Live with Eternity In View

I was deeply encouraged by these words from this mornings devotion in Paul Tripp's New Morning Mercies:

"You and I are hardwired for eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has placed eternity in every person's heart. That means that everyone hungers for paradise. No one is satisfied with things the way they are. So either you try your hardest to turn your life right here, right now into the paradise it will never be and therefore become driven and disappointed, or you live in this broken world with the rest and peace that comes from knowing that a guaranteed place in paradise is in your future." 

May we all live as agents of eternal hope in the present reality of a broken world where God is working his plan to bring about redemption.

Responding to the Duck Dynasty/A&E Brouhaha

Well, I can't say I didn't think the social media frenzy today over Phil Robertson's suspension by A&E TV was coming when I saw the release last night.  Within an hour of the "news" of his suspension, my Facebook timeline was being littered with posts of outrage - some that was simply grievous, some that was venomous.  It is a little predictable.  Whenever an organization or group with a non-biblical worldview attacks those with a supposedly "Christian" and biblical worldview lately, it creates quite a storm, especially on the shark-infested waters of social media where most people are reactionary and lack a filter they might otherwise have.

I will save most of my thoughts about the controversy to personal and private conversations instead of using blogs and social media as an electronic version of the National Enquirer.  I do think that situations like this call for a response from Christians.  However, I think that response should be measured, thoughtful, Christ-like, and gospel-centered.  I think that we should naturally feel an outrage whenever someone from a Christian perspective is censured just for stating his personal beliefs that are based on the authority and sufficiency of God's word.

I also think that today, we as Christians, should feel a similar angst that over 2 billion people on our planet have no access to the gospel while the fat and lazy church in America sits comfortably in our la-z-boys eating Cheetos and hoping that Phil, Willie, Si, and Jase are the vehicle of gospel transference to the world. We should feel the same level of outrage that millions of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being persecuted, tortured, maimed, and killed while we bemoan a Christian who has been dropped from a show on a network that has openly supported LGBT causes.  I am not saying that we shouldn't be upset at any level of persecution against believers, but let's keep that persecution in perspective.  I am pretty sure that the 2 billion without access to the gospel and the millions of persecuted brothers and sisters in India, North Africa, and the Middle East really don't know who Phil Robertson is nor care that he's been canned from a show where he made millions of dollars.

With that in mind, I've listed below a few links to some Christian bloggers I read who have said some good things about how we, as Christians who are aliens and strangers in this world, should respond:

You Have Been Warned - the Duck Dynasty Controversy by Al Mohler. Very grateful for Al's wisdom and timely response, as always.

Duck Dynasty? by Russell Moore.  Russ is the president of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and a great public spokesman for Christian causes.

"Duck Dynasty": Let's Deal in Real Reality by Jared Wilson.  I always appreciate how Jared has the ability to keep the gospel in the center and offers timely and wise words.

Duck Dynasty Prediction by Denny Burk. Another timely word and some thoughts about what might happen next.

This Is Not Worth Quacking About by David Mathis.  This post from Desiring God will probably anger some Christians who want to be up in arms about this whole mess. I don't agree with everything Mathis concludes, but his word of caution might be worth listening to.

Ultimately, let's remember that there is a more important conversation as Christians that we need to have with the lost world around us than whether or not we are free to express our opinions on national TV or in secular publications. Let's not lose the real conversation in the dust-up of this present one.

Clear Winter Nights - A Book Review

The older I get and the longer I am a Christian, the more I value reading and the importance of a good book.  I try to read a variety of books in order to be balanced.  One area that I like to read is good fiction.  Some pastors and Christians only read books on ministry, theology, and the Christian life. They view fiction as a waste of time. Some Christians only read fictional books, but never venture into good books on theology or the gospel because they see it as above their heads.  So, I was intrigued to see that Trevin Wax had recently written a fictional work that also was designed to teach deeper theological truths.  So, I was excited to pick up a copy of Clear Winter Nights: A Journey Into Truth, Doubt, and What Comes After.  The book subtitles itself as "Theology in Story" and that is a very apt description.  I appreciate Trevin's gift of writing and his understanding of the gospel and its importance.  Trevin serves as the managing editor of LifeWay's new curriculum "The Gospel Project".

