GRACE & PEACE

Author: Dennis Griffith

  • What is the Gospel?

    Wild is the Wind

    To say that we, as a church, are centered on the gospel, or Gospel-Driven, is realtively easy. It is quite another thing for the typical church member to know what such phrases actually mean.

    The following post, by C.J. Mahaney, was originally published on the Together for the Gospel blog.  I include it here in it’s entirety because it addresses and brings clarity to an issue of the utmost importance…

    ***

    Recently, someone asked two excellent questions on my blog: 

    What is the gospel?

    What is the most serious threat to the gospel?

    The following is my attempt to answer these important questions with the help of those much smarter than myself:

    1) What is the gospel?

    No question is more important, and biblical clarity in response to this question is critical. Sadly, confusion about the gospel is quite common among professing evangelicals today. I find Graeme Goldsworthy’s comment all too relevant: 

    “The main message of the Bible about Jesus Christ can easily become mixed with all sorts of things that are related to it. We see this in the way people define or preach the gospel. But it is important to keep the gospel itself clearly distinct from our response to it or from the results of it in our lives and in the world.” 

    So here is my attempt to heed the counsel of Dr. Goldsworthy and keep the gospel “clearly distinct.”

    The following definition of the gospel, provided by Jeff Purswell, the Dean of [Sovereign Grace] Pastors College, seeks to capture the substance of the gospel:

    “The gospel is the good news of God’s saving activity in the person and work of Christ. This includes his incarnation in which he took to himself full (yet sinless) human nature; his sinless life which fulfilled the perfect law of God; his substitutionary death which paid the penalty for man’s sin and satisfied the righteous wrath of God; his resurrection demonstrating God’s satisfaction with his sacrifice; and his glorification and ascension to the right hand of the Father where he now reigns and intercedes for the church.”

    “Such news is specific: there is a defined ‘thatness’ to the gospel which sets forth the content of both our saving faith and our proclamation. It is objective, and not to be confused with our response. It is sufficient: we can add nothing to what Christ has accomplished for us–it falls to us simply to believe this news, turning from our sins and receiving by faith all that God has done for us in Christ.” 

    I find this definition of the gospel faithful to the presentation of the four Gospels—they present the person and work of Christ as the good news. In the Apostle Paul’s concise summation of the gospel, he focuses more particularly on Christ’s death and resurrection as the core of his proclamation:

     “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures….” 1 Cor 15:3-4

    Focusing more specifically still, the apostle encapsulates the work of Christ by focusing on the cross:

    “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2:2

    So that is the gospel: God’s saving work in and through Christ. And the cross is the pinnacle of that work. Knox Chamblin helpfully notes this emphasis in Paul’s writing and ministry:

    “His gospel is ‘the word of the cross’ (1 Cor. 1:17-18); nowhere is there a comparable reference to ‘the word of the resurrection.’ In I Corinthians 1:23-24 it is ‘Christ crucified’ who is identified as ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God,’ not as we might have expected (especially in the case of ‘power’), Christ resurrected…. Both the cross and the resurrection are ‘of first importance’ in Paul’s gospel (I Cor. 15:3-4). Unless Christ has risen from the dead, the preaching of the cross (and of the resurrection) is a waste of time (15:14); but once the resurrection has occurred, the cross remains central.”

    And the centrality of the cross isn’t temporary. The cross remains on center stage even when we receive a glimpse of eternity in the New Testament’s final book:

    “One is taken aback by the emphasis upon the Cross in Revelation. Heaven does not ‘get over’ the cross, as if there are better things to think about; heaven is not only Christ-centered, but cross-centered, and quite blaring about it.”       – Jim Elliff

    There is nothing more important than getting the gospel right. Years ago, John Stott made the following frightening observation of the evangelical church when he wrote, 

    “All around us we see Christians relaxing their grasp on the gospel, fumbling it, and in danger of letting it drop from their hands altogether.” 

    It is my prayer that God would use the Together for the Gospel conference to strengthen our grip upon the glorious gospel.

    2) What is the most serious threat to the gospel?

    For this question I think J.C. Ryle provides us with enduring discernment:

    “You may spoil the gospel by substitution. You have only to withdraw from the eyes of the sinner the grand object which the Bible proposes to faith–Jesus Christ–and to substitute another object in His place… and the mischief is done.”

    “You may spoil the gospel by addition. You have only to add to Christ, the grand object of faith, some other objects as equally worthy of honor, and the mischief is done.”

    “You may spoil the gospel by disproportion. You have only to attach an exaggerated importance to the secondary things of Christianity, and a diminished importance to the first things, and the mischief is done.”

