I say it will be The Triune Creator God. How so? As They work out the unified mission in this world, for our good and to the glory of God the Father, Son and Spirit. More and more people will take notice and be renewed to a saving knowledge in Jesus. It’s not trendy but will become more increasingly the trend as the future becomes the present.

This new year presents endless opportunities for good and bringing hope to a dark work. It will be quite an adventure. It’s always good to start new adventures with some essential theology:

Missio Dei is Latin for “mission of God” and captures the reality that God is the one who initiates and sustains His mission (restores His image marred by the fall and reclaims His kingdom marred by the kingdom of darkness).  God the Father sends the Son, God the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit; God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit send the Church. The church is being sent and sends itself into the world as God’s ambassadors to restore the image of God and recapture the ‘reign of God’ through God’s redemption and reconciliation in our Savior Jesus Christ.

—summarized from Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2006), 5.

That’s why missional theologians can be quick to remind us that the Church doesn’t have a mission. Rather, God has a mission, and for that reason He created the church to participate in fulfilling it (Matt. 28:18-20).

Or, in simple terms, as Jesus prayed:

“As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” —John 17:18

By the way, Happy New Year!

—

This book is fascinating. It is a great mix of solid research (science and numbers) and cultural engagement (arts). I eat up the numbers side (as a left-brainer), yet appreciated greatly the wise commentary throughout. There were a number of characters whose stories were engaging, and although fictitious and fleshed out from homogeneous groupings, the narrative is fast-paced. This isn’t a just dry thesis with a bunch of numbers to back it up.

Lost & Found has three sections: Part I is Polling (who they are, what they believe, and what the future holds); Part II is Listening, where four markers are discovered (common themes of their deepest longings); and Part III is Reaching, where actual churches are looked at that are reaching the younger unchurched. This is a practical and helpful book. For that reason I will comment mostly on the helpful parts of the book and not dive too much into where it lacked (because it didn’t lack much). That said, there are some spots where I wish a more thorough analysis could be found; I’ll comment on those as we go.

Part I of Stetzer’s book deciphers research conducted among the “younger unchurched” (twentysomethings, 20-29 years-old), who happened to comprise the following cross-section:

• 22% always unchurched
• 62% de-churched
• 15% friendly unchurched
• 37% hostile unchurched

Because the masses are mixed, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to outreach. Many unchurched value spiritual matters but say they are turned off by “religion.” For example:

• 43% say they are spiritual but not religious
• 31% say they are spiritual and religious
• while only 9% say they are religious but not spiritual (and 18% were neither)
• about 40% of the younger unchurched identify with a denomination or faith group (as many of them grew in church and thus are de-churched)
• 60% say they grew up attending church as a child

It’s partly a book about evangelism (in a personal, individualism sense), but mostly about how local churches can mobilize our people to reach this “gap” generation before it’s too late for them. It’s about connecting as people, and as the corporate church. In that way it’s helpful, as Stetzer and company do not advocate a “come and see” approach that most books of this type advocate. They are not into only attractional church, but in missional church that is distinctly not extractional. (That is the dichotomy I see: rather than just missional vs. attractional, it is more essential to be missional vs. extractional.) We need to engage people where they are. Or, as Stetzer so apply summarized when talking about developing a sense of authentic community:

“Rather than behave/believe/belong ministry, we must move toward a belong/believe/become model” (84)

How many churches (or at least most of its members) have a Christian morality and social code that they project on the unconverted? Too many, in my opinion. If we are not on mission, moving towards people, then can we really be making disciples?

Here’s a talk Stetzer gave about these research findings:

Continuing on …

The skinny: it is bad news that the younger unchurched believe the church is to critical about lifestyle issues, generally full of hypocrites, and ultimately not necessary for spiritual development. This group has voted with their feet, and they have rejected the church because they think it is not necessary (or at least irrelevant; the church is not on the radar of many). The good news is that the younger unchurched are willing to dialogue about Christianity and Jesus. That is really good news: we want to talk with them about Him. Perhaps what they’ve encountered is not real Christianity at its core, but something altogether different (“religion” in the pejorative sense).

Their sense of spiritual truths is disjointed. While 4 in 5 believe that God or a higher supreme being exists, three out of five believe the God of the Bible is no different from other so-called gods (as in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism). Yet, more than 60 percent believe Jesus died and came back to life. They are open to learning more about Jesus. (More on where they would turn to learn about Him to follow.) About 3/4 believe the Christian church is generally helpful to the world. But almost half indicated that Christians get on their nerves. And nine out of ten believe they do not need the church in order to have a relationship with God or learn how to live the Christian life. Yet, nearly that many said they are willing to talk with someone about Christianity. They’re open.

Where (or to whom) would they turn to find spiritual guidance? Since they don’t believe the church is indispensible or a place to encounter absolute truth, About 60% are willing to study the Bible with a friend (if asked). But, since they believe Christianity is today more about organized religion than about loving God and loving people, they’re not that keen on going to church. Only one in six would go to church if seeking inspiration.

Their theological beliefs are interesting. It’s hard to argue with facts; they’re stubborn things. But, statistics can be construed certain ways based on questions lending themselves to nebulous self-identification. For example, Barna’s research of the last few decades often centers around persons identifying themselves as “born-again” Christians. Alas, the immorality of this self-called group is no better than the world (sinful behaviors, divorce, bad theology, etc.) But, because the classification is self-identified without an objective locus, how can one be certain of those findings? (Are they really born-again?) A strength of LifeWay Research’s questioning system is that one is more likely to say they are Christian than not (here in the U.S. at least), and this group sought out in the research for the book are decidely unchurched (or de-churched). They don’t really want to be known as Christians, and thus I tend to trust their self-identification more readily (than the system selected by Barna in parallel research).

Four key markers:

1. Community

2. Depth (& content)

3. Responsibility

4. Connection

We have “aspired” to community but it has scarcely become reality; and young adults have taken notice, both inside and outside the church (69). What stands out? An interest in authentic encounteres, a desire for relational equity (both presence and programs), wanting to be listen and process content (not passive), and a real desire for relationships to go past “hello” and “hi.” The key metaphor of family comes to the forefront. In this stage twentysomethings are wrestling through five key areas, such as identity, meaning, intimacy, pleasure and truth (from my own other research). All of these should be experienced in the context of community (at least in part).

I’ve long felt that depth of content — communicating under the authority of the Scriptures and wrestling with theology — is what my generation desires. We cannot subsist on “how to” speeches or “law-lite” platitudes or can-do speeches. We want the real thing; we want God. And even if we don’t want God (Romans 8:7-11), we want a transcendent experience. If we come to church we’ll want to encounter the real thing, not a side dish. So, I was not at all surprised at the researchers’ findings. A church an make a first-impression with eye candy, but to have a lasting mark, to produce deep Christians who want to live for Christ and be used for Him, we need to take them deep into the Gospel. The research shows this (87-104). The analogy of sitcoms (94-95) is spot-on. Nowhere in life are a few problems introduced in parallel, then navigated successfully and wrapped up neatly at the end of a 30 minute span. But that is what sitcoms give us (Friends, Seinfield, these days The Office), and that is what many contemporary churches strive for in their services. We want practical theology but we don’t just need six steps to a happy life. We need an encounter with the living God, with the truth of His Word, so we can be changed and become people who can face real issues in life.

