Gospel Discipline

My oldest daughter is made in her father’s image. She has my personality — good and bad. Maybe that’s why I get frustrated so easily with her. My knee jerk reaction is to respond swiftly and often in anger. So much of what frustrates me is more about my own hurt pride than anything else. We’ve all been in the store where the child is screaming - whether it’s your child or not. It’s easy as a parent to grit your teeth and smile and say something like “When we get home, you’re gonna get it!” and rush out of the store.

However, it’s much harder but much more beneficial for parents and children to patiently and loving discipline while using that as opportunity to share the gospel with our children. What’s even more important is what we do in the days and weeks and months leading up to these incidents. Those moments will impact our response and the discipline we give out.

I don’t have all the answers for disciplining children, but the gospel empowers us to patiently and loving use those moments and informs how we must disciple our children.

Foundational: The Gospel for All of Life

The gospel must inform all of our family life. Being Christian in name only must not be tolerated in our churches, families, and communities. We must not compartmentalize our lives. The death and resurrection of Christ is a dramatic climax in the one Story and that singular event should reverberate through out our own story. Moses understood something about this. God had just dramatically displayed his power and glory by delivering his people out of their slavery in Egypt. He then commanded them:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. - Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Your knee jerk reaction may be that’s Old Testament. But the story of Israel’s redemption out of Egypt is meant as a type of our own redemption (for more development on this theme read Mike Wilkerson’s Redemption or Tom Holland’s Contours of Pauline Theology). More importantly Deuteronomy is a packed full of gospel truth. Darrel Bock in his Deuteronomy NIVAC calls the book "the gospel according to Moses." Through Moses, God commands parents to rehearse his covenant faithfulness in redeeming his people from Egypt to their children. Likewise, we must rehearse the covenant faithfulness of God in redeeming the church by the blood of Christ.

This habit must be foundational for our family. The gospel story should saturate our family’s interactions - when we’re walking, hiking, eating, driving, helping with homework, and disciplining. It’s this foundational gospeling which allows us to weave our children’s story - both before their salvation and after - into the one Story.

Before their salvation we speak of the covenant faithfulness of God in Christ. We share our stories and give testimony of the power of God to save. We speak boldly about our former condition as those dead in our sins and the new life and power we have in Christ. We share that we are united with him - adopted as sons and daughter. We do not strive for peace and right-standing with God. He has justified us. We now live out of gratitude and joy by the power of the Spirit pursuing the holiness, which is ours in Christ.

We can also echo the one Story in the way we interact with our children in other ways. For instance, my older daughter’s birthday just passed, and we promised her we would go to the aquarium. She asked us many times in the days leading up to our trip if we were really going to the aquarium.

I'd ask her, “Did daddy promise we would go to the aquarium?”

“Yes,” she'd reply.

I then explained that when I promise her something I work as hard as I can to keep that promise. But guess who never breaks a promise? God. Even when daddy tries his best sometimes unexpected things happen. But nothing catches God off guard. He’s planned everything out in advance and is in control. And he’s promised that anyone who comes to him in the name of Jesus will not be turned away. He’s also promised that if you ask him to forgive your sins and place your trust in Christ that you will be adopted into his family.

We share these gospel truths and confidently tell our children these promises are their promises if they place their trust in Christ.

After their salvation, we remind them of the mind of Christ, which is theirs already (Philippians 2). We rehearse the promise of God in Christ and encourage them to lay hold of those promises in faith daily for encouragement as they struggle to walk worthy of their calling in Christ. Especially with children who may profess Christ early this is important. We do not point them back to a moment of time or the sincerity of their profession. We point them back to the promises of God. “God has said he would do this. Do you believe that promise? It’s yours then.”

What about Discipline?

At this point you may be asking. OK that’s well and good but what does this have to do with discipline? Paul admonishes the Ephesians:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:1-4

First, Paul tells the children to obey the parents. This command is not a bare command. He’s not just saying kids obey because I said so. These household codes are connected with the gospel foundation he’s laid at the beginning of the book (Ephesians 1-3). Second, Paul tells the parents not to provoke the children to anger. Both commands are rooted in the gospel.

The instruction is what I’ve already laid out. It’s the daily gospeling. It’s the faithful living in light of that truth. Christian parenting should look like the faithful stewarding of our Lord’s children. We sacrificially serve him by disciplining them. They are first and foremost people created in his image, and if they are saved they are especially his bride. We should not lose sight of either of these truths.

What’s more. We do this particularly by not provoking them to anger. If the gospel doesn’t inform our parenting, it will be hard to love our children and discipline them with out expressing our frustration and anger. The gospel reminds us that our sins were serious enough to send Christ to the cross - preventing our anger from seeping out. But it also reminds us that our children’s sins are serious enough to require a Savior which informs the way we discipline.

If you do not rehearse the gospel story faithfully like Moses in Deuteronomy commands then when these volatile situations arise, sinner(s) (parents) plus sinner (children) will equal anger and frustration for both parties. However, if the gospel informs all of our family life then those truths will inevitably transform the way in which we discipline our children. It will prevent us from provoking them to anger and on the occasions where we do let our anger and frustration out, it allows us to ask for forgiveness admitting humbly it was a sin against God and them.

Practically, you might say something like “The way you treated your sister was very unkind. This is the type of sinfulness that Jesus died to save us from.” Insert appropriate discipline. “Now come sit with daddy and let me give you a hug and a kiss. I want to tell you that I love you even when you disobey and if you’ll place all your trust in Jesus he will take your dirty heart and give you a new heart so you no longer have to sin.”

Or for children who are saved, “The way you acted in the store was sinful. You acted selfishly. Jesus covered your sins on the cross and put your old dirty heart to death and gave you new life. Let’s pray that the Spirit would continue to transform your heart making you more like Christ.”

Gospel Discipline

By God's grace, we can make discipline less about us and more about God. We must create an atmosphere in our homes where the gospel informs all of life - allowing the covenant love and faithfulness of God to impact the way we love our children. When that moment comes when our children disobey, the gospel is in the forefront of our mind and our children’s. We’ve already established our love for them which empowers us to approach them calmly and places our discipline in the context of all the gospeling we’ve already done.

It turns a potential powder keg for resentment and anger into a discipleship opportunity. An opportunity to share the gospel with our children instructing them through the discipline. And hopefully as they grow older, mature, and place their faith in Christ (if they haven’t already). These times will be a positive experience--which provides you leverage to speak the gospel into their lives as they have more difficult circumstances and life choices to make.

If we fail to disciple our children through gospel-centered discipline. If we do provoke them to anger, they will look back at these times of discipline with resentment and anger. They will distrust us and we may not have the opportunity or leverage to speak into their lives later. Don’t lose hope - it’s never too late. You can start discipling them now by asking for their forgiveness and then demonstrating how the gospel has and will impact your relationship with them moving forward. Don’t miss out on the joy of sharing the gospel with your children. The great commission starts in our homes.

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

Defining Gospel Centered Mission

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

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

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

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

1. Incarnation (Example of Mission)

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

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

2. Salvation (Heart of Mission)

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

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

3. The glory of God (Purpose of Mission)

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

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

4. Spirit empowered (Power of Mission)

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

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

Faithful in Mission

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

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

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

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

Biblical Prayer

Editor's Note: This is a repost of On Prayer. It appears at GCD with the writer's permission. ---

Prayer is the great privilege and joy of the believer in Christ, but it can also be a source of frustration and mystery as we seek God. In one sense prayer is quite simple to define – it is coming before God to speak with him and interact in relationship with him. On the other hand, it is hard to carve out time to pray and to understand how prayer functions. In this essay, we will look briefly at the vast subject of prayer in Scripture and in our lives. For those who want to read more, I highly suggest Paul E. Miller’s new work, A Praying Life.

For our brief purposes here, we will take the following path together. First, we will look at some pagan understandings of prayer and how believers in Jesus can at times treat prayer in the same manner. Second, we will look at a few ways in which prayer is described in Scripture. Then we'll close with some guiding principles and practical suggestions relating to living a life of prayer.

Pagan Prayer

In many religions and philosophies of the world, prayer is used to either please or appease some deity. Those who believe in multiple gods have always believed in prayer.  If you prayed the right way, at the right times, with the right trinkets you could get a god on your side. Not a bad gig save one problem: There is one God who is sovereign ruler of the world, and he does not exist to obey our commands or be manipulated by our “prayers” and rituals. There are several ways prayer becomes pagan, even in the mouth of believers in Jesus. We’ll just look at three.

1. Pinata Prayer. Humorously coined by Mark Driscoll, piñata prayer treats God as if he is a big piñata in the sky. If we whack him with the stick of prayer, lots of candy and goodies fall out. Prayer is not just trying to get goodies out of God, but many times we approach it this way.
2. Dancing Prayer. When I was a little kid we had a dog -- a short haired miniature schnauzer named Gretchen. My brother and I loved to make that dog dance in order to get a treat from us. We would make her jump on her hind legs, spin around and do back flips (well, maybe not). When she performed, we would give her a treat. Many times we think if we do the right things, say the right prayers and dance a little, that God will give us a reward for our performance.  This is an odd way to see God: If I pray 'correctly' then God will give me treats.
3. Trading Places. In the early 1980s, there was a movie where Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd “traded places” in life. Murphy was a homeless con man who became the rich tycoon and Aykroyd became the homeless guy. Sometimes, we think by praying we can “trade places” with God. We act as if we are God and can give orders to get what we want. Remember, we are his servants and we exist for his glory, not the other way around. I know it is silly to think of prayer as telling God what to do, but that doesn’t keep us from doing it. There are even preachers on TV that encourage this sort of thing.

If we do not want to pray in these ways, we must look at how Scripture presents a life of prayer. We’ll look at this issue by describing biblical prayer then close with some practical stuff.

Biblical Prayer

In Scripture we find descriptions of people praying, recorded prayers, as well as commands and instruction about prayer. Although this will be far from complete, there are several ways we see prayer described in the Bible.

