A New Chapter

This mortal adventure we’re having is a journey, and is in many ways a “book” of our life with a variety of interesting and sometimes challenging chapters. Looking back I can clearly see “chapters” in my life. Some of them occupied a fairly long time (15-20 years) while others were shorter length (a “short story”). While each chapter builds on previous stories, coming to a new chapter requires the present one to come to a satisfactory conclusion. Individuals have life chapters; families have life chapters; local churches have life chapters. Some chapters are introductory with a focus on training and preparation. Some chapters are interludes, serving as stepping stones and bridges. Other chapters contain major assignments designed to make major contributions. While we’re still in the middle of a chapter, we just want to enjoy it and get the most benefit we can out of it. But there are times when we sense we are coming to the end of a chapter, and that means finding a way to conclude the chapter while anticipating and preparing for what is to come.

The most important “new chapter” anyone could ever experience is the journey out of death into life. One day when Jesus was teaching the crowd he made this profound statement: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). Since we live in the “Bible Belt,” almost everyone has heard the Gospel and claims to be a “Christian” (at least culturally). Yet rarely do we consider the implications of the Gospel for our lives. In this passage Jesus is literally claiming that before we “believed him,” before we turned to God with a heart of repentance and faith, we only experienced death. In fact, we are born dead. Before you get too excited let me remind you that the biblical definition of death is “separation from God.” Because the essence of sin is any and every attempt to live independently from God, by definition sin separates us from God. The only possible outcome of sin is death. However, when we respond to the Good News of God’s provision of restoration/reconciliation/salvation through Jesus, we “cross over” from death to life. Those who believe are literally removed from one place and transferred to another; they depart one place in order to journey into an entirely different place. This is not only a new chapter, it is a whole new life, a new existence, with a new destiny and a new purpose. How is this possible? “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:26). True life is found only in God, the Father and the Son. There is no other source of life. To the extent that we live our lives independently from God, doing our own thing, finding our own way, we are dead. To the extent we are united with God through Jesus, we are alive – with an abundant, overflowing, divine-quality of life.

We then understand that we experience the life of God in community. The local church is a family of families, journeying together, sharing together in the life and mission of Christ. The central celebration of that life and journey is the “Lord’s Supper” (also called “Communion” or the “Eucharist”). In the Bible, every covenant was celebrated with a covenant meal as an expression of the all-important “table fellowship.” It was a reminder of the grace, goodness and faithfulness of God that had rescued us from death and brought us into God’s own kingdom community. In fact, the first church in Jerusalem was devoted to “the breaking of bread” as a part of their weekly lifestyle (Acts 2:42). The apostle Paul loved to reflect on the new covenant meal. He described it this way: “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). When we worship around the table of the Lord we are joining in the fellowship made possible by the blood of Christ. Our celebration is a very significant sign of our fellowship in the body of Christ. When we worship together we are declaring that because Jesus allowed his body to be broken, we can now be “one loaf,” united together by our common faith and dedication to Christ. We worship as “one body,” a new community made up of all those who are sharing in the life of Christ – young and old, rich and poor, black and white, men and women, from every culture, nation and situation in the world. While our society is divided and sick, filled with hostility and injustice, the body of Christ is one, celebrating the body and blood of our Lord as one.

As we come to the end of this year we are coming to the end of a chapter, indeed the end of a season. We’re trusting God to give us the grace and wisdom to close one chapter and move with strength and freedom into the next chapter God has written for us. It has been a grand journey filled with exciting challenges and lessons learned. Because we are still human, there have been misunderstandings and disappointments. Yet we come as one body to worship our Lord in a spirit of unity and renewed commitment to the rule of Christ in our lives and in our world. May our hearts be knit together, excluding no one from the life of Christ and the life of the community. We can say with confidence, the best is yet to come!

“He Will Save His People from Their Sins”

Everyone has their favorite version of Jesus. Some see Jesus as a radical hippie from Frisco. Some like to think of him as a Palestinian revolutionary come to upset the status quo. Others think of Jesus as a wise teacher, a religious genius. Then there are those, especially at Christmas time, who prefer to see Jesus as an 8 lb. 6 oz. baby with golden fleece diapers, cuddly but omnipotent. Holiday sentimentality aside, who was this baby born in a manger, and why did he come into the world?

We have no better or clearer explanation about the nature and mission of that Child then the pronouncements from the Archangel Gabriel. Remember what he said to Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:30-33).

·         You are to call him Jesus. The Greek New Testament gives us the name Yesus, a translation of the Hebrew name Yeshua, or the English name Joshua. It literally meant “The Lord’s Salvation” or “The Lord is Salvation.” It was a fairly common name in first century Palestine and indicated the people’s hope in a coming Messiah.