And that’s why the issue here with depth is more than just about the words we say; it is about the person we are. Younger adults want to connect with real people navigating authentic struggles, and sharing life through the process. We cannot preach and give off the air that we walk in everything we are saying. We are broken people too and need to preach and speak and pastor as those who are also wrestling with issues. Not flimsy or unconvinced, but with conviction and authenticity at the same time. We’d rather be in over our heads than ankle deep in the shallow end (98). See, I’m placing myself in the middle of this group even as I write; this analysis resonates with me. More than What or How, we want the Who and the Why behind truth (more here). Stetzer writes:

“A significant chasm exists between behaviorism and transformation. Transofrmation goes beyond external resolutions. It requires internal struggle. It requires mining truth down to its deepest core and allowing it to resonate within you” (98).

The younger unchurched are wondering why the church remains silent on many of the issues plaguing our world. They desire responsibility. They want a culture of awareness, of wanting to make a difference, of coming together for a common goal — other than ourselves and self-preservation. Too many churches exist for themselves. They want to serve: one another, the church, and especially the local community and the world.

They also desire a cross-generational connection. I could write for days on this one, but suffice to say that as I organize small groups at our church I’ve gotten quite a few blank stares when I’ve mentioned inter-generational mission and community. Yet, in every instance, when the generations have seen the purpose and gave it a chance, they’ve felt a deeper connection to the church, to being used by God in each others’ lives. It’s organic mentoring; well, intentional and organic at once. Call it a greenhouse effect, giving room for growth but setting up proper environments.

So, what will we do at WCC? I’m not sure, but this book and statistical research has given me deeper confidence in some of the core emphasis I hope to continually bring before our leaders and members. Issues of authenticity, of Gospel-centered Bible teaching, of exploration and learning wisdom. Not short-cutting by simply giving (all) or assuming conclusions, of an openness of life to multiple generations, and challening the status quo of church being a place rather than the biblical definition of God’s people birthed by the Spirit, sent on the mission of the Son to the glory of the Father. We must be a people who welcome others to belong, leading to believing and becoming (and not being moralists).

Lost & Found is a good read. I highly recommend it for church leaders, and especially for a team of leaders who want to learn together and be challenged beyond their perspective to reach twentysomethings in their context.

Note: Just found out Jason Hayes (the research contributor to Lost & Found, and the leader of the Threads initiative for LifeWay) has produced a short supplemental booklet for connecting young adults in community. It’s called Context: Engaging the Young Adults of Your Community. A church staff friend gave me an advance copy; it looks to be a good synopsis of the longer book, with practical applications for reaching young adults.

“By becoming a Christian, I belong to God and I belong to my brothers and sisters. It is not that I belong to God and then make a decision to join a local church. My being in Christ means being in Christ with those others who are in Christ. This is my identity. This is our identity. . . . If the church is the body of Christ, then we should not live as disembodied Christians.”

—Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and community, 41.

Reminds me of Romans 12:1-8, especially vv. 3ff:

12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Gifts of Grace

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Happy Tensions: What, Why, How … + Who // my favorite article on seeing all things through the lens of Jesus. We need a Redeemer, not a system of redemption (how-to’s). I was pastoral intern at a purpose-driven church at the time

Gospel-distorting approaches to change // perhaps another way of saying that all sin is idolatry, and since we worshiped our way to sin, we must worship our way out

Happy tensions: Head + Heart // objective + subjective knowing; God doesn’t want us to check our brain at the door

Clarity > Relevance // adults are like teens, just that teens can pay attention more/longer

Believing + Receiving // Do I treat Jesus like He is a Comcast cable guy, doing things for me so I can enjoy life without Him?

The Devoted Church // on first sermon preached at WCC

GOD: They is One // don’t apologize for the Trinity; it is not a technicality, it is the foundational relationship of everything

Our common Source of Significance // re-blogged another pastor’s thoughts; spot-on in my book

Living Our True Identity// 200-word essay for a local paper on the nature of the church. We are worshipers, family, learners, missionaries, servants. Are you?

Living Our True Identity

“Church” in our culture has come to mean an event or a building. “Worship” is thought of as the singing that takes place inside that building. Yet, Scripture teaches that the church is not merely an event or physical structure and that worship extends beyond words on a screen and the walls of a building. Everyone worships. We worship whatever it is that we most value.  We all devote our lives to that which we esteem most worthy.

So who are we, who worship the true and living God? We are the church. A people, rescued by grace, sent on mission to follow His Son. Our great mission is to spread the Good News of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20). Fueled by thankful hearts, we make it our aim to make known the greatness of this One we’ve come to love.

Our identity is singular; our roles are many. We are God’s people. Our identity is found in Him.  As His, we are also worshipers, family, learners, missionaries, servants. Do we take our roles seriously? As the church, let us not forget our true identity. We exist for God. For people. For the city. For the world. Because we are His. Are you?

On Friday a new website launched:  rethinkmission.org. Team Rethink Mission, led by church planter and pastor Jonathan McIntosh, is all about “inspiring Gospel-centered missional churches.” I’ve been tracking Jonathan’s preaching and articles for a few years (he recently transitioned from the pastoral and teaching team of The Journey Church in St. Louis). His message is consistently about Jesus, and reaching people in our culture.

Jonathan notes the commitments of a Gospel-centered church:

1. Reading & teaching the entire Bible in light of the gospel.
2. Preaching the gospel to believers, not just unbelievers.
3. Leaders applying the gospel to themselves first; church leaders are the first repenters
4. Cultivating a leadership culture marked by ever increasing “gospel astonishment.”
5. Being known for an atmosphere of grace; gospel-centered churches are safe places for seekers, skeptics and those outside the faith.

Check out rethinkmission.org, perhaps starting with two key articles:

• What is a gospel-centered church?
• What is a missional church?

Team Rethink Mission writes that a missional church is committed to:

• Cultural exegesis – becoming humble students of the varied people & cultures surrounding the church.
• Faithful contextualization – communicating gospel truth in ways the culture understands.
• Producing missionaries instead of consumers – equipping people to live out the gospel through their daily lives and work.
• Building a great city, not just a good church – the goal being more than a full church, but a transformed city.
• Social justice – healing real wounds and righting injustices in the community around them.
• Church planting – multiplying to new towns, cities, states and countries by starting new local churches.

(If some interaction would help, then read an interview on Missional Preaching, an interview on suburban church planting, or a 3 min clip discussing “The Hipper Than Thou Church.”)

Another feature sticks out to me: the advisory board is a mixed bag of pastors and thinkers (at least Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist pastors). It seems each is committed to inspiring Gospel-centered missional churches—and committed to one another and the good of the Kingdom of God.

Looking forward to more challenging content from Team Rethink Mission.

—

For those in a suburban context (like me), see The Subtext (thesubtext.org) for similar Gospel-centered content and practical encouragement.

We identify ourselves publicly with Him, before all these witnesses, just as Jesus at His baptism identified with His Father and the Spirit (Matthew 3:1-12). He certainly did not have to repent! But we do, and we must each choose Christ (continually). We can choose Him — and take on a new identity in His Kingdom — because He first chose us (John 15:16).

