Happy Easter Choco-holics!

Like me, you might be surprised to know that except for Halloween, Americans actually purchase and consume more chocolate on Easter than any other holiday, including Valentine's Day and Christmas! 

With the celebration of Easter and Passover, there will be A LOT OF EATING CHOCOLATE going on, which brings us to a tragic irony. The Passover that so many people will celebrate in remembrance of the Jewish deliverance from slavery in Egypt under an oppressive Pharaoh will be held in conjunction with more people eating candy made available to us by the hands of forced child labor.

For information and videos from the full CNN series about the relationship between chocolate and child labor, go here. To check out a recent documentary video, click on this link.

In keeping with my "baby steps" theme, next week I will post simple ways to take action to make this Easter season more about freedom and still treat your sweet tooth.

My Simple Church Guide

For those of you that can't handle a church group not having a manual to address all the "big rocks" like doctrine and evangelism and leadership, here you go. This is what ours would look like.

Our Theology & Beliefs

• Jesus is All.
• Be willing to unlearn some things so that you can learn new insights.

Evangelism & Outreach

• Ask and answer one question: Who is Jesus to you?

Discipleship & Ministry

• Let the answer to the question in the previous section dictate how you live.

Church & Fellowship

• Keep it simple!

Leadership & Service

• The Holy Spirit is the Leader. Everyone else follows as they share in His gifts. 

Organization & Policies

• This section is not applicable due to no buildings, budgets, or big shots. 

There you go!

Teaching (Core Practice #4)

Intro Note: I have already written about our Plan on a Page, which lays out the four core practices that we consider the marks of discipleship according to the New Testament. In that document, we try to capture the "irreducible minimum standards" of our mission. 

Basically, I contend that there are many things you could not do and still be a Christian, or follower of Jesus. For example, you could not "go to church" or participate in a youth group or listen to Christian radio stations or become a missionary in a foreign land or tithe or...okay, you get it...and yet still be an authentic, sincere, passionate follower of Jesus. These examples may all be good things, but they are not the marks of true discipleship that Jesus gives us in the Bible. They are not the "make-or-break", non-negotiables of the Christian faith used to identify people as real believers.

Then, what are the non-negotiables?


The fourth and final one is TEACHING.

 If we are going to call ourselves disciples, then we must respond to the Great Commission, which calls us to teach new disciples everything that Jesus has commanded us. Discipleship is holding to these teachings. There is a long list of things we could teach each other that would be helpful in our faith, but Jesus has a special way of boiling it all down to the absolute most important teachings. He also makes it clear in Scripture how the world will be able to tell if we are truly His disciples.

Ultimately, everything comes down to obeying Jesus' command to love. This is the greatest command for us to obey. Obedience is expressed through the fruit of the Spirit and leads to freedom.

What is critical to teach children is that being a disciple means obeying and acting like Jesus, especially by loving God and loving others. 


The guiding question for a disciple or church could be, Are people being set free and becoming more like Jesus?

Baptizing (Core Practice #3)

Intro Note: I have already written about our Plan on a Page, which lays out the four core practices that we consider the marks of discipleship according to the New Testament. In that document, we try to capture the "irreducible minimum standards" of our mission. 

Basically, I contend that there are many things you could not do and still be a Christian, or follower of Jesus. For example, you could not "go to church" or participate in a youth group or listen to Christian radio stations or become a missionary in a foreign land or tithe or...okay, you get it...and yet still be an authentic, sincere, passionate follower of Jesus. These examples may all be good things, but they are not the marks of true discipleship that Jesus gives us in the Bible. They are not the "make-or-break", non-negotiables of the Christian faith used to identify people as real believers.

Then, what are the non-negotiables?

The third one is BAPTIZING.

Let me start this one with what we teach children. We are baptized as a way of showing we understand that Jesus died and rose back to life to wash away our sins and give us power to live a new way of following Him. I respect that this is a topic about which parents can have strong feelings.

Baptism is one of the topics that has challenged me as I read through the New Testament objectively. It is possible to defend just about any position concerning baptism, depending on which verse people quote and what context they use it in. I am not going to dive into that debate here. Simply, we define this practice as uniting with Jesus in a new life.

