Becoming a Better Follower.

It is often said that better leaders are needed in our churches, non-profits, and other ministries.  This is why the Church is not growing and moving forward as it should.

I get this complaint.  It has been around for centuries!  As a result, the Church offers education, discipleship, and a whole bevy of options for leadership training.  The Church as a whole is trying to address this need.  

In addition, I offer that there are too many examples of poor leadership.  People who use their power to manipulate and control.  People who don't lead to build the Kingdom, but instead lead to promote their own welfare and kingdom.  These examples of poor leadership should be rejected and dealt with to bring about repentance and transformation.  Thankfully, I believe these examples of poor leadership make up a small minority of instances in the Church.  Most folks in leadership are truly interested in seeing the gospel run freely through the local church and into the community.

With that in mind, I offer an observation.  

What if our greatest need is not better leaders, but better followers?

It should be obvious that being a good follower does not come natural to most of us.  I know it does not come naturally to me!  Particularly in the West, we see ourselves as individuals who should be respected because of our inherent importance.  For many of us, this means that we really don't like being told or even shown what to do, because we prefer to figure out our own way.  We want to be consulted and informed about everything, and we believe we have the final veto power on decisions made by those in leadership.

What does this look like in the church?

The truism that people ultimately vote with their feet and their pocketbooks.  Since we have the right to veto any leadership initiative, we do so by pulling back from involvement and giving our financial support.  Unfortunately, it also means that many actively try to undermine authentic leadership.  This leads to all kinds of issues and problems!  

What would better followers look like?

Followers who will let the leaders lead.  

Followers who offer perspective, but support the leader's/leadership's decisions.

Followers who pray for God to lead the leaders and for grace to support the leaders.

Followers who pray and ask for God's favor for others, period.

Followers who reject gossip and talking behind the leader's back.

Followers who dig in and do without complaint.

Followers who encourage.

Followers who know the hardship and responsibility of leadership.

Followers who teach others to be good followers.

I believe most churches would do well if somehow we could teach people how to be good followers.  Western individualism and human pride have made it difficult to be a good follower.

One last observation, I have never seen a church split because there were no leaders.  Competing leadership visions, yes.  Poor leadership, definitely.  Lack of humility, always.  Refusal to be a good follower, yes.  Maybe we need "followership training" in today's day and age just as much as we need "leadership training."

The Dividing Line: The Sufficiency of Scripture

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires,

they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say

what their itching ears want to hear.

They will turn their ears away from the truth and 

turn aside to myths."

2 Tim. 4: 3-4

I have spent much time over the past few years reflecting upon the state of the church in America and the West.  I have read broadly.  I have engaged with the news of the day.  I have sat with folks with whom I disagree about the proper and biblical way to deal with our current cultural directions.  I have tried to understand.  I have come to a conclusion.  

The defining issue in today's church 

remains the doctrine of scripture.

What does this mean?  Here are some diagnostic questions.

Do you believe that God has spoken clearly to reveal His character and will?  Do you believe that God's will on most moral issues is knowable?  Do you believe Jesus is who He said He is?

Why are these questions so important?  We have come to a point where "evangelical" believers don't share an understanding of how to answer them.  We are speaking past each other because many in "evangelical" churches and denominations have radically shifted their answers to these questions.

How so?

I can hear people saying often, "Christianity is all about Jesus.  All you have to do is believe in Him.  All this other moral and ethical teaching of scripture is not important.  It is all about Jesus."

Well, I could not agree more.  The problem is that many take Jesus so lightly!  Even among those who say it is all about Jesus there can be a dismissal of Jesus' life and teaching.

Jesus was all about promoting human flourishing.  He understood that humanity was in need of complete and total redemption.  He understood the sinful human condition.  He came to speak into that condition.  He came to live a perfect life and die an undeserved death to answer the greatest need of sinful humanity.  He came to define human flourishing in relationship to God and God's glory.  The result was incredible.

In Jesus is forgiveness, but also 
a changed heart, a renewed mind, and a clarity of purpose.

Changed.  Transformed.  Made new.  Renewed.  Revived.  Restored.

Don't those words sound great?  Jesus came to give us grace to live a life of human flourishing.  A life that we were meant to live.  A life of meaning and purpose.  A life in line with how we were created to be.

The question is what does such a life look like?  How do we define "human flourishing?" 

Here is the rub.  Here is where the importance of scripture comes in.  I have heard often, "It is all about love."  Well, love needs some definition.  Even as a culture, we have defined that "controlling" love can be abusive.  So, what is true love?  What are proper expressions of love?