Dozens of people were baptized this weekend (more than five dozen actually!), in full street clothes, and it was a joy to celebrate new life with them. As we explored the doctrine during the sermon, we re-learned that no one can be saved through their baptismal work. It’s not our works that save us; it is Jesus’ finished work. It’s not our obedience, but His.

Baptizo, the common Greek word that we’ve transliterated into English as “baptism,” was used in a variety of ways in literature, both in the New Testament and outside of it, even in everyday writings (like a recipe for making pickles!). The word can literally mean dunk, dip, immerse, soak, wash. In the NT sense baptism has always been a public sign of repentance, a symbol of turning away from an old life. Whether or not you think Romans 6 is a “wet” passage, the picture remains: baptism identifies us with Christ in His sacrificial death, burial and glorious resurrection. His new life becomes ours through believing in Him, and we make this reality known to the world publicly through baptism. (I was baptized twice in my life, once at a few weeks old, and after I repented and began following Christ two decades later. The first was the choice of my parents; the second was mine.)

This identification always brings the family element of the church front and center. This weekend hundreds of onlookers been participants with those being baptized. We were encouraged, challenged, even convicted as we said, “welcome to the family!” Each individual had to get baptized on his or her own. Yet, we do not belong to ourselves. The happy tension of “I” becoming part of “us.” A child of God among the people of God. That’s because church is not an event or place we attend, but a people we are and become, the called-out ones, sent on mission by our King, Jesus. We can’t go it alone.

(Note: this isn’t a book built for just one person. You won’t be able to “fight” alone. So, send the link to a friend, read it together and fight for one another, together, through the Gospel.)

Here’s the table of contents of Fight Clubs:

Introduction

1. Why Fight?: The Call to Fight

2. Fighting for the Church: The Failure of Accountability

3. How to Fight: Motivations for Discipleship

4. Fighting with the Church: The Three Conversions of the Church

5. Fight Club: Practical Gospel-centered Discipleship

Appendix 1: Gospel-centered Questions to Ask

Appendix 2: Gospel-centered Resources

[bio from theResurgence]:

Who is Jonathan Dodson?

Jonathan Dodson is a former window washer from East Texas, happy husband to Robie, and proud father of two children, Owen and Ellie. He is also the lead pastor of Austin City Life church and directional leader for PlantR, an Austin-based church planting network. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Anthropology and M.Div and Th.M degrees in Theology, and has published articles in various journals and webzines such as The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Boundless, Next Wave, and The Resurgence. He blogs at Creation Project and Church Planting Novice. Jonathan likes listening to Midlake and M. Ward, reading, writing, watching sci-fi, and following Jesus.

His gospel-centered emphases are water for my soul, always pointing past himself to the One who is our only Hope. A couple years ago I ran across his writings/articles on Boundless and was hooked. Fight Club looks to be a synthesis of both seeing our true enemies, and Gospel-motivated tactics. There are three simple rules for the fight clubs:

1. Know your sin
2. Fight your sin (together)
3. Trust the Savior

The church is notorious — both in anecdotes and in real life — for fighting sin as either wimps (cheap grace) or bullies (legalism). Neither will change the inner man, and both are a farce when it comes to learning to know, love and enjoy God.

(One thing I expressly appreciate about this type of resource is it is community-focused. No one can be a disciples of Jesus by himself — not even your pastor. We need one another, no matter how jacked-up we may be.)

Here’s a summary of the five chapters:

Chapter One lays out a biblical case for fighting the fight of faith, which I hope stirs you up to fight the fight of faith. Once the fighting begins, it is easy to slide into fighting people instead of sin. We start beating one another up with judgment, fighting the wrong things with the wrong motives. We fight against the church instead of with her.

Chapter Two explores where we go wrong in our fighting by uncovering legalistic and licentious patterns in discipleship.

In turn, Chapter Three calls us away from these extremes into a gospel-centered discipleship. With the gospel at the center of discipleship, we can live as Jesus intended—fighting the good fight of faith which leads to true change. However, if weren’t not careful we’ll start to fight on our own. Failure to grasp the community focus of the gospel can cut us off from the grace God gives through his people, the church.

Chapter Four reminds us that discipleship is a community project because the gospel is community focused. Jesus created and redeemed us as people in relationship, people who need one another in the fight of faith. Instead of fighting against the church, we can fight with her, to live a life that is motivated by all that God is for us in the Spirit and the Son.

In conclusion, Chapter Five offers a practical way to apply the gospel to everyday life. It is a call for Fight Clubs—small, simple, biblical, reproducible groups of people who meet together regularly help one another keep the gospel at the center of their discipleship. Fight Clubs have been crucial in my life and my church. I hope and pray that you’ll find them helpful too, that you’ll form a Fight Club and start fighting with the church, in the gospel, on mission, for the glory of God.

Simply Missional

Ed Stetzer and Eric Geiger

Dell Computers has shattered the warehouse myth. Most companies love big warehouses. They feel safe with lots of inventory on large shelves in massive warehouses, always ready for that next order. In their minds, the well-stocked warehouse confirms the belief they will always be able to meet customer demands and customer expectations.

Dell disagrees with the warehouse approach. In the technology business, the product literally rots in value on the shelves. Because Dell does not want their best resources on the shelves, they only keep two hours of inventory. Which means that if you order a PC on dell.com, the parts will not arrive to Dell until two hours before your PC is shipped to you.

Dell wants their resources out there, on the street. Not in the warehouse, where the resources merely gather dust and produce no impact. So Dell has designed a very strategic process to move their resources to the street.

Sadly many churches are betting their futures on the warehouse myth.

Most churches build big warehouses and shelve a bunch of Christians (those rows look suspiciously like shelves). They design attractive programs to "retain" people in the sacred warehouse, keep precise records of how much inventory (people) is on the shelves, and brag about their warehouses being constantly open. And warehouse managers love to show other warehouse managers their newest warehouses while dreaming together of bigger and better warehouses.

God is calling churches to shatter the warehouse myth, to change their warehouses into strategic distribution centers, where people are distributed as salt and light to the world–sending them out on mission. Some churches are strategically challenging their people to be out there, and these churches have a strategic and simple process that moves people from the warehouse to the street. These churches are simple and missional.

They are simply missional.

• Read the whole article, "Simply Missional

The main points Stezer and Geiger make:

1. Being missional and being simple requires strategic thinking.
2. Living a missional life is a part of a simple discipleship process.
3. Simple churches offer less at the church building, thus creating opportunities for missional living.
4. Missional and Simple leaders know the culture.
5. Both Missional and Simple are people-focused, not program-focused.
6. Neither Missional or Simple is a church model.

Their conclusion:

All types of churches should seek to release their people to be missionaries in the culture. And all types of churches need a discipleship process based on knowing and doing. We believe having a process for discipleship is essential in any effective church model and that process must contain an equal amount of lab work and classroom study. We believe any effective church model will challenge and cause their people to be missional.

As you read this, Dell’s parts are being moved to the street. Out of the warehouse.

What about the people in your church? They are your greatest resource. Are they being distributed to the world around them? Do you have a simple process to move them to missional involvement?

We are all devoted to something. In fact, we are each devoted to many things. It’s what we talk about, think about, give time and money to. We will sacrifice anything and everything for what we consider most valuable, what we are devoted to.