Regardless of what you believe about baptism, there is no way to dismiss the significance of this act in the New Testament. The early church's immediate and automatic response to the gospel was baptism. 

Anyone who encountered Jesus could be baptized and baptize others.

I want to be clear that I am not saying that going into water is what "saves" a person, but I also can't dismiss the obvious importance of baptism as evidenced by the repeated emphasis on it throughout the New Testament. I just have to re-state it again: The early church's immediate and automatic response to the gospel was baptism. It was the Bible's equivalent to what the "sinner's prayer" or "altar call" has become in our part of the world over the past two centuries.

The guiding question for a disciple or church could be, Are we bringing people to salvation in Christ?

My wife baptizing me

(You can read my baptism story here.)

Going (Core Practice #2)

Intro Note: I have already written about our Plan on a Page, which lays out the four core practices that we consider the marks of discipleship according to the New Testament. In that document, we try to capture the "irreducible minimum standards" of our mission. 

Basically, I contend that there are many things you could not do and still be a Christian, or follower of Jesus. For example, you could not "go to church" or participate in a youth group or listen to Christian radio stations or become a missionary in a foreign land or tithe or...okay, you get it...and yet still be an authentic, sincere, passionate follower of Jesus. These examples may all be good things, but they are not the marks of true discipleship that Jesus gives us in the Bible. They are not the "make-or-break", non-negotiables of the Christian faith used to identify people as real believers.

Then, what are the non-negotiables?

The second one is GOING.

The idea here is to do good everywhere God sends us, individually and corporately. Although it's a little cliche, I like to say that our mandate is to choose what is right, and change what isn't.

The Great Commission tells all disciples to go and make disciples. Our identity in Christ is as a "sent" people. We are described in the Bible as ambassadors, reconcilers, and apostles.

The key is to see this practice as service in our everyday, real life contexts. We find ourselves in the mission field in our normal, daily lives in the marketplace, work, and home. This is one of the reasons the term "organic church" is used, because God plants us in all kinds of soil and we can organically respond to our natural surroundings. 

What is important to stress to children is that Jesus taught us to worship God by doing good everywhere we go. It is how we praise Him.


The guiding question for a disciple or church could be, Are we doing good works that help people and glorify God?

Praying (Core Practice #1)

Intro Note: I have already written about our Plan on a Page, which lays out the four core practices that we consider the marks of discipleship according to the New Testament. In that document, we try to capture the "irreducible minimum standards" of our mission. 

Basically, I contend that there are many things you could not do and still be a Christian, or follower of Jesus. For example, you could not "go to church" or participate in a youth group or listen to Christian radio stations or become a missionary in a foreign land or tithe or...okay, you get it...and yet still be an authentic, sincere, passionate follower of Jesus. These examples may all be good things, but they are not the marks of true discipleship that Jesus gives us in the Bible. They are not the "make-or-break", non-negotiables of the Christian faith used to identify people as real believers.

Then, what are the non-negotiables?

The first one is PRAYING.

There are many things you can decide not to do and still be in tight with Jesus, but deciding to avoid talking to Him or listening to Him is a deal breaker. This one falls into the common sense category. Trying to be right with God without ever praying is like marrying someone with the condition that you never communicate after the vows are exchanged. It doesn't work.

Another reason I would consider this essential is that Jesus commanded, taught, and modeled prayer for us. So far, these are the obvious reasons why prayer is important. 

There is one more truth, though, that needs to be highlighted in describing the necessity of prayer. It is, quite literally, how disciples are made. There is an illusion that people are persuaded into the kingdom of God, but it is probably more accurate to say that people are prayed into the kingdom. Receiving God's grace in Jesus is not a matter of the wisdom of the world, but is the response when are minds are "set on things above."

One of the interesting ironies of the gospel is that it cannot be shared by human means because it is SPIRIT-ual. The only way to make sense of the gospel or understand wisdom of the Spirit is to have Him reveal it to you. Prayer opens a channel for that to happen. It is how we know His mind, heart, and will.

What is critical to teach children is that prayer is how Jesus taught us to connect with God. We don't water down the message about prayer, but rather keep it simple because children can actually lead us in this area and have powerful relationships with God through prayer.