While Clear Winter Nights is a fictional work, it makes an important contribution to the current trend of gospel-centered writings that have been offered in recent years.  It's the story of a young man named Chris and the week that he spends with his elderly grandfather who is a retired pastor. The reader walks with Chris as he is going through a crisis of belief brought on by several factors: the challenges of his liberal religious professors, the recent ending of his engagement to the woman he loves, his grandmother's death, and the recent news that his earthly father wasn't the man that he thought.  These events have left Chris jaded, confused, angry, and resentful.  When his grandfather experiences his own health crisis, Chris steps in to help by staying with him a few days. As they reconnect, Chris' grandfather brings the depth of the gospel and the word of God to Chris' struggles.  He forces Chris to wrestle with questions and truths he had once blindly accepted, but has recently abandoned. This is the process of sanctification and growth.  It's the struggle of a young man actually learning to own his faith through trials and doubt. The author does a fantastic job helping the reader to see that faith is not just a personal belief in something. Ultimately it's a search for the truth, and truth is found in a person, Jesus Christ.

Clear Winter Nights is the kind of book that every Christian can read and appreciate.  The story is short - a mere 147 pages - but laced with important gospel truths. The storyline is very relevant and believable. The struggles of the lead character are relevant to many who have grown up in the Christian church but have struggles reconciling what they have been taught with an increasingly secularized culture that has abandoned objective truth for a more personal, subjective experience.  I commend Trevin for what he has brought to the table and highly recommend you read Clear Winter Nights and pass it on to your friends who may be struggling with doubt.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multinomah for review and publication on this blog. I was not required to write a positive review of this book or its authors. 

Faithmapping - A Book Review

Several months ago, I received a copy of Daniel Montgomery and Mike Cosper's new book Faithmapping: A Gospel Atlas for Your Spiritual Journey. These guys work at Sojourn Church in Louisville, KY.  I had been watching this book for a few months and planning on buying it, so I was very honored to get a free copy of it to review.

Faithmapping is one of the best books on understanding the gospel and its practical implications in the daily lives of believers I have read.  It has a solid theological foundation, but it is very practical and easy to read.  One of the strengths of this book is that I can give it to a relatively new Christian and know that they not only can read it and understand it, but that it will ground them in some much needed and often over-looked theological truths.

The authors of the book do a very good job of presenting what is called a "triperspectival" approach to the gospel.  The gospel is a brilliant, multifaceted gem.  Every angle that you look at it shows you another brilliant truth.  Sometimes, authors trying to write about the gospel will focus on one specific aspect to the neglect of others and in the process may give an unbalanced understanding that only this one thing is the key to understanding "the gospel".  Montgomery and Cosper do a good job of presenting three "perspectives" that are equally vital in our understanding of the gospel - the gospel as the kingdom of God, the gospel as seen in the cross, and the gospel as shown in the grace of God.  One of the most important parts of Faithmapping is that they define what the gospel looks like in each individual aspect and then they show why we most not elevate one aspect to the neglect of the others.  This balanced approach is refreshing and invigorating as you read this book.

The authors also do an excellent job of showing how; once we come to a balanced, biblical approach to the gospel, this same gospel has practical affects on the way we worship as individuals and as a faith community.  It affects our understanding of the church as a faith "family" of adopted sons and daughters of God.  It affects our mentality of serving and being served and motivates us to take up the towel and serve others.  It affects us as growing disciples of Jesus Christ who are also responsible to make other disciples.  Finally, it affects our witness to the world in both words and actions that are compatible with the gospel.

I have read a lot of books already this year, but I would put Faithmapping in the top three I have read so far.  I believe many people in the church can benefit greatly from picking up a copy of this work and applying it to their lives.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Crossway book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

"The Story of God" by Matt Papa

Great reminder of the beauty and depth of the gospel from Matt Papa

New Book Review - "A Cross Shaped Gospel"

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Bryan Loritts speak at the Advance13 conference. I left his message challenged deeply to see on a deeper level how gospel reconciliation should also lead more to racial reconciliation.  Bryan leads Fellowship Memphis, which is a multiethnic congregation in the racially divided city of Memphis.  This is a church that has found ways to bridge the racial divide in the deep South.  They have also committed to making a major difference in the city of Memphis for Christ.