Jesus defines love and he affirms that scripture defines 

the proper expressions and understanding of true love.

Jesus began his ministry by affirming the importance of scripture.  To deny the authority of the bible is to deny the authority of Jesus.  As he states in Matthew 5: 17-18

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;

I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, 

not the smallest letter,

not the least stroke of a pen,

will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

The winds of cultural thought have turned against the authority of scripture to define love, marriage, truth, and righteousness.  As a culture, we will reap the whirlwind from these cultural tides.

What I don't get is how churches and many "religious teachers" think they should join in our cultural destruction.  God is not mocked.  In other words, 

beware of any church or teacher that does not take scripture seriously.

In our fallen condition, even believers might differ in interpretation.  Yet, truly redeemed folks agree on 98-99% of all doctrine.  Those minor points in which we disagree are really not important.  They are like an intramural scrimmage.  We have way more important things to deal with.

Like what?

Our culture, our friends, our families are often not flourishing.  Many are living in darkness and walking into increasing darkness.  It is not loving to encourage people to walk deeper into sin.  In doing so, we are encouraging folks to live in pain, struggle, brokenness, and death.

In other words, Christians and Christianity cannot approve of what scripture defines as sin.  These are the marks of a false church and false faith.  Doing so it not loving.  It is the opposite of love.  

It is time for the Church to be the Church.  
It is time for believers to be believers.
It is time to learn, to believe, and to embrace what scripture says.

                                                    "Jesus and the Pharisees"
                                                    Jacob Jordaens 1593-1678 

Wolves Among the Sheep

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, 

among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, 

to shepherd the Church of God which He purchased with His own blood.  

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, 

not sparing the flock;

and from among your own selves men will arise, 
speaking perverse things, 
to draw away the disciples after them."
Acts 20: 28-30

Did you catch the meaning of the end of the section of scripture?

The Ephesian church leaders had among themselves those who would lead the church astray.

How is this possible?  Did not Paul train them and help install them?  Yes.  Right after Paul made this statement, did not these same leaders kneel down and pray with Paul?  Yes they did.

"By their fruits you will recognize them." 

Matt 7:20.  

In life and ministry it matters how you run the race and how you finish.

The Christian life is meant to be a life marked by dependent faith in Christ.  It is marked by authentic humility expressed in repentance and faith.  Have you noticed how often church leadership is not marked by these traits?  In particular, leadership that goes wrong is not marked by these traits!

Living in a fallen world means that we must 

always be on guard against the schemes of the evil one. 

He is a liar, a murderer (the root of all anger, jealousy, lack of love), and a pretender to authentic grace.  His schemes include placing false assurance into the hearts of some in hope that they will later wreck the mission and testimony of the church through their pride.

Again I ask, what does this mean?  Should we not join a church since it might be a mixed crew?  No!  It is important to join a church.  

Joining the church means willingly submitting to the order and authority of the local church.  It does not mean that you will agree with every decision made by the church, but that you will work to maintain the peace and purity of the church through healthy discussion, quick repentance when you wrong someone, and quick forgiveness when wronged.  It means that you willingly allow the Elders to speak the gospel into your life.  Most importantly, it also means that you are willingly ingrafted into the a local expression of the body of Christ.  It was an assumed condition for the Jews of Jesus' time.  It is important!

Yet, we should not be surprised or shocked when the behavior of others turns ugly.  We live in a fallen world!  We should not allow ugly behavior to continue in the name of being nice.  If we do so, we are encouraging and allowing evil.  We should lovingly confront and encourage repentance and faith.  Often the response will be repentance.  It might take time, but it will be so.  

Other times the response will be a striking out at you for mentioning their sin.

Does this surprise you?  Remember we live in a fallen world.

By their fruits you will recognize them.  

One who refuses to repent from obvious sin should be treated as an unbeliever.  In other words, they need to hear the gospel.  Repentance, faith, trust in Christ, confession of sin, and walking in grace and truth should be lovingly proclaimed and announced.

The Church is God's wonderful means of grace into this fallen world.  We are to model dependent faith upon Jesus.  We do not have it all together, but we point to and follow the One who does.  May the Lord purify and refine His bride to reflect and illustrate such dependent, repentant faith.

It has been too long...

For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven.

Ecc. 3:1

It has really been too long since I last wrote.  Jesus has been very present and faithful to me over this year.  Yet, until recently, I have not felt like writing.  I have kept up with life and ministry, but I have not sat down to actively think through writing.