    “Lastly, but not least, you may completely spoil the gospel by confused and contradictory directions… Confused and disorderly statements about Christianity are almost as bad as no statement at all. Religion of this sort is not evangelical.”

    3) Personal Application

    It’s not difficult to identify distortions of the gospel. But as a pastor, one of my main concerns for genuine Christians is a more subtle one: either assuming the gospel or neglecting the gospel. I have found this to be the greatest threat to the gospel in my own life. 

    Jerry Bridges echoes this concern when he writes, 

    “The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it.”

    So let us not only apply discernment to the church at large, but to our own hearts as well. Let us, in the words of Jerry Bridges, “Preach the gospel to ourselves daily.” Let us heed Charles Spurgeon’s exhortation: “Abide hard by the cross and search the mystery of his wounds.” Let us respond to John Stott’s invitation: “The Cross is a blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us.”

    So how can we get near enough?

    The following are books that will position you to experience the transforming sparks of the gospel:

    The Cross of Christ by John Stott. A personal favorite. Stott says of the Savior, “It was by his death that he wished above all else to be remembered.” This book won’t let you forget.

    The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges. The man who taught me how to preach the gospel to myself will teach you to do the same.

    The Message of Salvation by Philip Ryken. This excellent book deserves a broad readership. My oldest daughter recently thanked me for recommending this book to her and told me how much she was benefiting from this book. You will benefit as well.

    The Message of the New Testament by Mark Dever. My good friend reveals the storyline of the Bible in each and every book of the New Testament. A must read for pastors but highly recommended for all. My wife has really enjoyed reading Mark’s book.

    The Cross and Christian Ministry by D.A. Carson. For pastors this is another must-read. I’m indebted to Dr. Carson for this book. It has defined effective pastoral ministry for me, and I pray it will do the same for you.

    That ought to get you started. Each of these books will draw you near enough to the “blazing fire of the cross so that its sparks” will fall on you and kindle fresh love for the Savior in your soul.

  • Infection of Complacency

    Indifferent

    Here is a thought from J.C. Ryle that transcends the gulf between 19th Century Britain to speak to 21st Century American Evangelicals:

    The times require distinct and decided views of Christian doctrine. I cannot withhold my conviction that the professing Church is as much damaged by laxity and indistinctness about matters of doctrine within, as it is by skeptics and unbelievers without. Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people afflicted with color–blindness, they are incapable of discerning what is true and what is false, what is sound and what is unsound. If a preacher of religion is only clever and eloquent and earnest, they appear to think he is all right, however strange and heterogeneous his sermons may be. They are destitute of spiritual sense, apparently, and cannot detect error. The only positive thing about them is that they dislike distinctiveness and think all extreme and decided and positive views are very naughty and very wrong!

    These people live in a kind of mist or fog. They see things unclearly, and do not know what they believe. They have not made up their minds about any great point in the Gospel, and seem content to be honorary members of all schools of thought. For their lives they could not tell you what they think is truth about justification, or regeneration, or sanctification, or the Lord’s Supper, or baptism, or faith or conversion, or inspiration, or the future state. They are eaten up with a morbid dread of controversy and an ignorant dislike of party spirit; and yet they really cannot define what they mean by these phrases. And so they live on undecided; and too often undecided; they drift down to the grave, without comfort in their religion, and, I am afraid, often without hope.

    The explanation of this boneless, nerveless, jelly–fish condition of soul is not difficult to find. To begin with, the heart of man is naturally in the dark about religion – has no intuitive sense of truth – and really needs instruction and illumination. Besides this, the natural heart in most men hates exertion in religion, and cordially dislikes patient, painstaking inquiry. Above all, the natural heart generally likes the praise of others, shrinks from collision, and loves to be thought charitable and liberal. The whole result is that a kind of broad religious “agnosticism” just suits an immense number of people, and specially suits young persons. They are content to shovel aside all disputed points as rubbish, and if you charge them with indecision, they will tell you: “I do not pretend to understand controversy; I decline to examine controverted points. I dare say it is all the same in the long run” – Who does not know that such people swarm and abound everywhere?

    Now I do beseech all to beware of this undecided state of mind in religion. It is a pestilence which walks in darkness, and a destruction that wastes at noonday. It is a lazy, idle frame of soul which, doubtless, saves man the trouble of thought and investigation but it is a frame of soul for which there is no warrant in the Bible. For your own soul’s sake, dare to make up your mind what you believe, and dare to have positive, distinct views of truth and error. Never, never be afraid to hold decided doctrinal opinions; and let no fear of man and no morbid dread of being thought party–spirited, narrow, or controversial, make you rest contented with a bloodless, boneless, tasteless, colorless, lukewarm, undogmatic Christianity.