Acts 2:42-47 shows us what the early Christian church was devoted to:

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Much could be said on this passage, it answers two primary questions:

1. When we get together as the church, what are we to do?

2. What does God want from us?

Let’s consider that second one: What does God want from me?

The answer is found in verse 42: He wants our devotion! The word "devoted" means to be in constant use of, to be committed to, to persevere in . It is synonymous with discipline. The church was founded on the finished work of Jesus — He alone is the basis of our relationship with God. They continued in His grace, living out their new identity as the church of Jesus Christ through a few simple practices or disciplines. They were, to summarize this passage in two points, devoted to God by being:

1. Devoted to Truth

2. Devoted to one another

They were God-centered (devoted to the Truth found in God’s Word, the Bible), and others-directed (devoted to one another).

To help our people dive into God’s Word, we gave some tools for the devoted life (including Bible reading plans).

What are some barriers to community (from being devoted to one-another)?

One main one comes to mind: Pride .

Pride is self-focus.

Our personal pride comes out in four key ways that keep us from experiencing community:

• Self-reliance // I don’t need others; I can do it myself (and they should too!)
• Self-protection // others have heart me, so I’m closing myself off (to never be hurt again)
• Self-righteousness // seeing others’ sin more clearly than our own
• Busyness // can anyone keep up the pace you’re running, for the long haul and be healthy and useful to others?

What barriers are you allowing to keep you from experiencing authentic community, from being devoted to others?

Let’s be open to the fact that God is going to bring people into our lives who will love us and walk with us on this journey. They won’t be perfect, but they will be from God.

John 3:16 gives us a short-hand version of the Gospel. The Good News is made ours to experience and live in when we believe in Jesus. Consider these four observations about “believing in Him.”

Not everyone will be saved

Not everybody will benefit from what Jesus came to do. But “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The rest will perish—and not have eternal life. They won’t have eternal life, because they won’t have God – who offers Himself in this one way.

Embracing something (or Someone) as true

The word “believe” itself means to embrace something as true; and when it’s a person, it means to trust them to be what they are and do what they say.

“Receive” explains believe

Read John 1:11-12 together. There Jesus shows another concept He has in mind – to believe is to receive.

“[Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

So receiving Jesus and believing Jesus explain each other.

Receive Jesus as what?

Many people want to “receive” or “accept” Jesus into their lives, but only in a fringe role. Jesus becomes part of their lives, not the whole purpose and center of their lives (see Colossians 3:3-4). Perhaps an analogy would be helpful for teaching the small group.

There are many ways to receive someone into your home. Who comes into your home in a given month?

• When the roto-rooter or furnace repair technician come, what is your expectation of their stay? (Fix it and leave, please. That’s what I am paying you for.)
• How about a Comcast cable technician? (Can’t wait until you’re gone, so I can enjoy the fruit of your labor!)
• Your in-laws? (Just put up with them, and get back to ‘normal’ life when they leave.)
• Some people we don’t receive into our homes. We don’t have time for them, or we don’t know them. What about the person who is a dear friend? How do you receive that person into your home? They are an honored guest who you long to converse with and know deeply. Time flies because you love this person. You poor out your heart and life experiences to this person, trusting him or her to listen as your confidant. You share meals and life, swapping stories and you realize, “I can’t live without this person!”

Everyone should candidly ask themselves:

Do I treat Jesus like He is a Comcast cable guy, doing things for me so I can enjoy life without Him?

If we ask, “Receive Him as what?” the answer would be, “Receive Him as what He is.” He is Savior and King. We must receive Him as who He is. We see this type of discussion in Scripture with another analogy. Like when Jesus says in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” So here believing means coming to Jesus and receiving him as the food and drink that satisfies our souls. We need Him just as much as the basic food to sustain us. This is why faith is so transforming. Everything we receive changes us.

When we receive Jesus by faith, does He transform us, and nourishing us so we become different people?

Note: Saving faith always requires repentance from sin. Our response to the Gospel can be summarized in different ways. Sometimes faith alone is named as the one thing necessary for salvation (see John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9; Eph. 2:8–9), other times repentance alone is named (Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; 5:31; 17:30; 2 Cor. 7:10), and sometimes both are named (Acts 20:21), as they are one. Genuine faith always involves repentance, and vice versa. Repentance includes a change of mind that ends up trusting God (i.e., having faith).

(Many thanks to Pastor John Piper for illuminating these points.)

Listen to "That Whosoever"

"My dear friends, most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent, and the successful. But what you most need in a leader is someone who has been broken by the knowledge of his or her sin, and even greater knowledge of Jesus’ costly grace. The number one leaders in every church ought to be the people who repent the most fully without excuses, because you don’t need any now; the most easily without bitterness; the most publicly and the most joyfully. They know their standing isn’t based on their performance."

- Tim Keller (emphasis added)

Thank you for your email. Sorry for the slow response, as I wanted to give thought and prayer before replying.

I appreciate you taking the initiative to contact me directly. I know from experience it is an easy route to vent to those in our sphere of conversation, but you have chosen to come directly to me. That is commendable, and I appeal to you as a pastor to continue to come to your church leaders (whether that is WCC or another church home) and submit to their leading (Hebrews 13:17). Us leaders are accountable to God, as are parents.

I will note up-front that written communication like this is somewhat "flat" — that is, we cannot see into the other’s eyes, hear the tone and inflection of their voice, and gather the subtleties of non-verbal communication. I really do want to hear what you have to say, to understand you and your husband. Perhaps the next step would be to talk on the phone. I welcome a face to face meeting as well. As a pastor, my goal is not just to persuade but to understand .

—
There are many ways of "doing" church, but the real value is in being the church . We should begin with an assumption of imperfection (rather than perfection), start with forbearing with one another, and when disagreements happen, we must choose to forgive. If we do not, then we become a community of convenience , rather than a community of grace . Too many people leave one church and move on to another because the one did not meet their needs, or really, their expectations . I am not implying that is the case with you, but can we all check our assumptions and motives?

Also, the goal is the Gospel, to get it in us so deeply that we can take it with us wherever we are. We are so bad that Jesus had to die for us, yet so deeply loved that He was glad to die for us. Our only basis of our relationship with God is the sacrifice of Jesus His Son. God treated His Son like He was us, so that He could treat us like we are like His Son (2 Cor. 5:21). On that we should all agree. And from that one core truth we shall never stray. It is the basis of our relationships with one another as well.

—
While our new direction may not be to your liking, I want to assure you that it was not done on a whim. Much consideration — before I came 4+ months ago — and prayer went into the new direction and deciding to not have the HS students separated on Sunday mornings. We are considering a transition of our HS group back to Sundays, meeting in the evenings. As you may know, our junior high program, which I lead directly, still meets on Sunday mornings. The flip side is there are some parents asking for us to meet on an evening during the week too. It is not possible to please everyone. In fact, that’s not our aim either (Col. 1:27-29; 2 Cor. 5:9; Gal. 1:10).