My hope and prayer is that my lethargy about writing and thinking is done.  A difficult season of life is now ended.  A new season of life is beginning.   

I take great comfort in this fact.  I also take great comfort that just as natural seasons change, I can feel that I am entering into a new season of life and ministry.  

I feel emotionally and spiritually healthy.  I feel like my personal journey through the wilderness is over.  I feel creative, released, free.  It is good.  I testify to the awesome grace and loving-kindness of the Lord.  It is real.  It has been sufficient for me.

Finding Rest for Your Soul

Be at rest once more, O my soul,

for the Lord has been good to you. 

Ps. 116: 7

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of modern life, how do we find rest?  How do we experience peace?  Even if we know, and I mean really know, that the Lord has been good to us, how do we translate that into peace?

I begin with too many questions.  This week I have been struggling with the effects of Shingles and an elevated blood pressure that I can't just will down.  I know I need to rest.  I know I need to trust.  I know the Lord has been and will continue to be good to me.  Yet, how do I do it with all the church planting plans and the rest of my busy life?

The First Step Toward Change: Admit There is a Problem

I think many of us don't get enough rest because we don't really want to slow down.  There is an excitement with being busy.  There is a feeling of importance for being constantly on the go and in demand.  The pull of busyness is more important to us than finding peace and rest in the gospel.

Sounds harsh doesn't it?  Yet, I think each of us have to reflect upon our lives.  We need to prayerfully consider that we are overly busy because we like being overly busy.

Do you think to yourself, "I will slow down when ...."  "I can't possibly stop or slow down until ...."  Why is this project or whatever activity so important?  Maybe your busyness is just a season of life thing.  After another six months, you will be able to find rest.  Most likely six months from now will find us in the midst of another "busy" season of life.

You see, unless you really want to pursue rest, you will not find it.  If you are not deliberate, you will re-fill your life with other activities, other priorities, and other sources of stress.  You must pursue finding rest by consciously moving away from filling your thoughts and your heart with different activities and loves.

Step 2: Re-establish the Gospel in your focus

This past week at Christ Community, we offered a reassurance of pardon from the Heidelberg Catechism question 60.  It ends with, "All that I need to do is accept this gift of God with a believing heart."

Wow!  How do we accept the great news of the Gospel (the rest of question 60's answer) with a believing heart?

I believe it is a matter of prayer.  It is also a matter of focus.  Meditate upon the promises of God's grace.  Reflect upon what Jesus has done for you.  Pray that God will make it real.

Notice, all of this implies that we must change our focus from harried activity to reflecting upon God's promises.  We cannot "accept this gift of God" if we don't know the gift.  We cannot rest unless we find something to rest in.  The promise is that we can rest in God's sovereign love found in Jesus.

As we start a new season, why not try it?  You are a highly competent person.  Why not take some of that focus and drive that you are putting to so many other activities and apply it to reflecting upon  and resting in Jesus?  Pick up the Heidelberg Catechism and use it as a devotional.  Use it to focus your mind on the promises of God.

Lord knows we all need it!

Giving others a chance to be a blessing...

Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.

The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward,

and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person 

will receive a righteous person's reward.

And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of water because he is a disciple, 

truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Matt. 10: 40-42

This passage has puzzled me for years.  Why?

Our passage is tucked into a chapter of Matthew where Jesus sends out his Apostles to learn ministry.  The context of the passage includes Jesus giving them a mission with clear instructions (vss. 5-15).  He then promises them they will face persecution (vss. 16-25), but they should not worry because whoever acknowledges him before men He will acknowledge before the Father (vss. 26-33).  Then he concludes with the promise that He came to bring not peace, but a sword (vss. 34-39).  (This is another tough passage!)  His final instructions are included in our passage.  They are a promise that whoever does receive the disciples will get a reward.

In this passage, the controlling verse is 10:40 "Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me."  

After affirming that His person and message would cause divisions even within families, Jesus promises that those to receive the truth of His person and message will share in the blessings of God.  In other words, receiving the disciples illustrates folks received their message.

Here is where I find the passage extremely interesting.  Why would Jesus say such a thing?  Somehow, openness to listen means blessings.  It illustrates a heart somehow prepared by God.  A person's attitude toward the messenger illustrates the condition of that person's heart.

What does this mean for us?

Because of our message, we are a blessing to society and to those we talk to about Jesus.  Merely opening our mouth and declaring that we trust in Jesus will allow people to experience a blessing.   I sure wish I would always remember this when I have a chance to testify about what Jesus has done in my life.  I am sure most of you feel the same.

