and our defenses are higher. It’s easier to pray, to discipline ourselves, to read the Bible, to serve. A good conscience is greatly helped by a sharp mind and strong will.

Remember: most pastoral problems - burnout, backsliding, depression - begin with a neglect of the body. The most basic Christian experience is dependence. If we don’t live as dependent creatures we are not worshipping our Creator. By our independence, we are worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator.

We are not just creatures, not just complex creatures, not just limited creatures, and not just dependent creatures, but we are also fallen creatures! As part of the curse upon us for our first parent’s first sin, death entered the creation and even the greatest creature – humanity. Death entered into our bodies, our souls, our minds, our wills, and our emotions. Death is at work in the youngest baby. As soon as conception occurs and life begins, so does dying and death. If you thought we were complex before, we are even more complex now.

A Complex Mess

Like all anglers, I’m fatally attracted by the latest “guaranteed” fish-catching reel. And of course, as we all know, the more complicated (and expensive) a reel is, the more likely it is to catch fish. Right?!  Now complicated reels are great when they are working well, but when they break down, they make a much bigger mess than standard reels.

That’s why humanity is in a much worse state than any other creature; the more complex the creature the more mess when they break. And that’s why nature films focus on animals rather than humanity. Who wants to look at ugly human creatures in all their brokenness when you can see much more residual beauty in the animal kingdom!

Welcome to humanity! What a mess – our bodies, our minds, our organs, our members, our chemistry, our physics, our plumbing, everything is in such a mess – each part of our humanity on its own and especially each part as it interacts with other parts.

Spiritual Strength Training

But the best news is that our gracious and powerful Creator is in the business of re-creating. Our Creator has come down into our fallen world and lived as a creature to save His creatures and begin the process of making all things new.

However, that renewing requires our cooperation. We will hinder the process of re-creation as creative creatures if we do not live within our creaturely limits and if we do not respect how God created us. And that includes regular rest – healthy daily sleep patterns and a weekly Sabbath – recreation, relaxation, routine.

Let me encourage you further along the road  to spiritual strength training with this fact: Creativity research has shown that the most creative people find most of their creativity insights and breakthroughs in down-time. Eureka moments - breakthroughs in thought, design, engineering - usually come when the mind and body are resting.

Creative Creatures (and Preachers)

To put it bluntly, tired pastors produce tired sermons. If we want fresh sermons we need to refresh and be fresh ourselves. If we don’t live as creatures, we will not be creative! As the 19^th century pastor, William Blaikie wrote:

But even where there is no positive disease, there may be a physical languor that reflects itself in feebleness of voice, dullness of tone, stiffness of manner, and a general want of lively and attractive power. It may be difficult to persuade some preachers that physical causes have to do with this, but the connection is beyond all reasonable doubt. And the fact that such symptoms are the effect of some transgression of the laws of health makes it incumbent upon the student to attend to the condition of his outer man.

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David Murray was a pastor in Scotland for 13 years before accepting a call in 2007 to be Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology in Puritan Reformed Seminary. He continues to preach most Sundays in Grand Rapids and the surrounding area. He is the author of Christians Get Depressed Too and How Sermons Work. He is also President of HeadHeartHand Media, a small Christian film company. David is married to Shona and they have four children ranging from 8 to 16. You can read his blog at HeadHeartHand.org/blog or follow him on Twitter @davidpmurray.

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For more in-depth resources for pastors, check out Tony Merida's Proclaiming Jesus.

For more free articles for pastors, read: Winfield Bevins' What is Gospel-Centered Ministry, JR Vassar's Domain of Influence, Jared Wilson's Five Ways to Keep Church Discipline from Seeming Weird.

The Harmony of Community

A piano player sits down at his bench. His foot presses down the sustain pedal, lifting the damper away from the piano strings and giving them freedom to produce sound. He places his fingers over the keys and pounds out a single chord, causing the strings to ring loudly. They vibrate because the strings were struck by the piano's hammer, but then the notes within the chord resonate in response to each other.

And if you listen closely over the roar of the single chord, you can hear the vibration of other piano strings. As sound waves from the original strings move out into space, other strings respond in kind. The original vibrating strings encourage the previously silent strings. Notes that weren't originally played are now joining in with the beginnings of their own sounds.

There exists no chord that sounds alone‚ every chord sounds together. The original strings, a chord, needed to respond together in order for other strings to join in. In fact, the strings responding together had no other option. Individual notes come together to create a unique voice out of their union.

There is also no chord that only sounds to itself. A chord by its very nature resounds outward and can't help but reverberate sound to the outside. It has to respond to itself, and must move into the silence of the outside world.

Harmony

This musical analogy is instructive for our view of the church. Are we called to equip the saints or preach to the lost? Are we supposed to love Christians or love those who are not yet Christians? Should we primarily be focused on community or on mission? The harmonic vibration of a single chord can instruct for our ear for the community mission of discipleship. That's where these larger theological ideas hit the noise and silence of real life.

At the end of Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17, the seemingly polar aims of mission and community are brought together. It's really an amazing chapter in the Bible. Christ is praying to the Father on our behalf, and we can listen in. Let's look closely at John 17:20-24. It is here Jesus teaches that we are individually sought out by him, called to his community, and this community is defined as harmonizing in his mission.

Individual Notes

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,  that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 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 17:20-24

Christ is praying for us as individuals. He is praying on behalf of the disciples ("these only") and for believers today ("those who will believe in me through their word"). He says in v. 22 that the glory which comes from the Father is given to us.

In v. 24, Christ prays that we may be with him where he is. Christ calls us out from worshiping things that will never satisfy, gathering us into the Trinity where we find ourselves made whole.

