Still needing the gospel

It’s funny the ways we have come to express certain biblical teachings, characteristics of church, or aspects of being a Christian. Some of these phrases have come to be known as church lingo, adages or “Christianese.”

One potential problem with such communication is using too narrow of a focus on biblical teaching. For example, one of the most often used phrases in evangelism is to invite a person to “ask Jesus into their heart.” That image is used only once in the New Testament (cf. Ephesians 3:17). There are several other biblical ways that relationship could be expressed.  

Consider also how we use the phrase “the gospel.” I would suggest it is most often used as a set of facts about how a person can be saved and reconciled with God. Certainly this alone is good news, but I am concerned that we might be communicating the gospel is for “pre-salvation” and discipleship is for “post-salvation.” Wilhoit (2008, p. 26) uses this figure to illustrate this problem:

Another way church culture communicates the growth process looks like the figure below where the gospel is for conversion of unbelievers and discipleship is for new believers. However, as I think about my experiences in church culture/lingo, I’m not really sure what mature believers receive:

My main point here is stress the notion that the gospel is more than a first set of facts about what God has done through Jesus Christ in offering forgiveness of sins - then comes discipleship. The gospel is good news for the entire Christian life. No matter where we are in our walk with God, we are still needing the gospel.

Taking into account the main transitions people experience as believers, I would suggest the following figure to represent this idea:

As Wilhoit puts it, “The gospel is the power of God for the beginning, middle, and end of salvation. It is not merely what we need to proclaim to unbelievers; the gospel also needs to permeate our entire Christian experience” (2008, p. 27).  The gospel is the power of God for salvation, for growing in maturity of faith, for disarming the power of death, and for the resurrection of the saints to live forever in the new heaven and new earth.

Are you still engaged in hearing the gospel? What aspect of it are needing to be comforted by, challenged by, matured by, educated by, or inspired by? No matter where we are at, we are still needing the gospel.

References:

Wilhoit, J.C. (2008). Spiritual formation as if the church mattered: Growing in Christ through community. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. 

Troubleshooting change in your church

Sometimes we make change happen. Other times we can only watch change happen. Then again, sometimes we just wonder “what happened?” Essentially, change takes place in response to either force or influence. Economics, climate shift, conflict, supply of resources, and many other factors can exert force or influence depending on intensity. As a result, the types of changes we face can be described as ranging in strength from tuning, to adapting, to reorienting, or at its most intense – recreating (Leban & Stone, 2008).

Clearly, a major challenge of leadership is moving a church through change well. Certain elements must be present for any type of change to succeed. Leaders can diagnose what might be preventing success by looking at the mood about the change. Knoster, Villa, and Thousand (1999) provide this framework for troubleshooting change efforts:

According to the authors, successful change requires the presence and alignment of vision, skills, incentives, resources, and an action plan. Without vision to provide direction and goals, people will feel confused. Without skills to give them confidence they can carry out their part, people will feel anxiety. Without incentives that the change will benefit them and the church, people will resist it. Without the resources they need to carry out the change, people will feel frustrated. Finally, without a solid action plan, people will experience false starts – a sense of being on a treadmill, not really gaining any traction.

References:

Knoster, T. P., Villa, R. A., & Thousand, J. S. (1999). A Framework for Thinking About Systems Change. In T. P. Knoster, R. A. Villa & J. S. Thousand (Eds.), Restructuring for caring and effective education: Piecing the puzzle together (pp. 93-128). Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes Publishing Co.

Leban, B., & Stone, R. (2008). Managing organizational change. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Keep a true compass

"This is the greatest lesson a child can learn. It is the greatest lesson anyone can learn. It has been the greatest lesson I have learned: if you persevere, stick with it, work at it, you have a real opportunity to achieve something. Sure, there will be storms along the way. And you might not reach your goal right away. But if you do your best and keep a true compass, you'll get there."
— Edward M. Kennedy, True Compass: A Memoir (2009, p. 509)

Sarah Green writes some thoughtful works about Ted Kennedy’s life: “…his life provides an unconventional and, in my view, inspiring model of success. Much of today's management literature focuses on identifying high-potentials; leading your cleverest people; grooming your star performers. If you're here, reading this, you're probably reasonably ambitious yourself. But with that comes an attendant anxiety that if you haven't achieved X by age Y, you've failed...So for me, today, Ted Kennedy's life is a reminder that much can be achieved by late bloomers; that you don't have to have your career all figured out by the time you're 25, 35, or even 45. It's a reminder to look beyond your little cadre of overachieving stars for the person who doesn't have it all together. Don't count him out. There's always time.”

Thoughts worth meditating on…

He Saved Us

Imagine being the overseer of the Church in Crete during Titus’ time (c. AD 66).  The Cretans had a reputation for being lazy and somewhat corrupt (Titus 1:12). These traits apparently characterized some of the faithful as well as the false teachers (3:14). Part of Paul’s charge to Titus was to motivate them to change. This could be the church that inspired the saying “Ministry would be great if it wasn’t for the people!”