The final point about prayer is that it is a great example of the freedom we have in Christ. Prayer is not regulated. There is no requirement for a person to pray in a certain posture, at a certain volume, with certain words, at certain times, or in certain places. A conversation with God can be had anywhere. In fact, that is what is so great. I can talk to God or listen to Him at home, at my work, in my car, on the sidewalk, during a meeting, in a class, when I am alone, when I am nervous or happy or sad or confused, or even while I am at my computer typing the words to a blog. Thank you, Lord!

The guiding question for a disciple or church could be, Are we seeing prayers being answered?

Plan on a Page

With our mission clearly set to Be a Movement Making Disciples That Make Disciples, it is time to shift to the plan to carry out this mission. In keeping with our theme of staying simple, a church's or ministry's plan does not have to be a complicated book full of rules and regulations if we intend to let Jesus build and run His own church. While we strive to communicate our mission in a minute or less, we also strive to capture all the essential aspects of our disciple-making plan on no more than one page.

Why a "Plan on a Page"?
I am coming from an institutional church (IC) background as part of a denomination. We had a pretty thick and comprehensive manual for our church policies, government, doctrines, sacraments, etc. There were rules and regulations from how to run a board meeting to acquiring property to membership requirements and dozens of other issues. There is nothing inherently wrong with all that. Organizations need many of those things in place to function, but one can get away from the fact that so many policies and guidelines have to be put in effect for the purpose of exclusion. It is often important for organizations to define what they are not willing to do or support, so the list gets longer and longer and longer. For them, it is necessary to identify who is in and who is out.

But I want to be sure that we are focused on simple, reproducible, non-negotiable norms for all disciples. Some people refer to them as the "irreducible minimum" standards of what characterize a group or movement. Our "Plan on a Page" is the how of our mission and consists of the core practices that will define us.

I cannot stress enough just how important this document is because of what it implies. There are only four components that we recognize as absolutely mandatory to fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus set out. By even creating this document and making the claim that this is all that is necessary to be part of the genuine church, it quickly becomes our doctrinal statement, too. All four items are relevant to ALL followers and are not reserved for selected individuals, such as pastors or priests. In fact, each of the following actions can be carried out by any disciple, anywhere and at any time.


Summary of what is on our Plan on a Page:

Our plan is to carry out four practices to make disciples that make disciples.

PRAYING - Because it is how Jesus taught us to learn to care about what God cares about

GOING - So that we can be doing good everywhere God sends us

BAPTIZING - Letting people know that Jesus washes away our sins and we want to follow Him wholeheartedly

TEACHING - Obeying and spreading Jesus' command to love

My understanding of what the church is and how it works has gone from a 399-page manual to something much simpler. In fact, it takes 397 less pages for us to convey the both the mission and plan that direct our simple church! I trust that puts my paradigm shift in perspective.

Great Church Programs...Oh, and Jesus too!

(This is a quick follow-up to yesterday's post about our "Mission in a Minute".)

One thing that is intentional about how I share our mission is how quickly I bring up the name Jesus. The mission is founded on the belief that if more people acted like Jesus and let Jesus love others through them, then the world would be a much greater place (tying in with the overall theme of my blog). Simply, if we want to raise healthy children, build better communities, change people's lives, etc., then start obsessing over Jesus.

Our mission forces me to define what a disciple is right away, which brings up another reference to Jesus. The whole point of everything we are about has to be Jesus. Otherwise, we become focused on man-made systems that have the power to save no one.

This is a paradigm shift for many churchgoers. What I have noticed about many folks in traditional churches (and I was this way myself) is that they are good at telling people about their church programs, but not as good at telling people about Jesus. The conversation usually includes phrases like these:

• You should come check out the children's ministry at our church.
• You should hear our pastor preach. He uses videos and props and doesn't make it boring.
• There is a rock band coming to our youth group service this weekend. Want to come?

Again, there is nothing wrong with any of these things...unless they replace Jesus. This doesn't happen intentionally, of course. No churchgoer is going to say that Jesus is not important to them. However, I have experienced the subtle, gradual way Jesus can be pushed aside in the name of "outreach" or "worship" or "ministry" or "stewardship". Heck, I have been the one doing the pushing before. 

