Spotted this on Lee & Baz’s blog.  A challenging video.

Are you helping?

Rather than just slagging off the embarrassing, socially inept street preacher it’d be better for me to be constructive.

I try and live my whole life serving God.  I hope that lots of the little things I do actually, in some tiny way, ‘help’:

• eating dinner with my family
• taking time to listen to a friend at work
• playing footy with the lads on a Monday night
• being an advocate for disempowered young people
• sharing my experience with a trainee youth worker
• praying with someone who’s stressed
• popping in for 10 minutes to see a friend
• taking Anya swimming
• writing a blog post(!?)
• taking time out the day to mediate on who God is
• writing to a politician about the situation in Palestine

The list goes on.  How are you helping?

When we call someone a fool we usually mean it in a condescending manner; we are substituting the word fool for the word stupid. Is that what the bible is implying in Psalm 14:1? Not at all. The actual render for the word fool in the passages context is the Hebrew word nabal which refers more a to a moral fool or a completely amoral person. When a person is regenerated or born again (Gr. anothen) there has been a constitutional and moral change; the old has passed away and they are now a new creation. The moral change is where the atheist have the issue, why? Because to them if the God of the bible exists, then they know that He would require them to have His standard of morality. So, they rid themselves of the existence of God and thus freeing themselves up to live as morally or immorally as they see fit. This also gives them freedom from accountability and also gives them a license to live without restraint; this type of thinking abolishes the concept of moral absolutes. Which always leaves with this thought, if there is no absolute moral standard then how do they judge what’s right and wrong? By what standard then is stealing, rape, and murder wrong? I have seen throughout my years as a christian that the main reason why people have an issue with God is because they cannot see themselves being subject to the rule or lordship of God and thus creating a factitious god to suite there needs and desires. Trying to rid the world of an absolute standard of morality, accountability, and responsibility will only result in chaos. I will end this with a great quote by Ravi Zacharias, “Wickedness is always excused as anything but the moral degeneracy that has resulted from each one of us becoming the god of God.”

My sermon from yesterday, which was the first Sunday in Advent.

________________________

“Thessalonica” 

Does that name ring a bell with you? Well, Thessalonica is a city in modern day Greece – also known as Salonica. But for our purposes what’s interesting is that the city of Thessalonica existed already in the time of Jesus and the earliest Christians.  In fact, this city was founded three hundred years before Christ by the King of Macedon – he named it after his wife Thessalonike.

Well, it must be nice to be able to name a city after your wife… Reading that historical tidbit this week I wondered whether I might try that this Christmas. Becky, there’s a beautiful little village in the Eastern Township called North Hatley, and but I’m going to re-name it for you as a Christmas gift. More than likely that’s a gift I’ll never be able to give.

In any case… This ancient city of Thessalonica was established by the King of Macedon on a major trade route – a trade route that reached from Asia into Europe – that trade route was essentially a road constructed by the Romans linking East and West. And not only was Thessalonica on the trade rout – it was also a port city. As a result of its location, then, it became a hub of commerce and of trade – and given its location it was also a cosmopolitan city. There were people in that city from across the known world.

Perhaps ancient Thessalonica will remind you a bit of Montreal – the similarities certainly crossed my mind.

What’s also interesting for us is the fact that the Apostle Paul finds himself on that ancient road. And he doesn’t just pass through Thessalonica- he stops there to share his message. He comes to this cosmopolitan, commercial centre and he speaks about Jesus – he goes to the synagogue and to public places, and he engages people in conversation about Jesus – about this one who lived a remarkable life – this one who died and who rose to life – this one through whom all our wrong-headed living comes to an end – this one through whom there is hope, for all of us, for resurrection life.

And wonderfully – as Paul speaks about Jesus some who hear want to know more. And of those who want to hear more, some find themselves believing it’s true – yes, this Jesus is different. This Jesus is the Son of God. Hearing the message, some in that city find themselves announcing: I believe it – This Jesus defeated death – he is new life.

As Paul engages with men and women in Thessalonica around the question, the person of Jesus, a small community is formed – formed around the name of Jesus – formed around the person of Jesus. A community of faith and hope is formed in that place.

Before we say more about the relationship between Paul and this Christian community, we should say a little more about the religious context of that city. It was a city of many gods. Its gods were those of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In that city there were firmly established religious traditions, with a whole collection of ancient gods each finding their own place society and family life.

But then a question… What happens when certain women and men living in Thessalonica find themselves enamoured with Jesus? What happens when they confess with joy that he is Lord?

In fact, their embrace of the Jesus way generates serious conflict with the wider society.  Suddenly these women and men can’t with good conscience participate in the worship of the many Greek and Roman gods. Suddenly these women and men feel compelled to follow a different way of life than is accepted by those around them.

And imagine how their embrace of Jesus looks to their family and neighbours. The refusal of these Christians to participate in the ancient religious traditions was seen as a slight of the worst kind – an arrogant to rejection of the traditional gods. “What do you mean you are following Jesus? What do you mean you only worship this one God? What is this new-fangled religion anyway?” Again – doesn’t sound unlike the reaction you will get in modern day Montreal.

All of which is to say: When these Thessalonian women and men find themselves compelled to worship Jesus only – when they find themselves joyfully enthralled with Jesus and the gift his forgiveness – they open themselves up to hostility from those around them. Strong social pressure is brought to bear – trying to convince them to abandon this new-fangled faith – or at least not to claim that this Jesus is uniquely to be worshipped. On account of the faith they embrace, these women and men expose themselves to severe mental distress and even physical violence.

I recall worshipping in a very small church in Northern Senegal – there were only a handful of us there. But one of those in attendance was a young man whose family had rejected him because he had become a Christian. Indeed, this young man had recently fallen off the map for several weeks – the other members of the church didn’t know where he was, couldn’t find him. When he reappeared he shared with them how his family had taken him and beaten him and threatened him on account of his faith in Jesus. It is a story that has played itself out innumerable times across time and space.

After he first came and preached in the city of Thessaonica, Paul stayed with these new Christians for some time – teaching them about faith, helping them sort out what it means to say Jesus is Lord. But after a time he left them as he continue on his path of service to Christ. And of course 1 Thessalonians, from which we read this morning, is a letter that Paul writes to these Christians he’s left behind – a letter in which he speaks of their common suffering and of their shared hope in Jesus – a letter in which he tries to encourage them and also correct them. Above all, a letter in which he expresses his desire to be back with them again.

In the middle of our reading this morning from 1 Thessalonians, however, Paul speaks not only of their shared life and faith. He also speaks about how the young Christians of that Thessalonica should relate to the hostile world around them. He writes: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.