1. Prayer is approaching God and desiring to be relationally in his presence. In Psalm 42:1-2, we read the following: "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?" We see the same idea in the New Testament. We are encouraged to "approach the throne of God with confidence to find mercy and help in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). So prayer involves approaching God, through Jesus Christ, in the middle of the joys, pains, triumphs, and sufferings of every day life.
2. Prayer is seen as intercession and supplication -- coming to God with petitions and requests. Philippians 4:6-7 teaches us not to be anxious about anything, "but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." We must remember, we do not come into the presence of God to command him, but rather to find mercy and help in our lives. Yet prayer does include making requests of our Father.
3. Prayer is a time to share our hearts cry with the Father. The Psalms are full of both thanksgiving and lament (sadness expressed). In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we are commanded to rejoice and give thanks in all circumstances, whether good or bad. We can have confidence that nothing in our life is meaningless; even our suffering or the evil done to us by others can be redeemed by God. If we belong to Him, he will work it all out for his purposes in the end. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." We need to know this truth before times of suffering come, when we are disoriented in our pain. When our friends are mourning we are instructed to “mourn with them” and not treat others’ suffering with frivolity. Yet Romans 8:28 is no trite phrase in the Bible; it is our greatest hope and his great promise in a world full of madness and sin.
4. Prayer is confession, where we come before God to get honest about our sins and shortcomings. Confession is not telling God some secret that you are hiding from him. Believe me, God knows all things, even the mistakes we make and the sin we commit against him and others. The word confession is actually a compound of the Greek prefix homos, which means “same”; and logeo, which means “word.” Confession literally means, "to say the same word." To confess means to agree with God about something, to say the same thing about our sin that he does, and turn from our sin. It is to come clean and experience the grace and forgiveness of God purchased by Jesus. Confession restores closeness in relationship with God and keeps us from drifting away from him over time.
5. Finally, prayer is the fuel and language of relationship. Just as Paul begins Ephesians 1 in praise to God for his saving work, he follows it with praying for his friends that they would know God. Prayer is coming to God in hope, as he is our Father. We come near to him; he draws near to us. In the ups and downs of our lives, what we need more than anything is a close relationship with God.  He is the anchor in every story, the author of our journey and the one we trust to bring us safely home to his Kingdom in the end. Prayer is the expression of the human soul crying out for its creator. In Jesus Christ we have access to God as his kids and there is no other power who has greater control over our lives. As a brand new Christian, I found myself wanting to pray, wanting to talk with God, wanting to learn his ways. Yet I didn’t have a clue.

Prayer Principles

The following are just a few principles I have learned along the way that have helped me understand a life of prayer.

1. The first principle to keep in mind as we pray is that we are seeking the will of God for our lives, not just our own purposes. So many times we can hear “the will of God” and immediately jump to thinking about a detailed road map for our future. This is not what I mean by “seek the will of God.” What we ought to seek is how God desires our life to be lived in whatever circumstances as well as what sort of people he wants us to be. We find the will of God in his character and commands as revealed in Scripture. Jesus taught us to pray for God’s will to be "done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-13) and 1 John 5:14-15 promises that God hears and answers prayer that is according to his will. Here are some simple examples of prayers that would be according to the will of God: God, make me a good friend. God, help me be more patient and kind. God, help me to serve others. God, help me leave my selfishness. God, help me be a thankful person. God, help me rejoice in you, even when my life seems to suck. God, give me wisdom for the choices and decisions I face tomorrow. God, provide for my basic needs. God, open a door for your gospel with my friends. God, help me be a better wife/husband, mother/father, sister/brother, daughter or son. God, make me more like Jesus in my character and actions.
2. We need to come to God with the right motives. James 4:2-3 teaches us that we should not come to God with a selfish heart, simply asking God for stuff to fit our current passions. Oh God, if you don’t give me a boat, you must hate me! James teaches, "You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly."
3. When we pray, we must believe. We trust he is our good father who wants to hear from us and answer in the way he deems best for us.
4. Finally, we should not just come to God trying to get a spiritual buzz.  Sometimes there are deep spiritual experiences, other times there are not.  God’s presence is not your emotions. Paul E. Miller sums this up well in A Praying Life: "You don't experience God; you get to know him. You submit to him. You enjoy him. He is, after all, a person."

As we close, I want to just drop a few practical ways to help us to pray amidst our hurried lives.

Prayer in Practice

Did you know that Jesus’ friends actually asked him to teach them how to pray? His reply, found in Matthew 6:9-13, has been called “The Lord’s Prayer” or “Our Father.” Though many say this prayer from memory, Jesus' response is actually a pattern to follow. Looking at this pattern, we find several things we can include in our prayers:

• Hallowed be your name. We want to praise God in our prayers for who he is.  We want to love him, respect him and honor him. Tell God what you love about him as you get to know him better.
• Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
• Give us this day our daily bread. Thank God for life and provision.
• Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. We ask God to lead us in what is good, right, and true.

The acrostic ACTS has helped many to remember some basics about prayer that are seen in Jesus’ pattern. The acrostic stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication, and can be helpful in praying.

• Adoration—praising God for who he is, that he is our treasure and joy
• Confession—coming clean with our Father and receiving grace and forgiveness
• Thanksgiving—thanking him for good times and hard times
• Supplication—bringing your needs and the needs of others before the Father.

To close, I want to be honest with you. Prayer is hard. We are busy people who are surrounded by the hum of cars, trains, cell phones, IM, chats, and social media. Furthermore, human beings are so intent on living apart from God that we don't naturally want to pray. We pray when things go bad and ignore God when things are good. I am often amazed by my own self-centeredness and desire to do life on my own without the guidance and wisdom of God. Yet when I come to God in prayer, I find life, relationship, and hope for the day. I will leave you with an excellent quote from Miller about the effects of a prayerful life on the soul:

The quest for a contemplative life can actually be self absorbed, focused on my quiet and me. If we love people and have the power to help, then we are going to be busy. Learning to pray doesn't offer us a less busy life; it offers us a less busy heart. In the midst of outer busyness we can develop an inner quiet. Because we are less hectic on the inside, we have a greater capacity to love ...

When Paul began his letter to Ephesians, he reminded them of the great work that God had done in saving them. Then he prayed. He prayed that they would have the most important thing in life — depth in relationship with God and an understanding of every good thing we have in him. We ought to pray in the same way for one another — that all of us would deepen with God.

I am praying for you to that end and hoping that you seek your Father in prayer.

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Reid Monaghan is doing graduate work in Applied Apologetics at Southern Seminary. With a team of friends, he is currently planting Jacob’s Well, a theologically driven and culturally engaged church in Central New Jersey. He is also a speaker, addressing students and athletes on campuses throughout the United States. He thanks God for the gift of his wife Kasey (married 1996) and kiddos Kayla (circa 2001), Kylene (circa 2003), and Thomas Reid (circa 2006). Twitter: @reidSmonaghan

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To read more about prayer, check out Prayer Life, by Winfield Bevins.

Also see Bevins's free article, Spiritual Warfare Prayer.

Provocative Thoughts on the Precious Puritans

*Editor's Note: This was #6 on our Top Posts of 2012. _

The talented Christian rapper Propaganda just released "Excellent," a strong new album on the Humble Beast label (buy it here).  Humble Beast is the home of Beautiful Eulogy, the group from Portland, Oregon that put out an excellent album this summer.

Propaganda is equal parts slam poet and rapper.  He hits hard in his content and is one of the most provocative rappers around.  I've listened to him since his Tunnel Rats days, and I've always enjoyed him.  His skill is undeniable, and he loves the Lord.  His new album, "Excellent," includes a fiery song on the Puritans.  Here's a sample (complete lyrics here):

Pastor, you know it’s hard for me when you quote puritans. Oh the precious puritans. Have you not noticed our facial expressions? One of bewilderment and heart break. Like, not you too pastor. You know they were the chaplains on slaves ships, right? Would you quote Columbus to Cherokees? Would you quote Cortez to Aztecs? Even If they theology was good? It just sings of your blind privilege wouldn’t you agree? Your precious puritans.

On Joe Thorn's site, there are also some comments from Propaganda about this torch of a song (see some helpful historical thoughts here).

This song raises some very big issues for evangelicals.  It confronts us with our past, one that is chock full of racism and racist oppression; it asks us to think hard about how Christians of different backgrounds perceive one another; it wonders out loud how much we should listen to past Christians who sinned publicly; it drives us to think about how edgy to be in our quest to influence and edify one another.  I'm glad that Propaganda raised these kinds of questions.  His honesty is needed in evangelicalism.  Racism is real and awful, historically and now.

There is a danger here.  Specifically, I wonder if Propaganda isn't inclining us to distrust the Puritans.  He states his case against them so forcefully, and without any historical nuance, that I wonder if listeners will be inclined to dislike and even hate them.  He groups all the Puritans together, which is problematic.  Not all of them were chaplains on slave ships, as he says later in the song.  Many were not.  But Propaganda blasts them so hard that, though he's not ultimately dismissing them, it sounds as if he is.  He qualifies his words on Joe Thorn's blog--pretty strongly, in fact--but what about all the people who hear his song but won't read that specific blog?

Some people will respond by saying, "Well, he's an artist.  He's supposed to provoke.  That's like the Old Testament prophets."  It is true that artists can provoke reflection that might not otherwise come.  I am a rapper myself.  I love art.  I love creative expression.  I love hard-hitting exhortation.  But the motive of edification does not justify any level of critique.  Artists are not exempt from giving account to God for every word they speak (see Matthew 12:36-37).  I don't know when that idea got in the evangelical bloodstream, but it's there, and it's not helpful (this is not a veiled reference to Jefferson Bethke, whose controversial videos I liked).  Let me say it again: artists will give account.

Let me be clear: If young men are failing today, strong critique and exhortation are needed.  But as a Christian, there must be grace in the mix.  I am not justified at being so edgy, so angry, so authentically steamed, that I take my fellow sinners off at the knees.  I fear that, though Propaganda ultimately points the finger on himself in the last verse, he has been harsh against the Puritans, sinful as they were in being racist and not opposing racism in the power of the gospel.

Look--I'm for public criticism of evangelical "heroes" on this point.  See the biography of Jonathan Edwards that Douglas Sweeney and I wrote for Moody.  We strongly critiqued Edwards for owning slaves, as we should have.  But that doesn't mean that we should tear him down.  He is a sinner like us.  Furthermore, if being a sinner in even a deeply regrettable way disqualifies you from being referenced by modern evangelicals, we are going to have a very difficult time finding anyone to emulate.  Luther was anti-Semitic; Calvin could be preening and cold; Edwards held slaves; and the list goes on.

Racism is awful.  Horrible.  Reprehensible.  It must be called out and condemned.  But one must do so carefully.  To tear the Puritans down with very little nuance of the kind I've offered here is problematic.  Propaganda wrote that he has learned a great deal from these forefathers despite their sins.  I fear that people who don't have his prior appreciation will not do the same.  They will write them off.  That would be a mistake.  It would also seem to be counter to the general spirit of Galatians 6:1.  This is not a passage about who to lionize, but there's a principle that seems to apply here:

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

And we take note of this:

Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Fighting with Scripture

*Editor's Note: This was #4 on our Top Posts of 2012. _

I am a child of the Southern Baptist Convention. I attended my first SBC service en utero. Not only that, I am a child of the Conservative Resurgence. I am extremely grateful to men like Adrian Rogers, Paige Patterson, Judge Pressler, and others who helped pave the way for my generation. I love that the conversations I have with my peers almost always center around biblical theology and methodology. Due to the diligence of the men who came before us, we no longer even wonder about each other’s commitment to the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. For those in my circles, this is a given.