A Cross Shaped Gospel is a timely and well presented read.  Bryan Loritts shows a profound understanding of the gospel for his age. He is the son of a very faithful pastor and has served in many capacities across a spectrum of churches.  The premise of this book is that the center of the gospel is the cross of Jesus Christ. In it's horizontal dimension, the gospel reconciles us to God. But in it's vertical dimension, the cross also calls us to reconciliation with our "neighbor", whether they be of a different race, political persuasion, or socio-economic status.  Bryan calls all believers to start with the gospel and then allow the implications of the gospel to lead them as they live in harmony with their fellow man.  Bryan's chapter on "Donkeys and Elephants" is spot on and has much to say to both sides of the political divide.  Also, his chapter on race reconcilation, "The Gospel and O.J. Simpson" shows the maturation of someone who has been affected by racial discrimination, but has learned that in Christ, "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)

This book is a very important book for all in the church to wrestle with. The issues Bryan Loritts addresses have long been buried in the church as we rest in a gospel that gets me to heaven but doesn't call me to cross the street or to the other side of the tracks.  The issues that divide us personally are more of the reason we are losing credibility with the culture than the issues that divide us theologically.  If Loritts is right, we cannot give an accurate gospel without stressing both the horizontal and the vertical implications.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Moody Pressroom bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

End It...

Today is a national day to bring awareness to the "End It Movement" and the issue of global slavery.  Most people are still very unaware that slavery not only still exists in our world, but that it is a larger problem than ever before.  I am proud of Louie Giglio and the Passion Movement for the effort they have brought to this cause.  Here is a powerful video from the End It website:



Pray for those who are enslaved today through human trafficking. Pray that they find freedom both physically as well as spiritually in the gospel.
Pray for those who are the enslavers that God will convict and save them.
Pray for governments to crack down on human trafficking and slavery.
Pray for God to continue to motivate a generation to bring awareness to this issue.
Pray that the money that is being raised through these efforts will be used wisely by these organizations to help rescue and redeem those caught up in slavery.

I Have But One Plea...

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heav'n He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there 
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is justified
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there, the Risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless Righteousness
The great unchangable I Am
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God

Before the Throne of God Above - lyrics by Charitie Lees Bancroft and Vicki Cook. Copyright 1997 Sovereign Grace Music

The Empty Tomb and The Death of Y.O.L.O.

Enjoy this video from Jefferson Bethke about the Resurrection.

I'm going to the Advance13 Conference

At least once a year, I try to attend a conference that will strengthen my understanding of the gospel or help in my practical leadership in the church.  Sometimes, that is a hard balance to find.  Some conferences are great on providing deep lectures about the gospel.  They are headlined by some of the great minds in the church.  I have been to several of these and am always stretched in my theological apprehension.  Other times, I have been to conferences that are focused on church leadership, growth strategies, and ministry nuts and bolts.  These always give me something new to think about, try to implement or adapt in my ministry context, or just be jealous that I didn't think of it sooner.

Very rarely do I find a conference that can balance these two things.  I believe that Advance13 will be such a conference.  I have been impressed by the team at Advance the Church for a couple of years now.  They have put together an impressive conference experience several times.  I haven't been able to attend because I am usually already committed to another conference by the time I find out.  I did attend a regional event with ATC in Hattiesburg, MS a couple of years ago.  I was impressed with the depth, the practicality, the speakers, and the price.  It was good to see guys within about three hours of me who shared some of the same concerns I did as a pastor.

The theme for Advance13 is "Building a Faithful and Effective Ministry".  These guys have both an appreciation for the depth of the gospel.  But more than that, they are practicioners of the church.  They are pastors who are in the trenches of church leadership every day.  Speakers at this year's conference include John Piper, Bryan Loritts, Matt Chandler, J.D. Greear, David Platt, and Tyler Jones.  Breakouts are offered that are very practical in nature.  There will be networking times for participants to meet other guys and exchange ideas.