Here our gaze shifts from the community’s sharing together in faith to their relationship with the world around them. And on one hand Paul’s words sound like motherhood and apple pie – love one another, and love everyone around you. But thinking again about the situation of the Thessalonian Christians it becomes clear that this command to love everyone represents a real challenge. They are under severe social pressure; even experiencing physical persecution. And here Paul offers a radical invitation to love. In his prayer we hear a clear echo of Jesus’ words: love your enemies – pray for those who persecute you.

When Paul offers this command – love everyone – he may be responding to a specific problem among the young Christians of Thessalonica. It seems that some of the Thessalonian Christians, anticipating the imminent return of Jesus, anticipating his judgment upon sin and injustice – some of these Christians have begun preaching and evangelizing in an aggressive, obnoxious, and even angry way – perhaps emphasizing God’s wrath and judgment – perhaps engaging in a full frontal assault on the gods of the culture around them.

Also, some of the Christians of Thessalonica, in the face of immense social pressure and persecution, may have been tempted to respond to violence with violence. In this highly charged circumstance, some may have lashed out with hostility in reply to the hostility they were facing. For this reason Paul also says later in his letter: See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. (repeat) An echo, perhaps of other words of Jesus: “You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer…”

In our own Thessalonica – in our own cosmopolitan, commercial, urban centre of Montreal – perhaps the last thing that we are likely to do is aggressively and angrily speak the name of Jesus to neighbours or co-workers or family members.

Our difficulty is perhaps that we are too timid and hesitant in speaking of Jesus’ love and lordship. Many of us live with a crisis of confidence about our faith. Our cosmopolitan, commercial, sophisticated city has little time for our faith, and we display little courage in speaking of our life and hope in Jesus. But Paul’s prayer that we abound in love for all doesn’t only rule out aggressive and obnoxious evangelism – his prayer also invites us to love people enough to want to share with them the news of our friendship with Jesus, of our hope in him, of the community we experience in his name.

Paul in fact sets himself up as a model for the Thessalonians, and also for us, how to relate to those who live around us – those who have little patience for the perceived arrogance of our faith – those who see our as merely quaint. Paul describes how he and his fellow-apostles related to the Thessalonians: “We were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.” It is this gentleness that is to characterize those who reach out in the name of Jesus. With such gentleness, we can learn to speak to our neighbours and friends – those with whom we are building meaningful relationships of trust and love – we can speak about Jesus. As the well known phrase puts it: “As one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

Does this mean, then, that the theme of judgment is entirely without place in our Christian faith? If Paul rejects the angry proclamation of God’s wrath, is judgment without any place? We are in the season of Advent, a season in which we embrace our hope that God in Christ comes to bring a better world – a season in which we announce our conviction that in Christ darkness and death do not have the final word.

But we should also realize that throughout the New Testament the celebration of Advent, of Christ’s appearing, is heavy with the theme of judgment. This is apparent in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. He offers this prayer for them: May God so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

If it is indeed the case that some of the Thessalonian Christians were speaking an angry word of God’s judgment against the society around them, Paul’s prayer does something interesting. It takes that angry pointing finger, and turns it away from the world around them and in some sense points it back at his sisters and brothers themselves. May God so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Christ is coming. God will judge the world, yes, but he will also judge your lives – so may God give you the grace, the strength, the courage to live well in the world.

In our modern lives, we twenty-first century Christians are pretty slow to accept judgment. We are slow, I think, to acknowledge that we live wrong-headed lives; we are slow to acknowledge that we are guilty of hurting others, of self-preoccupation, of greediness – that we are guilty of a failure to pursue the way of justice and truth. We have an almost pathological need to pat ourselves on the back and say – “you’re doing ok. You’re pretty good.”

Gary Thomas in his book The Beautiful Fight tells an interesting story of a manager who worked in the service industry, in a hotel. This manager got so frustrated with the anger and hostility that his staff often faced at the front desk that he had a large mirror mounted behind the desk – the thought was that anyone who was tempted to fly off the handle into inappropriate language or behaviour might just hesitate to do so if they could see in the mirror what they were doing.

Sometimes, we don’t see, or can’t see, the ways our lives are marked by mistakes and sin – ways of living that aren’t consistent with who we are as God’s beloved children. Sometimes its takes something like a mirror held in front of us to see how unfortunate, even ugly, our words and actions can sometimes be – a mirror to invite us to a different way of being in the world.

In a sense that’s what the season of Advent does for us – it holds up a mirror to our lives. Paul writes: May God so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus.

Later in his letter Paul will go on to give more concrete examples –

he invites his sisters and brothers to work diligently with their hands,

he challenges them not to give in to lust,

he encourages them not to take advantage of one another,

he asks them to support those who are faint hearted,

he tells them to help those who are weak.

May God so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus.

The last word though is not simply a moralising word of judgment. Nor is it merely a word of angry hostility toward us. God’s judgment is always exercised against a backdrop of grace. God’s goal in judgment is not to destroy but to transform us, making us fully alive, fully human. As our mistakes and sins are judged and forgiven, their power over our lives is undone.  We are set free to live in the resurrection life of our Lord.

Perhaps this morning it is fitting to hear the words of our Hope as they are expressed in Living Faith, a confession of the Presbyterian Church in Canada – chapter 10.

            Life had its beginning in God.

            In God it will come to completion

            and its meaning be fully revealed.

            All creation will find fulfillment in god.

            Christ will come again.

            Only God knows when and how our Lord will return.

            Now we see in part. Then we shall see face to face.

            Come, Lord Jesus.

            May the God of hope

            fill us with joy and peace in believing

            so that by the power of the Holy Spirit

            we abound in hope.

Continue to pray that solitary and seeking Christians in the Arabian Peninsula will find Bibles and also peers for fellowship and encouragement. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. (Ps. 10:17-18)

At first, I had titled this particular post as “Bridging Christianity and Confucianism,” but the more I thought about it, the more I disliked the connotations associated with the semantic structure of the title.

I think it is best to convey my intent for this post with this revised title, “Helping Confucius to Understand Christ.”

I believe one of the reasons why it is so difficult for East Asians to come to terms with Christianity is that under a Confucian framework, they have no conception of sin – the Western formation of evangelism focuses on the fallenness of humanity and the corrupt nature of sin etc. etc., East Asians do not have this conception of sin within their cultural context.

To give this discussion a proper treatment would require a much more in-depth discussion of Confucian philosophy and its historic and cultural impact within the East Asian peoples (Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese), such a discussion would take an entire semester or two to fully comprehend and unfortunately for this discussion, I am forced to provide a simplified and concise explanation of the matter.

