The Power of Simplicity…

by | Apr 5, 2018 | discipleship, pastor, preaching, Teaching

Daily. That’s how often I receive an article on preaching. Sometimes it is two or three, but I cannot remember a day that I did not receive an article on how to communicate more effectively. Just yesterday it was on 10 ways to “call for a response.” Before that, it was on the structure of a sermon.

Most of the articles are helpful. As one man said, “eat the fruit and spit out the seeds.” There are few articles where a discerning reader cannot gain something. Often times though, reading new information prompts one to seek effectiveness by addition. We want to add a new thing…adjust to improve our ability to connect with people’s hearts. The most memorable of messages, however, tend to be those that are most simple.

Paul speaks to this by way of his letter to the Corinthians. “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Now it would be foolish to think Paul was simple-minded or simplistic in His theology. In fact, he never claimed such (1 Cor 2:6-9). Peter himself declared that Paul’s teachings were often on a whole different level (2 Peter 3:15-17), so it would be baseless to declare that his teaching lacked depth or foundation. Yet, Paul, states to this church that he determined to stay centered on the cross and Christ crucified. Why?

The cross serves as a line of demarcation.

  • One cannot argue that Jesus came to exalt Himself.
  • One cannot dispute the wretchedness of sin.
  • One cannot doubt the depth and breadth of the love of God.
  • One cannot argue against the holiness and goodness of God.
  • One cannot argue for alternative pathways to right relationship with God.

Ultimately, Paul determined that no matter where the conversation went and how philosophical it may seek to become, he would always circle back to the cross. (See Acts 17 for only one of numerous examples).

The point: We can learn from this and should embrace this in our lives. DETERMINE not to debate the latest beliefs of 20 friends on Facebook. DETERMINE not to spend you days arguing for the five solas of the Reformation. DETERMINE to rely on the piercing power of the gospel message rather than the rhetorical flourishes of a well-crafted monologue. DETERMINE to know the position of those who would debate you but so that you can turn the focus quickly back to the cross and Jesus Christ crucified. DETERMINE to boast not in your strengths but in your weaknesses that demand the grace of Christ’s strengths in your life. DETERMINE to rest in the glorious and gracious redemption of your life by a holy God who alone is powerful to save.

Apart from this, there is no power…for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe (Rom 1:16). When doing so, we DETERMINE to shape the faith of people by the Spirit and power rather than persuasive words of worldly wisdom (1 Cor 2:4).

Weep for Hawking’s Family…

by | Mar 18, 2018 | discipleship, evangelism, Faith, Leadership, pastor, Teaching

In 2002, I was introduced for the first time (that I recall) the work of Stephen Hawking. He was a brilliant physicist and a self-avowed atheist (HERE, and HERE). His work on the origin of the universe has been formative in educational curriculum to say the least.

Since hearing of his death, I have listened to many who have selectively spoken of him in nearly “saint-like” terms; whereas other, many of them Christian, have pointed out that he is no longer an atheist and has met the Lord as Judge. Consequently, opinions have flown back and forth and even a few barbs along the way. So, how should a Christian feel about Hawking’s death? Further, how should one speak of the death of an unbeliever in order to balance compassion and truth?

What is certain is that Hawking has stepped into eternity. It is difficult to say…but he entered into an eternal judgment the moment his death occurred. His fate is sealed and not by some capricious act from a temperamental God; rather, his eternity reflects just consequences for willful choices in his life to resist the evidence that points to God (Romans 1). Here are a couple of truths:

  • But for the grace of God, there go I. (Ephesians 2:8-9) No one earns righteousness with God. No one is justified by merit; rather, each person who experiences the forgiveness of the Lord does so because God is gracious and merciful, a friend to sinners and a redeemer of those who would call on Him. There is no room, therefore, for prideful reactions to the death of a lost person.
  • Amen and Amen. When Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron were judged and killed for their sin against God, Moses told Aaron not to cry (Leviticus 10:1-7). This may seem heartless, but it is instructive to us. A Christian, by definition, greatly desires the Lord’s honor and glory to be manifested. To wish against justice toward sin is to diminish the glory of God. To bemoan the Lord’s actions or to try to soften the consequences of sin by creating the “possibility narrative,” (i.e. “it is possible he prayed for salvation just before his death;” or, “perhaps God will forgive him since he contributed so much to science”) reduces God’s righteousness to some form of a quid pro quo. God is righteous and just. He does not reduce His standards to squeeze one more person into heaven. Instead, He fulfills the standard and invites all to seek and find forgiveness in Christ.
  • Weep with those who weep. Whenever a life is lost in death, there are people deeply affected. Weep with them. Do not act as though they should not grieve. They should. Grieve with them, sharing in their loss.
  • Commit to more fervent evangelism. (John 9:4) There will be some who will be swept up in the accolades attributed to this scientist. Some may adopt his beliefs as their own. Be more passionate for their salvation than ever before…because hell is real and God is just. Eternity is fixed at our death and it is…forever. Live your life to turn back sinners from their rebellion calling them to turn to Christ (Jude 23; Romans 12:15).