Here is an excerpt from their blog about the conference:

There is a false dichotomy in the church today, between faithful ministry and effective ministry – depth and width – making disciples and reaching the lost. Most of our churches are good at one or the other. Churches that prioritize faithfulness make mature disciples, but don’t always reach the lost. Churches that prioritize effectiveness reach the lost, but often don’t make mature disciples.

 The gospel calls for both. Faithfulness and effectiveness cannot be separated. Churches that grow wide without growing deep are not producing width that lasts. Churches that grow deep without growing wide are not as deep as they think.

We need faithful AND effective churches.

This is a major tension I am feeling as a church leader right now.  I am looking forward to seeking the Lord on this matter and the insights I will glean at Advance13.  It's not too late to register.  You can still make it to Raleigh and if you do, call me up and we'll grab coffee.  I am sure I can learn a lot from you too!

A Powerful Story...

If you've never heard the story of Steve Saint and Mincaye, the man who killed his father Nate Saint in Ecuador, you have missed a blessing.  It was the subject of the movie "End of the Spear" and another movie "Beyond the Gates of Splendor".  I had the awesome privilege of hearing Steve and Mincaye speak in person at John MacArthur's "Shepherd's Conference" in 2003.  Their story is a powerful testimony to the gospel, grace, forgiveness, redemption, and missions.

Last year, Steve Saint was injured in an accident as he was testing a "flying car" his company had developed to use in the jungles.  This video below is after his accident.  You will see the awesome love that the gospel has bridged between these two men and their families.

To see this specific video, go to the bottom where it says "playlist" and click and select the video that says "Nanicabo".

Freeing Our Idols

“What happens in the experience of gospel wakefulness is a satisfaction so complete that it fixes the center of our affections on God alone, in Christ alone, by his Spirit alone.  That is what worship is, after all: proclaiming worth, giving weight to something in the revolving of our affections around it.  When that center is anything but God, we are idolaters, and we end up abusing what we worship because it is not equipped or designed to receive our affections in that way.  But when the lights of the gospel flood our heart, we transfer our affections to God, finding all our fountains in him, and our idolatry dies as our idols are freed from the confines of our abuse.”

Jared Wilson, Gospel Wakefulness

"Refined" Sins

I am leading a Wednesday night class at my church through Jerry Bridges book The Discipline of Grace.  I read this book about five years ago for the first time.  It had a huge impact on helping me rediscover the gospel and the power of grace.  Last night we were discussing chapter 2 in the book "The Pharisee and the Tax Collector".  As the title suggests, it is about Jesus parable in Luke 18.  It is easy on this side of the cross and the New Testament to see the obvious judgmentalism and hypocrisy of the Pharisee.  It's always easier to see Pharisaism in others, but it's often impossible to see in ourselves.

Also in this chapter, Bridges has a very good section on what he calls "refined sins" that we don't often talk about in church.  Here is an excerpt:

"A large part of our problem as evangelical believers is that we have defined sin in its more obvious forms-forms of which we are not guilty.  We think of sin in terms of sexual immorality, drunkenness, lying, cheating, stealing, and murder...Most often our sin problem is in the area I call "refined" sins.  These are the sins of nice people, sins that we can regularly commit and still retain our positions as elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, Bible study leaders, and yes even full-time Christian workers."

Bridges then goes on to identify some of these more insipid sins that many of us as Christian believers will commit and then quickly excuse or ignore.  One of these is a critical and judgmental spirit.  Bridges talks about how so often we don't take seriously Christ's warning to remove our log before we try to examine the speck in another person's eye.  Many in the Christian church make it a continual part of their character to criticize and put down others, especially other Christians with whom they may have theological differences.  Often I picture the world looking at us like the two curmudgeons from the Muppet Show who never have a kind word to say.  Another refined sin identified by Bridges is gossip, "the endless recounting and passing on of the sins and misfortunes of others.  We seem to get a perverse delight out of being the bearer of bad news about other people."  Bridges reminds us of Paul's admonishment in Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."  If we really take that Scripture seriously, then we are not to use the words of our mouth to ever speak to or about someone unless we are doing it for their benefit and building them up in the faith.  In my opinion, that would solve many of the conflicts we have in churches today.