A general working statement that can be said to be true is that if you are East Asian in your cultural background, then you are Confucian in your background. Historically and culturally, Confucianism (as a philosophy – not a religion) is so ingrained in East Asian culture that it becomes the framework for how East Asians function. It promotes a patristic hierarchy, filial piety (reverence and honouring of your parents), proper social order, the righteousness of education and the role of women in East Asian societies; if we boiled down all of these issues, we find that it is Confucianism that was the framework for all of these cultural traits that exist within East Asian societies.

Confucius was preoccupied with the pragmatic function of society (he was a philosopher on government and social order) – that in order for society to function, every member of society had to be contributing to the health and welfare of society; to do so begets virtue and righteousness. For Confucius, if a man (or a woman) chose to not help society, he was inherently bad; if you did good, it would naturally lead you to want to help society become better. Confucius, like most East Asian philosophies and religions, was concerned about finding “the Way” (the Tao) – and he believed that we can find the Tao by cultivating our nature to be good people.

In order for sin to exist, one has to have a conception of God; Confucius was an agnostic at best (in his writings). In one particular chapter in his writings, The Analects, he goes on and says that there is probably a god in heaven, but since we know nothing about this god, we should be worried about our earthly matters (building a righteous society). He makes no other attempt to talk about religious matters after that. Confucius provides no theological or religious discussion regarding why humanity should pursue goodness other than for the sake of being good and propagating a good society.

Because of a no understanding of God and the emphasis on cultivating goodness for the sake of goodness, there really is no conception of sin within Confucianism.

So where then should a Christian start when discussing God with an East Asian?

Many East Asians I talk to believe they are good people; I agree that they are good – under their own working definition. But will their goodness ever lead them to heaven or to “the Way”? Confucius does not offer an answer to that – he does not talk about Heaven and rarely discusses an afterlife.

Jesus Christ described Himself as “the Way, the Truth, the Life” – three important ideals that appeal to Confucians, who are preoccupied with discovering truth and the Way and cultivating a good life.

Confucius said that we do not know god or matters of heaven, so we should be worried about the matters of earth; Jesus Christ is the image of the Invisible God. If Jesus’ claim to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life is valid, and if Scripture says Jesus Christ is the image of the Invisible God, then the discussion of “why are we cultivating ourselves to be good people” now enters a theological and religious paradigm.

Jesus provides a reason for why we “cultivate” goodness – ultimately to glorify God.
Under the framework of Christianity, we have a eternal reason for living. Confucianism was good at dealing with issues regarding keeping society working, but he provides no advice on dealing with issues such as social justice and poverty. Goodness demands that we are good to not only ourselves but our neighbours – society cannot function if there is poverty, and unfortunately Confucius has no answer to that other than “they must be re-educated in order to become productive members of society.”

Christianity brings a complete worldview to Confucians and corrects many wrong perspectives within the philosophy itself.
I don’t think Confucianism is bad – I still find that I am very  Confucian at heart and at home. However, any philosophy or system of belief devoid of God, YHWH, will be incomplete and bring about a distorted worldview. In Confucius’ case, the distortion was that we were to aim to be good, but with no apparent end goal.

Jesus and the Gospel provides that end goal.

Robert A. Schuller returned to television this week in a vastly different format to what we’re accustomed to seeing.   Everyday Life on the American Life Network was, well, here’s the bullet points:

• 23 minute — online anyway, broadcast version may have had commercials — narrative story with RAS as the narrator, popping in and out to talk to the audience
• High quality film production; more like H2O than Nooma with credible acting and a realistic story line; and a mystery character a la books like The Noticer or Bo’s Café.
• Not preachy, which is what they were going for; your unchurched friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers would watch this; there’s no sermon at all, but sometimes a story can ‘preach it’ better than a sermon can.
• Nonetheless, some thought provoking concepts: “The thing about ‘destiny’ is, only the soul sees it coming, when it arrives it always seems like a surprise.”    Chew on that one.
• Not actually very Christocentric or even ‘religious’ at all; that may draw some criticism,  but you have to remember this is the first episode of a series; a relationship with the audience will be built over time and the storyline will continue.  There’s a bit of foreshadowing of that at the 14:50 mark.

Verdict:   Too soon to tell.  Generally an affable program that will take several episodes to fully define itself.

Posture:   Encouragement.   Looking forward to the next installment.   Is this weekly?  Monthly?  Not sure.

Anything on this blog concerning Robert Schuller has generated a lot of comments on a site that is usually fair on readership but low on comments.   However, most of these comments have been directed to RAS, which drove me nuts once or twice.   That’s not normally how blogging works.  However, I’ve figured out a channel whereby I will get those comments to Robert and Donna; and I know there is large outpouring of love that people want to post online.

So…are you ready to watch the first episode?  Here’s the link to American Life Television; Everyday Life is the first video that starts rolling as soon as you arrive.

The next broadcast airing is Friday, December 4th at 4:30 PM

Bonus: Here’s a 4-minute interview Robert’s daughter Angie did concerning the new series.   (Where you can also leave comments after watching the show.)

I think you’re right to consider your friend’s personality and religion when you’re thinking about how to invite them to be a part of our youth ministry. First of all, it shows that you know them. When we care about people, our words, and our invitations go a lot farther.

I hope that what we do as a group, and who we are as a group are exciting and meaningful enough to be a regular part of your everyday conversations. When you’re regularly talking about what we do, and how important what we do is to your life, then it’s easy to invite others to join in.

We play games and have fun special events is because it’s fun, but also because that’s a good opportunity to invite friends. So, make our fun stuff, our group, and our God a part of your everyday life and conversations and invitations will easily follow.

Over the last month-and-a-half or so, I’ve been experiencing something that hasn’t happened to me in a very long time: Writer’s Block. Thankfully, this is not the result of having no ideas regarding writing topics, but the opposite problem of having too many things I want to address, and no clue when and exactly how I’d like to do it. Perhaps a more appropriate phrase would be “Writer’s Logjam”.

In working through this temporary dry spell, I’m doing two things. The first, and most important, is reading and studying more than ever before. While this is a predictable outcome of starting graduate school, it is also the result of my desire to challenge my own presuppositions by reading many books by authors (both spiritual and secular) with whom I disagree. I do not wish to misrepresent positions that differ from my own, and this requires a better knowledge of opposing views than I have. Basically, I can’t properly write about the things on my mind until I’m in a position where I wouldn’t be speaking from ignorance.