Recently, though, I’ve been thinking through our commitment to Scripture's veracity. More specifically, I have been searching my own personal commitment to the integrity and efficacy of Scripture. As I have thought through this, it occurs to me that although the fight for the reliability of Scripture is much different in my day than it was 20 years ago, it certainly still remains. See, when I grew up, the great enemy of the gospel was almost always known as “liberalism”, or possibly, “moderate theology”. Today, however, it seems that we must equally be on guard against a different enemy. This new enemy is just as old as the first, but it is often more difficult to spot. Of course, it would be the enemy of legalism.

These two polar opposites of liberalism and legalism both stand apart from each other, in a sense, but in a very real way, they both accomplish the same goal; that of undermining God’s word. Liberalism, of course, reduces God’s word, and in doing so attempts to make a mockery of those who would dare take that word at face value. It assumes a position of great authority, in fact it could be argued that it assumes a position of greater authority than scripture itself as it attempts to “rectify” the “errors” found in the bible. Legalism, however, is also guilty of reducing the power and authority of God’s word, albeit in a much more insidious manner. While liberalism takes away from God’s word, legalism adds to it, and although it is different in practice from liberalism, it is essentially accomplishing the same goal, that of assuming authority over God’s word. While liberalism claims that scripture says too much, legalism claims that scripture does not say enough.

In all of this, however, I often find myself wondering if legalism might not be a greater danger to the Gospel, than the danger that liberalism itself poses. Liberalism is often easy to spot, and certainly within SBC circles, is easy to ridicule. Legalism is not nearly so easy to highlight, and often seems to find a more comfortable home amongst us. As I have thought through this fight that we must engage in if we love the gospel, I have noticed a few particular dangers inherent within legalism.

First, legalism is a difficult to diagnose cancer. All too often legalism is a subtle, creeping cancer that masquerades as holiness. In Matthew 23, Jesus points out that the Pharisees were guilty of adding “heavy loads” to the backs of their disciples. In Philippians 3 Paul points out that the Judaizers were “dogs” who “mutilated the flesh” in their pursuit of holiness. Both of these groups were guilty of affirming Scripture and yet adding to it in a further attempt to clarify their brand of “holiness”. When we take our personal convictions and apply them unilaterally, regardless of their clarity in Scripture, we may be guilty of this same creeping legalism. To oppose this vision of “holiness” is difficult, because to do so may cause others to paint you as a hater of all things holy. To oppose legalism can be seen as embracing the profane, which most often, could not be further from the truth. Because legalism masquerades as holiness, we can often struggle with whether or not we are right to identify it as a false gospel.

Second, legalism leads to a diminished recognition of sin. While some might find this to be a strange response to legalism, I think it is an accurate one. Notice, if you will, how many times in the New Testament we find the Pharisees trying to point out the sin of others, or even better yet, trying to “catch” Jesus in sin. A certain mark of legalism is a capacity to recognize others’ sins while failing to see our own. In his article on a topic similar to this, J.D. Greear cautions us concerning this danger. Good legalists get so busy playing watchdog for the sins of others, that they fail to see their own gross failure. As a result, personal sin is diminished, all in the name of “protecting holiness”. We often see this in our convention today as we get far more emails celebrating the latest boycott, or pointing out the moral lack of those in political leadership, than we do sharing about the hearts of broken Baptists, contrite in spirit and repentant before God regarding their sin.

Third, legalism worries more about “its reputation” than it worries about Jesus’ reputation. You could also say that legalism is uncomfortable with “go and tell” and rather enjoys “come and see” as an evangelistic strategy. As I have studied Jesus’ life, I have come across a really fascinating truth, that is that Jesus often seemed to be comfortable in places, and with people, that we often tell ourselves “good church people” would never go. Legalism worries more about whether someone else saw them talking to that “sinner” than it worries about that sinner actually being engaged with the gospel. Legalism is happy to preach to the sinner, so long as they will clean up and show up at the church on Sunday morning, but it would recoil in horror at the thought of going to the gutter with the person who is far from God. Ironically enough, at this point legalists are terrified of becoming like Jesus as we see Him in Mark 2:16. This unhealthy understanding of God and the gospel undermines the Romans 5:8 nature of the gospel and assumes a false righteousness must precede our ability to respond to the gospel, while also denying our own personal depravity and in doing so it neuters the heart of the gospel.

Fourth, legalism trumpets man’s capacity to do good, and in doing so undermines the depth of God’s grace. Legalism, in its efforts to adhere to the “holiness” code of rules and regulations, assumes man’s ability to “do good” and in doing, pulls the legs out from under the grace of God as exhibited in the gospel. Legalism loves hard work, and lots of it. The more you are able to work, the more holy you must be. Interestingly enough, this kind of pursuit will almost lead to a forced, false spirituality. Legalism judges you on behavior, not the condition of your heart, and therefore can encourage behavioral change, regardless of the heart’s condition. It is because of this that our churches are filled with unregenerate people, who still feel completely at home in our congregations. They have applied the appropriate levels of behavior modification to be found acceptable, so that their dark hearts are rarely if ever noticed.

These are just a few of the many dangers that legalism poses to the heart of the gospel. While liberalism was, is and always will be an enormous threat to the gospel, I would plead with Southern Baptists to recognize the danger that legalism also poses to the gospel. While it is easy to preach about the liberals “out there”, it is probably beyond time that we preach against the legalists who are among us; who often are us.

If we love God’s word, if we desire scriptural fidelity, we will stand equally opposed to liberalism and legalism, understanding that both attempt to stand in a position of authority over God’s word and in doing so, tear at the heart of the word, and inevitably, the gospel itself. We must oppose this kind of danger.

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Cross-posted from Micah's personal blog.

Gospel Lunacy

I've been reading C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters lately and I am continually floored by Lewis' insights into the human condition via his fictional senior demon's advice to his nephew, the junior tempter Wormwood. This quote particularly grabbed me recently:

“Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one -- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

Much has been said about the state of the American church and our propensity to be distracted, allured to affluence, or encouraged toward various forms of debauchery, but perhaps the greatest threat is modern American Christianity's inclination toward inactivity. Unfortunately, pew-sitting has been encouraged and promoted by far too many pastors without emphasis on the true calling of the gospel to go - carry your cross and make disciples. Because of this, "church culture" has entered a lull that does not produce bold followers of Jesus but rather lukewarm spectators. Dull faith is a painful thing to both watch and experience, but perhaps the most grievous part may not be the Christian's personal spirituality as much as the lost people of the Christian's context.

Screwtape advises Wormwood to set his "patient" not on a trajectory of wild sin and habitual immorality, but to a pointless life that leads to the ultimate end of apathetic belief or no belief at all. Truthfully, most people are willing to settle for the standard moral posture of being "better than that guy" while maintaining a safe distance from conviction from God or anything that may challenge their worldview or self-built justification. And while Christians sit by and watch, non-believers are robotically drudging through life without any milestones, without any signposts.

The gospel is too epic and beautiful to bury within ourselves. While our family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers play cat and mouse with fantasies of karma and subjective ideals, we must put in work for the Kingdom. We must be aware of the amazing grace that saved us and let that awe for God drive us into the world. Paul is clear:

 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. ¹² We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. ¹³ For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵ and he died for all,that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

- 2 Cor. 5:11-21

Notice how Paul is even willing to be considered a lunatic - indeed we could call him a gospel lunatic - because the love of Christ so controls him. We have been reconciled, and this reconciliation leads to only one logical conclusion: that we extend such a great hope to others. Through reconciliation with God, we become by nature ministers of reconciliation. God has chosen, for reasons beyond our comprehension, to use us as his ambassadors. We must cry out with Paul, "You can call us lunatics, but it is for God's sake!" The message of Christ is not just cultural but anti-cultural, and this will inevitably lead to perceived craziness by some. Do not be the weird Ned Flanders Christian, but do be aware that the more like Christ you are, the more distinctive your life will be perceived by others.

Work, study, serve, love, and forgive like a lunatic. May we not allow the world to settle for the mundane, but show and offer them the greatest party that is beginning on earth and will carry on into eternity.

Discipleship in the Sporting-life

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

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

Discipleship DNA

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

Identity

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

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

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

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

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

Worship

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

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

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

Community

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

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

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

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

Mission

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

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

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

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

Discipleship in the Sporting-life

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missional Living in a Complex World

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

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

Missional Living Occurs When ...

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

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

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

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

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

Missional Living Requires …

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

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

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

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

—Colossians 4:2-6.

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

1.  Missional Living Must be Done Prayerfully

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

2.  Missional Living Must be Done with Gospel Clarity

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

3.  Missional Living Must be Done Wisely

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

4.  Missional Living Must be Done Intentionally

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

5.  Missional Living Must be Done Graciously

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

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

6.  Missional Living Must be Done Flexibly

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

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

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

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

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

Deep Preaching: Shine - Helps on Revealing the Treasure of Truth

Steven W. Smith is Dean of The College at Southwestern and author of Dying to Preach, winner of Preaching Today’s "Book of the Year" in 2009. He is married to Ashley. They have two daughters (Jewell and Sydney) and one son (Shepherd).

*Editor’s Note: This post is the fourth and last in Dr. Smith’s series, “Deep Preaching.”

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A sea diver finds a treasure that has been buried for 200 years and you get to see it. What do you expect to see? Well, the treasure is in fact a treasure because of its age. No one has really been able to get a good look at this – it’s rare. It also has inherent value because of its beauty. However, when the diver surfaces you can see none of that. It is covered in the oceanic grime of centuries. It is a treasure by itself, the value is inherent, but the beauty of the treasure is not seen until he takes the time to remove the things that show its beauty.

On Monday, a preacher entered the study. He decided not to be superficial, but to go deep into the Word of God. He desperately wanted to mine out the treasure of the Word for his people, so he did not stop until he got to the bottom where the treasure lay. And, wisely, he did it in time. He got the treasure and began to go to the surface. As a result he has a well crafted structure to his sermon that mirrors the structure of the text. He sank for treasure. He surfaced to bring the treasure to the people. But before he enters the pulpit he must polish off the sermon. He must remove the barriers that impede a view of the beauty of Scripture.

How to Polish

Scripture needs nothing added to it. We add nothing. However, the people to whom we preach are so removed from the cultural and theological worlds of Scripture that they need someone to remove the barriers that keep them from seeing the truth clearly. So by "polish" I am not suggesting that we add to the Word. It does not need our rhetorical flourish. Rather, I am using the word "polish" to describe the process by which we remove anything that keeps people from seeing the beauty of the Scripture. Personally, I am an advocate of a plain style of preaching. By that I mean that we need to remove any forced words or structure that keeps people from seeing truth clearly.

However, demonstrating the simplicity of Scripture is not easy. Simplicity is extremely difficult. So here are some strategies to help so show the beauty of the Word:

1. Look for models.

I am not aware of an effective preacher who is not reading widely or listening to other sermons. To steal another’s sermon is a crime. However, we are always looking for ways to say the same things in new ways. The flavor of someone’s communication style, the insight into a text: these things can be learned by humbling ourselves and reading others.