Bridges also identifies other "refined" sins that are not always frowned on as much in the church.  Some of these include resentment, bitterness, an unforgiving spirit towards others, impatience, and irritability.  Bridges does a masterful job reminding us that while some sins have greater degrees of consequence or horror in our eyes, all sin grieves God.  The sin of gossip grieves God as much as the sin of murder.  The sin of bitterness grieves God as much as the sin of sexual abuse.  We must never make lighter of our sin just because we have done a good job avoiding the "biggies".

Can you think of some other "refined" sins that you can think of that we often tolerate, excuse, or turn a blind eye to in the church?

3-2-1 The Gospel

This is an excellent video I found online that explains the gospel in a powerful way. Use this to remind yourself of the gospel truth and also to share with a friend and co-worker for discussion.

321 from Jeremy Poyner on Vimeo.

Thoughts from Boston

Last week, my wife and I got to take a little "pre-anniversary" trip to Boston, MA.  2012 marks 15 years of marriage for Alison and me.  Our actual anniversary isn't until November, but we booked a couple of smaller trips this year instead of one big expensive trip.  It was a very refreshing time for both of us.  This is one of the few times since my oldest son Nathan was born that we both got away without kids and without an agenda.  Earlier this year, we talked and decided to go to Boston for several reasons.  One, my wife had never been to Fenway Park and by hanging out with me, she has become a pretty good Red Sox fan.  She has mentioned a couple of times the last 2-3 years that she wanted me one day to take her to a game there.  We also selected Boston because Alison had never been to it and I had only been once.  Alison loves to visit bigger cities that have lots of shopping and historical stuff.  So the combination of the city and the game made this a good choice for us.

Although the Red Sox are playing very bad baseball, this is a great time of year to visit Boston.  The weather was very nice. The universities are starting back, so there is a lot of bustle near Fenway.  We stayed at the Hotel Buckminster which is across the Mass Turnpike from Fenway Park. (The picture is actually the view from my hotel room.)  This is an old, historic hotel in downtown Boston.  This gave our visit a very historical feel.  There is a room in this hotel which is the room where the conversation began that resulted in the 1918 Black Sox scandal where the World Series was fixed.

Boston is a city with a tremendous historical and cultural heritage.  The streets of Boston are the site where much of the unrest developed and boiled over that resulted eventually in the American Revolution.  One day, Alison and I walked the "Freedom Trial" which is a 2.5 mile walk through the old parts of town where much of American history was made.  We visited the Old North Church where Paul Revere saw the lanterns that warned of British troop movements.  We visited the Boston Harbor, the Old State House, the sight of the Boston Massacre, Park Street Church, and a cemetery where Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock are buried.  We also saw a tremendous amount of cultural diversity in the city.  Boston is a blend of many culture compacted in a small space.  There are areas where every restaurant is Italian and others that are dominated by Irish pubs.  There were several Muslims we passed tons of different cultural backgrounds that we rode with on the subway.  Here are a few of my observations from our trip around this city.

1.  Boston and New England are spiritually dark places - I have grown up and spent most of my ministry in the cultural "Bible belt" of the Southeast.  In this part of the country, there are churches on every corner and almost everyone you talk to is "a member" of a church somewhere and "believes" in Jesus.  Most of the time, we spend most of our ministry as church leaders trying to keep church members happy.  Most of our membership change is sheep from other pastures who decided that their former church isn't for them anymore.  In many ways, church members in the South treat church like they do restaurants they frequent.  If the service is good and the meal meets their needs, they will tip the church and come back later.  However, as soon as the service or food gets bad, they decide to search for somewhere else to dine.  In the area where I minister, we have access to thousands of people who, in reality, have no saving relationship with Christ.  We pass by them, but don't really see them because we are trying to "feed the flock."  If a church in my association has 15-20 baptisms in a year, that is mega-growth.
However, in Boston, things are much different.  In my four days there, I probably passed by three to four times more people than live in my county.  I would venture that 98% of them have no knowledge of Jesus or the gospel.  Jesus Christ is, for many of them, a punctuation to a sentence.  As I walked around the city, I could sense the spiritual oppression and the hopelessness that comes when all our hope is built in the things of this world.  The New England prides itself on being a place of cultural and religious diversity and of educational elitism.  Unfortunately, this has also created a culture that is very intolerant of the biblical message of the gospel.  The answer for the spiritual darkness Boston is finding a generation of genuine disciples of Jesus Christ that live and vocalize their faith one at a time.