To be fair, I should confess that this can be just as big a problem in simple church or house church settings. I still struggle with it. I wonder how I can still have the King of kings and Lord of all be an afterthought.

Here is a challenge for you. Set a timer for one minute and begin to list and describe all the wonderful things you know and love about your church. Then, reset the timer and list and describe all the wonderful things you know and love about Jesus. See if you run out of time or have time left over in each situation.

Remember, the answer in the New Testament was never to go to church, but it was always go to Jesus!

(Note: Strangely, one of the tags you don't find for my blog posts is Jesus. That is because I hope that He is somehow influencing or embedded in every post.)

Speaking of Jesus (Book Review)

"Jesus is the point of the Bible. It all points to him. I don't have to be the Bible's defense attorney. All I have to do is speak of Jesus and He will draw people to himself."

This is a quote from Speaking of Jesus (David Cook, 2011), written by Carl Medearis. This book is excellent! The particular idea above is just an example of the terrific messages found in this book.

Perhaps the greatest part of the book is the chapter about speaking "Christianese." Medearis brilliantly examines our use of certain words. First, he mentions Christian, which only appears three times in the New Testament. The term, he argues, has become so loaded that it means all kinds of things to all kinds of people. In some parts of the world, it has political meaning. In some places, the label identifies a person as someone that "kills Muslims" while in other places it is equated only with Roman Catholicism. There are countless interpretations and assumptions connected to the word Christian, so many so that Medearis simply suggests replacing it with the phrase "follower of Jesus." This is solid advice as it cuts through the clutter to focus on the main thing.

Next, the author takes on the word church, a personal favoite of mine. The Greek word ekklesia often gets translated as "church" in English, but it actually comes from a German word kirke. This is important because church has come to be associated with a building (i.e. "go to church", "be at the church at 9:00", "the church is the house of worship"), which it virtually never meant in the Bible. Originally, the church (ekklesia) simply meant the "called out ones." Essentially, the church is an organism, not an organization. Rather than a place to go, it is more accurately an identity to be expressed. The mis-use of this word is the cause of great confusion today!

Another word is Bible, which interestingly enough, the Bible never calls itself! Then, Medearis addresses the problems with the word evangelism. Here is some of what he says:

 

"I think part of the reason [that so many Christians are weak in their faith] is

that we tend to promote the evangelism method of spreading Christianity

rather than the discipleship model of Jesus. We get people 'in' and then try

to go out and get others. After a while, everybody's 'in' and nobody has any

idea how to mature in their faith...Making disciples, as opposed to evangelism,

is a journey of relationship that encompasses support, trial and error, and difficulty."

Finally, there is missionary, another word never found in the Bible . This word is like the others in that it carries with it baggage filled with all sorts of preconceived ideas. The point with this whole discussion is that we need to be careful with our vocabulary. As a colleague of mine often says, "Words matter!" Our language is important because we are constantly expressing something, and it may not be what we intend.

It might be wise to ask people to define the terms they use and ask, "What do you mean by that word?" Then, maybe some genuine, fruitful discussion can occur.

Measuring Success - Baptism

Metric #4: Altar Calls vs. Baptisms

When it came time at the end of each year to submit the pastoral report to the district where I served, one of the blanks I struggled to fill in the most was the number of new church members marked by “professions of faith.” I don't mean to come across as though "altar calls" and "invitations" should be abandoned. There is a time and place for them. Presenting the gospel and being honest about who Jesus is, then praying with someone to accept Him, is nothing to take lightly and it can be a glorious thing. However, it should also be noted that the concept of the "sinner's prayer" has actually only been around for the last couple centuries. Altar calls and invitations were not the modus operandi for "winning souls" in the New Testament. We can make claims about their efficacy in our cultural context, but let's not boast that they are biblical or how things must be done. It's simply not true.

There was, interestingly enough, a very specific method used over and over again. Jesus Himself explicitly taught, modeled, and commanded that it be carried out by His disciples. Of course, I am referring to baptism!

 

Somehow we have lost sight (I know I have) of the significance of baptizing people. In fact, the Great Commission directs us to baptize people as part of the process of making disciples, yet think about how many denominations and churches actually have rules in place that discourage, or worse prohibit, ordinary (non-clergy) believers from performing that very act! Truthfully, baptisms should be carried out by all kinds of Christians!