    Mark what I say. If you want to do good in these times, you must throw aside indecision, and take up a distinct, sharply–cut, doctrinal religion. If you believe little, those to whom you try to do good will believe nothing. The victories of Christianity, wherever they have been won, have been won by distinct doctrinal theology; by telling men roundly of Christ’s vicarious death and sacrifice; by showing them Christ’s substitution on the cross, and His precious blood; by teaching them justification by faith, and bidding them believe on a crucified Savior; by preaching ruin by sin, redemption by Christ, regeneration by the Spirit; by lifting up the brazen serpent; by telling them to look and live – to believe, repent, and be converted. This – this is the only teaching which for centuries God had honored with success, and is honoring at the present day both at home and abroad.

    It is doctrine – doctrine, clear, ringing doctrine which, like the ram’s horn at Jericho casts down the opposition of the devil and sin. Let us cling to decided doctrinal views, whatever some may please to say in these times, and we shall do well for ourselves, well for others, and well for Christ’s cause in the world.

  • Pastor Dad: E-book by Mark Driscoll

    Pastor Dad

    Father’s Day has passed, but I just read a resource I thought I’d pass along to Dads and aspiring dads-to-be.  It is another e-book by Mark Driscoll of Resurgence and Mars Hill Church, this one titled Pastor Dad: Scriptural Insights on Fatherhood. 

    The premise behind this free 48 page book is:

    Every dad is a pastor. The important thing is that he is caring for his flock well.

    Typical of Driscoll, this book combines sound Biblical insights with some of Driscoll’s brash, over-the-top, in-your-face applications.  So it is not a book for the overly sensitive or the timid.  But, while after a quick read I can say I don’t agree with all his positions, Driscoll’s thoughts are Biblial, practical, and worth considering for those who appreciate, or are at least willing to engage, his style.

  • Glory Story: The Joel Osteen Phenomena

    Osteen v. Horton

    I’ve never quite understood the attraction.  His words melt like cotton candy.  Yet he has amassed the largest church and largest television audience in the United States.  Sure, he may be a nice guy, but what is the allure of Joel Osteen?

    Like him or loathe him, Osteen’s influence is pervasive. I am frequently asked my opinion of him by members of my own church – usually old ladies, who I assume think he would be a fine son or grandson.

    Mike Horton has written a piece I find informative: Joel Osteen and the Story of Glory.

    Check it out.

  • In Constant Prayer

     Prayer Posture

    Here is a challenging insight from Robert Benson, taken from his book In Constant Prayer:

    Our modern church has some distinct advantages over the early church. Or at least I suspect it does.  We have better youth programs and better acoustics and finer buildings. We have better literature that is more easily available to our flocks, most of whom happen to be literate. We have some pretty fair preachers, or at least we have some who are more fun to listen to than the blessed Saint Augustine. (Have you ever actually attempted to read Augustine?)

    We have better choirs, I suspect, and we can put on a Sunday morning service with more art and more dignity and more beauty than ever before. We have mailing lists and newsletters and Web sites. We have educational buildings and discipleship classes and Bible study groups where students bring their own Bibles.  We have Sunday School buses and youth lock-ins and Christian rock-and-roll bands.

    What we do not have so much of sometimes, it seems to me, is the depth of spirit and of devotion and of piety – now, there is a scary word – that marked the life of the faithful in the hundreds and thousands of years before us, the centuries that produced the Church we built our buildings and programs around in the first place.

    It is worth noting, I believe, that this tradition of daily prayer is one of the practices our modern church does not do that the ancient Church did.  We preach sermons, study the Scriptures, gather to worship on the Sabbath, teach our children the faith, and fellowship with one another – but we do not say our prayers.

  • Jeremiah: The Blogging Prophet

    Adventure

    I’ve been reading through the book of Jeremiah this past week. 

    One of the “tricks” I have found helpful in maintaining a sense of orientation as I navigate the sea of prophecies of judgement the Lord gives to Jeremiah in chapters 2-26, is to view each of the prophecies as separate blog posts.  Without this mental practice separating the various prophecies, I have a tendency to read them as if they were one big narrative.

    When I read theprophecies as one narrative I get confused, and lose the meaning behind both the Lord’s declarations and Jeremiah’s attitude and response.  But seeing each in their own context I get a sense of the character of God, the position of Jeremiah, and the transcendant pertinence from Pre-Exilic Judah to the 21st Century American Church.

  • Uncertain Perspective

  • Core Values of Walnut Hill Church

    Walnut Hill Logo

    I recently finished a series unveiling the Core Values of Walnut Hill Presbyterian Church.   The Elders of our church worked on these for several months, as we tried to discern the characteristics that define and drive our church.