2. There is hope in the midst of the darkness - One of the ironies that hit me is that this spiritual darkness hasn't always been the case here.  Boston and New England were once key hubs for the gospel in America.  Much of the First Great Awakening took place here. Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield preached and led many in this area to Christ.  Many of the colleges that are in Boston were started as institutions for religious instruction.  Many of the framers of the early American country were men of deep faith.  We can't forget the place that Christian faith had in this area for many years. There is hope that Christ can reign again here.  I still believe that Christ is "God of this City".  During my visit, I met with a church planter named Juan Maclean.  He and 6 others planted Redemption City Church in Boston a couple of years ago.  They are living out their faith publicly and holding out the hope of the gospel.  It is slow work, but they are being faithful to the cause and God is using them.  Pray for them and for God to send more church planters to this area.  Pray for God to raise up a generation of leaders that will not measure the success of their ministry by the size of their congregation, but by their impact on a city with the gospel.

3.  The Great Commission in America necessitates that we create strategies that focus on pioneering missions and redeeming our great cities - I have been a Christian for a long time and a minister for 20 years.  During that time, I have been way too content with crumbs when I should be leading my people to fresh bread.  I have measured my success too much on creating "programs" that people like to attend instead of building "disciples" who impact my city and the world for the gospel.  Our churches spend too much money on internal programs designed to entertain and inform our people.  We have failed to call our people to sacrifice greatly to make sure that cities like Boston are being reached for the gospel.  We have churches filled with people who call themselves Christians, but have a tremendous heart problem.  Our people spend too much time and money on self-serving interests and want churches that "meet their needs".  My church has a responsibility to reach our city for Christ.  We have thousands of people in our city that are just as lost as the people of Boston.  We need to identify them, pray for them, and engage them with the gospel.  Then, we need to be sure to let everyone in our churches know that the gospel doesn't exist just for them.  It is not a self-serving venture, but a self-sacrificing one.  If we really believe that Jesus has changed us, then let's live like it.

We have way too much money spent on churches and ministries that have kept us inoculated in the South.  I am not saying that these aren't good ministries.  The problem is not the ministries our state conventions and associations have created.  The problem is that the average Christian gives less than 3% to gospel related causes.  This creates an issue where there is a huge limit on funds and everyone is fighting over the crumbs of pie left in the pan.  We should have enough money in our churches to reach our communities with the gospel AND to plant thriving gospel-centered churches in Boston, New York, Chicago, Montana, and Oregon.  We should have enough money and missional fortitude that every church in my Southern Baptist Convention should adopt and engage with one of the 6,000+ unreached people groups on our planet.  The gospel we say we believe is powerful enough that all of our churches should have water in the baptistery and people being baptized every Sunday.  We are called to "make disciples" and I think we can do much better.

I am thankful that God has graced me on a trip where I went thinking I would just watch a couple of baseball games, but instead I got a peek into a very different world.  I am grateful that God has given me the honor of being a pastor and hope that I can be faithful to his call to make disciples in my local context while leading us to engage the world for Christ. Friends, the reality of lostness is all around us.  If you live like I do in the cultural Christianity of the South, pray for God to open your heart to the reality of lostness and to shatter the safe castles that we have created that have kept us from engaging the world with the gospel.  I believe that the Father's table still has plenty of open seats available for those who are hungry.  Let's go tell them where they can find the true and lasting satisfaction for their soul.

You Really Want to Follow Jesus?

I have been preaching for almost a year now through the Gospel of Luke.  We have been going walking through this gospel asking the question "What is the good news (gospel) that Luke is trying to tell us and how does that affect our lives?"  The past 2 Sundays we have been in one of the most pivotal moments in the gospel in Luke 9:18-27.  At this point in his ministry, Jesus takes his mentorship of the disciples and his requirements for following him to a different level.  He asks the disciples the most important question that everyone has to face in life, "Who do you say that I am?"  Everything in life revolves around getting that answer right.  It's the final exam question that determines whether we pass or fail.  If you get the wrong answer to that question, the rest of your life will be off course with God.