There is nothing fancy about this metric. If you, as an individual or group, are not participating in baptisms, then there is probably very little to your claim that you are making disciples. I want to note two things as I conclude this point. First, this is definitely a "lagging indicator" for my involvement with the simple church. I have yet to baptize anyone and the people I often meet with haven't either. This is a confession that I need to do better at embracing this shift in thinking and acting as the church. Second, I want to be clear that I am not saying that a person must be baptized to be saved. Getting wet doesn't make one holy. However, we cannot ignore the fact that there is some kind of connection between salvation and the powerful symbol of baptism. To dismiss that reality is to our own detriment.

What would changing the scorecard in this area look like in your context?

What are our children and youth learning about baptism from us?

 

The Spirit Has Not Made Me Timid

Our focus this week has been on 2 Timothy 1:7: "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." (Click here for the whole chapter to see the verse in context.)

Last week, after the blessing of the service at Sagebrook, I had the words grace and forgiveness bouncing around in my head all week. "Grace" is such a sweet word; in fact, my favorite word in our language. There is something so powerful, so divinely other, so hope-generating about the idea of someone in authority pouring out favor on a wretched, dispicable character that does not deserve it in any way. It is such grace that has the ability to change people dramatically. It is such grace that transformed my life!

This week, I encounter new words like "timid" and "ashamed," and I can't help but cringe a little. While I love receiving grace and forgiveness, I loathe being still trapped in timidity and shame. I hate it because it is a reminder that I am not in step with the Spirit in all areas. "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power...".

Whenever down on myself with these kinds of realizations, I often make the mistake of making this a matter of will power. If only I would try harder! If only I would do this one thing a little less, and this other thing a little more. If only I would think through how to fix me the right way once and for all. But the truth corrects me and frees me from this cycle of guilt and depravity. I am reminded by ancient words and good news (the gospel) that this "grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time" (2 Timothy 1:9).

This passage of Scripture goes on: ⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.

It always comes back to me finding out that there is more of me that needs to die away; more of Him that needs to express life in and through me. Then, I can...then I will...be a testimony of His power and grace. Then I will live the holy life to which He has called me! Then I will be the herald, the apostle, and the teacher that I have been appointed to be. May that day be today!

I am eager to see what God has revealed to the others in my simple church through this same inspired text.
 

What is Good News? (5)

To summarize what I have learned about the gospel:

(1) It is SPIRITUAL! 
It is a message, or truth, of the Spirit. It is not man-made. It doesn't require man's input, consultation, teaching, etc. It is only revealed and received by God's Spirit. The natural mind cannot accept or understand this supernatural message.

(2) It is the POWER OF GOD!
For those who believe, the gospel is the power to bring peace, hope, salvation, apostleship, and transformation.

(3) It SAVES us!  It makes us disciples.

(4) It SENDS us!  It makes us apostles.

(5) It SANCTIFIES us!  We are different because of it. God fills us with His power and we are forever changed!

(6) It is SENSELESS!
Because of everything noted above, we can conclude that it makes no sense to our human wisdom. In fact, it is foolishness.


So what?!
**Pray for people to receive the Spirit of Christ. It is the only way people can believe the gospel. Because the gospel defies human reason, we need to spend more time praying for people to have their minds "set on things above" or that the "Spirit will testify with their spirit" so they can receive Him. Practically, we need to pray the gospel into people's lives as much, if not more, than we preach it. (This doesn't mean the preaching should stop, as is evident in the next two points.)

**Keep it simple. The gospel is always, and always has been, all about Jesus! Don't add "rules" to it and make it about other things. It is not about religion, but relationship. The gospel is not a set of principles, the law, the Bible, habits, routines, church attendance, etc. Keep the focus on Jesus. Talk about Him and leave it at that. We are solely concerned with someone's response to Him, not the other stuff.

**Tell it plainly. Jesus was/is human. He was a descendant of David. Jesus also was/is God. He created everything. He died to forgive our sins. He was raised back to life to empower us and transform us. We can live new, different, holy lives as He leads us and fills us with His Spirit. (Yes, it's crazy and miraculous, and it takes a radical change-of-mind - repentance - to embrace this message. But it is what it is.)