The goal of the youth programs is to partner with parents . To that end, I will say that one hour a week (either Weds night or Sunday morning) is insufficient in training the next generation to know, love and enjoy God above all else. We as church leaders cannot do it all. Especially not in an hour or two each week. We can share the content of the Gospel — and now do that faithfully every week — but we cannot impart the context of the Gospel. Parents must be the ones who disciple their children, and I say that as a parent myself. The responsibility is huge, the opportunities endless. I pray every day to be able to resource parents who come in brokenness and ask for tools to show their kids God’s love and lead them to faith in Christ.

As for weekend worship, one way for high schoolers to serve and grow in the context of church life with WCC is to join in as volunteers at our weekend gatherings. We treat them as young adults, giving opportunities to participate — on the worship team, in the audio/video technical areas, in serving communion, being teachers and aids in children’s ministry (now called ‘camp counselors’ with the new Base Camp Jesus theme). These are meant to be pathways for the next generation to contribute to the overall direction and influence of the local church. Without those types of pathways I would not be here today, for as an 18-19 yr old my church at the time gave me those types of invaluable experiences.

—
As for service projects, I do agree with you that a local emphasis is needed in addition to serving the world (as in Mexico). We are laboring to that end, to see that happen. I think of these as "micro-missions," and if you want to contribute with your time to make these a reality, we welcome those for sure!

Willamette Christian Church is undergoing a transformation by God’s Spirit, and it is my joy to be part of it. Much has changed in the last few years, and we think the shifts have been on a good trajectory. The youth are a key priority, and we are laboring with all God’s energy that works within us (Col. 1:29), to love God, love people and serve the world.

Thank you for bearing with us, and I welcome this conversation to continue.

Because of Jesus,

Pastor Jeff

"We need less mission statements, we need to join God on His mission."

- Ed Stetzer at subtext forum [#subtext ]

In asking whether his church could get too mature for community , he notes:

"The level of authentic confession of sin, persistent belief in the gospel, love for one another, and sharing of life and mission is remarkable. This is not naive community; it is redemptive community, a community of grace that holds in common brokenness and belief, failure and success, repentance and faith. As one of our people shared during our gathering on Sunday, “You are never too spiritually mature for community.”

Amen to that. Small/home/community/whatever-we-call-them groups should connect the weak and the strong, the mature and the newborn believer. In a very real sense, we’re all weak. Plus, I don’t think any of us really "get" the Gospel. We need it every single day, and we cannot be sanctified — changed into Christ’s image — without one another, and all that that entails.

Then Dodson asks if his church is too community-centered? He notes the happy tension:

Indeed, community should be common fare in the church, and I’m not talking about “fellowship”, just hanging out or feeling like you have friends. If we are not careful, our longing for and experience of community can subtly displace the gospel. Biblical community is much, much more than this. Biblical community is significant, not because it makes you feel significant but because it recognizes that Jesus is our common source of significance. The gospel, not people, becomes the means to the end of our identity. Our sense of acceptance flows from our relationship with Christ, which in turn frees us to love and serve one another, not secretly judge, demand or ostracize. We become a one anothering community, freed by the gospel, to love and serve each other. We are equally never too spiritually mature for the gospel.

I love it. Sweet highlights:

• "… Jesus is our common source of significance."
• "The gospel, not people, becomes the means to the end of our identity."
• "We become a one anothering community, freed by the gospel, to love and serve each other."
• "We are equally never too spiritually mature for the gospel."

As our church just focused on Colossians 3:12-17 last weekend, I resonate with the quote Dodson gives:

“We are to be teaching each other the gospel, to be correcting each other about the gospel with all wisdom, to be singing about the gospel with gratitude and so letting it dwell richly among us. When we come to church on a Sunday, or to our small group meeting during the week, we should come saying to ourselves, ‘I hope I will be reminded of the gospel in this meeting. I hope I will be taught about it and corrected in my understanding of it. I hope we will sing about it.” [Graham Beynon, God’s New Community , 119.]

That makes the Gospel central, really.

We would all do well to heed Dodson’s final exhortation:

"Does your church, your community, your small group, your missional community gather in anticipation of being reminded of the gospel, corrected in the gospel, motivated by the gospel, to sing of the gospel? If not, what can you do to reshape community expectations around the gospel, not community? Have you become too mature for community or too community centered for the gospel? Consider how to make the gospel central and community will follow."

• I encourage any leader to read Jonathan’s blog Church Planting Novice often

"Imagine a church filled with believers who are spiritually alive, hungry for God, filled with wisdom, and living lives of impeccable character. Imagine a local community seasoned with Christians like this who truly desire to live as salt and light in the midst of their neighbors, coworkers, and friends. Wouldn’t it be encouraging to know that the watching world would see a collective witness that reflected the truths of the gospel? Consider what it would be like if the majority of Christians shared the good news of Jesus regularly with those in their sphere of influence.
What if your walk with God was consistently characterized by love, obedience, loyalty, praise, purpose, prayer, service, and passion? Visualize the experience of feasting upon God’s Word and having it captivate your thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Contemplate the joy of knowing your life is bringing glory and pleasure to our eternal God."

Brad J. Waggoner, from the Introduction ("Imagine") of The Shape of Faith to Come: Spiritual Formation and the Future of Discipleship , p. xi. (B&H )

Free download (PDF) of the book for a limited time.

We ended the Advent season by considering The Incarnation of the Son God — the Word dwelt among us (John 1:1-18). Briefly seeking to establish the infinite worth and amazing creativity of Jesus as the One true Creator, I pointed the students to some images from outer space (see here ).

The Word — the One who displays God to us and is God’s final and loudest word to His people — created all of that. In an instant.

But He didn’t leave His creation alone afterward. In the fullness of time God entered His world, motivated by love.

Truly, this One is the Creator God worth worshiping.

Missional is missionary used as an adverb — an adjective-verb. I believe it aims to connote the what, why and how of being the Church in our culture. (I like the word, although I don’t want to overuse it. Much like "love," we want to be wise with our words, for we should not "love" a hamburger as much as our child. Although, come to think of it, enjoying Burgerville with my son makes us both happy.) (grin)

The Scriptures are replete with God’s commands and enablements to be His sent people in His world, for the sake of show His worth, work, and ways. Open up a passage and if you read it in context, you will find the concept of being missional there. If not in our being sent at least in God sending Himself, the great Initiator and Lover of His people. God is the Hero of every text, revealing His promises and promise-keeping nature.

The mission of God (Missio Dei ) centers on Jesus Christ. He is not only the Example of how and what to be, He is the One who alone is able to show us God breaking into our world. All things will be put together in God-glorifying ways in Christ (Eph. 1:7-10; Eph 3:8-12). He is the Word, the Light, and of His fullness we have receive, grace and truth, grace upon grace (John 1:1-16 ). We will never exhaust exploring His worth, in this life or the ages to come. He is the fullness of God’s aims in the universe, and under Him all things will be brought together in the vastness of their expression.

Considering this great truth takes up much of my mental capacities, and while I won’t be able to blog for at least the next week (it’s finals in seminary), I’ll leave you with a some missional thoughts to ponder.

At our church we focus on "loving God, loving people and serving the world." We aim to be known as a caring community that embodies those three simple directions.

The first is vertical, the second two are horizontal, and while in mathematics the x- (horiz) and y- (vert) axis are each considered independent, in the real world our love for God is incomplete (in not absent) if do not love others (see 1 John for a healthy dose of this reality). We cannot claim to have the vertical without being diligent on the horizontal.