·         He will be great. It must have been odd for anyone to describe a child born in Nazareth, a very small, very poor out-of-the-way village as “great,” but this would be no ordinary child. In the end, all of human history would pronounce him to be “great.”

·         He will be called the Son of the Most High. While he will be a human baby born in the normal human way, he will be more than human. He will be the very Son of God, the perfect and complete revelation of God, the face of God, come to live among ordinary human beings.

·         The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. This child will be the promised greater son of David, the rightful King of Israel. He will be the fulfillment of the promised Jewish Messiah.

·         His kingdom will never end. He will be so much more than the Jewish Messiah and the Davidic King; he will be the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He will come with a universal mission to establish his righteous rule over all the earth and among all people.

Somewhat later Gabriel appeared to Joseph to provide him with his own understanding of the child he would raise. “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

·         Joseph son of David. Joseph of Bethlehem was himself the rightful heir to the throne of David, the King of Israel in his own right. Joseph would provide a human pedigree for his greater Son.

·         Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. Joseph obviously loved Mary and was committed to her, but he couldn’t live with the disgrace and dishonor of having Mary give birth to an illegitimate child. He needed personal encouragement and confirmation from the Lord.

·         What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Joseph was made to understand that the child forming in his beloved was the result of a supernatural encounter with God, the power of the Holy Spirit miraculously producing a special human being. Mary was a faithful, godly girl who had simply allowed God to do something very unusual in her life.

·         She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. Once again we see heaven’s choice of a name for the Child.

·         Because he will save his people. He will be God’s provision of salvation for all humankind. He will be God’s deliverance, God’s rescue plan for all those who had become separated and alienated from God and his purposes.

·         …from their sins. The faithful in Israel were expecting God’s salvation, a Deliverer sent from heaven, but they were looking for someone who would deliver them from Rome and re-establish the nation of Israel. They hoped for someone who would cause Israel to be a bright shining beacon in the midst of a dark world. But God had so much more in mind for his Son. The enemy of humanity is sin, and there will be no deliverance, no salvation, unless sin is dealt a death blow. Jesus came to establish his rule and defeat sin once and for all. And that salvation is still available to all who call on his name, believing God for the rescue Jesus came to provide.

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’)” (Matthew 1:22-23). Ultimately, Jesus is God with Us, God who has become one of us, God who is himself the bridge of reconciliation, the one who broke down the wall of separation between us. During the fourth week of Advent the church has traditionally reflected on the role of Joseph in the coming of Christ into the world. Joseph was a faithful, righteous man who promptly obeyed whatever instructions were given to him by God. “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife” (Matthew 1:24). As we anticipate our celebration of Christmas day, may we have a heart that is quick to believe and obey God’s promise of salvation. 

Just "Google" It

The current “Information Revolution” is both a blessing and a curse. Vast amounts of information (not all of it accurate) are now available to anyone with an internet connection. With the click of a mouse or a tap on your smart phone you can find out almost anything you might want to know (and some things you really don’t want to or should know). It’s hard to get away with false or misleading statements these days. It’s not unknown for church folk to “fact check” their pastor while he’s preaching. In fact, “google” has now become a verb in our language. It’s all about knowing what to search for and how to search for it.

In fact, “searching” or “seeking” has been an important part of the human experience from the beginning. Everyone is searching for something, and most are searching for similar things. There are some basic things, basic human needs, that all are seeking. We all know that in the beginning God created all things, including human beings, to be very good and to reveal the glory and be an expression of the nature of God. The sin-disease threw God’s good plan off center, resulting in universal gaps and needs that can only be filled by a return to God and his good purpose. It was Blaise Pascal who said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man [and woman] which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” Twelve centuries earlier St. Augustine wrote, “Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.” The Westminster Confession asked, “What is the chief end of man?” And the answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

So we are all searching, longing, hoping, many times “looking for love in all the wrong places.” Sin has left major gaps in our souls and lives, and those gaps can only be filled in one way and by one Person. The ancient Israelites were promised, “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29). King David sang, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always” (1 Chronicles 16:11), and advised his son Solomon, “acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9). During times of dryness, naturally and spiritually, God promised, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). God is looking for “a generation of those who seek him” (Psalm 24:6). That is the only thing that will truly satisfy. “My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8). The honest seeking heart concludes, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). “Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always” (Psalm 105:3-4). The prophets advised, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6), “Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12), and “Seek the Lord and live” (Amos 5:6). For the Lord had promised them, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

In his sermon at Athens Paul explained it this way: “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:26-27). On that first Christmas magi from the east were searching for a king, Israel was searching for a Deliverer, and the shepherds were just hoping for peace. Little did they know that the fulfillment of all their hopes and dreams, the answer to the search of all humanity, was being born in a manger in Bethlehem. Jesus was, and still is, the only thing that can fill the gaps in our souls and lives. Everything and everyone other than Jesus will satisfy for the short-term but only increase the painful longing in the long term.

