Forgotten God (Part I)

I read Crazy Love by Francis Chan a while back and made a pact with myself to read everything that Francis writes. So, I purchased his latest book, Forgotten God, when it was released and thumbed through it a bit. I hadn’t committed to reading it until yesterday. It’s great timing, because I’ve only got four books to read for my seminary class. But I really want to read it. So, I began on a journey into the pages of this intriguing book. Here are my takeaways from the first chapter:

• “Had I ever sat down with the Bible and sought after its self-evident truth? Or had I passively ingested what I heard from other people, much like my front-door visitors?” (Two Jehovah’s Witnesses visited his front door and Francis shares some of their conversation in the first chapter)
• “Remember, the Bereans were lifted up as good examples because  they questioned the things they were taught. They made sure that even the apostles’ teachings were in line with what was written…(Acts 17:11)” (How often is teaching discussed at local church gatherings? Either the members get an attitude about what is being taught or the preacher is offended that his teaching is being examined.)
• “One of the areas we desperately need to examine is how we think about and relate to the Holy Spirit.”
• “We would expect our new life with the Holy Spirit to look radically different from our old life without Him.”
• “Even our church growth can happen without Him. Let’s be honest: If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church. Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming.”
• “If it’s true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, then shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or here and the person who does not?”
• “The goal of this book is not to completely explain the Spirit or to go back to the apostolic age. The goal is to learn to live faithfully today.”
• “As the caterpillar finds its new ability to fly, we should be thrilled over our Spirit-empowered ability to live differently and faithfully…I don’t want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly.”

Podcasts Galore!

I listen to a lot of podcasts.

I would rather listen/watch a sermon online than watch a show on tv. It’s just how I roll.

Here are some guys I’m listening to:

Matt Chandler, The Village Church, Highland Village, TX

Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA

Francis Chan, Cornerstone Church, Simi Valley, CA

Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, NYC

Joe Thorn, Redeemer Fellowship, St. Charles, IL

I learn so much from these men each week. Hearing them share the Word of God helps me grow as a preacher and grow into ‘the best me’ that I can be. So, let me know what pastors you are listening to that God is using to speak into your life.

An Example to Imitate

“It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.” - 2 Thessalonians 3:9

I listened to a message by Larry Stockstill this morning where he preached to ministry leaders on this verse. It really blessed me! Larry focused on Integrity, Purity and Example. Here are some highlights from the notes I took.

• You’re called to be a model
• Paul was a model; he didn’t have computers, planners, iPhones, Blackberrys, etc.
• It’s not how you preach, it’s how you live; people are watching you
• People in your community are always interested in what you’re going to with your Wal-Mart buggy in the parking lot
• What we said we were going to do is what we are going to do; if I gave my word, I’m going
• What’s Samson doing in the vineyard? You’re enemy is in places you aren’t supposed to be
• Samson got honey. The honey was in a carcass; Samson wasn’t supposed to touch a dead body but the honey is always inside something dead
• Honor your wife, elevate your wife in the eyes of the ladies of the congregation
• Your wife doesn’t need smothering, she needs covering

Be an example to imitate.

Repentance: The Pastoral Dilemma

Repentance is the changing of one’s mind toward God that leads to the changing of one’s actions that results in a gospel-transformed life. I listen to a lot of podcasts and pastors call for repentance in their sermons all the time. And they should. It should be the hope of Christians that others would repent and believe the gospel and that other Christians would confess and repent to grow in the gospel. However, their is a dilemma. Pastors call for repentance all the time but some do so out of unrepentant hearts. NEWS FLASH: the people listening know that you’re unrepentant. They can hear it in your voice, feel it in your lack of passion and see it in your life.

I want to be a man who repents often. I want what I preach on to have already affected me deeply. I want to call people to repent and believe the gospel out of a repentant heart.

If any pastors read this blog, I love you. I’ve heard many sermons and read a lot about repentance lately and felt the deep need to repent myself. I’m just an Associate Student Pastor, but it’s a thought I wanted to share. Sorry if I started preaching. Hope it added value to your life and ministry.

Repentance: Is It Necessary For Salvation?

The Bible answers this question very clearly; Yes! Repentance is part of believing in Christ.

• The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel. – Mark 1:15
• I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. - Luke 5:32
• No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. – Luke 13:5
• Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. – Luke 24:45-47

The word “repentance” is not in the vocabulary of enough Christians. We have watered it down with churchy jargon. The message that is often preached today, “Tell God you’re sorry and that you’re going to do better” is quite different from the message Jesus preached, “Repent and believe in the gospel“.

I love the way John Piper articulates the marriage between faith and repentance: “So faith and repentance are not properly two separate things. The turning of repentance is a turning from trusting in other things to a trusting in God. And with a new trust in God as counselor and protector and provider there is also a turning to a new life of joyful obedience.“

Repentance: What Does It Look Like?

Repentance starts with a changing of the mind. No one can see or gauge that change in your life. However, the results of that initial changing of the mind are the fruit of repentance. When your mind is changed to think in a gospel-centered manner, your actions begin to bear the fruit of this internal change that has occurred. This is a life that has been changed by the Spirit and is now a gospel-transformed life.

So, what does that actually look like? It looks like confession of the sin(s) committed, prayers of deep conviction and a commitment to turn away from habitual sin.

Does a gospel-transformed life mean you won’t sin anymore? No. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” 1 John 1:8. However, we are to be a transformed people who are sanctified and striving toward holiness. We are not perfect; if we were perfect we would need no savior. Sanctification and holiness are the result of the Spirit changing someone’s life by the gospel. That transformation starts with God calling you toward repentance.