    Leadership expert Aubrey Malphurs calls Core Values “the qualities that make up and establish an organizations character, and that character determines how the organization conducts its ministry or business…” 

    In short you might say that the Core Values reflect the DNA of a church or organization.  While other things my change, such as worship style, ministries, etc, the Core Values should remain pretty much intact.  In the fae of a changing surrounding culture, or the addition of new members, the Core Values themselves do not change. Only the ways that the values are expressed should change.

    So what are those Core Values that make Walnut Hill unique?

    God’s Global Glory 

    Authentic Spirituality

    Gospel Transformation

    Kingdom Advancement

    Relational Vitality

    Contagious Joy

  • Gospel in Context

    At the Louvre

    The gospel is always conveyed through the medium of culture. It becomes good news to lost and broken humanity as it is incarnated in the world through God’s sent people, the church. To be faithful to its calling, the church must be contextual, that is, it must be culturally relevant within a specific setting. The church relates constantly and dynamically both to the Gospel and to its contextual reality. …In order to contextualize responsibly, the church must assess its culture critically, discerning and unmasking its philosophical foundations and values.

    – Craig Van Gelder, in Missional Church

  • Taking Notes From the Pop News

    7786031-md

    It seems like it has been a long, long time since I sat down to write a new post.  In reality it has only been a week that has gone by since I last posted.  But it has been a few weeks since I have been able to take the time to sit down and write with any real enjoyment. 

    Since I last posted regularly our church has added an assistant pastor, I have been elected (appointed?) president of the Athletic Booster Club at Sullivan Central High School, Miss California has lost the Miss USA pageant but become the spokesperson for the new religious right, and militant pro-lifers have been thrown in jail for protesting the president in South Bend, Indiana. 

    There is a lot that would have been great blog fodder.

    I want to just take a moment to comment on the Miss California and Pro Life protests.  In both situations it has been asserted that there is a sense of religious persecution against Christians occuring.  But I am not so sure that things are as clear as some would like to make them out to be. 

    Miss California, Carrie Prejean, as almost everyone in the Western world knows, was a finalist for the Miss USA crown.  She was put in, what was in one sense, a difficult position.  She was asked her opinion about gay marriage by an agenda driven celebrity, with no apparent talents, Perez Hilton. In her hesitating  and somewhat aplogetic response Miss Prejean affirmed her support of, not just traditional but, God’s standard and governing of marriage.   The backlash and media coverage that resulted was more than a little ridiculous.  Hilton went on the warpath, ignorantly and offensively attacking Miss Prejean for disagreeing with him.  As has been said by many before me, apparently open-mindedness only opens to the Left.

    That event provided some interesting cultural insights. 

    First, I am amazed that Pro Gay seems to have become a mark of righteousness. It is not enough for some that people be open and non-hostile to those choosing homosexual lifestyles. In our current culture any scruples about homosexuality is deemed not only ignorant but actually seems to be considered evil.  Pro Gay is not only accepted as enlightened but as a mark of the righteous.  This is peculiar in one sense because the position they espouse (no pun intended) is a minority view even in California. What is even more peculiar is that there is no apparent standard that makes their position “righteous” other than the fact that supporters say so.  What guage are these people using to determine what is righteousness and what is sin?  Romans 1 is being acted out right before our eyes: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie…” (Romans 1.25)

    Second, because of her position on this issue, and because of the noteriety that surrounded it, there was an apparent attempt to destroy Miss Prejean.  They dug up dirt to discredit her. They did not have to dig deep. Pictures taken for a modeling portfolio were more revealing than the average conservative Christian girl has posed for.  That was enough to get the hounds howling about her hypocrissy, and some pageant officials questionining her qualification to continue as the reigning Miss California.

    I have little doubt that the motive behind releasing those photos was malicious and political.  But I also thought the response given by Miss Prejean and her handlers was a bit weak and pretentious. To merely explain them as the trademark of her profession is not to uphold the standard of modesty her faith calls for.  And to claim that this was happening to her only because she was a Christian is just lame. 

    I am not offering a judgement on Miss Prejean for the photos. For one thing, I don’t know when she posed for them nor when she became a Christian.  But I do think that she assumed a role that has become all-too-common among Evanglicals in our culture: victim.  She assumed this role when it was asserted that she was being treated unfairly just because she was a Christian.  We seem to cry “foul” far too often when things don’t go our way, even if there are other factors other than our faith. 

    And this, I believe, is also pertinent to those lamenting the arrests of Pro Life protesters at Notre Dame.