2. Manuscript for clarity.

Manuscripting does not imply that you will preach with the document in front of you, it simple means that you have worked out the key phrases, you have the transitions down, you know how one thing will lead to the next. You know all of this because it is one complete document. The discipline also keeps you on task so that when you read through it you will see where you have gaps in logic or flow, it will really jump out. As a pastor, I rarely manuscripted my sermons, and I think I paid the price in a lack of oral clarity. I leave the manuscript on the hard drive, but the discipline of doing it is very helpful. If I am pressed for time, I will at least manuscript the introduction and the conclusion.

3. Never preach a sermon for the first time.

Once the manuscript is complete, stand up in the study and preach through the sermon. One pastor I know gets to the church early Sunday morning and preaches it from the pulpit. The goal is that when you enter the pulpit, you do so with confidence because this is a sermon you have already preached!

My dad used to tell me that preaching “goes from paper, to preaching, to paper." What he meant was that in the study as we are “writing” our sermons, a thought will come to us. The natural reaction is to preach it out loud. It is often in the vocal working out of this that the thoughts really come together. So we write, we preach, and then we write some more.

4. Listen to the Holy Spirit.

This is so subjective that I hesitate to insert it here. An encouragement to be “sensitive to the Spirit” is interpreted by some to mean "don’t study and just go for it." We don’t mean that. What we mean is that often from the moment of leaving the study to the time when enter the pulpit, the Holy Spirit will prompt us in certain directions. This may happen at any time before or during the sermon. It is often in those promptings that a way to express something becomes clearer. One preacher told me he prints out his sermon, lays it on his bedside, and reads through before he goes to sleep on Saturday night.

Deep Preaching

So, after we sink and surface, we must shine. To do less is laziness no matter how we describe it. So again, when we dive into the text we must leave time to surface by understanding the structure of Scripture, and to shine by removing anything that hides its beauty. After all you risked your life at the bottom of the ocean for this, you want your people to know that the treasure is worth risking their life for. The goal is that when they began to love the words of the Word, they will want to go deep themselves.

A pastor then knows that he is effective when he never dives alone.

Deep Preaching: Surface - Preaching that Brings the Truth to the Top

Steven W. Smith is Dean of The College at Southwestern and author of Dying to Preach, winner of Preaching Today’s "Book of the Year" in 2009. He is married to Ashley. They have two daughters (Jewell and Sydney) and one son (Shepherd).

*Editor's Note: This post is the third in Dr. Smith's series, "Deep Preaching."

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If sinking to find the treasure is the translation of the text, surfacing is the communication of the text. We know we sank deep when we say, “I know what this text means.” We know we have surfaced when we can say, “Now I know how to say it."

In the last post we discussed going deep enough that we know what a text means. This is the preacher’s work in the study with linguistic and exegetical tools. However, there is a danger in going deep, namely staying so long wrestling with the meaning that we never surface to find a way to say what the text means. When people hear preaching and say, “He was so deep, I didn’t understand a thing!” that is not a compliment. It probably means that the preacher did not understand the text himself. Or, perhaps he did understand it, but he stayed so long in the deep murky waters of the study, he did not surface. His problem is never being shallow, but being so deep others cannot understand him. However, when you understand something thoroughly, you are generally able to make it clear.

It goes without saying that we are not advocating shallow preaching. We are advocating going as deep as we can and then coming to the surface in time.

Preaching at its core is the translation and communication of the text. The translation works the text into our hearts; the communication works it out. There are times that we are called upon to say speak before God has spoken to us in His word. Yet there are other times that when God has spoken to us through His word, we understand it, but we have not done the necessary work to find a way to work out what God has worked in. We may gravitate toward the translation side of things because we like the time in the study. Or, we may gravitate toward the communication side of things because we enjoy the preaching moment, the thrill of engaging communication. We all have our strengths. 

So when we sink deep enough to find out the meaning of the text, how do we surface in a way that people can understand the meaning?

OK, there are roughly one million things to say here which have been said in thousands of books.  However, this list represents some things that I struggle with and things that I don’t think we cover well enough in formal training; so not exhaustive, just a few diving strategies that will help you surface on time.

1. Repent

If a preacher is not willing to bend his will to the text, then it will never live in the pulpit.This may be the hardest part of the process.When we arrive at a text of Scripture and it calls us to change something about our character, confess a sin, right a wrong, we must do so immediately.What is at stake, of course, is our own sanctification.However, what is also at stake is the sanctification of others.This is a heavy thing to bear, but it is no less true.Procrastinated repentance is the foundation on which unprepared sermons are built.Meditate on I Timothy 4:16.

2. Look for a clear structure borrowed from the text.

When we sink to see the treasure of Scripture, a structure will emerge.The structure will be based on the genre.An epistle will have the feel of a lecture or a lesson.It may even be filled with commands like the 50+ exhortations found in James.However, a sermon on an Old Testament narrative does not need points.They simply are not there.The narrative is built around the scenes of the story.A parable will have scenes that are sometimes followed with Christ commentary on the parable, so in one sermon you have narrative (the parable proper), and exhortation (Christ’s commentary on the parable).We don’t have to scramble for a structure for the sermon; we simple borrow the one provided for us by the text.The reason for this is simple: there is meaning at the structural level.So mirroring the structure is actually a part of finding the meaning.

3. Emerge with the spirit of the text in mind.

Every text of Scripture has an embedded emotional design.When we preach we are not just communicating the substance, and borrowing the structure, we are finding out what about the emotional design of the text has meaning as well.Was it the beauty of poetry, the sting of a rebuke, or the rising tension of a narrative?All of those are embedded to help us with the meaning of the text.

Phillips Brooks says that preaching is “truth through personality."I agree with the spirit of this, but my job is not to front my personality.Rather, I can gladly borrow the personality of the Scripture that is imbedded in the genre.

4. Stop studying.

The best preachers know when to stop.They know when they are done with the exegetical process – what the text means, and can move to the communication process – how I say what it means.If God were to give you 100 hours to prepare, this would be a different sermon.But He hasn’t; you just have a few hours.In the few hours God has given you to steward, there comes a point when you are done - you just have to be wise enough to recognize when that is.

At some point you say, “I know what this text means to the best of my ability, now I have to spend time figuring out how to say it."

One encouragement is that every text is different.Some texts demand more exegetical work and others more communication work. For example, if you are preaching the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15, you will find the meaning pretty close to the surface.You will need less time on the exegetical side.However, that parable is so well known that you will need more time trying to figure out how to say it in a fresh way.

If you are preaching the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16, you will need plenty of time on the exegetical side of things to read yourself clear in that text.The meaning of the text is not near the surface and it demands much more time in the study.

So, you sank deeply to find the treasure, you surfaced with a clear outline that reflects the structure and the spirit of the text.  All that remains is to show its beauty, which is the subject of the next post.

Mission: Suburbs

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

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

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

– Matthew 28:18-20

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

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

WE HAVE A MISSION IN SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOODS

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

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

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

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

FAITHFUL & INTENTIONAL

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

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

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

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

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

Deep Preaching: Sink - The Value of Sinking Before You Surface

Steven W. Smith is Dean of The College at Southwestern and author of Dying to Preach, winner of Preaching Today’s "Book of the Year" in 2009. He is married to Ashley. They have two daughters (Jewell and Sydney) and one son (Shepherd).

*Editor's Note: This post is the second in Dr. Smith's series, "Deep Preaching."

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Deep sea diving is dangerous. You can deplete yourself of oxygen, do permanent damage to your body, and of course die a slow painful death by drowning. These fears are very real to the deep sea diver, and they are no less real to the preacher.

So, why go deep into the meaning of a Scripture?

Consider the risk: the preacher can spend so long in the icy black of commentaries, online resources, and exegetical nuance that he cripples himself by the fear of saying something wrong. He might spend so long there that he picks up words and phrases that do not translate well for surface-dwellers. And, then there is the greatest risk of all – he might not surface on time. Perhaps he is so enthralled in the depth of his study that when he finally looks at his watch, he realizes he does not have enough time to surface! It is Saturday night and he is still a hundred feet below the meaning of this text. He still does not know what this text means. He then enters the pulpit with a half-prepared alchemy of the collected thoughts of others, garnished with a compelling introduction and conclusion.

Besides, we have heard deep preachers before: boring, academic, exegetical – no thanks.

Even though the fears are real, if the preacher is going to dispense truth he must sink deep enough to find the truth, surface in time to present the truth, and polish it in a way that makes the truth accessible. He must sink to find the treasure and surface in time to make the truth shine.

If the Risk is So Great, Why Go Deep? 

The reason is clear: the meaning of a text is rarely on the surface. If what our people need was naturally on the surface, then Scripture would only need proclamation and not explanation. A few thousand years have passed since the writing of Scripture. A lot has changed. There has been a shift in the way we communicate and learn – from an oral tradition, to a written tradition, to a literate tradition, to an electronic tradition, and now to principally a visual tradition. The way we communicate, and thus the way we learn has radically changed. To borrow a phrase, these realities separate the modern listener from the ancient text.

Also, when God composed Scripture He imbedded it with meaning in its structure as well as its substance. The way sentences and clauses are shaped carry meaning. Yet, there is also meaning on the macro level as well as the micro level of Scripture; on the structural level of the cannon of Scripture. What superficial, cursory reading of Scripture will see that the Warrior Messiah image of Rev. 19 is directly lifted from Psalm 2? Will the most studious of our people see Psalm 78 is fulfilled in Matt 13? These textual relationships are real. They have meaning. They were meant to be seen. And, they are not on the surface. They must be mined from the bottom with the daunting slough of hard work.

It might be good to stop here and recognize that this metaphor may be offensive to some. After all it suggests that the people are on the surface, and that they are far separated from Scripture. Surely this line of thinking is suspect. Isn’t the word of God for all people? If all truth is God’s truth isn’t all truth for all people? Don’t we all have access to Scripture? Or are we so arrogant to think, as the character Mack bemoaned in The Shack, “God’s voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects.”[1]

I am not sure how wide reaching this line of thinking is, however, the objection is out there and we have to address it. So are we suggesting by this metaphor that understanding Scripture is only for the spiritually or cultural elite? Of course not. Perhaps two responses are needed.

First, we need not confuse God’s accessibility with His intricacy. God is accessible. I happen to believe that giving people a copy of God’s word is a wonderful way to share the faith. In fact, when I have the chance to share my faith I find that whatever text I am preparing or meditating on is a great entry point. This is especially true of the parables. What parable it is does not matter. All of them are about the kingdom and they all ultimately provide a way to share the Gospel. Why? Because God’s Word is accessible to all people at all times in an unlimited number of ways. We are all swimming in the tsunami of grace that was brought to us by the sweet simplicity of God’s accessibility.

This does not mean that Scripture is always easy to understand. There are a number of texts that do not make sense on the surface, or even after a few readings. The majority of these are actually easy to understand if someone has a basic understanding of how Scripture relates to itself or the cultural background in which it was written. In other words, a medium amount of training can equip one to understand most of Scripture. To deal with the other hard texts, one needs a little more training.

