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Lord of Heaven & Earth
Michael Horton, in his book The Gospel Commission, offers this important corrective perspective of Christ: The privatized view of Jesus merely as ‘personal Lord and Savior’ does not really provoke controversy today. After all, our non-Christian neighbors shrug: ‘Whatever works for you’. However, these ascriptions of praise to Jesus Christ were subversive on the lips…
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5 Life Changing Gospel Perspectives
There are 5 perspectives from the gospel that, when embraced and frequently pondered, shape lives: The need to recognize that God calls for ongoing and continual growth and change in all of us. The need to understand the extent and gravity of our sin. The need to understand that the heart is central; that behavior…
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Gospel Fluency pt 2
I have been listening these past few days to the audio of Jeff Vanderstelt on Gospel Fluency. The concept of Gospel Fluency is simply to learn to speak the language of the gospel, and gospel-centeredness, in every aspect of our everyday lives. Like any language, the the vernacular surrounding gospel-centeredness may initially feel somewhat foreign,…
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Gospel Fluency pt 1
I have been listening these past few days to the audio of Jeff Vanderstelt on Gospel Fluency. The concept of Gospel Fluency is simply to learn to speak the language of the gospel, and gospel-centeredness, in every aspect of our everyday lives. Like any language, the the vernacular surrounding gospel-centeredness may initially feel somewhat foreign,…
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Numbering Those on the Ranch
With the following illustration, Alan Hirsch offers a different way of gauging a church’s effectiveness: In some farming communities, the farmers might build fences around their properties to keep their livestock in and the livestock of neighbor farms out. This is a bounded set. But in rural communities where farms or ranches cover an enormous…
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Religious Views of 20-Somethings
In a recent series for Leadership Journal‘s Out of Ur, Brandon O’Brien explores The Religious Views of 20-Somethings. This is worth exploring. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
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One For the Thumb
Do you want to know an easy way to remember the 5 largest blocs of Unreached People Groups? It’s as easy as looking at your thumb. In fact, looking at your thumb is the way to remember. Use the acrostic: T-H-U-M-B Tribals Hindu Unreached Chinese Muslim Buddhist A people group is considered unreached when less…
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The Cross in the Crosshairs of My Heart
“I tend to focus my thoughts on my Christianity – how I’m doing, what I’m learning, how my prayer time was today, how I avoided that pesky sin or fell into it again. I think about what I’m supposed to accomplish for Christ, and I interact with others on that same works-oriented ground. But this…
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The Chief End of Man & God
I am inclining my ear listening for the collective “OUCH”! But sometimes the truth hurts. Such is the case with this observation and assertion by Paul Copan, from his book, Is God a Moral Monster?, when applied to the typical American Evangelical: The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647) begins with this question: ‘What is the chief…
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Indelible Grace: Roots & Wings
On the evening of June 30, 2010 I was in the Ryman Auditorium with a large group of great friends, rocking the rafters singing praises to our God. This video introduces the DVD that recollects that evening and celebrates the influence of the movement launched by Kevin Twit and Indelible Grace – a movement that…
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The Determining Factor
In his magnificent and practical work, Spiritual Depression, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides this wonderful description of the dynamics of genuine Christianity: “The determining factor in our relationship with God is not our past or present, but Christ’s past and present.” ‘How then does it work?’ It works like this. God accepts this righteousness of Christ,…
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Countering Moralism
Probably the most difficult obstacle for ministry I face is moralism. Despite the obvious declining standard in our culture, licentiousness is not the biggest hurdle. Nor is Biblical and theological illiteracy. Moralism, which substitutes our becoming good in exchange for God’s grace and glory as the essence and goal of Christianity, is a plague that…
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When God Speaks…Things Happen
In 2 Corinthians 4.6 Paul reveals a correlation between the Gospel and Creation: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. In other words, as Tim Chester helped me see: At creation…
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