    In Miss Prejeans case, while there does appear to have been politically driven motive to destroy her credibility, the ammunition against her came from her own decsions and behavior.  Other contestants in recent years have faced scrutiney, and even the loss of their titles, for similar actions, without regard for their faith or faithlessness.  While harsh, the standards were comparable.  

    In the case of the protesters at the Notre Dame commencement, the same princile seems to apply.  While I passionately share their position against abortion, and have been both disappointed and outraged by the policies implemeted by Barrack Obama on that front, these people were not arrested because they have trusted Jesus as their only hope and salvation.  The protesters were arrested because they crossed a line of civil behavior.  While their cause is noble, you don’t threaten the President of the United States and expect to have no consequence.  That they are Christians is incidental.  They were not arrested for being Christians, nor for being Pro Life. They were arrested because they chose to cross a line; because they chose to violate a “just” law in order to protest an injustice.  And as the old theme song from the ’70’s TV show Barretta says: “If you can’t  do the time, don’t do the crime.”

    Jesus said: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” (Matthew 5.11) 

    I think we create serious confusion and distortion when we complain that we are persecuted for our faith, when in reality we are experiencing consequences of our behavior.  In each of these cases it may reasonably be argued that the consequences were unjust as compared to the actions and the motives. But we must be clear that none of these people were singled out simply for their faithfulness to the Gospel.  If we are unwilling, or unable, to make that distinction then we distort the Gospel, and create confusion about what the essence of the Gospel really is.

    My third cultural insight is simply that as Christians we are way too quick to make celebreties.  While Miss Prejean may be a very nice and godly young lady, she is hardly prepared to be the national spokesperson for the sake of the Kingdom of God. She is a 22 year old model/beauty queen. While that certaily does not disqualify her, it harldy qualifies her to be elevated as a Christian leader.  She’s not the first, nor will she be the last. We do the same for athletes and actors.  Consequently, not only do we as an Evangelical sub-culture present a mere cotton-candy face of our faith to the culture at large, we do a disservice to spirituality those we prop up – and soon discard.

    I’m afraid that as Evangelicals we are all to often so much like the world that we decry, it is no wonder that they rest of the world cannot tell the difference Jesus makes.

  • Qualities in Evangelism

    How should a Christian approach an unbelieving friend or neighbor?  Magician-Entertainer Penn Jillette offers his perspective in this video.  Most astounding is that Jillette is a self-professed athiest.  But the qualities he lists about the man who, one night, gave him a Bible after a show ought to be kept in mind and emulated by us all.

  • A Call to Prayer

    pray2

    With today being National Day of Prayer, I thought I would post a wonderful and challenging message from one of my favorite writers from the 19th Century, J.C. Ryle, Bishop of Liverpool in England.  The message is titled: A Call To Prayer

    One of the great things about Ryle is that his style is not stilted.  With few exceptions his words almost seem contemporary.  Thus his message is clear both across the ocean and across time.

     ***

    Men ought to always pray.   -Luke 18:1

     I will that men pray everywhere.   -1 Timothy 2:1

    I have a question to offer you. It is contained in three words, DO YOU PRAY?

    The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend public worship or not, your minister knows. Whether you have family prayers or not your relations know. But whether you pray in private or not, is a matter between yourself and God.

    I beseech you in all affections to attend to the subject I bring before you. Do not say that my question is too close. If your heart is right in the sight of God, there is nothing in it to make you afraid. Do not turn off my question by replying that you say your prayers. It is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray. Do not tell me that my question is necessary. Listen to me for a few minutes, and I will show you good reason for asking it.

    I. I ask whether you pray, because prayer is absolutely needful to a person’s salvation.

    I say, absolutely needful, and I say so advisedly. I am not speaking now of infants or idiots. I am not setting the state of the heathen. I know where little is given, there little will be required. I speak especially of those who call themselves Christians, in a land like our own. And of such I say, no man or woman can expect to be saved who does not pray.

    I hold to salvation by grace as strongly as anyone. I would gladly offer a free and full pardon to the greatest sinner that ever lived. I would not hesitate to stand by their dying bed, and say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ even now, and you shall be saved.” But that a person can have salvation without asking for it, I cannot see in the Bible. That a person will receive pardon of their sins, who will not so much as lift up their heart inwardly, and say, “Lord Jesus, give it to me,” this I cannot find. I can find that nobody will be saved by their prayers, but I cannot find that without prayer anybody will be saved.

    It is not absolutely needful to salvation that a person should read the Bible. A person may have no learning, or be blind, and yet have Christ in their heart. It is not absolutely needful that a person should hear public preaching of the gospel. They may live where the gospel is not preached, or they may be bedridden, or deaf. But the same thing cannot be said about prayer. It is absolutely needful to salvation that a person should pray.