Secondly, it is said that the best way to combat writer’s block is to continue to write anyway…. so what better way to do this than writing about writer’s block? Most of my favorite bloggers (see links at right) have committed to writing nearly every day (most notably Tim Challies, who has recently passed the 6-year mark of never missing a day!). I’m not there yet, but I do want to get back to writing more consistently, even if it’s not always my best work. Also, I have been writing pretty consistently over on my church’s Worship Ministry blog, so at least I haven’t let the well run completely dry!

Today, though, I do want to share the story of an encounter I had last week. It is yet another example of God revealing His providence through situations that appear to be “bad”, but which the Lord has intended for good!

On Wednesday, we woke up to find that our water heater had spilled its contents all over the floor in our laundry/mud room. We’ve known we would need to replace it soon (it’s replace date was 1996!) but kept putting it off in favor of other projects, hoping it would hold out a bit longer. We just waited too long.

Anyway, since the water heater had no shutoff valve (let’s hear it for old plumbing…), we quickly filled every available pitcher with filtered water from the sink, and then I went to shut off the main water line to the house from the street. Considering the age of the plumbing and electrical wiring, I decided against attempting to install a new water heater on my own. There seemed to be too many things that could go wrong.

Thankfully we’d already made plans to leave Wednesday for Nashville to spend the night and Thanksgiving Day with Laurie’s cousin and her husband. There is a significant surcharge for same-day “emergency” installation, as well as for installation on a holiday. Because of our plans to be out of town, it was not much of an inconvenience to be without water supply for two and a half days until the installer was available.

When he finally came on Friday evening, the independent contractor (I’ll call him “Jim” for now, though that’s not his real name) sent by the retailer had already had a long, frustrating day. I knew I was in for an interesting night when, during the course of some small talk after his arrival, I mentioned that I worked at Stevens Street Baptist Church. Jim’s reply was something along the lines of “Oh wow, I probably shouldn’t say anything else because I’ll get in trouble.” When I asked him what he meant, Jim proceeded to unload about how much he couldn’t stand churches and “church people”, though he himself claimed to be a Christian.

What followed was over three hours of questions and accusations against Christian orthodoxy, ranging from typical modern skeptic thought (the accepted canon of Scripture, Creation, etc.) to legitimate concerns about the Church (past support of race-based slavery, differences among denominations, etc.) to some personal beliefs that I had never really encountered before (a belief that all pastors ought to be older than everyone in their congregation, and that one must first be “fruitful” — meaning economically productive in a capitalistic sense — before one ought to be allowed to “multiply”).

As someone pursuing a degree in apologetics, this was certainly a stimulating intellectual challenge for me. More importantly, though, it was a God-given opportunity to employ apologetics for its ultimate purpose: evangelism. Ravi Zacharias addresses this ultimate goal in “An Apologetic for Apologetics”, the introduction to his 2007 book Beyond Opinion. Many people claim that a study of apologetics leads to pride, and that “you can’t argue anyone into the Kingdom”… basically that evangelism is not an intellectual pursuit but a matter of the heart. It is both! As Zacharias writes to the apologist, “Do not underestimate the role you may play in clearing the obstacles in someone’s spiritual journey.”

My conversation with Jim may just turn out to prove this. Our “argument” was never heated, but a very civil discussion in which we both listened carefully to what the other had to say. By the end of the night, he was gladly letting me show him instances in which the Bible does specifically address some questions that he had, and he was amazed!

Jim said two very encouraging things to me before he left. First, that he perceived that I had a peace about my convictions that he desired, but had never experienced. He said that most Christians he’d encountered simply told him he was wrong and going to Hell (a sadly typical response in an age of doctrinally illiterate Christians), rather than attempting to answer his questions without being confrontational. The second encouraging thing was that he said he felt the need to drive home and read his Bible cover to cover so as not to continue to misrepresent what it says, and to no longer ask questions that God may have already answered in His Word. I believe he was genuine when he said this, and that he will follow through. He also eagerly accepted the gift of a book from my personal library which would help him find and understand the Biblical passages that addressed some of his biggest questions. I gave him my card and told him he could contact me with any additional questions, or to return the book, though he was welcome to keep it. He left the house that night with a promise to visit SSBC soon, saying that he might actually not hate a church that could answer questions and provide for people’s physical needs (he’d heard about our delivery of nearly 6,000 meals to people in their homes last Tuesday) without feeling like his conversion to Christianity would be just “another notch on their belt”… his words, not mine.

I say all of this not to boast in myself, but to give God the glory for His faithfulness in opening doors for evangelism when we least expect it! The fact that He also provided for us financially to cover the cost of the water heater (we learned of an unexpected insurance refund of approximately the same amount as the cost of the new water heater just a day before the old one died) is yet further evidence of His providence over every situation! May He be honored and glorified through this encounter. I pray that obstacles were cleared in Jim’s spiritual journey, and that he may come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!

I should close by stating that, should Jim’s true identity become known, our conversation on spiritual matters was at my insistence and with my consent, and with my understanding of the fact that such discussions go against the corporate policy of his employer. He was never anything less than professional as he went about the installation, and the quality of his work was excellent. The last thing I would want is for this post to result in any sort of disciplinary action for him! I could not be more pleased with the way he did his job!

We have been talking the last few days about Praying to God, Resting in God, and Walking with God. We will be discussing today Worshiping God. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what TRUE worship is. This passage really touches on what TRUE worship is. Read the passage first, and then we will continue to discuss this further.

Psalms 116:12-19 (ESV)
¹² What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?
¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord,
¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.
¹⁷ I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

What is it that the LORD wants from us? Could we every REALLY repay HIM for all that HE has done for us? Does the LORD require anything from us? All these questions come to mind when we think about God and the sacrifice HE gave for us.  Look back in this passage at the steps DAVID took. He prayed to God about his struggles, then he rested in Gods power, then he walked with God through them and now he is worshiping God for his redemption though them. You see it is not about US. Worship is not about US. We do not worship God for our benefit, we worship HIM for HIS benefit, for HIS glory. We serve HIM for HIS benefit, for HIS glory, not ours.  A lot of times we say “well I cant worship GOD like that,” or “I cant worship GOD unless it is in such and such setting.” We are then putting parameters on our WORSHIP. Last time I checked we cant put parameters on our worship. John 4 tells that TRUE worship happens in the temple that was made NOT with human hands, our heart. You see TRUE worship is in the heart. The things we do called worship are acts of worship, but those acts themselves are not worship. Worship happens 24 hours a day 7 days a week. When we are truly worshiping God we should automatically be doing “acts of worship.” They come out of the overflow of our love and worship of God. What are some of these things:

1) Professing Him before men. (Psalm vs 13)

2) Public Worship (Psalm vs 14)

3) Sacrifice for the LORD. What have you sacrificed for HIM? (Psalm vs 15) What type of sacrifice does God want? (Psalm 51)

4) To fellowship with other believers and to carry their burdens and hold them accountable. (Psalm vs 17-19)

Worship: “The chief end of man is to GLORIFY GOD, BY enjoying HIM forever.” John Piper…..how do we enjoy HIM forever, and WORSHIP HIM forever……OBEY HIM in all that we do. As the scriptures teach….DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD!!!