During the third week in Advent the church traditionally reflects on the role of Mary in the birth of the Christ, including her response of simple faith and obedience. Mary was a simple peasant girl, the teen-aged daughter of a poor farmer in Galilee. But she had been looking to God, seeking the Lord, for the fulfillment of his good purpose in and through her life. So when Gabriel brought her an unbelievable greeting her simple response was, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” Nothing else really mattered – for Mary and for us here today. May we find the true joy of Christmas as we surrender every part of our hearts and lives to the presence and word of God. 

Chill!

If you were heaven’s choir director and had just received an assignment to rehearse a song announcing the birth of the promised Messiah, the Son of God, what would you anticipate? How would you visualize that greatest of all Christmas cantatas? You would possibly see the angelic choir taking their place in one of the great concert halls, filled to capacity with well-dressed, wealthy, influential leaders. What would you think when the day finally arrived and you found out the concert would take place on a hill in a pasture outside of a little farming community in Judea? Well, at least the invitees will be holy, faith-filled, prominent citizens. But no! Now you find out that your audience, the crowd you have been preparing for so long and hard, is going to be shepherds and sheep!!

To begin with, why give the announcement to shepherds? They would become the eyewitnesses to the birth of Jesus, those who would be the first ones to proclaim the Good News that the Messiah had been born. Why not priests or kings or prophets? Shepherds were so low on the social status, only Luke mentions them. In ancient Palestine they were classified with tax collectors and dung sweepers. Shepherds were considered incompetent and untrustworthy. They experienced continual rejection from the surrounding society and lived a fundamentally unstable, unsettling life. Yet these were the ones who were to witness the angelic announcement and see the new born Son. What does that tell you about the heart and nature of God? What does it say about God’s plan to redeem and restore humanity, to establish God’s rule, defeat sin and reverse the curse?

And then there were those sheep! Ancient Egyptian culture considered sheep to be the lowest of all animals, worthless for either food or sacrifice. Sheep tended to eat too much and destroy crops. Sheep were high-maintenance animals, unable to take care of themselves. They depended on shepherds to find them water and adequate pasture. Sheep had to have a shepherd to keep them organized and moving in the right direction. If there was any sense of danger or instability, sheep tended to jump up and wander off, requiring shepherds to gather the scattered sheep. They wouldn’t cross water on their own so the shepherd had to venture into the river first to prove that it was safe. Newborn lambs were especially vulnerable, requiring constant, personal care from shepherds. Sheep were prone to sickness and disease, calling for shepherds to have an adequate knowledge of care and healing. Sheep were accident prone, meaning that shepherds needed to have the ability to mend broken bones. Because sheep were so vulnerable, they were favorite targets for robbers and wild animals; shepherds had to be willing and ready to drive off anyone attacking the flock.

So why give heaven’s glorious announcement to a group of shepherds and sheep? And what was this good news so longed for and desperately needed? “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). “Glory to God,” the glory of God being revealed in a stable and on that hillside. It is the highest glory, originating in the highest heaven. This is the supreme revelation of God and his glorious, eternal purpose for creation and humanity. “Peace,” the coming of God’s wholeness and fullness, the restoration of heavenly harmony and God’s righteous order. “On earth,” God’s shalom coming into human history at a specific time and place. God’s “favor,” God’s good will, good pleasure, God’s best desire and wish for all humankind, was being proclaimed. Everyone equally needed to hear that message, starting at the bottom with the lowliest, the neediest, the most despised and rejected.

The fact is, we are all God’s sheep. Everything that is true about those beautiful but vulnerable animals is true about us. When we find ourselves in an uncertain, unstable time, we tend to get nervous, to get up and begin to stumble around. Some even scatter and wander off. All we like sheep need to hear a word of comfort, a word of peace, a message of favor. In Christ, that message has come. And when we receive that message, like those shepherds long ago, we have the joy and privilege of spreading the good news to the world. “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them” (Luke 2:17-18).

The second week in Advent continues our heart preparation to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world by reflecting on the message and ministry of John the Baptist. John heard heaven’s pronouncement while he was still in his mother’s womb, and he rejoiced. John then dedicated himself to being a “voice,” pointing to Jesus and inviting all who would hear to be true followers of the Messiah. Do you hear that voice? Today is your opportunity embrace the message and find true rest for your soul. 