    There is no royal road either to health or learning. Prime ministers and kings, poor men and peasants, all alike attend to the needs of their own bodies and their own minds. No person can eat, drink, or sleep, by proxy. No person can get the alphabet learned for them by another. All these are things which everybody must do for themselves, or they will not be done at all.

    Just as it is with the mind and body, so it is with the soul. There are certain things absolutely needful to the soul’s health and well-being. Each must attend to these things for themselves. Each must repent for them self. Each must apply to Christ for them self. And for them self each must speak to God and pray. You must do it for yourself, for by nobody else it can be done. To be prayerless is to be without God, without Christ, without grace, without hope, and without heaven. It is to be in the road to hell.

    Now can you wonder that I ask the question, DO YOU PRAY?

    II. I ask again whether you pray, because a habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian.

    All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the moment there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the first sign of the life of an infant when born into the world is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is praying.

    This is one of the common marks of all the elect of God, “They cry unto him day and night.” Luke 18:1. The Holy Spirit who makes them new creatures, works in them a feeling of adoption, and makes the cry, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15. The Lord Jesus, when he quickens them, gives them a voice and a tongue, and says to them, “Be dumb no more.” God has no dumb children. It is as much a part of their new nature to pray, as it is of a child to cry. They see their need of mercy and grace. They feel their emptiness and weakness. They cannot do other wise than they do. They must pray.

    I have looked careful over the lives of God’s saints in the Bible. I cannot find one whose history much is told us, from Genesis to Revelation, who was not a person of prayer. I find it mentioned as a characteristic of the godly, that “they call on the Father,” that “they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” I find it recorded as a characteristic of the wicked, that “they call not upon the Lord.” 1 Peter 1:17; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Psalm 14:4.

    I have read the lives of many eminent Christians who have been on earth since the Bible days. Some of them, I see, were rich, and some poor. Some were learned, and some were unlearned. Some of them were Episcopalians, and some were Christians of other names. Some were Calvinists, and some were Arminians. Some have loved to use liturgy, and some to use none. But one thing, I see, they all had in common. They have all been people of prayer.

    I have studied reports of missionary societies in our own times. I see with joy that lost men and women are receiving the gospel in various parts of the globe. There are conversions in Africa, in New Zealand, in India, in China. The people converted are naturally unlike one another in every respect. But one striking thing I observe at all the missionary stations: the converted people always pray.

    I do not deny that a person may pray without heart and without sincerity. I do not for a moment pretend to say that the mere fact of a persons’ praying proves everything about their soul. As in every other part of religion, so also in this, there may be deception and hypocrisy.

    But this I do say, that not praying is a clear proof that a person is not yet a true Christian. They cannot really feel their sins. They cannot love God. They cannot feel themselves a debtor to Christ. They cannot long after holiness. They cannot desire heaven. They have yet to be born again. They have yet to be made a new creature. They may boast confidently of election, grace, faith, hope and knowledge, and deceive ignorant people. But you may rest assured it is all vain talk if they do not pray.

    And I say furthermore, that of all the evidences of the real work of the Spirit, a habit of hearty private prayer is one of the most satisfactory that can be named. A person may preach from false motives. A person may write books and ,make fine speeches and seem diligent in good works, and yet be a Judas Iscariot. But a person seldom goes into their closet and pours out their soul before God in secret, unless they are in earnest. The Lord himself has set his stamp on prayer as the best proof of conversion. When he sent Ananias to Saul in Damascus, he gave him no other evidence of his change of heart than this, “Behold he prayeth.” Acts 9:11.

    I know that much may go on in a person’s mind before they are brought to pray. They may have many convictions, desires, wishes, feelings, intentions, resolutions, hopes, and fears. But all these things are very uncertain evidences. They are to be found in ungodly people, and often come to nothing. In many a case they are not more lasting than the morning cloud, and dew that passes away. A real hearty prayer, moving from a broken and contrite spirit, is worth all these things put together.

    I know that the Holy Spirit, who calls sinners from their evil ways, does in many instances lead them by very slow degrees to acquaintance with Christ. But the eye of man can only judge by what it sees. I can not call anyone justified until they believe. I dare not say that anyone believes until they pray. I cannot understand a dumb faith. The first act of faith will be to speak to God.

    Faith is to the soul what life is to the body. Prayer is to faith what breath is to the body. How a person can live and not breathe is past my comprehension, and how a person can believe and not pray is past my comprehension too.