Danny

I read this snippet on Amazon from a book written by Scott Berkun, Confessions of a Public Speaker (O’Reilly Media: Sebastopol, CA, 2010), 2:

I’m on a long flight from Seattle to Belgium, and the woman sitting next to me starts a conversation.  Despite hiding behind the book in my hands, I’m now forced into a common and sometimes unfortunate air-travel situation: the gamble of talking to a stranger I can’t escape from.  While it’s fun to be near someone interesting for occasional chats, being stuck to a person who will not stop talking for nine hours is my idea of [the opposite of heaven].

He’s not talking about evangelistic conversation, he’s talking about general conversation but it’s a point we should tuck away in the back of our minds.  I affirm the importance of making an effort to share the gospel with an in-flight neighbor.  I would occasionally travel for a former employer.  This afforded me some opportunities to share the gospel with fellow travelers I otherwise would not have had.  At the same time, Berkun provides some insight to airplane evangelism: let’s be wise as a serpent and realize when the window of opportunity is closed.

A few months ago I began to experiment with using a scavenger hunt, listing several experiences you can reach for as you seek to grow in the things of the Spirit.

Recently I’ve decided to create a scavenger hunt to stretch myself – I’m still learning – and I’m expecting to finish these few items in the next month or two.  Here’s my list; you’re welcome to use it yourself, or to use it as a template as you develop your own.

But here’s a caveat.  I’m trying to avoid good ideas.  I took time to soak and asked God what He wants to do in my life in the next few weeks; I want it to be what He wants, not necessarily what I want.  As I got quiet and listened, I sensed it is a time to press further into evangelism and ministry opportunities that happen with strangers outside the church.  So here are a few things I feel led to reach for.

Stay filled with the Spirit. I’m seeking to live in a fulfillment of Ephesians 5:18-20.  I wrote about this a few weeks ago – see Testimony:  Spirit-Filled Living.

Get a word to myself every week, then act on it. I’ve written before about the keys to hearing God’s voice – a quiet heart, focusing on Jesus, getting into a spontaneous flow of words, and writing it down.  I’ll share one or two in the next few weeks.

Prophesy at the dinner table. I’m used to giving words in the church, but whenever I read the four gospels I notice that Jesus often ministered when he sat down to eat with people.  So I want to start giving words at the table.

Press in to evangelism. JoAnn and I are in Las Vegas for the next two months, staying with Dennis and Lynnie Walker and connecting with their ministry at the Dunamis Resources.  I don’t know yet what this will mean, but sense that I’m to get involved in evangelism whenever the opportunity comes up.

Ask my question to people every week.  See where it goes. It doesn’t come naturally to me to relate to strangers, but I plan to ask questions to start conversations. I was led to do this a few years ago when JoAnn and I spent five weeks in the U.K. as part of a prayer ministry.  I was led to ask strangers – hotel clerks, waitresses in pubs, people waiting for the bus – “We’re part of a prayer team from California, spending five weeks in a prayer ministry for the U.K. – how would you like us to pray for your country?”

Sometimes they gave an intellectual answer that was a bit stand-offish; sometimes their hearts opened and they ended up asking prayer for themselves.  We didn’t get pushy, but we tried to leave a taste of God’s love with each person and we stepped into whatever ministry times opened up.

I’m not quite sure what questions to use, but sense that I need to use this format to start engaging with strangers.  I sense that if I’ll be faithful to experiment, God will show me how to get better and better at finding ministry opportunities outside the church.

Get a stranger healed outside the church. Matthew 8 says Jesus did this with a leper and with the Centurion’s servant.

Move in word of knowledge outside the church. This is what Jesus did with the woman at the well and with others.

That’s my list.  I think it will make room for me to stretch as I soak 2-3 times a week and encourage 5 people – a larger gift mix, new ministry opportunities, and plenty of room for the manifest presence of God.

Feel free to join me; take the list to God in a soaking time and let Him revise the list to fit you better – look for items that will take you one or two short steps past your comfort zone.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2009, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com

In the last few days prior to leaving Monrovia, we met with some of the zonal counsellor co-ordinators to hear the stories of those they were now in the process of following up. Although time was short, the few interviews that we were able to fit in were tremendously encouraging, and opened up the human element to the thousands of response cards we had received. What was particularly touching was the fact that it would not have been easy for any of these people to share their new or rediscovered faith. Throughout the interviews we often had their peers standing by and watching, often laughing, but they continued unperturbed showing the genuineness of the change in their heart.

The first young girl we met was 13 years old. She had fled to Sierre Leone with her parents during the war and during that time had started going to a Christian church, despite her parents belonging to the Muslim faith. She continued going to church when they returned to Liberia, but said she didn’t really understand. A team of local and African Enterprise evangelists visited her church during the mission week, preaching the gospel and sharing how they had come to know the Lord themselves. She began to understand the relevance of Jesus Christ’s life giving work for her own life, and decided to give her life to Him as her Lord and Saviour. She was very positive when she spoke about her new life and relationship with Jesus, particularly considering her background. She prays now that she might be a good witness to her parents, and they might also come to know the Lord.

Another young man was born in Monrovia, Liberia and was gifted soccer player. During the war he fled to Ghana, then travelled onto Indonesia where he started going to church and committed his life to the Lord. He said however, that when he returned to Liberia he stopped going to church, and only read his bible occasionally. When the Christ Mission for Monrovia team started setting up their equipment in his neighbourhood he became very excited and welcomed them to the community. He danced along to the music and said he was so touched by the message preached that he recommitted his life to the Lord. He prays that now the Lord would strengthen him so that he could serve God, even as a footballer. He was very thankful to African Enterprise and his local pastor for helping him to overcome his lapse of faith.

Please continue to pray for these young believers, and the many others who turned to Jesus Christ during this time. Pray also that the Lord would guide and protect the local churches as they continue to followup and disciple these precious people.