Peter boldly gives the correct answer, "You are the Christ of God."  That answer has multiple layers of implications to it.  If Jesus is not the Christ, the Son of God, then following him is useless.  He was either extremely delusional or deceptive.  However, if Jesus really is the Christ, and you truly believe that, then there are dramatic implications on our lives that follow.  That is why Jesus then gives them the first proclamation of the gospel in verse 22 and then gives them very costly consequences of obedience and following him in verse 23.

Based on this text, I saw three essential elements of true salvation and three essential elements of true discipleship that I preached these past two weeks.

The Essential Elements of True Salvation

1.  True Salvation Requires a Bold Confession of the Person of Christ (verse 18-20) - Just like Peter, we must boldly confess that we too believe that Jesus is the "Christ" of God.  He is the Anointed One.  He is the only begotten Son of God sent from heaven.  He is the sinless Son who came in full obedience to his Father to meet all the righteous requirements of the law and to die in full payment for the sins of man.  We cannot just say that we like Jesus.  We cannot just stop at saying "Yes, Jesus is God's Son", because there are a million other follow-up questions that must be asked.

2.  True Salvation Requires a Deep Conviction in the Gospel of Christ (verse 21-22) - After Peter correctly answered the question about Jesus' personhood, Jesus then gave them a clear proclamation about his work.  We have to fully understand both Jesus person and his work for the gospel to make sense to us.  Jesus tells his disciples that he will be handed over to the religious leaders and killed and rise again three days later.  In Matthew's gospel, he records that at this point Peter tries to interrupt Jesus and tell him that cannot happen. This is not the "Christ" or "Messiah" that Peter and the others had in mind.  It's a reminder that we can know the truth about who Jesus is, but completely miss the truth of what he came to do.  Being truly saved means that we feel a deep conviction in our life about the gospel, that we trust in Christ's payment for our sin, that we by faith fully rely on his work on the cross and trust him as Savior and Lord.

3.  True Salvation Requires a Radical Commitment to Follow After Christ (verse 23-26) - Jesus then ties into the statement about the gospel the radical consequences of those who want to follow him.  He says in essence, "I am going to Jerusalem where they are going to kill me, but I will rise again.  Now, if you want to follow me, forget about yourself, take up your cross, and come on."  This is radical obedience.  And, this is the radical obedience that has been missing for the most part in churches in the American culture for a long time.  I will break these down a little further below in the sermon I preached yesterday.

The Essential Elements of True Discipleship

There are lots of people that like to identify with Jesus somehow.  There are millions in our country that claim allegiance to Christ.  However, it is clear that not all who claim to be "Christians" are truly converted or following him.  Unfortunately,deeply embedded in our American consciousness is the desire to be sovereign over our own lives.  The result is that many try to follow Jesus on their own terms and many churches have become safe havens for the falsely converted and comfortably religious, but lost.  Jesus makes very hefty demands in verses 23-26 on what it truly means to follow him.

1.  True Discipleship Requires a Determined Submission to Follow After Christ (verse 23) - Jesus has already said that the path of following him ends in death and resurrection.  If we want salvation, we have to be willing to die to self and be born again in new life.  Jesus makes this clear when he says if we follow him, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him.  Self-denial means saying "good-bye" to your former life before meeting Christ.  It means putting your agenda in submission to him.  Taking up your cross is not just having to deal with the troubles of this world, but a complete and daily dying to self.  It means daily confessing that "I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live."  Following him means that we go where Jesus goes.  We don't determine the direction of our lives.

2.  True Discipleship Requires a Complete Surrender to the Cause of Christ (verse 24-25) - Jesus says that we cannot try to live our lives in such a way to accumulate things for our own significance.  If we try to "save" our lives by our own effort, we will lose them.  But if we "lose" our life in complete surrender to Christ, we find true salvation and purpose as God designed us.  He further illustrates this question with a tragic picture of a man who achieves all the earthly success that he is longing for, but has to give up his eternal soul in the process.  We cannot be surrendered to Jesus and sold out to the things of this world at the same time.