    Never be surprised if you hear ministers of the gospel dwelling much on the importance of prayer. This is the point they want to bring to you. They want to know that you pray. Your views of doctrine may be correct. Your love of Protestantism may be warm and unmistakable. But still this may be nothing more than head knowledge and party spirit. They want to know whether you are actually acquainted with the throne of grace, and whether you can speak to God as well as speak about God. (more…)

  • Rapture Ready

    OUCH!  Yesterday I started reading Daniel Radosh’s Rapture Ready!: Adventures In The Parallel Universe Of Christian Pop-Culture.  It is an outsiders observations of the Christian subculture.  And the author really nails his intended target.

    Back in my younger, athletic playing, days from time rapture-readyto time I would take a hit right on a muscle that would somehow simultaneously make me wince and chuckle.  The chuckling wasn’t because I was necessarily tough, it was just the nature of the hit.  I knew some bruising and stiffness was sure to develop in the days that followed.  But it didn’t hurt quite enough to cause actual pain.  So my response would be a dull chuckle with just a hint of an ouch.   

    That’s how I have felt when reading this book.  I have had to both chuckle and wince at the same time.  Radosh, a self professed Jewish Liberal, is funny and not unkind. He simply points out the absurdity of some of the things he has encountered and observed.  Unless you take yourself way to seriously you’ll laugh too.  But he also points out some things that should leave a mark on any Christian who reads this book.

    A few things have already come to mind as I peruse these pages:

    1) Many Christians will go to great lengths to be a “witness” for Christ without actually developing relationships with people.  The ineffectiveness of such evangelism is understandable.  Sadly such gimmicks have become acceptable substitutes for evanglism.

    2) Many Christians seem to have given very little thought to what it means to be “worldly”.  It is not the tackiness of the products that makes them worldly, but the values and thought-process that leads to the production of this…, uh, stuff, that reflects worldliness. 

    3) We need a serious reappraisal of our priorities. Christian kitsch is a $7-billion per year industry.  What impact could be made toward the alleviation of poverty, illiteracy, AIDS and other health issues, if we invested that money directly?  How long would it take to plant churches among the reamaining UnReached People Groups and translate the scriptures into the languages of those Peoples at a rate of $7-billion per year?  And that’s how much cash we would free up just by passing up on stuff that no one needs, and few could possibly really want.

  • Global Missions is Not For SuperChristians

    Missions is not just for Super Christians.  The Great Commission will be accomplished by ordinary people, who posess a heartfelt faith in Jesus Christ, and who are faithful to follow Jesus’ instruction to go into all the world to make discples. 

    Simple, right?

    Well, the concept is simple. Even the decision to oby or not obey is a simple choice. There are only two options, yes and no. There is no in between.  But the implementation is not so simple.  Each individual has a question to answer regarding his/her role.  Even before that role is determined one must be informed about what roles there are that need to be played.  Then there are the questions about what God is doing in the world. What skills do I have, or do I need to develop?  How do I figure out where in the world I should go?

    Every Christian is called to answer these questions.  No one can slip by, simply dismissing Jesus’ mandate by saying, “I’m not called to missions.”  Even if that were true – and I suspect it would be more accurate to say “I am not called to go overseas” – we are still left to answer the question: Then what are you called to do?  And, Where are you called to do it? No one whom God has called has been called without a purpose for his/her life.  And frankly, whatever the specific purpose, at least an aspect of everyone’s calling is connected to taking the Gospel to the Nations. 

    I am aware of no better tool to help people discover what God is doing in the world and what role they can play in God’s Mission (missio dei) than the PERSPECTIVES course.  This course does take work, but the benefits far overshadow the expended effort.  To say PERSPECTIVES makes a life-changing impact is not mere hyperoble.  It’s true. 

    The above video offers testimonies from some who have participated in this couse.  The video encourages you to find a class near you, which I would also urge.  But what is not revealed in the video is that if an intensive 15 week course is not feasible for you, for whatever reasons, there are alternatives. One is an Intensive PERSPECTIVES class, where participants are indundated with God’s Global Glory for either one or three weeks of instruction. I am not sure how the corresponding readings are handled.  Another option is to take this course online. When taken online you don’t have the benefit of  interaction with other participants, but you can spread your reading out over the course of a year.  For this option check out: PERSPECTIVES Online.

    And finally, if you are a college or seminary student, PERSPECTIVES can be taken for either undergad or grad school credits.

  • Overcoming Evil Leadership

    leader

    Reggie McNeal, in his book Practicing Greatness, makes this audacious statement:

    “Bad leaders are a form of evil.”

    When I first read that statement I thought “Woe! That’s a bit strong.”  But as I read further I came to understand his thinking… and agreed. 