 

What is Good News? (4)

Another critical point about the gospel is that it does consist of a message, a wonderfully simple yet profound message. The key is that it is a miraculously mysterious message.

In short, the gospel message is Christ died for our sins and Christ was raised from the dead! No more. No less. He died and rose again!

The gospel, according to Galatians 3, was actually given as a promise to Abraham a long time ago. It was later revealed fully in Christ so the Gentiles could also receive the Holy Spirit. What is critical to remember is there is mystery to it. I'm starting to conclude that we can actually be counterproductive if we work so hard to explain the gospel that we take away the mystery. We think we are doing a great thing by putting everything in easy-to-understand human reason, but maybe I would be better off just presenting the simple gospel stated above and letting the Spirit reveal the mystery as only He can. Instead of trying to solve the mystery for others, we should simply invite them into the wonder of it.

Perhaps, our problem with communicating the gospel lies in the fact that it is still truthfully a mystery to us because we've preoccupied ourselves with a false substitute.


 

What is Good News? (3)

Probably the most interesting revelation I had about the gospel is also one of the silliest. I mean that in the sense that it should have been the most obvious part all along. The revelation is that the gospel is spiritual!

Okay, so you're thinking, Duh! Of course, it’s spiritual. It's the gospel, moron! But think about this. I was an ordained pastor and involved in church leadership. That means I studied and read a lot. I went to countless seminars, trainings, and meetings. The point of much of that time of study and preparation was so that I could explain the gospel to others. Indeed, it was viewed as the most important work a pastor or evangelist could devote himself to. And yet, there is a catch.

The irony of our approach to the gospel is that we believe it is so important that we must be able to communicate it to lost people. So, we come up with numerous tips and strategies and tools. Sometimes, they are profound and make sense. Other times, they are so cliché that they become ridiculous and it is no wonder people mock them. But get this, according to the Bible, the gospel cannot be presented or understood by the human mind! It takes a supernatural revelation. In other words, it is SPIRIT-ual.

Practically, here is the point. The gospel is spiritual because it is only revealed and received by God's Spirit! The gospel cannot be presented and understood in our human mind, as stated above, but moreover it is so senseless that it actually causes people to stumble without the Spirit! Once we have the Spirit, then the gospel message of Christ crucified becomes our POWER. The foolishness of the Cross becomes our Salvation!

If that doesn't make much sense to our world, it shouldn't! That's the point! Maybe all the time spent training people to adequately describe and explain God to people would be better spent praying for God's Spirit to enlighten people (them and us) to get what cannot ever otherwise be received without His Spirit.

Let me add one final point from Galatians 1. The gospel is received from Christ, and cannot be taught by men. Man has no role in approving or validating the gospel. Let that sink in!


 

What is Good News? (2)

Romans 1 is a tremendous chapter in the Bible for understanding the gospel message. What I learned from this part of the Bible is that the gospel is something/someone promised a long time ago. The promise was Jesus Christ, a human man that is also God's Son. How we know Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise is the Resurrection. The gospel is God's POWER and God's RIGHTEOUSNESS. So, the gospel SAVES us! We receive grace.

The gospel calls us to belong to Jesus as apostles (sent ones) to call others to obey Jesus. It is proclaimed so that we will become an offering and sanctified to God - in other words, so that we will give our lives to Him. So, the gospel SENDS us!

The gospel SAVES us and SENDS us. A complete response to the gospel will have us embracing both parts - our salvation and our mission. So many times we settle for an inadequate response to the gospel and only want it to save us. If it doesn't move us to action, then we may question whether we have received it at all. This was one of the biggest ‘Aha!’ moments for me recently. Receiving Christ is not only "Come just as you are" but also "GO just as you are now." Why have I missed that second part for so long?

 

What is Good News? (1)

Not too long ago, I began to realize that as I have been on this journey of re-discovering Biblical truth about so many things, there really can't be anything that is off limits. It has led me to re-examine basic, fundamental parts of Christianity, such as the essence of the gospel, discipleship, and the church itself. Basically, the primary question with all the areas I am "re-searching" (as in, searching again) is, What does the Bible plainly teach?