So again, God is both simple and complex. And since words reveal character, we anticipate that His word is both simple and complex. God is accessible – therefore His word is accessible. God is intricate, nuanced, and complex – His word reflects that as well.

God Expects Us to Go Deep

But, one might say, doesn’t it bother you that you are suggesting that the average person can’t get the meaning of certain passages at first blush? It really doesn’t. I don’t think it bothers the average person either. My experience is that they want to hear from someone who has thought about these things more deeply than they have to provide insight, wisdom, and counsel. And beyond this lay expectation, there is a divine expectation as well. Scripture is clear about the fact that pastor’s are to guard the sacred trust with their very lives (I Timothy 4:16; 6:20; II Timothy 1:13,14; 2:1-7; Titus 1:9). Nothing is clearer from Scripture than the fact that those held accountable for preaching have a dual stewardship: to protect God’s sheep and protect God’s Word. We keep the sheep safe by keeping the sword sharp. Both stewardships come from God.

So, when we mount the pulpit, God expects us to be deep. Our people should expect that we have gone deep. Not muddled or convoluted preaching, but preaching that demonstrates that we have wrestled with the text long enough that we are clear; we know the meaning to the best of our understanding. This is the objective. When it is clear to us, it has a chance to be clear to them. The greatest compliment one could pay a preacher is when they say, “Now I know what that text means."

We may think of this as a nice, but unattainable, goal for those who are really going to get into their preaching at a high level. But really, it’s what our people want.

People will excuse about any kind of preaching except boring preaching. But remember that there are two types of boredom – intellectual boredom and emotional boredom. Preachers often fear emotional boredom so we try to make people laugh and cry in the sermon. However, it is possible to be emotionally engaging and intellectually boring. This, in my opinion, is a chief reason why more college students are not engaged in church. Their pastor stimulated their emotions; he just did not make them think. He surfaced before he sank.

Deep diving is dangerous. However, the risk of sinking deep is no greater than the risk of staying on the surface. In the first you die, in the second your people die. And at the end of the day, if we have to tell our Dive Master that we almost died while trying to get people deep, He will understand. He’s made that dive before.

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[1] Young, William P. The Shack: where tragedy confronts eternity. Newbury Park, CA: Windlown Media, 2007.

Deep Preaching

Steven W. Smith is Dean of The College at Southwestern and author of Dying to Preach, winner of Preaching Today's "Book of the Year" in 2009. He is married to Ashley. They have two daughters (Jewell and Sydney) and one son (Shepherd).

*Editor's Note: This article was originally posted at Theological Matters. Dr. Smith will be writing three follow-up posts for Project TGM as a series entitled "Deep Preaching."

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There are days when the sermon just feels “on.”

The illustrations hit just right. The applications connect. Preacher and people ebb and flow in synchronized rhythm from opening words to closing illustration.

Dismounting the pulpit, you will be shocked if the people don’t hoist you on their shoulders hailing you as the greatest preacher in the world. In fact you’re a little surprised they didn’t interrupt you with shouts and applause like a political rally. (The humble tweet that follows: “God was really good today,” belies the fact that you killed it. Killed. It.)

Yet, in my experience, this is rare. It happens, but not often. Rarely is a sermon, from start to finish, exactly what we want it to be.

How Are We to Evaluate Our Own Preaching?

For those with a commitment to the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture, we evaluate our preaching by one criterion: faithfulness. After all, we do not invent messages, we proclaim truth. So we measure our effectiveness by how faithful we are to the text. In fact, this is the only reason I preach. By God’s grace we may mount the pulpit free from any obligation to express our feeling on anything—much less eternal matters. Eternal truth is settled. We are in the business of delivering the message not inventing it. Therefore, we must be faithful.

And yet, this being true, why is it that so many times my best attempt at faithfulness to Scripture falls flat? I really did try to say what the Scripture said and say it the way the Scripture said it, but it just did not work. I am not suggesting there is more than faithfulness; I am suggesting that we who are faithful must constantly re-examine what we mean by that.

If by “faithful” we mean simply getting the text correct, then we have failed. If you’re passionate about preaching, then that last sentence may seem disconcerting, so let me clarify. We know that there is a glut of preaching today that has precious little to do with a text of Scripture. This breaks our hearts. Scripture alone is enough! In reaction to this, it’s possible to swim against the tide of shallow, light, trivial, entertaining preaching by countering it with preaching that is boring, mundane, passionless, and disengaging. Some of us who love Scripture the most are profoundly boring. Just to be clear, I am not saying this as a reformer but a penitent. This might be my biggest homiletic challenge. I want to be so clear about what the text says that often I can be dry. People are disengaged and bored. Of course when I realize this, I justify my ineffective preaching with an internal monologue that says, “Well, at least I got the text right. Those other guys, sure they were engaging, but they never dealt with the text.”

A light, trivial, man-centered sermon is a mix of God’s Word and man’s hubris. But isn’t there as much hubris in preaching that is academic boredom as there is in preaching that is folksy banter? Let’s be honest. We can’t excuse boring sermons because we parsed our verbs correctly any more than we can excuse light fluffy sermons because we entertained.

Scripture is not boring. Therefore, if I preach a boring sermon, then that was not in the text. I brought that. I imposed boredom on the text in the same way those “other” preachers imposed their own ideas on the text.

The entertaining preacher excuses his sin because he made people laugh. The boring preacher excuses his sin because he made people yawn. Neither one has really preached. I know, because I have been both.

So, again, how are we to evaluate our preaching?

Well, first let’s crush the mental metaphor of “balance.” This metaphor gives the idea that we can be too faithful, too expositional, too exegetical, too deep, too textual, too engaging, or too funny—we just need a little of all of it. But that’s unhelpful. Can we really be too faithful to Scripture?

Maybe a better metaphor than striving for balance is embracing the tension. There is a tension in all of us—it pulls us to engage the text while engaging people. This tension does not need to be suppressed; it needs to be embraced. We are called to go deep into the text, and then bring the text to the people. If our exegesis is shallow, we have nothing to give people on Sunday. If when going deep I wait too long to surface, then I give people a dry exegetical exercise that does not help them. After I find the meaning of a text, when do I surface? In other words, when I study a text, how long do I spend on its meaning, and how long do I spend on how to say what it means? This is the tension. And, it will not go away.

Deep-Sea Divers

Now we have backed into a helpful metaphor: a deep-sea diver. The treasure that he wants is not buoyant. It’s not even at 25 ft. If he wants the real treasure, he must sink deep. However, if he stays in the depths too long, he will not have the oxygen needed to bring the treasure to the surface. Even when he does, he has to polish it off so people can see the original beauty of the treasure. If he wants to access the treasure, bring it to the surface, and have people appreciate the treasure the way it was appreciated before it sank, then he must sink, surface, and shine. And here is our task. We must spend time on what the text means, what we are to say about what the text means, and how to say it.

So while there are a thousand preaching rubrics out there, lets at least answer three questions:

1. Did I sink?

Did I go deep enough to find the treasure?

2. Did I surface?

Did I bring the treasure to the surface with illustration, application, and the force of imagination?

3. Did I shine?

Since the truth is beautiful, did I show its beauty or lazily offer it unpolished?

May God give us grace to go deep and be so overwhelmed with what we find that we want to surface in time and show the rich beauty of the treasure, which will exalt Christ and call us to joyful obedience.

The Practicality of Mission

For the purposes of this post, I define "mission" as Mark Driscoll does in Confessions of a Reformission Rev. – Christians being a missionary to their local culture.

Simply put, there is plenty of inward-focused discipleship without much outward contextualization in the church today. At best, there is the occasional “special event” in hopes that the congregation brings friends who stay long-term. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to discipleship - in fact, I often wonder if we're even doing that very well today in order to train our people to evangelize. And while I’m not against the practice of evangelistic events, I am opposed to lack of dedicated missonal outreach. I once worked at a church that was in a 65% Hispanic community with three Hispanics in attendance on Sunday mornings. This church was also in a community that was in large majority under the age of 40 with less than 20 members under that age (including children). Imagine being a 28-year old Hispanic walking through our doors.

It is the role and responsibility of the local church to reach its community. If the church fails, society fails. The world will find a place or community to have their needs me and we must - for lack of a better phrase - compete for their attention. The natural inclination of the world is to chase the world. We must find a way to adapt to the demographic that we are in while not compromising Scripture. It would be great if you could even be multi-ethnic and flourishing from ages 15 all the way to 75, but let’s start with our community context. It doesn't necessarily have to be a certain school or business (though it could be), but a starting point is to intentionally get to know those within a relatively close radius of your people.

We tend to view missionaries as those who parachute into the remote villages of Africa. We use the excuse that culture doesn’t easily accept the gospel. We let our natural insecurities hinder us. We argue that we do not have enough time. I've even heard people use Satan as an excuse. In fact, we should expect Satan to use all obstacles against our efforts; but Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19 places mission on all of our lives regardless of where we are. It is a call that the Christian simply cannot ignore.

Here are some practical ways to get on mission (for both the church and the individual):

1. Pray, pray, pray – The most obvious and crucial step is to seek God’s will and blessing. You must be on board with his Kingdom and what he is doing, not what you yourself want to happen. There are many (most) times when our plans are not his. Beg the Holy Spirit to empower you.
2. Understand your Bible – It is no good for you, your hearers, your church, or the Kingdom if you do not know what you believe. Sound doctrine is crucial to your evangelistic efforts. There is no point in hitting the streets of your community if you cannot answer the hard questions that the seekers, the skeptics, and the all-out opposition will throw at you (Col. 4:6).
3. Be well-learned and prepared to reach them – The next most obvious but crucial step is to find out who is in your community, both by getting out and meeting people and by looking at statistics that can be found by a simple Google search. There are more resources on demographics (income, race, age, religion, etc.), becoming missional churches, and everyday evangelism than you could imagine. Find them. Study them. Rinse. Repeat.
4. Love them – Perhaps the most difficult part is to simply love people. Our depraved nature prevents us from being naturally drawn toward it, but our new nature in Christ empowers us to do it anyway. In the aforementioned church that I was on staff at, we could not get our older white crowd to get on mission in the Hispanic community because they did not want to love them. It is not our church, our gospel, or our Kingdom - it is all God’s. If you think someone is below your efforts, you are forgetting how low Jesus had to become in order to reach you. The world is looking for relationships, not conforming rules. Let's give it to them!

Meet Jill & Cliff (& The Holy Spirit)

Meet Jill and Cliff. They have a somewhat similar story, yet at this point they have very different outcomes. I have been in a relationship with Cliff for five years now. We met at a local coffee shop. Cliff and I have eaten many meals together, drank hundreds of cups of coffee, and spent hours just hanging out over the past five years. We have built a great friendship. One where we text back and forth about everything from the mundane to the important. Cliff is a guy I could go to if I ever needed anything, and I know he feels the same. I have only known Jill since January. When she heard about our little church plant, she decided to give religion a go. She showed up the second week of our core team gathering. Since then Jill and my family have had meals together, and spent time talking about the challenges and struggles she has had in her life. She is a single mom with three kids and has had a rough life the last couple of years. Church was kind of a last ditch effort to find hope.