The dominant theme in Paul’s letter to Titus is change and good works brought by the wonder of salvation.  The remembrance of our own past should be a powerful motive for gentleness and consideration toward others when urging them to change. After all, what was our former state is still true of someone else; we are all on different journeys of transformation. Paul writes:

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸ This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” (Titus 3:3-8 NIV)

I love testimonies of the transformation that salvation brings, especially those which reflect the kind of changes Paul speaks of here. Let me share John Wesley’s account of his famous Aldersgate experience from his journals to illustrate the marvellous change Christ brings:

“In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death… After my return home, I was much buffeted with temptations, but I cried out, and they fled away. They returned again and again. I as often lifted up my eyes, and He “sent me help from his holy place.” And herein I found the difference between this and my former state chiefly consisted. I was striving, yea, fighting with all my might under the law, as well as under grace. But then I was sometimes, if not often, conquered; now, I was always conqueror.”

Magnifying the Lord

Suppose you had to pick a woman to be a part of God’s plan for changing the world. Who would you choose? What kind of women comes to mind? Perhaps someone with power and influence? Maybe beauty and talent? Or associated with royalty and has a bright future? God, however, chose a teenage farmhand girl.

The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce God’s stunning plan which involved her giving birth to and raising a son who would be called the Son of God. Frederick Buechner in his book Peculiar Treasures sketches an imaginary commentary when the angel Gabriel encounters Mary:

"She struck him as hardly old enough to have a child at all, let alone this child. But he had been entrusted with a message to give her, and he gave it. He told her what the child was to be named, who he was to be, and something about the mystery that was to come upon her. ‘You mustn’t be afraid, Mary,’ he said. As he said it, he only hoped she wouldn’t notice that beneath the great golden wings, he himself was trembling with fear to think that the whole future of Creation hung on the answer of a teenaged girl."

A few days later, Mary hurried to visit her cousin Elizabeth who was also expecting a very special child. As soon as they saw each other they were both filled with joy. Mary bursts into song, known as the Magnificat, saying “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.  For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.” (Luke 1:46-48)

The next chapter in God’s redemptive mission is under way - he is sending the Christ! A long period of silence is ending; something new is beginning. His birth is still months away; his appearance in the synagogue to announce his ministry is still decades away, but it is beginning.

Hope is now more tangible…longing is becoming more intense…other pastimes, interests, and concerns are now mere distractions…We are starting to feel joy again!!

The intent of Scripture is to portray Jesus (John 5:39; 20:31) rather than Mary. Yet, in the course of revelation a small glimpse of Mary’s character is given. One dominant trait stands out: her humble faith in God, which shows in her willing obedience, joyous praise, and familiarity with God’s ways known through the OT.

She is overjoyed that God has noticed her and included her, even though she's insignificant from a worldly perspective. T.S. Eliot wrote, "Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who strive to be important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them … or they do not see it, or they justify it … because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves."

Although our role in God’s mission is to do good in this world, we will actually do harm if our deeper mission is to feel important and "think well of ourselves." Eliot's words forced us to ask, How much harm could I do to my family, my friends, the people I am supposed to lead, all because I want to think well of myself?

Mary was sure that God had remembered "to be merciful ... even as he said to our fathers." God never forgets, he cannot forget! We may pass through wilderness experiences (dryness, loss, insignificance) but the Magnificat is a powerful reminder not to despair. God keeps his word; he never abandons his people. He surely takes down the proud and lifts up the humble.

In this Advent time we remember and agree to this day that Mary is indeed blessed. We marvel at her willingness to take on God’s plan for her even though it would include a sword piercing her soul (Luke 2:35). We also thank God for being mindful of the state of those who are without power or influence; for acting on their behalf; for overthrowing the self-sufficient and proud; for keeping us in a needy state that we can also say "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour."

Missional moments in unconventional places

It has been said that success is where preparation and opportunity meet. In the case of living in a missional way, opportunities to minister can come in some unconventional places and we must be ready to participate regardless of what others may think. Peter wrote in first letter, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV).

I once knew a pastor who was a bit unconventional. At one point in his ministry he felt God compelling him to reach out to people who rarely, if ever, talked to a pastor. As he prayed about this he felt he was to go into some unusual places and strike up some conversations with people. He reasoned that the most unconventional place to go would be the local pub. So he donned a clerical collar, went in and began talking to others. Of course this was quite awkward at first but he was generally well received which inspired him to go back. As he established some good relationships and ministered to people, he eventually became a regular figure in the pub. The owner even set up a table for him where patrons could come see him for confession and prayer.

Sometimes we can miss some important opportunities for ministry because of a dualistic view of mission. This happens when we believe that legitimate ministry is supposed to occur in traditional places only, like a church building or a foreign country, not in unconventional places such as the local pub.

But when we relate to the world in way similar to the life of Jesus (who was called a friend of sinners), our approach is neither confusing the world with God nor failing to find Him there, even in some pretty irregular places.

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While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:10–13 TNIV)

Idolatry 3: Test yourself

Diagnostic criteria or questions can be applied to a variety of contexts in order to determine the presence of disease, disorder, quality assurance or just a different perspective.

The following questions will help you check if there are any deep idols lurking in your heart:

• Do I feel like I have enough money and possessions that reflect my worth or do I feel I need more?
• Do I think I have enough of the power and control I feel I deserve or do I want more?
• Do I need any specific relationship attachment for my life to be truly meaningful or successful?
• How often do I fantasize about being admired, envied, feared, or respected?
• Do I often feel I am the only one who truly understands right doctrine and the heart of God? Do I feel anger and hold grudges toward others who don’t think just like me?
• Are there any activities or desires I am following that have made me more defensive, rationalizing, justifying, and secretive?
• Has anyone tried to point these issues out to me before resulting in distancing myself from them relationally?