Repentance: What Is It?

Repentance is a key element of the Christian faith that is often misunderstood or sometimes downplayed. The best way to gather a definition for repentance is to look to Scripture passages like: 1 Kings 8:48, Joel 1, Matthew 3:2, Acts 3:19 and Acts 26:20. From these passages, I gather this definition:“the changing of one’s mind toward God that leads to the changing of one’s actions that results in a gospel-transformed life”.

Is that the only way to define repentance? No. That’s just what I gather from those verses and the notes in the ESV Study Bible. So, let me know what you think, but don’t get too far ahead of me, we’ll be discussing repentance all week:

Tomorrow – Repentance: What Does It Look Like?

Wednesday – Repentance: Is It Necessary For Salvation?

Thursday – Repentance: The Pastoral Dilemma

So, how would you define biblical repentance or how would you tweak my definition? Join in on the discussion.

Lesson Learned (Part 4)

LESSON: Theology Answers the “Why’s”

Some of the most important questions you will ever answer begin with “why”. If you have sound doctrine and a strong biblical theology established, you will understand why you do what you do and believe what you do. Understanding why you do what you do and believe what you do reveals motive. Jesus taught about motive to expose just how totally depraved we truly are and how much we need a Savior. One of the wisest men I know, Mike Lowry, said it like this one day: “It’s not what you do, it’s why you do it. Motive is everything in Christianity.”

If you are theologically solid, you can answer why you do what you do and believe what you do. When someone asks you, “Why do you believe man can be redeemed only through Jesus Christ?” or “Why do you read the Bible and believe that it is true and without error?” or “Why are you a part of the local church and believe the Church can bring glory to Christ?”.

If you can’t answer the why’s, you don’t understand motive. And motive is everything in Christianity.

Lesson Learned (Part 3)

LESSON: Knowing yourself is much more valuable than making yourself known.

Almost everyone I come in contact with is on some type of journey to find the purpose for their life. And by that they want to figure out what they’re going to do with their life, who they’re going to marry or what type of degree they’re going to pursue. However, almost every person fails to figure out who they are and fails to determine what type of character they want to have. In his talk at Passion 2010 yesterday, Andy Stanley preached on this very subject. Here’s a quote from him that blessed me immensely: “It’s always a mistake to determine what you’re going to do before you decide who you’re going to be.”

Sure, personality tests, spiritual gifts tests and strength finders are all great tools and can help us figure out certain aspects of ourselves, but we find out the most about who we are when we are worshiping and serving. Look at yourself in those moments. When figuring out what areas you need to grow in to become the best version of you that you can, ask yourself, “How do I want others to describe me when I’m not around?” God has wired you and it is God who grows you.

You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. – Psalm 139:13

I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. – 1 Corinthians 3:6

Pray that He will make you and I more self-aware of our unique characteristics and behaviors. Don’t try to be someone else. To do so would be sinful and would communicate to God that you know better than He does. Strive to be the best ‘you’ that you can be. What you do can make you famous, but who you are gives Him glory.

Lesson Learned (Part 2)

I’ll begin this post by saying I have not mastered any of these lessons I’ll be sharing with you. God is teaching me each of these lessons still as I share them with you this week and refining me through the continued meditation on each lesson. With that short disclaimer said, here is the second lesson:

LESSON: In ministry, large doesn’t equal legitimate.

This is a lesson I learned this past September. If I had to pick the one major thought that God taught me through the Nines Conference that Leadership Network and Catalyst hosted, it was this one. An author, Skye Jethani, shared his 9-minute insight and a perspective of mine was deeply changed forever. Here are two quotes from his talk that day:

• “In ministry, when large equals legitimate, we’ve missed it. We don’t see that in the ministry of Jesus. People were leaving rather than coming.”
• “When have you gone to a ministry conference, and heard that the pastor of a church of 100 people is one of the speakers on the main stage?”

It’s so easy for pastors to be consumed with the numerical status of our congregations that we fail to truly see the actual individuals who make up that very congregation. The Village Church makes a point in their Philosophy of Ministry statement that clarifies the application for this lesson. They say that they want to be “an incarnational ministry, not an attractional one.” They want to be the Church by being missionaries (locally and globally) and reaching out to others with the gospel, not waiting on some new program or strategy to entice them “to come to church”. Sure, they want to reach new people, and that’s just it. The Village Church wants to go REACH them. And then, when they come into the gatherings, get discipled and get trained; they need to go out and be a disciple who makes other disciples.

If you chase numerical growth, you’ll never be filled with joy in the ministry you’re doing, because I guarantee there will be a day when an insufficient amount of people (for your numerical standards) shows up to an event or gathering. Sure, anyone could feel let down if not as many people show up as they were hoping for, but if you are consumed by numerical growth, I must ask the question: Who are you worshiping? Are you worshiping God, or are you worshiping numerical “success”? (and then putting a Jesus label on the work you are doing to feel better about yourself). On the other hand, if you’re focus is on God and the work He is doing in the life of the individual, you’re joy will be so overwhelming as you see lives transformed by the gospel.

When you change the way you view legitimacy, it’ll change how and why you do ministry. It’s not: Who’s coming in? It’s: Who’s been discipled from within and is now going out? I pray that the Church would no longer deem what is successful based on our Western view of success, but rather, find joy in our ministry when the gospel transforms a wicked heart.