Similarities & Differences

I have a deep love for both Cliff and Jill. They are good friends, ones I have been praying for and trusting Jesus to bring to faith. My method has been the same. I have shared the gospel with both of them on many different occasions. They both have had major needs, one is dying of terminal cancer, the other is struggling with a 10+ year drug addiction. Their need for God in their life is present, and both of them would tell you they need God.

Yet, in the midst of all these similarities there is a major difference. About two months ago, Jill put her faith in Jesus, after only being part of our church family for 4 or 5 months. No one person led her to Jesus. She did not say a 'sinners' prayer one day during a passionate plea from me. None of that happened. She just simply came to us and said she had faith in Jesus. She believed in all the things he said he did. She understood he had died for her sinfulness. He had forgiven her. He had risen again. She knew it all, and more importantly she believed it all with her heart and was willing to give her life over to Jesus. The only thing she didn't know was now what. She didn't know if she had to sign anything or say any special words. It was beautiful. The Spirit was working in her life!

Cliff, on the other hand, has heard the gospel. He has seen it at work in my life as I talk about struggles, about my past, and as he has seen me parent my children and love my wife. But he has still not placed his faith in Jesus. He has asked for a Bible and for me to study it with him, but that is as far as it has gone. I love Cliff. Cliff is not a project. He is my friend. He is my friend who I will earnestly seek God to bring to himself. Not for my sake, but for Cliff's. Jesus is the best thing that could happen to Cliff.

Time & Truth

The reason I compare these two friends of mine is that nothing different was done with Jill that wasn't done with Cliff. We did not have some amazing discipleship technique that worked on Jill, which we somehow forgot to use on Cliff. No, it's just how the Spirit works. The Spirit quickens who he will, and he tarries when he wants, and there is nothing we can do about it. All we can do is pray.

This is always a concern we must have when we think through discipleship. We must always factor the Holy Spirit into our equation. It is not that I failed with Cliff and succeeded with Jill. Far from it. God simply works in his way in his time. This is something I need to come to understand better. I need to realize that only by living a life that points people to Jesus will I have the chance to see God work in his timing.

It also gives me a deep hope for Cliff, and everyone else I know who is not submitting his or her life to Jesus. The hope is that the Spirit will work when he will work. It is not in my eloquent speech, or persuasive words. It is when he desires to lead those who he has called unto himself. All I can do is be faithful and pray and proclaim and display the gospel and sit back and wait.

When I think through the difference between Cliff and Jill, I can get frustrated. I remember sitting across from Cliff, asking God, “why?” What had I done wrong? It seemed like I had done everything right, from my limited perspective, yet Cliff’s heart was not changing at all, not in the slightest. I was looking at myself and becoming frustrated that I could not come up with the right things to say, or the right pitch. Later, I was re-reading Tim Chester’s book, You Can Change. Chester points out that, “Behind every sin is a lie.” (pg 73)

When I thought about the different outcomes between Jill in Cliff, I was getting discouraged and down, forgetting that God is good. I was forgetting these truths about Jesus, and believing the lie that it was in my hands to convince Cliff.

In the fifth chapter, Chester looks at Psalm 62.11-12 and points out 4 truths that we need to daily remind ourselves, when the lies assault us.

1. God is great – so we do not have to be in control.
2. God is glorious – so we do not have to fear others.
3. God is good – so we do not have to look elsewhere.
4. God is gracious – so we do not have to prove ourselves.

These four truths rushed in and brought comfort to my struggling heart that day. They were the very thing I needed to remember. These four truths are critical for my heart when I am in the midst of a situation as talked about above. We will all be in a situation that has the same storyline. We will fail at discipleship, in our own mind. Yet the truth is that in the midst of what we may label as a failure, God is still great, glorious, good and gracious. Each of us will have people that we invest time, money, prayers, all we have to show them Jesus’ love, and they will do nothing but cause you headaches. Whether Cliff ever comes to know Jesus or not, God does not change. I must never believe the lie that my value and worth is found in my fruit or in Cliff’s conversion.

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Josh Cousineau was a youth pastor for over 5 years & is now the lead pastor of Redemption Hill Community, which launched in Auburn ME in 2012. Josh is married to his high school sweetheart, Anna. They have 3 amazing children (2 boys & 1 girl). Their daughter was adopted from Uganda in 2011. Josh blogs at http://joshcousineau.com

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

For more free articles on the discipleship process, read Street Grace by Jake Chambers, The Unqualified Disciple by Lindsay Fooshee, & Behold the Beauty by Jason Garwood.

Gospel Centered Religion

These days, it's not polite to speak of the gospel and religion in the same sentence without a "versus" in between. This trend of thinking is unfortunate. In the final tally, we lose more than we gain. Religion is not antithetical to the gospel. Let's unpack this truth.

The Problem

Pitting the gospel against religion stems from two very real and very dangerous problems: self-righteousness and an attempt to please God by good works or good merit. These problems are certainly anti-biblical and need to be called out wherever we notice them.

The False Solution

One popular solution offered in recent books and viral YouTube videos is to castigate religion itself. To show how the gospel of Jesus Christ is actually the antithesis of religion. For the uninitiated, this is what's at play when you hear things like:

"I love Jesus but hate religion." "Jesus hates religion." "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion."

And so on. Note: Being "spiritual but not religious" is related to this discussion as well, though this mantra suggests a rejection of both religion and the gospel.

The Problem with the Solution

The problem with "Gospel vs. Religion" is that it misses the point. This is a case of rightly seeing the problem, but coming up with the wrong steps to eradicate it. Moreover, it is not the perspective of the biblical writers. The Bible never speaks of religion as being bad, in and of itself.

If the problem is self-righteousness, we should couch the discussion using more biblically faithful polarities, such as:

• Gospel vs. False Religion
• Gospel vs. Self-Righteousness
• True Religion vs. False Religion

If this is really how the Bible speaks of the situation, we need to adopt biblical language in our own discussions.

Gospel vs. False Religion

The five chapters of the book of James is replete with favorable statements on the "doing" that is consonant with a gospel-saturated lifestyle:

• "faith without works is dead" (James 2:14-17)
• "be doers of the word, and not hearers only" (James 1:22)
•  a doer who acts "will be blessed in his doing" (James 1:25)
• "pure and undefiled religion" (James 1:26-27)

This final passage is most relevant to our discussion: James 1:26-27 contains over half of the NT uses of the Greek word for "religion" (threskeia), and the connotation is certainly not negative.

Even in James' day, there were abuses of religion. There was worthless religion, impure religion, and defiled religion. So, did he punt the word? Did he conclude that "religion" was therefore the opposite of the gospel? No, he took the time to explain what true religion looked like.

The other two instances the word threskeia occur in Acts 26:5 and Colossians 2:18. The word in Col 2 is typically translated as "worship." Most agree that worship is good,  though there can be true worship and false worship. For instance, worship of angels (Col 2) is certainly wrong.

Likewise, in Acts 26, Paul used threskeia as a defense for what a good Jew he was. He certainly wasn't saying his strict observance of religion was bad. It was simply incomplete.

Gospel vs. Self-Righteousness

Passages like Matthew 6:1-24, Romans 9:30-33, and Matthew 23:23 teach on practicing righteousness. In my blog post on Matthew 6, I explain that the problem against which Jesus is warning his followers is not practicing righteousness itself, but one's motive behind practicing righteousness. Don't be afraid to practice righteousness; just be sure to check your heart for the impetus therein.

Similarly, Paul explains why Israel did not arrive at the righteousness they pursued: "Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone ..." (Rom 9:30-33). If our works is the path to righteousness, we will stumble over ourselves. Jesus is the only true way to righteousness.

True Religion vs. False Religion

The word "religion" has been hijacked in 21st century western culture. When people hear it, they think of rules and dos and don'ts. I get it. I don't agree, but I get it. What I don't get, however, is the current trend for believers to attack the biblical term!

Perhaps it is for the sake of cultural relevance. Instead of fighting for a biblical definition, many believers have acquiesced and allowed the word to be redefined wholesale. In my experience, it's a short leap from rejecting "religion" to becoming anti-church. I've seen it happen.

Why revive "religion"? Another way to put it: "Isn't it just semantics?" First, "just semantics" is a pretty big deal. Councils have been called, martyrs have been slaughtered, and wars have been fought - "holy" and otherwise - over the definition of words. More importantly, no, this isn't just semantics. Words do have meaning in context. If our cultural context is moving toward unanimously defining "religion" as evil, we need to take note. (Thankfully, we're not there yet.)

This perspective can easily morph into the before mentioned "spiritual but not religious" trend, which takes serious issue with rules. After all, Christianity is a relationship not a religion, right? We must acknowledge that being against rules is often code for bristling at the mention of obedience, accountability, and discipline.

Obedience is important. I once heard Chuck Swindoll say that there were more rules for riding a bus in Dallas than there were for joining a church. You can get kicked off a bus, but don't try to institute church discipline!

There are plenty of places in the NT where believers are admonished towards obedience. It's an obedience that flows out of the gospel and not to the gospel. Some of Jesus' last words were for his disciples to teach their disciples to obey everything he had commanded (Matt 28:20). This implies both that Jesus had commanded some things that needed to be obeyed and that this obedience was an important part of the Christian life.

There are directives within Christianity for which we need not apologize. These don't save you, but they're essential for a gospel-centered lifestyle within the Christian religion.

To conclude:

• We believers should concede no more ground and fight for a return to a biblical understanding of religion. Can religion and gospel be at odds? Sure. But it doesn't have to be; the two aren't necessarily opposed.

• Some words are worth intentionally and unequivocally defining so that people know what we truly mean by them. This is what I've tried to do in my ministry and I have not noticed a surge in people giving in to legalism and self-righteousness as a result. If we are too quick to discard "religion", the net result might be discarding obedience and a healthy ecclesiology along with it.

• We should draw a distinction between true and false religion (cf. James 1). The contrast is between believing and doing things that God desires of us (submission and obedience to Christ) and what is not required of us (e.g., don't dance or drink or watch rated-R movies). This is the distinction all believers should strive to make. It is another thing when the contrast is "faith vs. obedience," which are two things the Bible never pits against each other.

• The gospel is the beginning and foundation of one's journey in discipleship. It is the first step toward true obedience. I'm in full agreement that practicing empty rights and rituals in order to please God is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ. However, most young believers, new believers, or even non-believers I know don't easily separate empty rights and rituals from all rights and rituals.

As a friend recently told me: "We shouldn't conceptualize faith as opposed to 'doing'; rather, we should more carefully define what 'doing' God expects of us."