In these verses, Christ himself is our resounding note. He is actually being recorded here petitioning the Father for us individually. The mission of God isn't merely something designed for the unreached world. More than that, it is what comes to us: we are made the benefactors of his grand mission. Those who are reconciled to the Father through Jesus are the resounding piano strings, now having the freedom to sound in response to our Composer's hands.

Now if this were the end of the story, we would have much to celebrate. But Jesus doesn't stop there. For what purpose is he pursuing us? He pursues us to be part of His new community.

The Chord of the Gospel

The result of Christ's pursuit is that we may all be one, just as God the Father was in Christ, and Christ in the Father, we can find life in the community of our Redeemer. Being pursued individually by Christ, Christians are called to be unified with each other, modeling the closeness found in the Trinity. This seems impossible, but isn't it what our souls long for?

Our communities of faith here on earth, though not perfect, are designed to resound with the perfect chord of the Trinity. Because we're made in the image of the relational God, we ourselves are relational beings. Verse 22 reiterates this when it speaks of the glory that God the Father has given Christ and that Christ has in turn given to us.

There is an intimacy that believers ought to have with each other, but even more than that, we are called to this type of union with God Himself. Those reconciled to God through Christ are found in the Trinity, creating a harmonious chord unified with themselves and with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Is this the end goal of our community? Even this by itself seems too good to be true, but Jesus isn't quite finished. Though perfect union with each other and with the Trinity sounds like completion, Christ keeps on. Being called into His community means we are part of God's mission in the world.

The Chorus

The purpose of our unity in v. 21 is "that the world may believe that you [the Father] have sent me [Christ]." And v. 23 teaches that one of the ends of this community is that the outside world will understand that the Father sent the Son and that the Father loves those who are found in Christ just as he loves Christ.

Being part of God's community means we're part of his mission. God's community is one that is defined as participating in his mission. There is no other. And this isn't some kind of shallow showing, either. Our communities of unity are supposed to illustrate deep Trinitarian truths: the Father sent the Son, and the Father loves us as much as He loves the Son. How can this happen if we don't find ourselves in his community, if we are not also in this mission? Christ leads us away from our version of mission, how the world should work, and places us on the path of submission to the God who makes all things new.

In Christ's high priestly prayer, he calls us out from our own idols, out from the façades of community that we've constructed, out from our own small diverging missions, and into the Trinitarian chorus where our satisfaction, relational needs, and purpose are found. This is the mission of God.

Dis-chord

You might often hear, or have said yourself, that mission inhibits community. Or that community inhibits mission. Each camp has their reasons for digging in. But John 17 says that neither of these camps do either well. Our community is not just for us. Our community is not just for others.

Mission without community can create shallow relationships through individualism (not being saved to God's community), or a trite moralism (you can do it yourself, you just need to be strong), and ultimately a weak faith because we need community to equip and mature us.

Community without mission creates a clique, like stumbling into a dinner with an inhospitable family. Focusing only on mission can create a shallow relationships through institutionalism ("we" have it right, "they" don't). Strict, unbiblical lines are often drawn between who has it and who doesn't. Community without mission can lead down the slippery slope to a trite moralism (God came to us because we did it...whatever "it" might be). And it ultimately creates a weak faith. We need mission to grow us.

Encouraging shallow individualism creates dehumanized factories and encouraging shallow institutionalism creates Christian ghettos. Neither offer the hope found in the gospel.

Sustain

The majority of us are already involved in things that can incorporate believers and those yet to believe into our lives. What do you already like to do? What gifts or passions of yours are you already doing?

Do you enjoy playing basketball? Take a few Christian friends and join up in a local recreational team, or go out together for pick up games. Let people on your team and the opposing team see what Christian community can look like. You'll find out soon enough that you will be challenged to grow as much, if not more, than other people will.

Who doesn't enjoy eating? Invite Christian friends and unbelieving neighbors and give them a chance to see what hospitality and fellowship looks like. When our messy lives intertwine with those of our neighbors, we begin to understand what it means to rely on the Spirit.

Personally, I enjoy creating and talking about making stuff with other artists. I could limit myself to only working with or talking to other artists who are Christians. I could also limit myself to only talking to unbelievers about all things art related. Believe me, either would make things easier at times! But God calls me to more than that. He calls me to involved myself in him, in his community, and in his mission. It is through these ordinary ways of living that God often makes himself known.

Celestial Music

Is mission incompatible with community or vice versa? Just as a chord sounds within and without, mission and community cannot be separated. And through Jesus' teaching we find that they are not opposed to each other, but are integrally connected. We have our community because God has his mission. And now we get to be a part of that same mission that sought and seeks us out. Being "on mission" means being in community, and God's community is one that is participating in his mission to make all things new.

Christ sought us out from our own nasty melodies and gave us a new song. He brought us into his community, the harmony found in his chord, and he conducts us in his mission, a symphony of life being played out over the world, celestial music.

God did this so that he may be glorified in all things. God's mission is for his glory to resound over the entire world, with all its spaces and gaps where we don't believe it can reverberate, with all its dark corridors of emptiness and vacant pits of discord. In all places to all people, God's song of salvation is ringing to those who have ears to hear, to us and to the world.

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Greg Willson is the Church Planting Resident at Riverside Community Church. He likes creating music, and writes about art and the church at gregwillson.com. Follow him on Twitter: @gregoriousdubs.

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For a more in-depth discussion of authentically living out mission and community, check out Jonathan Dodson's Unbelievable Gospel.

For free articles on blending gospel-centered mission and community in the your everyday life, read: Winfield Bevin's Living the Mission, Timothy Keller's The Call to Discipleship, and Seth McBee's A Story of Gospel Community.