We are to be God-centered, Gospel-driven and people-directed. Those hyphens mean something significant, and figuring how the connecting in those coupled-words is now my life’s work.

1. To love God He must be first in our affections (which does not happen by default);
2. To love people we must relate to others on the basis of the Gospel, which involves being candid about our own weakness and shortcomings;
3. To serve the world our God-centeredness and Gospel-drivenness will take shape in intentional service and sacrificial giving (of our talents, treasure and time), directed towards meeting needs and redeeming circumstances. (In short, to merely talk about God and the Gospel is not enough.)

Are we doing this perfectly? No. Are we on a trajectory towards uniting these three? I believe so. This involves moving outside our comfort zones, relating to God on the basis of Christ’s work alone (always, continually), and adapting ministry by taking risks. In my first up-front interaction with our people I noted that I will probably sound like a broken record to some, because I will emphasize these core things over and over. We do not need to know and do everything. Rather, we must know a few things so deeply that we are gripped by them, send by God into action. I hope we sense a willingness to risk much (and probably fail a thousand different ways) rather than be content to "succeed" in things that don’t matter.

The project? A new website.

I pitched the idea of revamping the old site back in January (actually suggested we use the great CMS Ekklesia360 ), and the discussions turned to a home-group system, where one team member provided the design mockup, and then I took the lead over the Summer in coding, styling and configuring the site to function (running Wordpress as the CMS).

With the consistent feedback and editing of volunteers and the input of the Web Team, we were able to get the new Foothills 2.0 website up and running tonight — it’s live: foothillsonline.com .

Here’s the new look (2.0):

And the old (1.0):

Here are the top five lessons I (think I) have learned over this past 50 month journey and beyond. All are interconnected:

1. People are more important that what they do. Personalizing it: I am not what I do . That is, my identity is rooted in Christ, not my performance. I work from significance in Christ, not for it, as the Gospel would have it. (Repeat that last sentence with me! This message never grows old, and must be the cornerstone of a daily life. We must preach that application of the Christ’s glorious grace to ourselves every day.) In this season, I had to learn to do a few things well. To be fine with not being a perfectionist (okay, I am a recovering one). To release myself from forming a tiny view of life, all centered on me and what I am doing. I was a chronic do-er five years ago, and will never be that again, by the grace of God. Reality is, I work harder now, more efficiently, and am more content to simply BE, motivated by the Gospel.
2. Life is meant to have rhythm. Walking in step with the Spirit is a relationship worth fighting like heaven to keep vital. He is the One working in me to fulfill God’s ultimate purposes. Some people like to refer to life as being in "balance," and I probably should like that word as an engineer-type. It sounds so mathematical. Yet, it fails to see life in proper perspective, for we are not weighing things against one another (the definition of balance), but seeing them come together in harmony. Some like to pit propositional statements of faith against the story of faith. Jesus against Paul. The Bible against the Spirit. Truth versus experience. That’s utter foolishness. They are not against one another, but serve one another in love. Inexplicably connected. For example, in the Gospel rhythms, my job does not compete with my family.They are interwoven in a beautiful work of art by the Father, Son and Spirit.
3. GOD is the Gospel ( tag | search ). If there is one message I hope to bring to the local church, it is this one (along with the view that the Gospel is for all of life, even for Christians). I read the book by that title in 2006 while on hiatus from seminary (Kari was pregnant, I focused on working to provide for us). Lightning struck my soul. It is essentially 180 pages of meditation on two primary verses: 2 Corinthians 4:4,6 . Wow. All things exist and move towards the public display of God’s infinite worth (His glory). Since God Himself is the great good of the Gospel, entering into relationship like Him is like diving into a pool, not just off a diving board. As God is meant to permeate all of life, the Gospel is meant for all of life (like a living room, as opposed to simply the doorway to new life).
4. All of life is preparation. God will, as a loving Father, use every means possible shape us into the image of His Son ( Romans 8:28-30 , Hebrews 12 ). This process of sanctification (purifying) is deep and lasting, and cannot happen without pain, tragedy, relationships (including conflict and resolution) triumphs, and dependence. As a single man I began to see the need for Lamentations 3:25-33 and Habakkuk 3:17-19 become reality in my own life, asking God to shape me into the kind of man who praises Him no matter the circumstance. Doing that deep work requires preparation, which requires suffering. From a broken vertebrae that remains today, to relational brokenness, to physical pain in my feet, to disappoints of various sorts, there is no end to the design of God’s good for us through these experiences.
5. My life is meant to be wrapped about God’s story, not Him around mine. This couples with the others, and specifically #4, as God’s story is simply bigger than teeny, tiny me. That is because the Gospel is not merely good advice. It is the Good News — check that — the best news possible, that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over all His enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe in Him, but only everlasting joy in God. Thus, God and His Word are the ultimate reality. I don’t apply the Bible to my life, I rather press my life into His Word, applying my life to Him. This is more than semantics, for each of us is prone to by default live for the glory of ourselves, to seek to further our own kingdom. I am a servant of King Jesus. I am part of His Kingdom. He holds the keys to the future, and I gladly submit to His leading, whatever that entails. As all good story feature conflict and resolution, the Grand Story of the Bible being played out in the universe by the Triune God is the best possible mixture of both.
6. (Just like yesterday there are six. Forgive me.) Faithfulness is our part, fruitfulness is God’s. Actually, our faithfulness is enabled by His ( Phil. 2:12-13; 1 John 5:3 ). Kari and I remind one another weekly that our home and family is the first ministry. Being faithful starts here. For whatever "success" I find in vocation, in being a pastor, in whatever, it is worthless if I fail as a faithful husband and loving father. That is the definition of success.

From these lessons I formed the chief objective of my life: To help everyone breathing know the one and only Triune God, in Christ, better than they know anyone or anything else, and to love and enjoy Him together more than anyone or anything else in all the world.

Ever a life-long learner (through all eternity), swimming in the depths of the Gospel and seeing how necessary these truths are, and looking for more to discover.

• Tomorrow I’ll share 5 lessons learned over these last 50 months . For now, here are five signposts along the journey to being a pastor (stretching back before these last 4+ years).

In 1998 I first sensed Christ’s call to enter the ministry. My heart and mind was electrified as a sophomore at OSU, an engineering student, and oh so fed up with how far behind I was spiritually. In that day, specifically Super Bowl weekend in late January, He ignited in me a spark that grew larger and larger, coupled with an insatiable desire for God’s Word. Those college years and serving in the local church and on the OSU campus were invaluable experiences. Many lessons learned, lots of failure. More grace. The relational connections made still remain firmly intact. The Gospel was our chief unifying reality. I have been blessed to see fellow students, and then my own students from Real Life and the School of Ministry forge ahead in their part of God’s grand story.

In 2003 I was graciously enabled to marry the woman of my dreams. Kari, I l. No matter what "success" I achieve as a pastor, my first duty is to be a faithful husband and loving father. Before God, let all these other things serve to reinforce that trajectory, not divert from it. Without you, Dutch, and now Heidi, this journey would not be worth taking.