Yes, some will be some will be shocked and dismayed by this testimony.  We should not worry about this fact.  Jesus says fear not for I am with you!  Such a testimony might cause division.  Jesus tells us that such division is part of the game if you wish to be part of the growth of the Kingdom.  As Jesus promises,

"And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." 

Matt. 10:38-39.

In other words, why are we protecting our reputation with others and not concerned with being a blessing to others?  We fear the few who reject; and as a result, we rob people of the chance to be blessed by responding to our testimony. 

I can promise you that when we declare who Jesus is with love and integrity, most people respond favorably.  Some do not, but most will listen.  Particularly those who know you!  As they listen with openness, God will call some to faith.  The promise of this passage is that you will be a blessing.  You will be salt and light.  

Do you wish your life to count for something in building the Kingdom of God?  Be open to declaring what God has done in Christ.  Fear not for He will go with you.

The Empty (Political) Philosophy of Today

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, 

according to human tradition, 

according to the elemental spirits of the world, 

and not according to Christ. 

Col. 2:8

Boy is this one tough!  Why?  Because any hollow philosophy that conforms to the "elemental spirits of this world" seems so natural to us.  It is a rule of life that comes directly from "human tradition."  By and large, we like fitting into human tradition.  We desperately want to be accepted by our peer group (whoever that may be).

In other words, all of us are naturally and easy drifting toward being held captive 

by worldly philosophy and empty deceit.

Not so sure?  Check out the blogs and website of many "christian thinkers" this election season.  I have never seen more "christian" people giving up or redefine so many major orthodox beliefs of the Christian faith for politics.  One would think Jesus was a progressive democratic (This is the popular position for trendy christian writers).  One would think that Trump represents godly leadership.  

The sadness for me as I read these blogs is that these folks are well-meaning.  They are sincere.  They believe what they are saying is "biblical truth."  The problem is that they have adopted some very contemporary ideas about human nature, redemption, personality, transformation, and self-expression.  These ideas are informed by our contemporary political scene.  

What has happened?  These folks have taken a modern definition of words or ideas, and they have read back into the biblical text to get it to say what is acceptable to today's standards.  As such, they have redefined biblical truth instead of allowing biblical truth, as it was written and intended to be understood, to define our understanding of Truth.

Why would they do this?  Why would so many affirm them instead of calling them to task?

Our naturalistic, contemporary, human tradition believes that every opinion is equally valid.  We believe that texts (like the bible, the constitution, or any other text) only have the meaning that we bring to the text.  Original intent does not matter; or if it does matter, it only is one voice of meaning.

Friends, this idea will lead many into error.  It will lead many astray.  It will also put the eternal souls of many in danger.  (This sounds so harsh, doesn't it?  Our cringing at such statements only illustrates the hollow philosophy of today!)

Why?  Jesus is True God of True God.  The fulness of deity dwells within Him (Col. 2:9).  He does not leave us alone.  He had revealed Himself to us because on our own, we would not be able to figure it out.  

How did Jesus reveal himself?  The clearest expression is the Word of God.  The 66 books found within scripture.  God does not lead us in ways that contradict the Word of God.  The Spirit still is speaking and leading believers to know the will of God, but the Spirit also will not contradict the Word of God.  This means we need to know and to trust God's revealed Word!  This takes time and effort.

We also have to know and to identify the false, worldly philosophy of our day.  We have to call it false.  We need to safeguard our thoughts, our feelings, and our faith against the false teaching.  We need to repent when we are caught up in the worldly philosophy of our day.  We need to cling to Jesus and pray for ourselves, our family, our friends, and our countries.  Pray that grace and truth will again be known.  As Paul says,

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, 

just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Col. 2: 6-7

God is good- all the time

For I know the plans I have for you,

declares the Lord, 

plans for welfare and not for evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me,

and I will hear you.

Jeremiah 29: 11

It has been a long time.  Too long.  I just have not felt like writing.  For whatever reason, I have not had any sort of original thoughts.  My guess is that it was time to take a break.  It was time to rest in Jesus, listen to the Spirit, and praise the Father.

Life has been so full and blessed with the process of church planting and enjoying living with my family in the incredible state of Montana.  Through it all, I have learned much.  I have grown deeper (sometimes!).  I have been prepared for work further up and further in.