"Waiting For the Light"

When I was a young pastor in Springfield, Missouri one Christmas I thought I would try my hand at choir directing. With a background in music I thought – why not? We picked a musical entitled, “Waiting for the Light,” and went to work – recruiting, rehearsing, laughing, rehearsing some more. And when the day arrived, it actually sounded pretty good! To this day, members of my extended family who participated in that event still remember the songs and the lines from the cantata. In the words of my daughter, we were “waitingly patiently for the Lord.” In fact, all these years later my experience has taught me that the vast majority of our faith journey involves waiting, and not always patiently, for the Lord.

Our faith journey involves a series of “faith mountain peaks,” of prophetic moments, when we hear the voice of God calling us, and we have the opportunity to respond with obedience (or disobedience). There is really no other way for our faith to grow. Remember what Paul taught the Roman believers: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 NAS). Faith is our response to God’s initiative. Faith requires an object: ultimately God himself (“faith in God”) and then faith in God’s word. When we hear God, when we experience “the word of Christ,” the response of our heart is “faith.” As our sensitivity to God’s voice increases, so does our faith. On several occasions Jesus declared, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear” (see Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; etc.). Having a “hearing ear” is a matter of the heart and involves a soft, submitted, responsive heart toward God and his word. On the other hand, some people’s hearts have become hard and unresponsive. “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:15; see Isaiah 6:9-10).

God never speaks unnecessarily, and God always speaks at the precise moment he chooses to speak. For that reason, we “hear” a fair amount of silence, and it is in the silence that we learn how to “wait” for and listen to the Lord. The grace to be silent and listen is considered a mark of wisdom. “Be silent, Israel, and listen” (Deuteronomy 27:9).  “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues” (Proverbs 17:28). The psalmist considered silence to be a sign of growing faith and spiritual maturity. “Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent” (Psalm 4:4). “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret” (Psalm 37:7). Even the Lord said, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).

Experiencing the silences of God, learning how to wait and listen, can be a very positive and powerful thing. When the prophet Elijah met with God on the mountain he expected to hear God’s voice as a great wind, an earthquake or a fire (see 1 Kings 19:11-12). Instead, God’s voice was experienced as a “gentle whisper” (NIV), or a “sound of sheer silence” (NRSV). We want God to speak plainly so we can more easily hear and determine our response. Instead, God wants us to hear his breath, to hear his heartbeat. God values our personal relationship and wants us to learn how to draw near, stay close, lean heavily, and wait for him with hope in our hearts.

The silence of God is a time of preparation, an opportunity to be alert and ready for the time when God’s word will surely come. There’s an interesting and strange verse in the book of Revelation: “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them” (8:1-2). This is a key moment at the end of the age, begun with “silence.” Commentators refer to this moment as a “dramatic pause.” It is a moment of expectation, an opportunity to pause and get ready for the trumpets that were about to sound. If you are experiencing a time of silence in your life, get ready! The trumpet is about to sound! This is your opportunity to prepare!

Today begins the first week in Advent. The first Sunday is usually commemorated by lighting the first candle, a light that begins to shine in our darkness. A light that symbolizes our longing, our desire, our hope. We remember the time almost 2,000 years ago when there was silence and darkness in Palestine. And then God sent his Light into the world, and everything changed. “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). During the Advent season we reflect on the first and the final coming of Jesus, and we prepare our hearts to see him and to hear his voice. The first week in Advent is focused on the prophecies in the Old Testament that promised the coming of the Lord, prophecies that brought hope and expectation to a people living in darkness and silence, waiting for the Lord. This year more than ever, we look for his coming into our lives in a new way. 

"It's Alive!"

When I was a kid I used to love watching old monster movies. The Mummy, Wolf Man, even the Swamp Thing, were sources of thrill and enjoyment. But my favorite was Frankenstein. The most famous scene in the various Frankenstein movies comes when the insane doctor lowers the body of his monster back into the lab and cries out, “It’s alive! It’s alive!” But was it really? And how do you know if something is alive. Recently I have been enjoying Building a Discipling Culture by Mike Breen. He reviews the 7 biological signs of life, the elements that define something as alive: (1) movement, (2) respiration, (3) sensitivity, (4) nutrition, (5) excretion, (6) growth, and (7) reproduction. He goes on to say that “the inevitable result of a healthy life” is growth and reproduction. It’s not enough to just be alive; the goal is to be vibrant and healthy. Healthy life is ultimately measured by the reality and extent of real growth and reproduction.