Fifty months ago (2004) Kari and I took the plunge and moved to another state for the sake of my becoming a pastor in the official sense for the first time. Until then I had been "pastoring" in many ways, and while I knew the title would not add an inch to my stature, it was to be a significant jump in responsibility before God and men. And boy was it. Nothing like we imagined, and I never did became a "pastor" in the official sense. We felt "shelved." But God broke me, and rebuilt me again to be the kind of man who loves Him more than a title and is willing to suffer for the Gospel. People became real to me. The Gospel went deeper. Christ became huge, more than adequate and satisfying. We look back fondly on that season now with the vantage point of having come through it. Warren Wiersbe in On Being a Servant of God reminds us to not ask God to get us out of our trials, but to ask Him, "What do You want me to get out of this trial?" God had a whole different plan for us, a crucible of what seemed like an endless string of disappointments. Our character needed it. I thank Him for it — without reservation — and would not for a million dollars trade any of those experiences. Please don’t sign me up for it again, our good Father, but I would not go back and chart a different course.

In 2005 we came back to Oregon, continuing in a career of construction management  in construction for my good friend Ben was the sweet spot of God’s will for us at the time. As were were a growing company, and I needed to gain credibility with the crew, I took to being the lowest grunt of the lot, moving aluminum shoring and pipes, and finally getting some good callouses from hands fully engaged in some good manual labor. Installing sewer lines 8 feet below the ground surface and mortoring up manholes was a crucible for learning. I remember the guys often asking me during lunch, "They didn’t teach you that in college, eh, Mr. Civil Engineer!?" I thank them for it. During the process I learned that nothing is secular, the construction workers need the Gospel just like I do, and that all circumstances are "sacred" in that they are meant to be used for worshipping God. Without those "silent years" we would not be here (positionally, and certainly not ready in our character). I learned to practice God’s joy in all of life, especially the mundane things. That is why I plead with people to find their identity in Christ alone and not in what they do. Funny to thing back how my move into the office became official when on the eve of Thanksgiving I ran over my left foot with the Jeep Wrangler. (Yeah, it really hurt, and I walk with a slight limp today.)

Also in 2005 we also became students again. A couple years earlier we had wanted to go to seminary (in Chicago, we thought), but Christ had some pre-graduate school preparation for us (see above). Now, we were able to do this together , both as students, and those Friday-only classes and one night course during that first year at Multnomah was a unique experience. Not sure how we managed the 90 minute commute both ways (fuel was much cheaper), but that time did serve to be like mini "dates" for Kari and I. We entered seminary as a young married couple, and when Kari graduates this year she will have given birth to two children while a student. (She’s incredible, by the way…)

So much more could be said. Dutch was born around Christmas 2006, and our lives have been changed for the better because of him. Last year we lived with Kari’s parents, on purpose, and it was a tremendous experience for Dutch. For us, it showed us how much we love family, need them, and love to live on our own again Without it, we would have had to quit seminary. The last year of interning with Foothills Community Church has been mightily used of God. He reprogrammed me in many ways, especially relationally, bringing out lessons and things from our experiences through Pastor Dale’s care and mentoring. Again, without them, we would not be who and where we are today.

Some may be thinking — are they done with seminary? Not exactly. Kari will finish her last class in December and then graduate in May with a MA in Pastoral Studies with a concentration in Women’s Ministry. I will close out this semester, take a bit off, and then (probably, open to revision, as the above story proves!) take one class at a time when possible. Since pastoring (again, a verb) and serving the local church was and is the "end goal," seminary has served that purpose in part, and I hope to see it continue towards an MDiv (at least 2/3 complete now). We wouldn’t be here without Multnomah , in more ways than one. We love our professors, the staff, fellow students, and alums!

(Okay, this is six…) Today Christ has more of me than He did back then. Some like to talk about returning to their first love (see Rev. 2 ). For me, returning to that teeny, tiny love would be going backwards, for my vision of Christ and seeing as the ultimate cause, reason, object and satisfaction of my life is far greater today than it was then. Truly, all of life is preparation .

Helping others know, love and enjoy God above all else,

JP

A person with more faith would have looked at our similar meeting two weeks ago and see that as the watershed moment. It really was, and it came as kind of a surprise. That was the day I was offered the role/position of associate pastor with this particular local church. The fact that I was rejoicing then, but then fell into some patches of discouragement until it all become official, shows my own fickle nature and weakness. We fell into a little bit of despondency in the two weeks between the ministry job being offered and signing on the dotted line.

Why?

Well, for one: we are weak, as I already mentioned. More specifically, I know that an experience in recent years with a church has painfully shaped our perspective (about which you can read Kari’s retelling here , with names and places changed). To be fair, none of the church leaders acted out of malice, and while the church leaders are forgive, it is not forgotten as lessons on what not-to-do to developing leaders. It must also be said that without that season of preparation we would not be here today (nor ready for it in our character). My view of God’s absolute sovereignty and the necessity of pain in life as the great way for God to shape us have come from seasons like that in the crucible. More will come, I’m sure.

Earlier this week I was talking to my good friend Adam and mentioned feeling uneasy, like our new church leaders were somehow going to back out of the verbal agreement (a totally unfounded thought!). He stopped me in mid-sentence on the phone: "That _______ experience has scarred you, hasn’t it?" He was and is totally right. I was not voicing this pessimistic attitude publicly, but it was in my heart, and it came out in this private conversation between two close friends. Kari and I have been continually pouring out our hearts to our Great God to change us from viewing life through the lens of pain only (but a right view of suffering is key, see Romans 5 & 8). I needed his perspective.

This process has shown me that (1) my heart and mind are still in some way scarred from past painful experiences, (2) I underestimate the kindness and grace of God, and (3) He will do anything necessary to keep me from worshipping His gifts over Him (including the agonizing process of realizing I am doing just that).

Oh, how thankful I am for our new church leaders . (And our current ones, by the way, as we transition out this month.) Our reception to our new church home, among the leaders, looks to be the exact opposite of our fears. The exact opposite, almost point by point, than what took place in 2004-05. [Example: 50 months ago we arrived at our new church home in another state and ran into the senior pastor in the parking lot. He didn't recognize me nor remember our names -- "We're Jeff and Kari from Oregon," I reminded -- "Oh yeah. You're here?" -- and apparently hadn't given a thought about our coming, even though he was the one who offered me the job and had been in seemingly constant contact. Our "apartment" on the church property was still being lived in, full of trash, and no one knew we were coming, even after talking twice that previous week over the phone. Looking back we laugh at how ridiculous it was; my father-in-law shakes his head and wonders why he let us unpack the moving van; in the moment we were like deer in headlights.]

What a different picture it was yesterday , as we walked in for our meeting, all the staff popped out of their offices and welcomed us to the family — they obviously knew we were coming, more than we did! During the meeting our new church leaders talked about how they wanted to throw a couple parties to welcome us. The contrast is startling. (I am purposefully being vague and not naming the church community here — but will in the coming weeks.)

Over these two weeks we could have counseled our hearts more, specifically on the key topic Kari is delving into: Expectancy vs. Expectations and especially the Disappointment & Fulfillment Cycles . As God our Father is such a good Father and so intentionally faithful, nothing is wasted. No painful experience, and certainly not these fleeting lowly fears nor these oh so encouraging highs, will fail to serve their intended purposes in the development of our character ( Romans 5:1-5 ).