Now, the Spirit is moving again.  He has been working something wonderful at Christ Community (www.christcommunitygf.com).  We launch officially on September 18.  May the opening promise be true.  May I also take time to write more here!  I thank you all for the encouragement to get writing again.  Funny how this encouragement has increased as my desire to write has returned.  I will take it as the synergy of the Spirit.

Blessings and keep checking back.  

Burnout, Church, and Trust

As a young pastor/visionary, I was awakened to this reality when a godly Christian layman in my first congregation came to see me.  I think I had plans for him to attend several meetings- two or three committee activities, and a planning effort or two- all in one week.  I mean, whatever else could be more important than my vision to build the church into an impressive lighthouse for the gospel?

Seriously and respectfully he said to me, "Pastor, I need you to understand something.  When I leave here on Sunday, I often go back home and then work on Monday and do other things I have to do and don't even think about the church or you for two or three days."

I was shocked.  I thought about church all the time.  I assumed everyone was caught up in my vision for a larger church, a more diversified staff, a more aggressive program.  And he's telling me that he might not think about it?  For two or three days at a time?  Astonishing!

Then he pointed out that he was not living for the church.  He was living to lead and raise his family in a godly way, living to make his job a place where his quality of work and his character reflected the Spirit of Jesus, living in a world that he wished to enjoy and in which he might experience the glory of God.  And he was also working to add value in the name of Christ to people who weren't as blessed as he was.

The church, he said, could help him do that by pastoring him.  Ot it could thwart him from doing that by overwhelming him with the insatiably ambitious demands of its vision.

Gordon MacDonald, "Blind Spot" Leadership, (Summer 2000), 33.

Perspective.  It is so easy to lose it!  This life is so busy, so great, so painful, so lonely.  Perspective on what is really important can easily be washed away with our day to day issues.

I love the opening quote in this post.  I have made it my mission to design and promote ministries that do not overload anyone in the church.  I think life is stressful enough without having to add the guilt and drive of "ministry" to the mix.  I know we have to have meetings, we need to plan, and our ministries must take place.  Yet, too many meetings, too much planning, and too much practice can ruin a ministry, and they definitely can ruin an individual.

Why?

The purpose of this life is to grow in our trust and dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  

We do so by growing in repentance and faith.  All of our ministry, all of our church work, and all of our discipleship should grow us in this understanding and point us toward deeper dependence by faith.

Such faith must go somewhere.  It is not merely an internal feeling of some sort.  It has legs!  It must and will express itself in love (Galatians 5: 6).  The beauty of this work is that it happens in all of our lives, not just the church part!  In fact, if our faith is only expressed in church, then we do not understand the gospel and the glory of knowing Jesus.

The Church is here to help us grow in our understanding of the gospel, and its call should be for us to love and serve in our families, our work, and in all of our life.  Without this constant reminder and the encouragement of the Church, believers will walk away from living and believing the gospel.  I have met way too many believers who have grown strange in their faith and practice because they believed the church was not needed.  

In other words, the church is vitally important!  Yet, it is not everything in a believer's life.  We are called to have a life in this world.  We are called to love our spouses, to raise our children, to work our jobs while fulfilling our occupation, and to be salt and light in a dark and lost world.  We have these responsibilities and privileges.  The church is a fellowship of believers who are to train and encourage us in these tasks.  Together we are stronger witnesses to the light than we ever would be separately!

Several observations now can be made.  In this post I only have space for one.  So here it is:

As individuals, we must guard our hearts from overwork in any area of life.  

If something leads us away from growing in dependent faith 

we must limit our exposure to this toxic poison.  

Such a toxin could even be seemingly good things.  Family is important. Biblically we have no higher calling than to love and take care of our families.  Yet, if we value and honor our families more than our walk with God, we have made family into an idol.  

Past generations seem to understand this danger better than we do.  They would guard honoring God above anything else.  All too often, we make family fun and comfort our highest priority, and neglect or relegate honoring God under our family's plans.  I do wonder if the past thirty years of parents have a higher or lower rate of passing on their faith to their children than previous generations?

The same difficulties that are found in making the biblical good of family into an idol, can also be found in our attitude toward working in the church.  Working, ministering, and serving are wonderful!  I know I find them a great joy.  Yet, when people do them to extremes or a church demands too much labor from its servant leaders, burnout and discouragement will result.

We all have different levels of ability, and we all have different places where service goes from joy to drudgery.  How do we know if we are approaching burnout?

Are you growing in dependent faith?  

Do you find yourself growing in your understanding of the gospel

 because you are growing in repentance and faith, 

which leads to heart transformation and joy?  