Babies…and the Bible

by | Mar 8, 2018 | Devotions, discipleship, pastor, Pastor's Reflections

It has been a few seasons now, but I remember the transition of our family from no kids to having children. Sure, sleeplessness increased as did the grocery bill. Sure, laughter increased, but so did the tears. Another thing that changed was…EVERYTHING! We could not go to the store or out to eat without packing 3 days of potential supplies into the car. We arranged our schedules around feedings and naps. We changed our own personal habits…and even altered how loud we talked around how it would affect the baby.

Yes, a baby changes everything! Now exchange the baby for God’s instruction through his Word.

Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11, NASB. You may have a translation that renders this verse as I “have hidden,” (NIV, NLT, NKJV) or “stored up” (ESV). The semantic range of the Hebrew word supports all of these renderings, but the sense of the usage relates to more than merely storing something away or hiding it from sight, but of placing it under lock and key as you would your most precious jewels or family heirlooms. As David communicates this truth of “hiding God’s word” he is emphasizing the value he places on it and how he aligns his life around it.

We often speak of Psalm 119:11 when making the case for Scripture memorization. Memorize Scripture…hide it in your heart! Yes…but let’s not be misled into thinking that memorizing Scripture is the same as treasuring it. The Pharisees who were nearly universally in Jesus’ crosshairs could recite books of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible)…but they missed the Messiah…not because they did not memorize Scripture, but because they did not treasure it.

David communicates throughout Psalm 119 that the Word of the Lord influenced his actions in every regard. David depended on God’s Word for wisdom, comfort, encouragement, restraint, and knowing the course of every step in His life. He did not simply memorize a verse or a book of verses, but he considered them and meditated on them and aligned his life around them. He treasured the word from the Lord.

Many years ago, our oldest son attended a Christian school and was required to memorize Scripture. He came home with a long passage which he had been working on and the head of the school required that it be memorized in an older translation. After Dillon recited it to me, I asked him to simply tell me what it meant. He was clueless. We immediately found him a different translation and focused our reinforcement on explaining the verses to the point of understanding. We did not stop memorizing Scripture, but we made sure that the goal was understanding what we memorized so we could treasure the Word.

Someone said, “We (today’s Christians in churches) know far more than we apply.” To our shame…I must agree.

Here’s today’s question: How does your knowledge of God’s Word affect your parenting, your web-surfing practices, your work ethic, your view of and actions toward the poor, your approach to disagreement and conflict resolution, and your making of disciples?

What we treasure changes us. It changes our actions. O Lord, Your word have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against you.

Motivated by Grace and Glory, not Guilt

by | Mar 5, 2018 | church, Devotions, discipleship, Leadership, pastor, Pastor's Reflections

“For I testify, that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints…” 2 Corinthians 8:3-4.

A video of an impoverished village in a third world country with children displaying distended bellies from malnourishment…juxtaposed with a clip of a middle-class American community with two cars in the drive of a 3,000 square foot house and the top of the 26-foot Boston Whaler boat peering over the privacy fence to the backyard. Two cultures…two reference points…one purpose: to make the argument that there is something fundamentally unfair about some having so much while others lack the basic necessities of life.

There is truth in the assertion perhaps…but the motives for displaying the contrast give rise to the question…what should motivate generosity for the Christ-follower? Often times, the motivation is guilt…but the Scripture presents the case that the motivation should be gratitude for the grace of God in the believer’s life and the desire for God’s glory to be manifested…everywhere.

Yesterday I shared a message that included the text above and recognized that Paul was enamored with GRACE throughout the passage. In fact, he used the Greek Word charis seven times in the chapter. Charis is most often translated “grace,” though the semantic range can include words like “favor, thanks, gracious work,” and the like. The point is, Paul saw GRACE (or better-the understanding and appreciation of grace) as the motivator for deeds that touch human need.