While Thomas Merton was in college at Cambridge, he grew interested in psychoanalysis.  In particular, this led him to the realization that he was an introvert: ”I came to the conclusion that one of my biggest crimes in this world was introversion, and, in my efforts to become an extrovert, I entered upon a course of reflections and constant self-examinations, studying all my responses and analyzing the quality of all my emotions and reactions in such a way that I could not help becoming just what I did not want to be: an introvert” (Seven Storey Mountain, p. 137[Harcourt 1998]).

Is introversion really a crime? Sadly, many Christians (at least in Protestant and evangelical circles) have felt the same way Merton did then, but within the Church.  In churches where committment is measured by relational connections, being drained by interaction rather than energized is treated as a disorder, even a failure to live into Christian ”community”.   

Adam McHugh has written an excellent book about this called Introverts in the Church.  I’ve been following and recommending his blog Introverted Church for a long time, and I’m grateful to have read it.  Not only is the book a healing-experience for introverts who’ve felt misunderstood or excluded by the churches they’ve attended, it’s also a call to introverts to stand up and assert their unique gifts and calling within the church.  The first chapter ends with McHugh writing: 

“I am convinced that introverts are an important ingredient in the antidote to what ails evangelicalism. Our slower pace of life, our thoughtfulness, our spiritual and intellectual depth, and our listening abilities are prophetic qualities for the evangelical community, calling us to a renewed understanding of God and a fresh reading on the abundant life Jesus came to give us.” (page 31)

Rather than fighting our introverted natures to fit into the extroverted mold which evangelical culture privileges, McHugh encourages and empowers introverts to use the gifts God has given them to serve the Church. 

One place he does very well is in the chapter on evangelism.  As an introverted pastor in the highly extroverted world of church-planting, I was especially interested in this portion of the book.  Is an introverted evangelist an oxymoron?  No.  In fact, if sharing one’s faith is an essential part of discipleship, then introverts are called to evangelism as much as any other Christian.  The problem lies not in personality, but in the stereotyped styles of evangelism.   He writes, “I do not think that introverts are ill-suited for evangelism; I think that our prevailing evangelistic methods are ill-suited for introverts” (p. 172).  Rather than the obnoxious and confrontational methods of evangelism pushed in many churches, he proposes an appropriate method of evangelism for introverts is to come alongside others in spiritual friendships and “explore mystery together.”  An authentic friendship where listening, prayer, and lifestyle proclaim the gospel is both much more natural for introverts and powerful in relating to a post-modern world.  As I read this chapter, I felt like he was describing the method of relationship-building, prayer, and contextual witness that comes most naturally to me and which I seek to practice at the cafe where I work.  (McHugh also draws in this chapter on Rick Richardson’s book Reimagining Evangelism - the best evangelism book I’ve ever read.) 

The chapter on spirituality  was also a joy for me to read.  It explained why the so-called retreats my college ministry took years ago often felt more like endless dance parties than genuine retreats.  Introverts are wired for deep, contemplative forms of spirituality – forms which, while present in other manifestations of the Church, have until recently been ignored in American evangelical circles.  While introverts are naturally attracted to the monastic life (where Merton eventually thrived), we don’t all need to become monks to practice contemplative spirituality.  The discussions of disciplines like examen, sabbath, and solitude can be practiced by anyone, and give introverts the permission to pursue God in ways that suit our personalities and provide genuine rest and renewal.  Best of all, the chapter contains practical advice and helpful questions to guide the reader think through the structure of his or her day, and perhaps even create a “rule of life” that will provide appropriate balance. 

I can’t say how grateful I am for this book: parts of it resonated deeply with my own story and life in the Church.  It’s my prayer that this book will be not only helpful for other introverts wading through the extroverted waters of church-life, but will also make churches evaluate themselves and provide more balanced approaches to ministry.  Thanks Adam for this gift to the Church!

John Wesley in Wednesbury

A Robust Faith

Although the Methodists enjoyed great successes they also endured terrible persecution which lasted several years.

But God gave them power to press through into victories.  Historian John Simon writes:

‘If Methodism had not come into contact with the mob it would never have reached that section of the English people which most needed salvation.’ [He’s not right here. All sections of English society needed (and still need) salvation. What he means is that the Methodists could never have reach the majority of the population, and thus influenced the culture of English life without facing violence – a sobering thought!].

‘The ‘Religious Societies’ shut up in their rooms, would never have reformed the country.

‘A superb courage, rarely equalled on the battlefield’

‘It was necessary that a race of heroic men should arise, who would dare to confront the wildest and most brutal of men, and tell them the meaning of sin, and show them the Christ of the Cross and of the judgement throne.

‘The incessant assaults of the mob on the Methodist preachers showed they had reached the masses.

‘With a superb courage, rarely equalled on the battlefield, the Methodist preachers went again and again to the places from which they had been driven by violence, until their persistence wore down the antagonism of their assailants.

‘Then, out of the once furious crowd, men and women were gathered whose hearts the Lord had touched.’ (John S. Simon, The Revival of Religion in the Eighteenth Century London, 1907)

In coming posts we will examine what that looked like and what that actually meant for some of the leaders and followers of the movement.

© 2009 Lex Loizides

Zechariah “Return to me and I will return to You” says the Lord

When the remnant of Israel had been captives of Babylon for 70 years, Zechariah received a revelation from God. As the forefathers of Israel continually ignored God, Israel and Judah fell to the Assyrians and the Babylonians respectively.
God told Zechariah that He still loved Israel and wanted to restore Her to the original purpose for which He had intended all along.
All that God required was that Israel turn back to Him.
“Return to me and I will return to You”.

Zechariah “Return to me and I will return to You” says the Lord

When the remnant of Israel had been captives of Babylon for 70 years, Zechariah received a revelation from God. As the forefathers of Israel continually ignored God, Israel and Judah fell to the Assyrians and the Babylonians respectively.
God told Zechariah that He still loved Israel and wanted to restore her to the original purpose for which He had intended all along.
All that God required was that Israel turn back to Himself.
“Return to me and I will return to You”.

Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”

Acts 5:20 “Go stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”

The four day span of time that’s comprised of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the ensuing weekend, was a busy time, however, most of the business is of a temporal nature. The span of time between Thanksgiving and the the pinning up of next years calendar is more troubling than any other season, due to the emphasis upon materialism under the banner of a “Christian holiday.” My heart is no longer in this world; nor does it follow after the traditions that folks enslave themselves to. This is the result of an incredible deliverance that the Lord Jesus has worked in my life. Subsequently, thoughts and desires gravite toward eternal issues while those in the ambience are wanting me to “not be so heavenly minded that I ruin their holidays.” With precious souls in the ambience, it’s imperative to walk in the Spirit and not do or say things which will cause unnecessary scattering.