We are asking and believing for an alive, vibrant, powerful church. We want to see a congregation that accurately reflects the dynamics of God’s Kingdom in our time and place. To see that vision fulfilled we need to have a clear pathway forward.

Church Health. Just like it’s possible to have a sick, diseased individual, it’s also possible to have a sick, dysfunctional congregation. When Jesus brought salvation, it included healing and restoration. To receive healing we need to understand the kinds of “germs” that make congregations sick. Here are just a few of them: (1) Patterns of unconfessed sin. The apostle Paul had to deal with the Corinthian church for refusing to address and correct a serious pattern of sin. “But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people” (1 Corinthians 5:11). We all wrestle with our own sinful tendencies, but some sinful behaviors, when not adequately addressed, have the power to make a congregation sick. (2) Divisions and factions. Satan’s strategy is always to “divide and conquer.” When a small group in a congregation attempts to use power and influence to gain control at the expense of unity, the congregation becomes sick. “You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?” (1 Corinthians 3:3-4). (3) Lovelessness. An attitude of spiritual pride, exclusiveness and separation not only make a church sick, it changes the church into a social club. God’s house is to be known for attitudes and demonstrations of love. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1 John 3:16-17).

Church Growth. Spiritual growth begins in the heart and life of individual believers. If we are walking with the Lord, listening to his voice and obeying him, the character of Christ will be formed in us. “Making disciples” is our first calling as a believing congregation. Unfortunately, attracting a crowd, even if it means stealing sheep from other congregations, seems to be the mission of a few congregations. “In the past, our zeal to fulfill the Great Commission has often led to the great omission – we’ve made converts without making disciples fully trained and equipped in all Jesus taught” (Mike Breen). Learning dynamic spiritual practices will train us in spiritual maturity. Spiritual growth and development in individual members will then result in corporate growth in the congregation. Our corporate growth will be both qualitative and quantitative. The simple fact is this: healthy sheep reproduce. God’s plan to grow a healthy congregation is through the healthy reproduction of its members. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:37). Unhealthy churches tend to defer to unhealthy growth strategies, reinforcing the pattern of disease in the church. “Reproduction is a sign of life. There seems to be a mechanism with the created order that prevents unhealthy specimens from being multiplied. The unhealthy ones generally don’t multiply; it is the healthy ones that carry on the species. It is the goal of a species to create a healthy next generation, the most important target of their lives” (Mike Breen).

Church Multiplication. Just as healthy sheep reproduce, healthy churches reproduce. A healthy congregation will make disciples from the surrounding area. Healthy believers will be commissioned by the Lord to take the Gospel outside of their immediate sphere of influence. “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). In time, other healthy congregations will be established that will grow and then ultimately reproduce themselves. In this way, it will be obvious that these communities of Jesus followers are indeed alive. “Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust” (Acts 14:23).

For us to be the kingdom community God has designed us to be, we are committed to a clear pathway of church health, church growth, and church multiplication – trusting the Lord to lead and empower us every step of the way. The best is yet to come!

God Is At Work - Everywhere!

I grew up in a wonderful, Christian environment. Every aspect of our lives was centered in and around a local church. Mine was one of those families that could claim we were literally in church “every time the doors were open.” We were the ones who opened the doors at the beginning of the day and cleaned up at the end. In that culture, the highest calling anyone could have was a calling to “full time ministry.” (Being called to missions in Africa was at the top of the calling pyramid.) While vocational ministry is a real possibility, the old view of “clergy” and “laity” assumed that God was primarily at work in the church. The local church was viewed as a “city of refuge,” a place where folks could be kept safe from “the world.” Much later it began to dawn on me that this view of “church” and of the Christian life was more religious than it was biblical. And it that’s true, what is a more accurate view?

Let’s start with some Christian Doctrine 101. God exists and is present everywhere at the same time. “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8). This is one of those unique “attributes of God,” one of the things that defines God as “God,” one of the “omni” words (“omnipresence”). We also understand that God is at work everywhere at the same time. “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:9-10). While God has specific covenant relationships with specific people, his work is universal. God is not confined to a specific time or place or people. “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?” (Isaiah 66:1).