What a joy to be cared for so well. That’s why I couldn’t sleep last night. Pray for us, as there is a unique art to shaping one’s soul around the Gospel (and not it around one’s self), worshipping God and not the thing He has given .

1. The church’s mission–in both belief and practice–should be grounded in the biblical theology of mission.
2. Reflection on the church’s mission should be predicated upon the affirmation of the full and sole authority of Scripture.
3. The church’s mission should be conceived primarily in terms of the church’s faithfulness and responsiveness to the missionary mandate given by the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in Scripture.
4. The church’s understanding of its mission should be hermeneutically sound.
5. The church’s mission is to be conceived ultimately in theocentric rather than anthropocentric terms.
6. The church’s mission, properly and biblically conceived, is to be trinitarian in its orientation, but not at the expense of neglecting the distinct roles of the three persons within the Godhead.
7. The contemporary context of the church’s mission, while important, ought not to override the church’s commitment to the authority of Scripture, its need to be grounded in the biblical theology of mission, and the understanding of its task in terms of faithfulness to the gospel.
8. The church is the God-ordained agent of his mission in this world today.
9. The way in which the kingdom of God is extended in this world today is through regenerate believers acting out their Christian faith in their God-assigned spheres of life: the church, their families, their workplace, the societies in which they live (Eph 5:18-6:9; 1 Pet 2:13-3:7 ).
10. There is no true lasting social transformation apart from personal conversion through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
11. Human organization does not necessarily entail a lack of acknowledgment of God and his initiative in mission.
12. The church’s task today is to nurture, renew, and plant churches composed of a spiritually regenerate membership and constituted in keeping with the biblical teaching regarding church leadership.

Read the whole thing for Dr. Kostenberger’s explanation of each point.

[HT: JT ]

"Most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent, and the successful. But what you most need in a leader is someone who has been broken by the knowledge of his or her sin, and even greater knowledge of Jesus’ costly grace. The number one leaders in every church ought to be the people who repent the most fully without excuses, because you don’t need any now; the most easily without bitterness; the most publicly and the most joyfully. They know their standing isn’t based on their performance."
-Tim Keller

I’ve been reading the book and am challenged on a number of levels. My soul and mind resonate with the subtitle: “A radical reshaping around Gospel and community.” 

A helpful quote from Chester:

One of our catchphrases is “ordinary people living ordinary life with gospel intentionality.” It means doing the chores, having meals, watching sports, and so on with an intention to talk about Jesus, to pastor one another with the gospel, and to share that gospel with unbelievers.

May God allow us to serve in the church with this trajectory.

But changing methodologies and adapting to culture is in the open hand. (It can change.)

Keeping that in mind will be helpful when giving younger leaders are given opportunities to lead in the church.

Mark Driscoll briefly discussed this in preparation to the 2006 DesiringGod conference. He makes a point that if younger men feel stifled and are not able to venture out and lead in creative ways, well, they will probably leave.

[HT: Carey @ Paul+Timothy ]

Be a Paul and raise up a Timothy, pouring out your life into him, and knowing that he will probably do things a bit differently.

Asked to give a little synopsis for the church bulletin, this is what I wrote:

We have natural bent towards religion. That is, we tend to find our identity by what we do, rather than in Who God is. It is easy to think we have done so much on our own, for our "gains" are clearly seen by looking at our own religious resumes and feeble good works — especially by comparison with others. Yet, in the Gospel, the ground has become level for everyone, from the talented and motivated to the least gifted. The common thread is God’s grace in Christ, and our response in humility (looking out to Him, not into ourselves).

The Gospel of God’s glorious grace is the only means God has designed to set us free from empty religion. We no longer come to our Creator as ones holding our great accomplishments in our hands. Instead, we along with the Apostle Paul, can rightly say, "whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ" ( Phil. 3:7 ). Our empty doing is traded for priceless knowing. We now can know, love and enjoy Jesus our Savior as the supreme object of our affections and the true desire of our hearts. Does that describe your trajectory?

Knowing I would be speaking to (almost?) all Christians, I was quick to remind us that the Gospel is for Christians to. We never outgrow our need for Christ, and the good news of His glorious grace. Aimed at helping us all discover grace-renewal in the God of all grace, and be people who "worship in the Spirit" (  Phil. 3:3 ), I wanted us to see that knowing, loving and enjoying our Savior above all else is the goal of God in the Gospel.

We can truly say to Jesus, "Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You."

Listen below [or download]:

The publisher gives a summary:

"As two pastors outline the biblical calling to make both the gospel and community central in the Christian life, they apply this dual focus to evangelism, social involvement, church planting, discipleship, youth ministry, and more, urging the body of Christ to rethink its perspective and way of life."

Here’s a sampling from chapter one, a quote I sent this morning to a friend about the both/and of being Word-centered and Spirit-centered (not either/or). I think they nail it on the head.

"Spiritual experience that does not arise from God’s word is not Christian experience. Other religions offer spiritual experiences. Concerts and therapy sessions can affect our emotions. Not all that passes for Christian experience is genuine. An authentic experience of the Spirit is an experience in response to the gospel. Through the Spirit the truth touches our hearts, and that truth moves our emotions and affects our wills.

This also means that Bible study and theology that do not lead to love for God and a desire to do his will — to worship, tears, laughter, excitement or sorrow — have gone terribly wrong. True theology leads to love, mission and doxology (1 Timothy 1:5, 7, 17 ). We should not expect an adrenaline rush every time we study God’s word. We all express our emotions in different ways. But when we study God’s word we should pray that the Spirit of God will not only inform our heads but also inspire our hearts.

Part of our problem is that we often assume an experience of God will be some kind of revelation — a dream, an inner voice, a guiding sense of peace, an encounter, a word. This assumption is reinforced by mysticism and existentialism. But we have no reason to need or expect a revelation from God. God as revealed himself in his Son and in his word. And God’s word is whole adequate and sufficient. But the Bible does lead us to expect other experiences of God through the Holy Spirit — love for God, love for others, assurance, joy, confidence, peace, and so on. Word and Spirit give us a new desire for God (Romans 8:5-9; 4; 17 ; Galatians 5:17 ).

True Christian experience is experience that arises through the Spirit from by the revelation of God in Jesus contained in the Bible. God rules through his word, and the Spirit applies that word to our lives. The Spirit opens blind eyes to see the truth and melts cold hearts to respond to God’s word. The word of God comes in the power of the Spirit (Acts 10:44; 1 Corinthians 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6 ). If we want to see the Spirit of God at work, we must proclaim the word of God.

We might say that being word-centered is synonymous with being Spirit-centered. The difference is that we cannot control the Spirit. We cannot determine or even predict when and how he will work (John 3:8 ). Our role is to read, hear, proclaim, teach, and obey the word. The Spirit’s role is to do the work of God through that word. Through the Spirit our words become the living word of God (2 Samuel 23:2 ). And so we center our lives and ministries on the word of God while praying that God’s Spirit will do the work of God through that word."

- Tim Chester & Steve Timmis, Part 1: Gospel and Community in Principle, (ch. 1) "Why Gospel?", Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community (Crossway, 2008), pp. 31-32.

• Find out more from the publisher
• Also, both authors were in the U.S. in August for the Total Church North America conference
  • Church planter Jonathan Dodson has some good reflections on the gathering