Despite the hectic nature of the past few days, there has been much reflection; primarily in the form of increased observation of those around me. Priceless souls who are imprisoned on the hell-bound train, wherein each of us were once passengers. The strongholds often appear inpenetrable; almost intimidatingly so, and one struggles to find openings in which to plant seed. We often find ourselves interceding “spontaneously,” as it were, for the precious ones in our ambience whose lives are being ravaged by sin and confusion. The devil is a cruel taskmaster who seeks only to destroy and we see the evidence of his campaigns at every turn. This is a war that cannot be fought in the arena of ideologies, ten-step programs, and clever slogans. It’s a supernatural conflict that transpires 24/7. Wherever there’s a soul who hasn’t believed on Jesus and wherever there’s a saint who strives to be about their Fathers business, the enemy will be striving to cause disruption.

Sunday morning, Pastor Jeff Zacchary (Because Pastor Miller was on the east coast) made a couple of observations before getting into his primary message. First he mentioned how astonishing it is that, from a day of giving thanks, we go directly into a day of unadulterated lusting after material goods. Secondly, he mentioned the statistic of how the suicide rate literally doubles during this time of year. Precious ones who could have been saved, but for whatever reason, never believed on Jesus. Finally, they were driven to a point of such despair that that an immediate departure from the valley of decisions seemed to be the only solution. Once again I’m wondering “Do we have even a remote understanding of how serious this is?” While we purchase material goods, plan our family gatherings, and deck our halls with boughs of folly, (misspelling intended) eternal souls are dropping away from the surface of the earth at an accelerated rate.

And so, while oberving those around me, I often wonder what kind of thought are being entertained. I know of a girl named Courtney, (she used to work at the plant) who has made several attempts on her life. I “never knew” that this was going on while she worked with us. Has Morgan had thoughts of checking out? Her life has much self-inflicted drama and one can never be certain as to what’s going on behind the facade. I’m genuinely fearful that some incident will drive her to the point of no return. The same is true for her boyfriend. Although he complicates our daughters life, I can’t look at Dustin as simply somebody who causes problems. He has a soul and that soul is eternal. There are fragile souls all around us who are at varying stages of despair. Each one is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, and each one is targeted by an enemy who relentlessly seeks whom he may devour. While we often respond to things as they appear on the surface, the enemy is striving to hang on to his captives by any means possible. His task is easier when we become distracted by skirmishes around the perimeter.

This will seem a strange place to find words of significance. During the weekend, I came across an album by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. While some of their offereings raise questions concerning scriptural understanding, they routinely employ some “very intriguing lyrics” in their songs. The following words address the storyline which is woven into this album, however, these eighteen words unwittingly touch on something far more profound:

Here the tragically beautiful
And the beautifully tragic
Drift through this night
In a last quest for magic

In this fallen world, beautiful souls are drifting through the darkness. Wandering to and fro; looking for something that’s authentic, but not knowing where to turn. This is what came to mind when I first encountered these words. We are surrounded by beautiful eternal souls who are in need of an encounter with the Savior. Outwardly, they identify with a theme and put on a show for the world. Oftentimes they are loud and appear confident.  But inwardly they are crying out for deliverance; even though they may not realize it. This course, if left unaltered, will lead to hardness and despair. The prisoner will continulusly seek more of the devils trappings in an effort to fill the empty void that only God can fill. At the end of this road, there’s wailing and gnashing of teeth. Again one must wonder “do we really understand the seriousness of this issue?” We often hear about the seriousness of the times from a prophetic standpoint, but this is a tragedy that’s unfolding every single minute of every single day.

Several years ago, Lester Sumrall was granted a view of the dropoff. It’s a place where, upon leaving the physical body, a lost soul enters the realm of the damned. He saw this endless procession of souls; like a continuous waterfall, dropping into the pit. They were flailing around and grabbing in vain for something to stop their descent. Every account that I’ve ever read or heard of someone who was granted a glimpse of this place; they were never the same afterwards. I have prayed; asking the Lord for an increased understanding of how serious this is, however, I do not desire to see what Lester Sumrall, Bill Weiss, and others have reported. Yet we have friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, teachers, and divers acquaintances that we pass by every day, who know not the Lord. Eternal souls for whom, should they go into eternity without knowing Jesus, will meet such a fate.

In writing this, I’m reminded of how negligent I’ve been in past years. The situation in my houehold today is largely one of my own making.

II Corinthians 4:3-4 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that ae lost:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of god, should shine upon them.”

Well it’s time to end this for now. I sincerely thank everyone who has been keeping us in prayer. I know that the Lord is working in Kimberlys heart. We only see a small portion of what’s going on in a situation and, if we’re not careful, we can become frustrated when things don’t progress at a speed that we would desire. Yet God is in control of each situation. We need to continuously walk in the Spirit, keep these souls in prayer, and be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks of the hope that is in us.

The following is a link to a post that hits home on a number of fronts, including gossip. It’s a new blog, but the wisdom that the author has been granted is undeniable. (This blog is now on the blogroll) Here’s the link:

GO and DO (Watchers on the Wall)

Blessings always in Jesus name.

Deuteronomy 28:2 (NIV) ~ All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God. 

All these blessing will come upon you and accompany you when you obey the LORD your God. Such a simple verse to understand yet, the outworking of this verse for many people seems a difficult price to pay. In a nutshell, obedience brings the blessings. 

What are “all these blessings”? Well, let us take a little look and see from Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26:  God’s blessing inside the city, God’s blessing in the country, God’s blessing on your children, the crops of your land, the young of your livestock, the calves of your herds, the lambs of your flocks; God’s blessing on your basket and bread bowl; God’s blessing in your coming in, God’s blessing in your going out.  He will grant you peace, and five of you will chase a hundred and one hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. God will look on you with favour, God will keep His covenant and you will walk with your head held high. God will grant you abundant prosperity; you will always be on top, for it is God’s will for you to be the head and not the tail. 

Just imagine all these blessings are waiting to not only come upon you, but also accompany you, all the days of your life, if you would simply obey His covenant. His covenant blessings are conditional, when you do your part and walk in obedience to God, God will honour His part and allow all these blessings to come upon you. 

My friend, oh, for grace to trust Him more. Lord, as we obey and walk in your truth may all these blessings come upon us. Lord, open the floodgates of heaven and let your blessings pour down upon us, so that all these blessing can wash over every area of our lives. Grant us Your favour and let all these blessings come upon us, and accompany us, all the days of our lives for now and ever more, thank you Lord. 