When God “called out” a covenant people to be the “headquarters” of his plan of redemption – Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New – it was so they could be the primary instrument of his redemptive plan and rule on the earth. Both Old and New covenant communities were to be the primary expression of the nature of God’s kingdom and the primary means for extending the influence of God’s kingdom among all the people of the world. To Israel God said, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). The work of a priest was to represent the people to God in prayer and to represent God to the people in speaking God’s Word. As a “kingdom of priests,” Israel was to represent all the people of the earth to God in prayer and they were to represent God to all the people by speaking God’s words. The very same mission was given to the church in the New Testament. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). The church is a covenant instrument in God’s hands. Since the coming of Christ, the church is the primary means of expressing the nature and extending the influence of God’s kingdom. In that sense, the church is a temporary means to an end, the end being the kingdom of God. God is at work, God is on mission, everywhere in the world at all times. The church is a worshipping covenant community on mission with Jesus in the world.

For that reason, the mission of God and therefore the mission of the church, is not just for one or two hours on Sunday morning. The mission of God, the reason for the existence of the church, is a 24/7 universal mission. That means that every full-time disciple of Jesus is engaged in a full-time mission, a full-time ministry. It’s just that each of us has a unique “ministry center.” If you’re a full-time student, your ministry center is the school. If you’re a full-time parent and care-giver, your home is your primary ministry center. If you’re a full-time banker, lawyer, doctor, if you work on the line at the KIA plant or at Wal-mart, your work place is your full-time ministry center. If you live in a certain place, that neighborhood is your ministry center.

To be effective partners in the mission of God, our primary task is to discern where God is at work in our world and to join him in his work. As a covenant community, the church “gathers” in order to “grow.” We gather together to sing and pray and encourage each other. We gather to worship God and hear his voice. We gather to be renewed, revived, and filled with faith and hope and God’s Spirit. But we “grow” in order to “go.” A sports team knows that the meeting in the locker room before the game is not the game itself. That team also understands that when they go out to play the game, it is not the job of the coaches to play while the players sit in the stands and cheer. If you have been born from above, if you are a child of God and a follower of Jesus, you have been commissioned. You are part of the Jesus-team, chosen and called out by God to push back the enemy’s team and see the rule of God bring life and transformation to the piece of earth you inhabit. God is at work – everywhere! Will you join him?

Good News!

End-of-the-world scenarios, e.g., the zombie apocalypse, are very popular these days.  A typical plot might look something like this: A strange virus begins to spread around the world very rapidly, turning people into “the walking dead.” All the best scientists are working as fast as they kind to find a cure, but with little success. And then, a small group of people in an obscure corner of the world find it – a cure that will not only reverse the zombiefying effects of the virus but will bring about a whole new level of abundant life. As a result, this special group began to inoculate each other and share the cure with their closest friends and relatives. They then built a great city surrounded by impregnable walls, and they lived happily ever after from generation to generation, while the rest of the world suffered and died in the worst circumstances imaginable. “That could never happen,” you might say. But unfortunately, it does happen, every day in local churches around the world. You see, we know the cure! We have the Good News that will bring healing and abundant life. We just have to announce it – we have to live it!

It’s all about the Gospel. This beautiful word (Greek euangello) simply means a good announcement, the announcement of good news. It is “good tidings, the glad tidings of the kingdom, a reward for good tidings, the proclamation of the grace of God that has come through Christ.” Believers in Jesus are Gospel-centered, Gospel-celebrating, Gospel-based, Gospel-driven people. That’s why it’s essential that we understand both the Gospel as well as the mandate to announce the Good News every day and in every way. Jesus gave this promise: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14). The Good News of the Reign of God on the earth inaugurated by Jesus will prevail in every nation, among every people group. While some are waiting for the end of the world and the return of Christ, Jesus stated, “And the gospel must first be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10). The Gospel will prevail! The Gospel is the “pearl of great price.” The Gospel is the cause we are willing to live and die for. That’s why Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). Jesus also promised blessing to those who would live a Gospel-centered life: “’Truly I tell you,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30). The final words of Jesus to his followers were, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

The first church in the book of Acts lived to announce the Good News. “After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages” (Acts 8:25; see also 8:40; 14:7, 21; 15:7; 16:10). Paul understood his apostolic mission in terms of his call to preach the Gospel (Romans 1:1-2, 9, 15; 2:16; 11:28; 15:16, 19-20; 16:25). “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). Paul declared the power of the Gospel in these famous words: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17). Paul summarized the content of the Gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:1-8) this way: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (verses 3-4). In other words, the Gospel is the Jesus story, it is the Good News about Jesus.