Final Disclaimers

I agree with the importance of attacking the enemy that the Gospel vs. Religion proponents are attacking. I'm for the gospel! I'm for obedience that flows from faith in Christ, not obedience that somehow leads to a relationship with Christ. I am also fully convinced that the Gospel vs. Religion camp agrees with the importance of obedience in the Christian life; they're not antinomians. We are on the same team. I just think they've given the wrong label to the enemy they're fighting, and there might be some unfortunate unintended consequences.

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Jason Seville (Th.M) lives in Memphis, TN with his wife, Kim, and daughters, Sydney & Sophie. They are members at First Evangelical Church, and Jason is on staff with Downline Ministries, where he writes curriculum, teaches, and heads up Downline Builder. You can follow him on Twitter @jasonCseville. 

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For more thoughts on gospel centered religion, check out Tony Merida’s Proclaiming Jesus.

For more free articles on this topic, read: How to Respond to Religious Pluralism, by Jonathan Dodson; and What Is Gospel Centered Ministry, by Winfield Bevins.

God the Judge? Living Condemned

One of the most devastating effects of the pursuit of holiness can often be our propensity to believe that our sin draws God’s anger. This belief will result in a practical theology which assumes that God’s discipline in our lives is punitive; in other words that His discipline is evidence of some displeasure which is earned by our disobedience. It is amazing to me how many believers struggle with this unfortunate theology. This belief is personal because I know how often I’ve struggled with it myself.

The result of this theology is a feeling of consistent defeat, an improper fear of God and general difficulty in making progress in the Gospel. It is a serious and consistent threat to the growth of the Gospel in any church who places an emphasis on growing in the Gospel.

Romans 8:1 reminds us, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus“. This simple truth is incredibly liberating to the believer. It is a reminder that we cannot be condemned for our behavior. Yes, God absolutely disciplines those He loves, but His discipline is not punitive – instead it is imperative that we understand His discipline is corrective. This little truth makes all the difference in the world.

When we view God’s discipline as punitive in nature; in other words God is punishing us because we have disobeyed, we are essentially engaging in a functional denial of the sufficiency of the cross of Jesus Christ. We are denying the importance of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Let me try to explain.

2 Corinthians 5:21 points out “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This is a strong reminder that Christ assumed our sins on the cross. He did this in order to carry the wrath of God, toward sin. When Christ died on the cross He assumed the wrath of God for our sin, past, present and future.

When we believe that God is punishing us for our sin, we are essentially denying the death of Christ on the cross and His atonement for our sin. We are arguing that His sacrifice is not enough. We still need more to be right with God. In effect, we become our own functional saviors. We are in essence saving ourselves through our own “deserved” punishment. This pursuit of self-righteousness can also appear in our lives as we mistreat ourselves believing that this is somehow both deserved and right. We can even convince ourselves that God is pleased with our self-treatment because we are “taking sin seriously“. The problem is that while we may think we are taking sin seriously, we are not taking God’s word seriously. We are denying the Gospel in our lives.

So, this theology is profound and extremely important. If we are to progress in the Gospel, to become like Christ, we must recognize that God disciplines His children, most definitely, but that He does so to make us like Jesus, not because He is angry with us. That His discipline is the act of a loving Father shaping us to be righteous, not the act of a condemning judge rightly dispensing justice because we have earned it.

So, let us celebrate the sufficiency of the cross. Let us triumph in the freedom from condemnation, and let us receive God’s loving discipline as a sign of His affection and His desire to help us become shaped like Jesus. (see Romans 8:29) Your very growth in the Gospel depends on it.

Revival: Ways and Means

Editor Note: Revival: Ways and Means originally posted at Redeemer City to City. It appears here with Tim Keller's permission. ---

How do seasons of revival come? One set of answers comes from Charles Finney, who turned revivals into a "science." Finney insisted that any group could have a revival any time or place, as long as they applied the right methods in the right way. Finney's distortions, I think, led to much of the weakness in modern evangelicalism today, as has been well argued by Michael Horton over the years. Especially under Finney's influence, revivalism undermined the more traditional way of doing Christian formation. That traditional way of Christian growth was gradual – whole family catechetical instruction – and church-centric. Revivalism under Finney, however, shifted the emphasis to seasons of crisis. Preaching became less oriented to long-term teaching and more directed to stirring up the affections of the heart toward decision. Not surprisingly, these emphases demoted the importance of the church in general and of careful, sound doctrine and put all the weight on an individual's personal, subjective experience. And this is one of the reasons (though not the only reason) that we have the highly individualistic, consumerist evangelicalism of today.

There has been a withering critique of revivalism going on now for twenty years within evangelical circles. Most of it is fair, but it often goes beyond the criticism of the technique-driven revivalism of Finney to insist that even Edwards and the Puritans were badly mistaken about how people should embrace and grow in Christ. In this limited space I can't respond to that here other than to say I think that goes way too far. However, this critique trend explains why there is so much less enthusiasm for revival than when I was a young minister. It also explains why someone like D.M. Lloyd-Jones was so loathe to say that there was anything that we can do to bring about revivals (other than pray.) He knew that Finney-esque revivalism led to many spiritual pathologies.

Nevertheless, I think we can carefully talk about some factors that, when present, often become associated with revival by God's blessing. My favorite book on this (highly recommended by Lloyd-Jones) is William B. Sprague's Lectures on Revivals of Religion (1832). Sprague studied under both Timothy Dwight, Edwards' grandson, at Yale and also Archibald Alexander at Princeton. The Princetonians – the Alexanders, Samuel Miller, and Charles Hodge – did a good job of combining the basics of revivalism with a healthy emphasis on doctrine and the importance of the church. Sprague's lectures include a chapter on "General Means" for promoting revivals, and his chapters on counseling seekers and new converts are particularly helpful.

Means of Revival

The primary means-of-revival that everyone agrees upon is extraordinary prayer. That's the clearest of all and so I won't spend time on it. The second means is a recovery of the grace-gospel. One of the main vehicles sparking the first awakening in Northampton, Massachusetts was Edwards' two sermons on Romans 4:5, "Justification by Faith Alone," in November, 1734. For both John Wesley and George Whitefield, the main leaders of the British Great Awakening, it was an understanding of salvation by grace rather than moral effort that touched off personal renewal and made them agents of revival. Lloyd-Jones taught that the gospel of justification could be lost at two levels. A church might simply become heterodox and lose the very belief in justification by faith alone. But just as deadly, it might keep the doctrine "on the shelf" as it were and not preach it publicly in such a way that connects to people's hearts and lives.

The third factor I would mention is renewed individuals. Sprague points out how certain church leaders can be characterized by the infectious marks of spiritual revival – a joyful, affectionate seriousness, and "unction" – a sense of God's presence. In addition, often several visible, dramatic life-turnarounds ("surprising conversions") may cause others to do deep self-examination and create a sense of spiritual longing and expectation in the community. The personal revivals going on in these individuals spread informally to others through conversation and relationship. More and more people begin to look at themselves and seek God.

A fourth factor I will call the use of the gospel on the heart in counseling. Sprague and John Newton in his letters do a good job of showing how the gospel must be used on both seekers, new believers, and non-growing Christians. The gospel must cut away both the moralism and the licentiousness that destroys real spiritual life and power. There must be venues and meetings and settings in which this is done, both one-on-one and in groups. See William Williams, The Experience Meeting, a leaders' manual for revival-promoting small group meetings in Wales during the first great awakening.

Creativity & Revival

Finally, Sprague rightly points out that revivals occur mainly through the ordinary, "instituted means of grace" – preaching, pastoring, worship, prayer. It is a mistake to identify some specific programmatic method (e.g. Billy Graham-like mass evangelism) too closely with revivals. Lloyd-Jones points to some sad cases where people who came through the Welsh revival of 1904-05 became wedded to particular ways of holding meetings and hymn-singing as the way God brings revival. Nevertheless, Sprague grants that sometimes God will temporarily use some new method to propagate the gospel and spark revival. For example, under Wesley and Whitefield, outdoor preaching was a new, galvanizing method. Mid-day public prayer meetings were important to the Fulton Street revival in downtown NYC in 1857-58. I'm ready to say that creativity might be one of the marks of revival, because so often some new way of communicating the gospel has been part of the mix that God used to bring a mighty revival.

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Timothy Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons.  For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000. Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.

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For more ideas on inspiring revival, check out Tony Merida's Proclaiming Jesus.

For more free articles on evangelism & revival, read: For the City-Excerpt by Matt Carter & Darrin Patrick, Taking the Long View by Bill Streger, & What Does Revival Look Like? by Winfield Bevins.

What Does it Mean to Make a Brother Stumble?

One of the things that always comes up when you speak of tattoos, smoking, drinking, et al. is the issue of making a brother stumble to show why one should abstain from doing those things at all. When one proof texts and reads current culture into the passages, they seem to have a great point and one that kept me under a heavy yoke for some time. What actually ended up happening is that this so called "weaker brother" kept me under his yoke of conscience instead of me being able to seek out Christ and his easy yoke and burden that is light. I kept trying to refrain from certain things because I was always worried that I would make a brother stumble and was so consumed by this, my life was more about the weaker brother and his issues than the glorifying of God in my actions and actually loving the weaker brother.

We have extremes here that need to be pointed out. One extreme is like the one mentioned above, where we worry about everything, whether it is sin or not and abstain from it all. The other extreme is we say, "screw the weaker brother" and we do whatever we want without care. Like most orthopraxy, extremes suck and fly in the face of Christ and his cross and, so, we need to find the correct balance and test it to Scripture. I want to do some defining to search out how we should live within the context of the weaker brother and what it means to make him stumble.

First, What is a "Weaker Brother"?

We find the main passages concerning the weaker brother in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 and also in Romans 14. The weaker brother is the one who wishes to abstain from certain things. They are not the mature in the body, but they are the weak needing care. These people would be those who abstain from things that are not sinful, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, getting tattoos and of course eating meat sacrificed to idols. But, if you know the context of 1 Corinthians 8, 10 and Romans 14 we are not speaking of people who have merely been told that these things were sinful, but have a deep bond that ties the conscience to them. The weaker brother would be someone who has been addicted to smoking or alcohol, or who has a family history of addiction to these things. The weaker brother would be someone who came from a tribe who used to tattoo themselves for the sake of their pagan gods. The weaker brother is one who was in an idolatrous nation that sacrificed meat to gods for worship. These things are deeply entrenched in who they are and what they are about. These things identify them with the "old self."

The weaker brother is NOT someone who has issue with these things because of their culture and how they were brought up. One is not a mere weaker brother because they have always been taught that smoking is a sin or that drinking alcohol is a sin. Paul goes much deeper than this and is found when he uses the term to "destroy" the weaker brother (which we will handle later).

Paul and Jerusalem Council are dealing with a much deeper issue than someone not liking meat sacrificed to idols, they were dealing with an issue that was deeply ingrained in the people that practiced idolatry in a way that was demonic and part of every day life that associated one with the devil. Again, it would be the same as getting a tattoo for the dead in Leviticus 19:28 to worship some pagan deity. This was binding on the conscience, not because it was "odd" to them, or they were uncomfortable with it, but they were dealing with demonic opposition and something that identified them with their old self when their father was the devil.