God bless you my friend, Matthew

People read for different reasons. Some read for pleasure and to relieve stress. Some read for information. Still others read with a desire to learn something that can change their lives. I am of the latter. If I read a book and gain insight on becoming a better husband, father, pastor, or witness then I consider my time in that book was not wasted.

If you have a passion and desire to know what and how the unchurched person thinks, I would like to recommend a book to you. That book is: The Unchurched Next Door by Thom Rainer. (By now you have figured out that I enjoy Rainer’s work). The book is centered around research conducted with 306 unchurched people in all 50 states and Canada, across all ethnic groups, all social backgrounds, all educational levels and ages. Simply put, the research team spent hundreds of hours listening to the unchurched. Researchers asked questions about their belief in key areas such as the existence of heaven/hell, who God and Jesus are to them, the reliability of the Bible, their prayer life, and possible church attendance.

The research was compiled and the responses were groups into one of five faith stages. This rating became known as the Rainer Scale. It looks like this:

This book, in my opinion, does a fantastic job of dealing with three key areas that I feel the church today struggles to understand. First, a thorough description is given as to what the unchurched look like at every faith level. Second, recommendations are given on how to interact with the unchurched at every faith stage. Third, suggestions on how to move an unchurched person down the scale toward increased receptivity. This book has led me to change the way I personally look the unchurched. They are not all alike. Information is power. If you have a heart for those not yet connected to God’s church, you will be encouraged by this book.

Katy and I drove from Washington D.C. to Indianapolis and back this Thanksgiving. This morning as we drove through central Ohio on way back to Indy we listened to This American Life’s Poultry Slam 2008; their tribute to all things fowl as Americans prepare their holiday meals.

It was a great way to spend an hour and the stories, or acts in This American Life parlance, all centered around birds and God.

The story that stuck out to me most was the act called “A Pastor and his flock.”  I’m a sucker for stories about the intersection of the labor movement and church and this was a powerful story.  Rector Bruce Walker at Grace Episcopal Church in Morganton, North Carolina, was asked by organizers at the Western Carolina Worker’s Center to get involved in a struggle between workers and management at nearby Case Farms.  The workers at Case Farms, a gigantic chicken processing facility, were organizing a union and Ken Wilson, the head of public relations and mouth piece for the vicious antiunion campaign for Case Farms, was a member at Grace.

(For more information about the struggle, check out Barry Yeoman’s Spiritual Union or read The Maya of Morganton, written by UNC Labor professor Leon Fink.)

Even though Walker was relatively new to town, none of the workers at Case Farms (mostly Guatamalan immigrants) worshipped at Grace and that Walker was part of the solidly middle-class congregation, the rector sided with the workers.  He tried to get his congregant to start rethinking his stance and role.  Wilson was a little angry when his pastor showed up on the day of the union election and he soon quit the church and moved out of town.

Though the church lost a tither that day, the low wage poultry workers of Morganton gained a friend and ally.  When asked if he had any regrets, Rector Walker only regretted that he hadn’t done more.

Its a story every pastor  and his or her flock should here.  Hopefully, the members at Grace are proud of their pastor who knows the difference between cheap and costly grace.

The Seeking Disciple takes issue with J.I. Packer’s take on Evangelism as per his book Evangelism & The Sovereignty of God.

In defending an Arminian take on salvation, the SD says:

“…we believe that the Holy Spirit works through the Word to draw the lost to Jesus”

“…Apart from the grace of God and the drawing of the Spirit, we have no hope for salvation”

“…No doubt people must respond to the gospel but this is only happens through God’s grace working in the hearts of the lost”

“…Through God’s grace people receive new hearts and not by human efforts”

Now call me stupid (go on, I dare you), but this sounds pretty much what a Calvinist would say.

SD then goes on to say:

“Unlike our Calvinist brethren, we can honestly look people in the eyes and proclaim to them that God loves them and He has proven this in His Son”

What? Since when did the Calvinist’s start suggesting that God doesn’t love everyone?

Does that mean, based on the quotes above, that if God is not working in the heart of someone then he doesn’t love them either?

The Calvinist take on stuff is not perfect by any means, but the Arminian logic just baffles me.

If you are like me, you have a ton going on right now. You are still recruiting for the Christmas/Winter conference, thinking about Christmas outreaches and you want to end the semester well. You know you need to think about the Spring semester, Spring Break opportunities and talk to students about asking parents over break about going on a summer project. Oh, and you probably are working on your end of the year ask, doing Christmas cards and some shopping and parties…Gotta do the parties! So, how do you do it all?

My friend, Ben Rivera, Student LINC Consultant, sends out a weekly ministry tip to over 600 student and volunteer leaders around the country. His tips are always very practical and cut right to the meat of what needs to be done. So I went to an archive of his tips to see what he had talked about last year at this time. Your leaders can sign up for Ben’s ministry tips.

Here is a check list of his thoughts from some of those tips.

• Christmas/Winter Conference.
  
  • http://godsquad.com/getinvolved/christmas.htm
  • Begin to finalize and encourage people to attend your regional Christmas conference.
  • Do some fund raising to help people go.
  • Arrange rides before you leave for home.
  • Exchange email and cell phone numbers.
    
• Summer Project Opportunities
  
  • http://gosummerproject.com/explore_projects.php
  • Want to potentially have the best summer of your life? Think about a summer project, but don’t wait too long.
    
• End the semester well
  
  • In your final end of year party on campus, take the time to praise God for what He has done this semester.
  • Begin now to plan with your leadership team for your Spring semester. The time will catch up to you quickly. Here are some things to think about:
    
    • Try to reserve the same room you met in this fall, for next Spring.  This will give you some consistency.
    • Reserve a place and the time (first week of classes) to do a campus wide survey. This is always a great start and helps you to meet new people.
    • Print off posters and flyers to advertise your weekly meetings so everyone on campus knows where you meet.
    • Plan a solid monthly evangelistic event each month.  This helps you to keep the gospel message as  an emphasis each month.
      
  • If you are graduating or transferring after this Spring semester, be sure to reproduce yourself into some one else’s life so the movement with continue when you’ve left.
    
• Finally, be sure to have a regular devotional and prayer time during the break. Don’t let your walk with God run dry.
  

That last one is really important. You will want to prepare your students for the break and their time home. The advent season can be a very worshipful and celebratory time as we focus on the Christ’s coming on our behalf. But it can also be a time of letdown for many students if they go home to the rush rush or less than favorable family situations. For all of us, the time spent in the Word is vital.