I grew up in a wonderful, Gospel-centered church culture. However, the word “evangelism” grew to become a feared word. It seemed like we were being judged by whether or not we were finding opportunities to “share our faith,” and were encouraged to do so in the most unnatural kinds of ways. However, the work of “evangelism” is simply the need to announce the Good News. And why would we not want to do so? In fact, we are to be living announcements of the Good News as we seek to effectively communicate the Jesus story in our time and place (see 2 Timothy 4:5). “Evangelism” is nothing more than providing an encounter with the Good News and ultimately with Jesus himself, giving an opportunity for a faith response. It might be helpful to clarify that evangelism is not:

1.   A turn-or-burn scare tactic.

2.   A door-to-door sales strategy.

3.   An event designed to get bodies onto the church property.

In fact, most of the time evangelism is a faith-based conversation between friends, offering the help and life only Jesus can give. It is the offer of a cure and of abundant life. 

Eating the Word

Americans love their Bible. It is the most owned and read least of any other book.  A recent survey discovered that 19% of regular churchgoers read the Bible every day while 18% read the Bible rarely or never. In addition, a recent Barna survey found that today’s younger generation views the Bible as less sacred and less accurate and personally engages with the Bible less than older generations. Some have gone so far as to say that today’s generation is “biblically illiterate.” At the same time, the Willow Creek REVEAL study found that “reflection on Scripture” is the single most important spiritual growth “catalyst” for all Jesus followers. Obviously we have a challenge when it comes to growing in God’s Word: we commonly “believe in” the Bible, we value the Bible, most of us own one or more Bibles, but we also tend to neglect a personal engagement with the Bible and therefore miss the single most important factor in our experience of personal transformation. So what do we need to do to begin a new lifestyle of active, personal engagement with God’s Word?

Maybe we should begin by reminding ourselves of why we value the Bible so highly. We serve a God who has not distanced himself from humanity but has gone to great lengths to consistently reveal himself to us. The Bible often refers to God’s self-revelation as the “word” of God, and that word is very powerful. It is the word that brought everything into existence in the first place. “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). God’s word became specific and clear in both a Written Word and a Living Word. God’s revelation in Scripture and in Jesus tells the whole story of who God is, what God is like, and of the eternal purpose of God. Concerning Jesus we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). In the mystery of the Triune God the Father is revealing himself in his Word by the Holy Spirit. That’s why the apostle Paul described Scripture as “inspired” (2 Timothy 3:16), or literally, “God-breathed.” The breath of God, the Spirit of God, brought forth and rests on the Word of God. When we are born from above, the Spirit who is in us connects with the Spirit in God’s Word and we have a direct experience of God’s revelation. As Henry Blackaby says, reading and reflecting on Scripture does not lead us to an experience of God, it is an experience of God. It is the combination of the Spirit and the Word that has the power to transform our lives. That’s why Jesus said, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63), and “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The writer to the Hebrews summarized it this way: “For the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). When tempted by Satan in the wilderness Jesus was victorious when he said, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

But the power of God’s Word to transform our lives does not happen automatically or by some kind of magical process. It requires a regular, consistent, personal interaction on our part with the Word. And that begins by accepting fully the authority of God’s Word in our lives. It’s not possible to receive God’s revelation in the Word without having first committed ourselves to hearing and obeying whatever God says to us in the Word. Jesus said, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17). James reminded us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). We then learn to read Scripture reflectively and with humility, understanding our dependence on God to open our hearts and plant the Word in our hearts as good seed. “However, as it is written: ‘What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). We can then learn a healthy and consistent lifestyle of daily engagement with Scripture. That not only involves reading but also what the Bible calls “meditation,” a repeated pondering of a short passage of Scripture, asking questions about personal application. Meditation includes praying about what God is saying to us in that passage, and then repeating that word throughout the day. “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season” (Psalm 1:1-3).

Don’t be in a hurry. Let God show you where in the Bible he wants you to read. Some passages are more appropriate than others in certain seasons of life. Know when to reflect on the Psalms or the Proverbs. Develop a sense of how to engage with the Gospels and the Epistles. Above all else, be prayerful and consistent. After all, God’s Word is your daily food; it is your life. And “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you” (Ephesians 1:17-18). 

God's Sacred Portion

Understanding and practicing consistent stewardship as productive managers of everything God has “loaned” us is really Christianity 101. It’s one of those foundational ideas that summarizes our life as Jesus followers and citizens of his Kingdom. But sometimes the details escape us and might even become sources of controversy. So let’s explore foundational stewardship brick-by-brick.