To make this case, let me point out three things:

  • Wealth and possessions are not bad things. God gives them to people. It is not what you possess that is evil, but what possesses you.
  • The generosity of Paul’s example church (the Macedonians) was based on their grace-motivated kindness amid their deep poverty and great affliction (2 Cor 8:2). IOW- they had no connection to middle-class suburban American lifestyles, and were abundantly generous, even beyond their ability!
  • It was the JOY in the Macedonian church that overflowed in generosity. That is to say, they evaluated their circumstances (God’s grace toward them even in the midst of their trials and poverty) and were so joyful at its value, that they could do nothing but give generously to touch those who were in need.

Some may question if the Macedonians were a one-time example…or if their actions are intended to be exemplary for believers at all times. The Scriptures suggest that the generous display of the Macedonians is exemplary and not merely a one-time explanation. Beyond the fact that Paul actually used their story as a motivator for the churches of Corinth, the principle agrees with other places in Scripture: The boy who gave up his lunch that was used to feed the five thousand (Matthew 14:13-21), Mary’s anointing Jesus with her own funeral oil (Matthew 26:6-13), and even the words of Christ Himself that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

A true understanding of grace ALWAYS results in an overwhelming response of humility, gratitude, worship…and a physical response that springs up from the fertile soil of these elements. Grace begets grace. We receive grace and therefore we demonstrate grace! In most cases, we demonstrate grace and then we receive it back! After all, how could we really comprehend the grace of Christ toward us and it not rise up from our soul as a spring of abundant joy resulting in a wealth of generosity toward others.

It’s true…when we touch poverty. It’s true…when we love the unlovely. It’s true…when we communicate the gospel.

May the grace of God spring forth from your life today! Because He came, lived, died, was buried, rose again, and called you to tell the story…in both Word and Deed.

Be Glad They Don’t Know What I Know About You…

by | Feb 21, 2018 | Devotions, pastor, Pastor's Reflections

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” John 13:1, NASB.

The times of God’s greatest developmental work in a leader’s life are often in the desert or the dungeon. While a leader can learn on a mountaintop, nearly all proclaim that the most formative experiences are sitting in a desert, under a Juniper tree, wishing to die. (1 Kings 19:4). This week, for me, has been one of great development.

Leaders experience criticism. By definition, leaders attempt to shepherd people toward an outcome that they might not choose on their own. Pastoral leaders (pastors) do the same, only having received their orders from God. Pastors, however, don’t get emails that are time and date stamped and wrestle with the same draws toward ungodly actions as everyone else. We KNOW that often the difficulties we face originate with the devil (yes, I believe in a literal devil/satan/slanderer/accuser); however, it is not always easy to distinguish the force behind a person’s actions from the actions themselves. In one sense, “the devil made me do it” is true; whereas, in another sense, the person always willingly participates in the plan.

This week has been one of pretty intense criticism. The details are not as important (from my perspective and for the purposes of this article) as the lessons I’m learning, so I am intentionally leaving them out. My hope is that a reader might be able to transfer some of the principles of the lessons I’m learning to their own situation, even if the circumstances don’t precisely line up.

After three days of anxiousness in my chest and alternating emotions of fear, anger, and despair, the Lord reminded me of a few things today:

  • Whatever they are accusing you of is far less severe than what I ALREADY KNOW about you. (Be glad they don’t know what I know about you…they would talk.)
  • They accused me of stuff I never did and of righteous stuff I did that they did not like.
  • Be like Me.

Well, I am not Jesus. The more I grow in Christ, the more I realize how far I have yet to go toward zeroing in on my own sanctification. On days I start to think that I am making progress, God simply unmasks another layer of my wicked and deceitful heart. Sometimes He does that in prayer or reading the Scriptures. Sometimes the enemy simply screams in my ear. Sometimes the Holy Spirit opens my eyes in the midst of my sin. At other times, God uses the actions of others. In each case, the enemy has a purpose and God has a purpose. The enemy seeks to destroy, discourage, and defame (John 10:10a). God seeks to give us abundant life through unmitigated dependence on Him (John 10:10b). He seeks to conform us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-30).

So, this morning God graciously terrified me with part of that image: Christ on a cross, stripped naked, nail-pierced hands and feet, a crown of thorns, bloody from beatings and dried saliva all over his body…praying to the Father, “forgive them…for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). I’M A ‘THEM,’ that Christ interceded for. I’m one of those sinners…

So how can a sinner elevate himself to a place of judgment against another sinner? Sure, he can and must discern that sin has occurred and who did it and all of that…but to “judge” in that context is to withhold love toward that person. If a person withheld love he may find a perfect consensus from other sinners that he is righteous but Jesus says that to do so is to testify that you are not a follower of His. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).