There will be some seasons of life where we find ourselves working too much, serving too much, doing too much.  We need to make sure it is a brief season, if we wish to run the race of faith for a lifetime.  Burnout is not a badge of spiritual achievement, but a cheap token of misplaced loyalty and trust.  Come back to the source of the power for ministry, which is reliance on the Holy Spirit through dependent faith!  

How?  Take a break.  Renew yourself in the gospel.  Find others to walk with you.  Confess the danger your approaching burnout is placing upon your soul.  Most importantly, allow the church to refresh you instead of use you.  Take responsibility to guard your soul and to begin to refresh it.

May each of us find refreshing and renewal in the gospel!

The Gospel and the Church

The Church is the congregation of saints, 

in which the Gospel is rightly taught 

and the Sacraments are rightly administered.

Augsburg Confession Article 7.1

There is much solid theological weight in this short sentence.  The Augsburg Confession was written by Philip Melanchthon in 1530, but it was approved by and contained the thought of Martin Luther and the early Protestant Reformation.  Luther spent much of this time and effort attempting to understand and articulate the meaning of the gospel.  His understanding of the gospel includes the full-orbed explanations that is shared in this blog.  In other words, the gospel can not be distilled down to the bare minimum that "will get you into heaven," but it is marked by a life of active repentance and faith.  Such a life impacts every dimension of a believer, and it propels the believer to trust in Christ alone for all of life.  

What does a true Church believe and teach about the gospel?

A true church will teach, preach, and hold dearly to Christ alone as the source and securer of our salvation.

It will cling to salvation by grace alone, and it will emphasize faith alone as the means of living in right relationship with God.

It will also cling to the proper understanding of scripture alone as the revelation of God's will for faith and practice.  I say proper understanding because it will emphasize that one must interpret scripture within and from its proper historical, grammatical, and lexical context while keeping the whole of biblical revelation in mind as one interprets each passage.  Such an interpretation takes thoughtful exegesis and careful application.

Finally, a true church will also be committed and involved in spreading the gospel to all.  It will not just talk about reaching out, but it will challenge both believers and unbelievers to live a life of repentance and faith.  The result of this challenge will be changed lives and conversions.  The true church is never a club for religious insiders, but instead she is an outpost for mission to a lost and hurting world!

I would gladly travel 45 miles on a Sunday to attend such a church.  I probably would even go further!

Why?  Because I desperately need to be reminded of the gospel.  

I think all of us do.  We so quickly forget that life is not all about us and our concerns.  We forget the beauty and grace of Christ, and instead we run to our feelings, thoughts, and efforts as our justification and life.  Friends, we do so to our own peril.

We need a community where were are reminded of the gospel.  We need a church marked by these traits.  I hope and pray that the Lord is developing us at Christ Community to be that type of place.  The Kingdom grows through the True Church, and I want to see the Kingdom grow.

What are the practical implication of this understanding of the gospel 

and the true Church?

First, if you are looking for a church, do not settle for one that has "great youth programs" or anything programmatic.  The most important element of a church is not that the music makes you feel great.  First and foremost look for a church where the gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered!  Upon these two factors we should judge the suitability of a church.

Second, if you are part of a church that holds some of these traits but not all of them be very careful!  Try to help the church repent and change.  Yet realize that a system like a church is very hard to change once it becomes set in its ways.  This is particularly true if you are not a leader of the church!  If you cannot move the system back to gospel- and grace-centered, it might well be time to leave.

Why?

The true church needs your help.  Gospel- and grace-centered churches have always been the minority of churches in the land.  Their witness needs to expand.  Join with them and be part of what God is doing!

Envy's Deadly Pull

"It has been said that Envy is the one deadly sin to which no one readily confesses.  It seems to be the nastiest, the most grim, the meanest.  Sneering, sly, vicious.  The face of Envy is never lovely.  It is never even faintly pleasant.  Its expression crosses our faces in a split second.  'Few are able to suppress in themselves a secret satisfaction at the misfortune of their friends,' said La Rochefoucauld, and few of us are able to suppress a secret envy at someone else's good fortune, or even at someone else's good joke.  If we confessed each day how often we had been envious during it, we would be on our knees longer than for any other sin.

Although all the deadly sins are morbid and self-destroying, Angus Wilson has said, most of the others provide at least some gratification in their early stages.  But there in no gratification for Envy, nothing it can ever enjoy.  Its appetite never ceases, yet its only satisfaction is endless self-torment.  'It has the ugliness of a trapped rat that has gnawed its own feet in its efforts to escape.'"