It really all began with the story of Cain and Abel. Genesis chapter 4 is the first time we see the word “sin” in the Bible and has everything to do with the heart of worship. Both brothers were worshippers but they had a very different heart toward the Lord in their worship. The text says that Cain brought “some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the Lord” while Abel brought “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock” (vss. 3-4). God saw the differences between these two offerings as a fundamental indication of their different approaches to God as worshippers. That fact was proven when, after God showed favor to Abel and his offering, Cain responded by killing his brother out of jealousy. Because Abel had a sincere, wholehearted commitment to God, he understood that the first and best portion of everything belonged entirely to God and was to be offered up as worship. The “first and the best” as God’s “sacred portion” became a clear principle of worship and stewardship in the rest of Scripture. In the Law of Moses the sacred portion was sometimes referred to as the “firstfruits” (Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 2:12; Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 26:10) or the “firstborn” of the flock (Exodus 34:19; Leviticus 27:26; Numbers 18:17; Deuteronomy 12:6).

I think it would have been helpful if God had defined the “sacred portion” more specifically so true worship could be proportional and systematic. But wait – God did provide that kind of definition. It all began with Abram. When God gave Abram victory over his enemies and enabled him to rescue his nephew Lot, he worshipped the Lord with the priest-king Melchzedek. “Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything” (Genesis 14:20). This is the first passage in the Bible that defines God’s sacred portion, the first and best, as the first “tenth.” Later Jacob followed this same principle (Genesis 28:22). In the Law of Moses, the first tenth as God’s sacred portion simply became known as the “tithe” (meaning “tenth”). When the nation of Israel was given instructions concerning the true worship God was looking for in their covenant relationship with him, the tithe became a key principle. God summarized it by simply saying, “A tithe of everything…belongs to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30). It wasn’t so much that the people were given the option to worship God by generously giving him a tenth of everything; the first tenth belonged uniquely to God and was not the people’s to give. A sign of their covenant loyalty to the Lord, the baseline of their commitment as worshippers, was an understanding that the sacred tenth belonged to God alone and was to be systematically and consistently offered up to him as worship. It was “holy to the Lord” (Leviticus 27:32). Just before his death Moses reemphasized the role of the tithe in the nation’s covenant relationship with God as an acknowledgement that everything they had belonged to God and had been given them to manage according to God’s instructions (Deuteronomy 26:1-15). Giving was then seen as “systematic” (regular, consistent) and “proportional” (calling for the same portion from everyone, rich and poor alike).

Whenever the nation of Israel experienced a “backsliding” from their commitment to God, they neglected to worship God with a sacred portion. However, during times of revival Israel always knew to return to their covenant loyalty and true worship with tithes (2 Chronicles 31:5-6; Nehemiah 10:37-38; 13:12). When the prophets called on Israel to repent, their repentance included a return to the worship principle of the tithe (Amos 4:4). In fact, the prophets understood that, because the tithe was holy, it could not be given – but it could be stolen. Giving to the Lord did not begin until it exceeded the tithe. “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). Malachi went on to promise blessings to those who would return to faithful worship and stewardship. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10).

Unfortunately, the Pharisees in Jesus’ day made tithing into a superficial, external religious tradition. Jesus rebuked them by saying, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Matthew 23:23; see also Luke 11:42). Jesus commended them for “practicing the latter” (tithing) but condemned them for neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness. Some object saying that Jesus taught 100% belongs to God and not just 10% and that tithing, therefore, is not called for. My response is: (1) The Old Testament taught that 100% belongs to God as well, the tithe was the sacred portion that constituted the baseline of covenantal worship; and (2) the 100% surely includes the 10% as a starting point. If we understand that everything belongs to God and that we are all managers of God’s stuff, then we also understand that the starting point of our faithful management is worshipping God with the first and the best portion that uniquely belongs to him. We are then stewards of the remaining 90%.

So what is the meaning of the tithe?

1.   It is a small portion of everything God has given us that belongs uniquely to God. We have the honor of worshipping God with that portion.

2.   It is a sign of our covenant relationship with God. When we worship God with the first tenth we are acknowledging that 100% belongs to God.

3.   It is worship, an expression of love and gratitude to the God who sacrificed everything, and especially his Son, for us. It is to be offered up freely and joyfully.

4.   It is proportional and systematic, asking the same thing of everyone equally.

On the other hand, the tithe is not:

1.   Membership dues, a requirement to belong in God’s kingdom community.

2.   Brownie points, earning favor with God or contributing in any way to our salvation.

3.   An investment scheme, making a business deal with God in order to earn his blessings.

4.   A savings program, allowing us to worship with a tithe and add 10 or 20 or more percent – “banking offerings” (maybe during a building program) and then not tithe for some time afterward.

5.   A barter system, trading one kind of service and stewardship for another. (“I’ll trade you 3% of the tithe for an extra two hours of service in the youth group,” etc.)

Everything we have belongs to God alone – our time, our talents, and our material treasures. The principle of the sacred portion can be applied to every part of our lives as we commit ourselves to worshipping God with the first and best of everything he has given us.