    Consider his whole point:

    Bad leaders are a form of evil. They curse people by diminishing their life. They rob people  of hope. They reduce people’s dreams and expectations for their lives. They discourage and disparage people.  They leave people worse off than when they found them. Bad leadership is not always the result of bad character or intentional malevolence. It can result from simple incompetence.

    While McNeal’s assertion is strong, I think it has strong merits.  Consider the results he associates with bad leadership: lost hope, diminished dreams that lead to settling, demoralization and discouragement.  All of these things are bad, even evil really.  And while poor leadership is not the only cause of such attitudes, bad leadership is a frequent incubator of them. 

    As a pastor, which is the primary target McNeal is aiming at, this perspective hits home. It also hits deep.  My very job, my calling, is to remind people of the hope they have in Christ and to help them to function in line with that hope according to their God-given purpose.  When, by God’s grace, I am effective, I get to see God change peoples lives for the better.  When that happens it is exciting and exhilerating.  But when I fail… well it can get pretty ugly.  And I do fail. Sometimes because of matters beyond my influence. But at other times I fail because I am not up to the challenge – which is a gentle way of admitting my incompetence.

    I have become keenly aware of the influence of bad leadership, not only by my own failures, but as I have watched my son’s athletic career.  I have seen good coaches make a positive impact that extends far beyond the playing fields.  And I have seen my son demoralized, I have seen his dreams and aspiarations diminished, and I have seen the sense of purposelessness that accompanies hopelessness, not because of an innate lack of talent but as a result of bad coaching – or bad leadership from a coach.  McNeal’s perception is all the more pertinent as I  watched this take place, because the coach who was primarily responsible for this is not a bad guy. Quite the contrary. He is likeable. He seems to have his priorities in exemplary order.  He was never unpleasant. He was simply not competent in the job he held. And that incompetence negatively influenced scores of young men, including my son.  So, as McNeal says, while the man is good, the effects of his bad leadership are evil.  

    It is sobering to realize I can have that same negative effect on people when I fail them as a pastor, or as a father, or in any other leadership role I may assume.

    A few applications come to mind as I think through this.

    1. This truth applies to every person in a position of leadership, professional or volunteer, formal or informal, organizational or recreational.  The purpose of leadership is always to guide and ultimately enhance.

    I say “ultimately” because sometimes leadership requires breaking down or taking steps backward before moving forward.  It depends upon the inherited situation. At such times what may temporarily appear to be failure, is in reality a necessity. Not everyone will always see this, but then again, that’s why not everyone was called to be the leader.

    This is humbling, and a bit frightening.  But the words of the Lord to Joshua come to mind: “Be strong and corageous…” (Joshua 1.6) And paraphrasing the rest of that passage: “Be strong and very courageous, being careful to do everything God has called you to do, and to do it in the manner he wants you to do it.”

    This command applies to all of us who assume leadership roles. In the church, as Elders, youth leaders, etc; In the community as coaches, civic leaders, elected officials, etc; or in the business world as supervisors, foremen, or executives.  All of these roles can be catalysts for the advancement of God’s Kingdom, done for his glory, and can benefit  those God has called us to lead. (1 Corinthians 10.31)

    2. We must live in line with the Gospel, or with the Gospel always in mind. 

    Now, of course, this is always a truth. But I think it is pertinent to say again here for a simple reason. We will all fail at some point in our leadership. Only God is omni-competent.  Some of our failures will be situational, and are not reflective of our leadership abilities. But at other times the Peter Principle comes into play – we are in over our heads, not up to the challenge, not competent for the job.  At those times we embody the “good guy, bad leader = evil” eqation.

    Knowing this ahead of times makes leadership rather daunting. Many would rather foresake the risk of leadership altogether – if they could. But this need not be our attitude if we understand the gospel.  God does not, and will not, reject us on the basis of our failure and incompetence, even when that spells evil.  Quite the contrary, God called us who are evil, failures, and incapable in the first place.  He redeemed such people through the blood of Christ. And He is in the process of shaping us and growing us.  So we can own up to our “evil” in leadership, and be grateful for God’s provision in Christ. 

    In fact, we should even be grateful for the reminder of our inability.  Because the one whom God is angered with and rejects is not the one who humbly recognizes failure and incompetence, and consequently turns to Jesus. Instead the Lord rejects the one who is confident in his/her own leadership abilities and, at best, simply pays lip service to God.

    3. I need to pursue greatness in leadership. It is not so that I become the object of admiration. And it is not only so I can avoid being a contributor to evil.  It is so that I can bless others through serving them as a leader. Or put a better way, so that God can bless people through me and my simple competent leadership.