So, the weaker brother is not merely some nutcase that wants you to abstain from something they don't like, the weaker brother is someone who is coming from an old life in sin, that is dealing with those things associated directly with their sin. Again, think of pagan worship in sacrifices when thinking of 1 Corinthians 8,10 and Romans 14.

Making the Weaker Brother Stumble

Now that we see what is means to be a weaker brother, we need to look at making that brother stumble. This term stumble is used almost synonymously with Paul using the term "destroy". Paul isn't speaking of making someone look at you in a light that is odd. It isn't making someone uncomfortable, but it is literally making them stumble into sin. It would be like you handing someone a beer that you know is an alcoholic and telling them to drink. You, in your freedom, have made the weaker brother stumble or have destroyed them. The thought is putting something (a rock) in the road that they are walking on so that they will trip and severely hurt themselves.

People use this for all sorts of things, as though we must have a swivel on our heads to make sure people don't look at us and think we are sinning. This isn't what Paul is speaking on. If this is the case, then Jesus was a sinner. He did things all the time that made people think he was a sinner, but he didn't make them sin. Think of the Pharisees of those that wear suits to church, don't drink, don't smoke, don't play cards, don't watch certain movies, listen to certain music. They do this so that they "will not make someone stumble", but in reality are showing that your sanctification and righteousness comes in what you don't do instead of whom you trust in. Jesus was not for this. What is interesting is that the term "stumble" can be both positive and negative. You can make someone stumble into sin, or make them stumble into righteousness.

"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

1 Peter 2:6-8

This is the point that no one actually brings up. If someone is trying to be self righteous in their abstention, the best thing you can do is be a stumbling block to them so that they can see that Christ is the corner stone of their faith, not their abstention for self righteousness. This brother, that abstains for the sake of self righteousness (which none of them will admit) is not the weaker brother, but the prideful brother that needs to be shown their sinful acts. This is why Jesus didn't care if he drank in public, ate with the sinners and loved the hookers. He did it partly to show the self righteous Pharisees their stupidity. We find further evidence of this when Peter has his vision and then eats with the Gentiles. Notice what the self righteous Jews do.

So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."

Acts 11:2

Did Peter then decide to abstain from eating with them? No, he corrected their self righteous thoughts by telling them the vision of God and using this an opportunity to show the gospel to them. Here is the key: someone who loves Jesus and not their self righteous deeds will react to this by not condemning the brother living in his freedom but will praise God.

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."

Acts 11:18

Could this have been a stone of stumbling for these Jews? Yes. Did Peter refrain, or teach? He taught. Their reaction is an insight to their heart towards the love of God. They reject their self righteousness and cling to their new found Saviour.

So, Now What?

How are we to handle this then? You will notice that Paul has a huge point that he makes when speaking of refraining, and it does not mean that he will refrain always, only when he is knowingly among those whom bears a conscience against meat sacrificed to idols. People like to use Paul's hyperbolic term to bear witness against this when Paul says, "Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble." Paul is using this in speaking to someone he is directly in relationship with at all times, not for the sake of believers out there somewhere who have issues with this. Meaning, if Timothy had issues with this, Paul would never eat meat in fellowship with Timothy. He doesn't mean, he will literally never touch meat again. We see this clearly in the following:

If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake — the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:27-31

Paul states to enjoy your freedom, but to refrain when among someone who has a conscience against something. So, if I am going to a nation of tribes who once used tattoos to worship their god, I will cover up my tattoos. I will do this because this is something that is personal to them and hard for them to take. I will also cover up my tattoos if I go into a home where I know tattoos used to be a way for the person to sin against God in rebellion and they are trying to refrain from such things. I do this with those I KNOWINGLY have deep issues with certain things that is related and identified to their old life of sin. So is the case with having a vegan over to my house, an alcoholic or someone who was addicted to smoking.

But, it doesn't stop here. You don't just refrain when you see these people, but you take the opportunity to teach them. You must teach the weaker, and not allow them to "turn you" into their weaker conscience. This was huge for the ministry of Christ. He was the one teaching the weaker, the weaker were not teaching him to turn to their ways. So, we should deal with the gospel with these people and love and aid them to the grace and freedom found at the cross.

Refrain out of love and teach out of love so that they may be won to the victory of the cross. There is a balance here. But, to throw out the "you might make a brother stumble" has become another way to control the actions of others to make them think they are more righteous. This is sin and contrary to the gospel. Also, those who freely do whatever they want without taking consideration of the TRUE weaker brother and don't take the opportunity to teach them in word and action what the Gospel is truly about, also sin.

We must live and teach the gospel to others without allowing them to bound up our actions so that we find the gospel as a restrictive gospel instead of a freeing one.

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Matthew 11:29-30

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Cross-posted from Seth's former personal blog.

How to Cultivate Fresh Faith in the Gospel

Editor's Note: Adapted from Jonathan Dodson's newly revised Gospel Centered Discipleship. There are also discussion questions for the book now available as a free download from Crossway.

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There are times old, memorized Bible promises just don’t help me trust Jesus. I recite them in the face of temptation, but nothing. No power, no belief, no victory. Is this because Jesus isn’t trustworthy? After all, “All the promises of God are ‘Yes’ and ‘Amen’ in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:20). Why aren’t they “amen-ed” in my heart in the face of temptation of dispair? Is there something wrong with my Bible? Or maybe Jesus only occasionally makes good on his promises? That, of course, contradicts God’s Word, and we must always interpret the Bible in light of the rest of the Bible. No, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is always trustworthy and his promises are always true. The problem is with my faith. I am like the centurion who cried: “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). In those moments, my faith is temporarily stuck in something other than Jesus. When the truth of God’s promises is set before me, for some reason, my faith doesn’t seize upon it. In those moments, we need fresh faith in the gospel.

How can we cultivate fresh faith in the gospel?

Spirit-led Bible Reading

In order to cultivate fresh faith in the gospel, Puritan pastor and theologian John Owen recommends we return to prayer… but perhaps not as you usually pray. Owen suggests if we consider the Spirit’s working in our hearts by prayer, we may understand much of his working upon our hearts by grace. He is saying that prayerful communion with the Spirit can lead to grace-based transformation of our hearts. How, then should we pray? Owen recommends we pray to the Spirit for three things:

1. Insight into God’s promises
2. Experience of our need
3. Creation of desire

When reading God’s word, all too often we assume we can gain insight by ourselves, neglect to experience our need, and are too proud to ask for God to create desire for him. What if, whenever we read the Bible, we began to talk to the Holy Spirit? What if we asked from help from the divine Helper given to guide us into truth (John 14:16)? The Spirit wants to help us in our reading, experiencing, and desiring before the face of God. He hovers over the deep, ready to disclose the will and presence of God to us (1 Cor 2). He loves to rivet our affection upon the risen Christ. So how should we pray to him?

Whenever you are reading the Bible and feel like you aren’t getting anything out of it, pause to ask the Spirit for insight into God’s promises. What if you paused and asked him: “Lord, you have been given to us so that we can understand all the things freely given to us by God. Will you give me insight into God’s Word right now?” Now, insight isn’t enough. Unregenerate scholars have lots of insight into God’s Word. I’m willing to bet that you have gained an insight in Scripture but not known how to respond? What if, instead of trying to “figure out application” on our own, we asked the Spirit to give us an experience of our need? What if you paused to ask him: “Lord, who knows the heart of man like the Spirit of God, will you help me to experience my specific need for right now?” Perhaps the Spirit will lead you to respond by rejoicing, repenting, interceding, or obeying.

Finally, have you ever read with insight, known your need, but felt no desire to respond to God? You know what to do but you’re flat. Hollow. Cold. Don’t move on or assume you will have the proper response. Pause and plead with the Spirit: “Lord, forgive me for my lack of desire, and create fresh, new desire in me to respond to you.” Then, wait and respond. In order to cultivate fresh faith in the gospel, I first recommend Spirit-led Bible reading. Make a habit of asking the Spirit to give you: Insight into his promises, an experience of your need, and to create desire to respond to God. Approach God’s Word with God’s Spirit. Plead for the lightening of the Spirit while carrying the rod of his Word. Ask the Spirit for these three things to revive an indifferent heart.

Do Gospel Homework!

As you read God’s Word, take confidence that the Spirit longs to give you fresh faith in God’s promises. Now, take that faith in a particular promise and consider how the gospel promises something better than whatever the temptation is promising. Prepare for moments of temptation by doing gospel homework. Gospel homework is a lot more fun that it sounds! When reading the Bible, look for promises of grace to rebuff the promises of sin you find so enticing. Look for the Lord’s instruction regarding a particular temptation. Develop a practice of identifying the promises of sin and line them up against the promises of Christ. Here are few examples:

Sexual Lust: the fight for true intimacy

Instead of trusting sexual lust for intimacy, trust God for true intimacy: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). When you are tempted to lust, turn to God’s promise for true intimacy, to see God and be ravished with him in Jesus.

• Lust says: “Long for what you cannot have and you will be happy.”

• The Gospel says: “Rejoice in what you do have, in Jesus, and you will be truly happy.”

Vanity: the fight for true worth

Instead of relying on vanity for worth, consider the beauty of God: “What we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3). When you are tempted to find your worth in your appearance, turn to God’s beauty and rest in the beauty you have in him.

• Vanity says: “Perform beautifully and you will have worth.”

• The Gospel says: “Jesus performed beautifully for you; therefore, you have never-ending worth.”

Pride: the fight for true confidence

Instead of trusting in compliments for confidence, believe that your sufficiency comes from God: “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, butour sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent” (2 Cor. 3:4-6).

• Pride says: “Find and cherish compliments and then you will be confident.”

• The Gospel says: “Your confidence comes, not from your sufficiency, but from God who has made you sufficient in Jesus.”

Get in the habit of comparing the promises of sin to the promises of the gospel. I have found it incredibly helpful to write down a sin promise next to a gospel promise in order to see the staggering difference between the two. When you identify the sin promise, it forces you to search the Scriptures for how the gospel offers a better promise. There’s something about seeing the futility of sin next to the beauty of Christ. Make a habit of doing gospel homework and looking for grace in God’s promises. Memorize the answers. Quote them to temptation. Write them on your heart. Most importantly, plead with the Spirit for fresh faith in gospel promises.

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Jonathan K. Dodson (MDiv; ThM) serves as a pastor of Austin City Life in Austin, Texas. He is the author of Gospel-Centered Discipleship and has written articles in numerous blogs and journals such as The Resurgence, The Journal of Biblical Counseling, and Boundless. He has discipled men and women abroad and at home for almost two decades, taking great delight in communicating the gospel and seeing Christ formed in others. Twitter: @Jonathan_Dodson

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For more information on cultivating fresh faith in the gospel, 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.