3.  True Discipleship Requires a Courageous Identification with the Person of Christ (verse 26) - Finally, Jesus says that we cannot live our lives ashamed to be associated with him.  We must boldly wear the name of Jesus and bear all the consequences of that.  We must face ridicule, rejection, scorn, criticism, slander, imprisonment, persecution, and even death if necessary because Jesus Christ faced all that for us.  We must passionately reject the cultural Christianity of our day that makes Jesus look like a peace-loving hippie and requires nothing to follow him.

What say you?  Have you thought through the dramatic consequences and costs that Jesus gives to follow him?  Or, have you been the victim of a pasteurized Christianity that has been conveniently sanitized of all the demands on our lives?  Truth is, because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, I really see no other way to respond other than full allegiance and submission to go wherever he goes, to pay whatever it costs to follow him.

This is the Gospel Project

I am excited about the release of a new curriculum by Lifeway called "The Gospel Project".  There has been a lot of buzz being generated for this release for several months now.  From what I have seen, it may be the best small group curriculum Lifeway has produced in a long time.  Our children's and youth ministry at SSBC is using it this fall.  A couple of our adult classes will be as well.  I would highly encourage all of our Sunday School classes and small groups to give it a try.

They showed this video at the SBC last month that gives an overview of it.

Happy Valentine's Day...

As I start this post, I wish my wife of soon to be 15 years a Happy Valentine's Day.  I got her flowers and candy yesterday and am about to go home to cook steaks for tonight.  I love the fact that I get to show her how much I love her.  However, I shouldn't have to feel compelled to do it one day out of the year.  I should be more inclined to show her daily by being a servant and spiritual leader.  I think periodic moments of getting off my rear watching TV to sweep the floor or wash the dishes does much more (and is much cheaper) than flowers and candy and steaks.  My wife is so awesome, she deserves both.

Unfortunately, Valentine's Day is one more example of the tendency in our culture to go to commercial extremes.  It's a day we feel pressured to perform acts of love.  However, true love is not a performance.  It shouldn't be about commercialization.  In addition, Valentine's Day has a tendency to feed that fallen part of our nature that believes that the measure of love is to be made much of by someone else.  Our hearts are idol factories and many times the chief idol we worship is "me." This becomes a problem when we don't have someone to make much of us - when our loved ones are taken away, when we are single, etc.  When the idols of our love and affection are taken away from us, they often reveal how shallow our understanding of love really is. 

If you are a follower of Christ, I would encourage you to find your identity in the gospel and know that much has already been made of you, not because of anything you bring to the table, but because "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  The cross of Jesus is the ultimate display of God's love.  Not because it makes much of you, but because it shows the brutal price God paid to redeem you of your sin.  A friend of mine said it well today on Facebook, "John 3:16 is not a "valentine." It is the declaration of holy God that He sent Jesus to earth in order to crush Him so that He wouldn't have to crush you. Don't cheapen it."  (Thanks Dave!)


So take some time to celebrate your loved ones today.  And take some time today to remember that the love that God has shown in our hearts is infinitely greater than any displays of love that we will show to one another. 

Josh Hamilton and Public Failure

News came out late Thursday that this past Monday Josh Hamilton had a relapse in his ongoing battle against drug and alcohol addiction.  Yesterday he had a press conference to explain his side of the story.  I can't find the video to post here yet.  However, Josh did an excellent job at public contrition and repentance.  As a matter of fact, the media wasn't sure how to react at the sight of real biblical repentance.  We are so used to a blame-shifitng, vicitimization society that when someone publically admits personal responsibility, the wrongness of the action, and the need for accountability we as a society don't know what to do.  However, Josh Hamilton is a real man.  He did everything a real man is supposed to do.  He rejected passivity over his actions.  He accepted responsibility for both the choices and the consequences.  He owned up to his leadership over his family, his team, and his public ministry.  Bravo Josh, Bravo.

Here is a video of Josh from "I am Second".  This is the key for Josh to remember now in his repentance and recovery.  This is the real Josh Hamilton, not the guy who childishly ran away from a fight and decided to drown his problems in a bottle. 

T4G - A Conference for Gospel Faithfulness

I am excited about attending this conference in Louisville, KY in April.  Looking forward to catching up with some old friends and hearing some gospel-centered preaching.


T4G 2012 Trailer from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.