Henry Fairlie, The Seven Deadly Sins for Today, 61.

Envy is our cultural marker.  It marks the West.  It marks most of us.

The great irony is that we don't even see it in ourselves.  We have the ugliness "of a trapped rat that has gnawed it own feet in its efforts to escape" yet we don't see our true condition.  We want more.  We want what we deserve.  We want it now.  We know we would have everything we want if others just got out of our way and recognized us for our true wonderful selves.

This is even true in the Church.

Rarely are we really happy for the success of others.  Instead, we want the gifts, talents, and blessings that others enjoy.  Somehow we just know that others don't really deserve their blessings and we know that deserve more than we got.  At the very least, it would great if God helped us have a little less struggle and heartache!

I know most of us would deny that we live this way.  Yet, I think on this Easter week that a real and deep analysis of our life would illustrate the heart of our prayers to God and our complaints about our lives.  We want more!  We want the peace, love, blessings, and talents of others.

"Envy's appetite never ceases, 

yet its only satisfaction is endless self-torment."

The only way off this carousel of sin is repentance and faith.  

We were created to have our satisfaction and joy from our relationship with Jesus.  Ask the Spirit to point out where envy rules in your life and in the church.  Ask for grace to repent and find satisfaction in Jesus' love for you.  Meet with other gospel-centered believers for encouragement as you seek to lessen the rule of envy in your life.  Most importantly, when the Spirit points out your envy for other's blessings of love, peace, power, things or talents, repent and believe the gospel!

Unite my Heart, O Lord

Teach me your way, O Lord, 

that I may walk in your truth;

unite my heart to fear your name forever.
Ps. 86:11

It has been a delightfully busy couple of weeks.  There has been many ups and downs.  There has been plenty of opportunities to veer off the path of walking with God in newness of life.

Can you relate?

I think this verse from Psalm 86 speaks into the busyness of our lives.  It is a prayer for wholeness in the midst of a chaos that can fragment our lives.  The psalmist cries out, "Unite my heart to fear your name forever!"

Unite my heart.  

What does this mean?  Why do we need it?

The very real human condition is most often marked by self-reliance.  We seek to create our own reality by imposing our will on nature, others, and ourselves.  We strive to create order in our surrounding chaos.

The problem is that without a framework of understanding the universe and our place in it, we can easily build on the wrong foundations and in the wrong place.  We can strive to impose our will, or try to impose our will, in ways that go against who we were created to be.  This means that we actually work against our interests by working for our own self-interests.

This is not a good irony.  I have found that building a life without regard to where we build or consideration of the foundations upon which we build upon leads to disappointment.  It also leads to anxiety, fear, depression, control issues, self-reliance, self-righteousness, and pride.

Unite my heart, O Lord.  

How?

Unite it so we build upon the foundation of a direct and real relationship with the true God.  No more pretending and half-measures.  Instead, we live a life marked by active repentance and faith.  This is what the Psalmist called for with the prayer "teach me your way, O Lord."

Unite it so we build our life in the right place with the right priorities.  This means that we discover and then hold unto being the person God made us to be.  In our fallen world, we get so confused and befuddled.  Our world system, our upbringing, our own envy of the life of others can easily pull us toward living a false life build in the wrong place.  If we have build in the wrong place, we need to confess and seek God's guidance.  This is that the Psalmist called for with the prayer, "that I may walk in your truth."

I am so thankful that it is never too late if we wake up and find that we built a life on the wrong foundation or in the wrong place.  The first step to a united heart is to cry out to God for mercy and grace.  Such crying out is also the starting place for every subsequent time we need to have God unite our heart.  Ask Him to establish or re-establish you on the right foundation.  Ask Him to guide you into building the right place.  Such humble prayers the Lord always answers.

Heart-Changing Grace

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

Galatians 5:6

"In the book The Nature of True Virtue, Jonathan Edwards demonstrates that most moral people are complying to ethical standards mainly out of self-interest, pride, and fear.  He called this "common morality" and contrasted it with "true virtue," which flows from a life transformed by experiencing God's grace.  Edwards discerned a loving and joyful heart that acted not out of superiority, nor fear of consequences, but out of delight in God for the beauty of who God is in himself."

Tim Keller, "Preaching Amid Pluralism," Leadership (Winter 2002), 35.

Last evening in our gospel-centered discipleship class, we were discussing how one must be sanctified by faith.  In the class, our discussion revolved around the topic of how hard it is to believe that faith is what actually changes us.  We shared that the overarching concern by many is that if one emphasizes faith and grace as the drivers of change, then people will not walk in holiness.