Wow, pastor…that’s hard!  Yes…it is. Well, surely God must only mean love those who are easy to love or those that are His own…right? If that were true, how could we reconcile that with “God demonstrates His own love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, (Romans 5:8), and “Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not our only, but also for the whole world (1 John 2:2). [Propitiation speaks of the satisfactory payment for our debt] Furthermore, it is specifically in the case of sinful offense that we are told to love and told that love covers sin. “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8).

Paul indicates that to harbor anger or resentment or to clamor or slander is to grieve the Holy Spirit and that we must resist this and walk in love, just as Christ loved us.

Ephesians 4:29–5:2 (NASB95)

29Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

30Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

32Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

2and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Back to the cross. If Christ can face what He faced, and ask God to forgive me for spitting on Him, whipping Him, crucifying Him, mocking Him, and prancing around in my self-righteous head-wagging strut…how can I not love, learn, and leave it at the cross?

So, as painful as criticism is…as hard as the days can become…I choose love, for love covers a multitude of sins.

It is rigged!

by | Feb 12, 2018 | church, discipleship, pastor

Ok. It’s rigged! That was the young man’s conclusion after the third attempt at the carnival game. He was ten dollars into his quest and that stuffed animal was as safe as anything under the sun. He realized that the game had a predetermined outcome and a preset means to win. All other attempts will fail.

Years of looking at the process of how Jesus grows believers have convinced me of this truth: The process is rigged. There may be different pathways to maturity but they all involve community if Jesus is involved. Consider this:

  • Jesus discipled in groups. Sure, he had individual encounters with people, but there were 12 disciples and 3 of those in the inner circle. He trained developed people in groups.
  • The New Testament was predominantly written to churches (communities of believers). Some may correctly observe that the pastoral letters (Timothy and Titus), as well as Philemon, are addressed to individuals, but it is not a far stretch to argue that the subject matter was meant for a much broader audience. Still, that leaves well over 90% of the actual content as intended for communities rather than individuals.
  • Finally, there is no small emphasis on relationships, offense, and forgiveness in the New Testament. It seems that when people get together (community) they can “rub wings” and need to regain alignment. (See Matthew 5:21-26, 18:15-18; Eph 5:21-27, 6:1-9, et.al.)

A favorite tool of the enemy to inhibit growth (at least here in the West and particularly in America) is the infatuation we have with individualism and the nearly universal availability of information. The internet makes information as accessible as the phone in your pocket. If you want to know something about anything, Google lets you type it into a search bar, even poorly worded and misspelled, and spits out a gazillion possible matches in a fraction of a second. This access has reduced the reliance on the church as the dispenser of truth about God and His purposeful design. IOW…why go to a church and listen to stuff you may not agree with alongside people you don’t necessarily have a lot in common with, when you can dial up a podcast of some famous guy across town or across the country and listen in the deer stand?

Here’s what is true as I understand the Scriptures: You cannot make it to maturity apart from the community. Consequently, neither can your children or teens…but they won’t know that until after their values are established by the example and incidental leadership of their parents. (What I mean is, if we as parents model in our actions that corporate worship, small group engagement, and relational alignment are unimportant, we set a foundational stone that will guide the conduct of our younger ones perhaps for a generation or more!)

So, how do we move toward maturity?

  • Be as committed to and engaged in corporate community (church) as we are to our employers or our kids’ cheer squad or traveling soccer team. I we would commit to three practices a week for baseball, could we really argue that the spiritual maturity of our family deserves less?
  • Be engaged in small group ministry. (Yes, engagement is more than membership or sitting through a lesson on Sunday).
  • Get married! Commit yourself to one church and one church system. In a world of ubiquitous information it is easy to find Chandler’s podcast, or the church down the road’s singles ministry…but if you’re committed to your church (via formal or implied membership), placing your trust in these other venues may not only be hurtful to your own community, but harmful to your development.

There are a ton of other things we could talk about or adopt regarding community. What is always true and, really, beyond honest debate:

  • Jesus loves us, and therefore always acts in our best interest and His glory.
  • Jesus designed church as a preferred community for His people. It is not optional. It is a design.
  • The closer we are to His design, the more fulfilling we will find the life He created us for.