The Misuse of "Faith"

One of the participants pressed this point by illustrating the arguments made by professing Christian folks who endorse and encourage monogamous homosexual relationships as good because we are all covered by grace and those in these relationship are showing love.  These folks argue that scripture that teaches against homosexuality is merely cultural while grace and love are universal.  Thus, these professing Christians argue in support of homosexual marriage because it illustrates "faith expressing itself through love."

The Misuse of "Law"

In response to such libertines, many other Christians have taken the exact opposite tact.  They have argued that the Law must be obeyed as proof of sanctification.  Soon, as they seek to follow the Law or "the Law of Christ" they struggle under and against the Law's commands.  If they do a better job then most, they become a self-righteous "helper of the weak" while if they fail they cover it up so as not to be exposed in their failings.  In hoping to steer clear of the shoals of absolute freedom that promotes sin (antinomianism or against the Law), they run their life toward the cliff of despair and self-righteousness that are found in legalism.

How do we escape both the shoals of antinomianism and the cliffs of legalism 

while remaining true within the current of the gospel?

The gospel transforms hearts through the process of repentance and faith.  

This means that we clearly teach that "There is a way that seems right to us, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 16:25.  In other words, we are sinful beings who always run away from God apart from His grace.  We prefer to break our relationship with God, with the way we are created to be, and with what is best for us because it "just feels right."  Because of these relational issues, we walk in sin.  All of the ways of the flesh, from our sinful self-effort and self-righteousness to our sins of inappropriate sexuality and anger, derive from our relational distance from God.  We need to repent of our heart's rebellion against God and cling by faith in Christ as our only cure.

Such teaching is found in every generation of the church.  It is the string that holds together the true Church.  Unfortunately, it is also followed and believed by only a small minority of professing believers.  

Why?

Because it feels like death to walk in faith and 

to rest in God's grace and beauty as all we need. 

It is much more comfortable to take control of our lives, either through "sanctifying" our sinful liberty or emphasizing our ethical behavior and effort as central.  Both of these tendencies reflect our inward desire and need for control.  

Faith means trusting God's control and love as enough.  

The only way we can have such faith is to know and believe that God's love and plan are good and sufficient.  The only way to know that in our heart (not just our head) is for our hearts and souls to be captured and enraptured by the beauty, perfection, and love of God.  Such heart transformation enables us to release our idols of control, self-reliance, fear, and pleasure because we want and know something better than our shallow idols.

How do we get such faith?  How do we know if we have it?

These are great questions.  Answering them in light of God's word is the path to life.  

Do you know your absolute need for grace?  Do you see the fruitless attempts at finding love, acceptance, and significance through your pursuit of control and pleasure apart from God?  Do you realize that your real problem is not your "fleshly desires" but the heart in rebellion against God that produces these desires that run contrary to true life?  Do you despair of even your attempts at doing good because you realize your mixed motives?  Do you feel like a fake and a poser because you know of the hypocrisy within you?

If so, repent and believe!  

Confess your sin, your rebellion, your sinful ways and cling to Jesus Christ as your only hope.

With eyes of faith, look upon Him and see forgiveness instead of condemnation.

Turn to Him for your satisfaction and life.  Repent of your idols.  Ask for grace to set them aside.  Allow the joy of Christ's presence to give you all you need.  Cling to the promises of God's word and ask the Spirit to make them true.

Growing in Deeper

Seek the Lord while he may be found;
Call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
As the Heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55: 6-11

It has been awhile.  Too long.  Too much pain and difficulty in my own life to even think about writing.  I have sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus and allowed Him to comfort me, teach me, and grow me deeper.  

What have I learned?  Jesus loves me more than I can ever imagine.  I have learned that He is enough.  I have come to a place where I praise Him even in the pain, difficulty, and disorientation of my life.  

I have also learned that He is not done with me yet.  He is at work.  He has prepared me.  He has pruned me.  (John 15: 1-5)  I am sure He will continue to do so.  I welcome it and pray it is all for His glory.

He also has protected me from a prolonged and deadly attack from the evil one.  I have learned the heart cries of the Psalms.  I have found comfort in the fellowship of others who seek Jesus.  Through it all, He has brought me to a place of safety and security.  A place of new beginnings.

I don't understand His ways, but I can affirm that He is good.  I encourage you to trust Him.  Rest in Him.  Find peace deep within.  It is only found in Jesus.  He is our Hope and Joy.