My method of discovery has been an elaborate two-step process:
(1) Open the Bible.
(2) Read it.

Not sermons, websites, commentaries, etc. - just a plain reading of Scripture in context. Sure, it leaves me with lots of questions, but there are also many plain insights apparent to any objective reader.

One of my strategies has just been to take a word or concept, use a concordance or index to find the times and places it is mentioned in the Bible, and then go read those passages in the context of the chapter or book in which they are found. Recently, I did that with the word "gospel."

I began with the premise that the gospel is, in fact, the thing we are supposed to teach and preach. It is the good news! So, my follow-up question was, Do I really know the gospel? In turn, I wondered not only what it is, but what it does. How is it conveyed? Is it simple or complex? What is the centerpiece of the gospel? These are the kinds of thoughts that guided me into an interesting personal Bible study about the gospel. I begin sharing what I discovered in the next post.


 

Synchroblog Activity - "What Would You Say?"

Today's post is a "synchroblog" activity from the blog of Frank Viola. Read through it and consider posting a comment on his blog, or responding to my comment on my blog. Hope you find it thought-provoking.

The following exercise is from the synchroblog at http://frankviola.org/2012/07/09/gospelforthemiddle

Fielding Melish and his wife Felicia have two children, ages 10 and 6. They live in a very remote part of Maine, USA. They are surrounded by extended family, none of whom are Christians. The nearest churches are one hour away, and by all evangelical standards, none of them are good. These churches are either highly legalistic, highly libertine, or just flat-out flaky.

One of Fielding’s cousins is a practicing Christian. They see each other once a year. Fielding’s cousin has shared Christ with Fielding many times over the years. Whenever they’ve talked about spiritual things, Fielding shows interest.

Felicia grew up in a Christian home. She’s received Christ, but she isn’t evangelistic and is overwhelmed with working long hours and raising two small children. She would love to find a church nearby for the spiritual support and instruction, but none exist.

Fielding has no college education. While he is capable of reading, he is not a reader. He doesn’t use the Web either. He’s a man who works with his hands, both for his career and for recreation. He’s an “outdoorsman.” He hunts, he builds, he does manual labor, etc. In his spare time, he helps his elderly parents with various building projects.

Fielding is not an atheist. Neither is he an agnostic. He believes in God. He believes Jesus is the Savior of the world who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. He hasn’t fully surrendered his life to Christ, but he is not sure what that looks like exactly. His children know a little about the Lord, mostly because of what their mother has taught them.

Recently Fielding asked this question:

When I’m with my cousin once a year, I want to learn more about God. But when I come back home, and I’m around everyone else, my mind is off of God, and I am back to working, raising my kids, and helping my parents. Someone needs to come up with a solution for people like me . . . people who are in the middle. (By “in the middle,” Fielding means someone who believes in Jesus, but who isn’t fully absorbed in the faith yet either. They simply don’t know enough nor do they have any spiritual support system around them.)

Relocating is not an option for Fielding and his wife. Even if they wanted to relocate, they don’t see a way they could do it financially.

Remember: Fielding and his wife don’t personally know any Christians. None of their extended family or coworkers are believers either. And the nearest churches (which are an hour away) aren’t recommended.

Question: If you were Fielding’s cousin, how would you instruct him and his wife the next time you saw them?

Could This be the Christ?

Here is something to consider today.  At least it has made me think over the past couple days since reading it again.  I'll be short and to the point.  In John 4, there is a famous story about Jesus having a conversation with a Samaritan woman at a place known as "Jacob's Well."  After a transforming experience of meeting the real Savior, the woman is overwhelmed and becomes a follower on the spot.  Furthermore, she is so excited and changed by the encounter that she then returns to town to tell everybody about what happened.  And that's the important part - she just told what happened and was honest about it.

Rather than telling others to believe what she believes or forcing anything on anyone, she poses a question.  Could this be the Christ?  Maybe we would do better to stop all this talk about evangelism and witnessing and programs for reaching the lost, and instead live our everyday lives with eyes and ears open to what could be the Christ at work.

And personally, what I need to work on is having that conversation out loud, with others - not just myself.  The question we could have for the world around us is simply, "Could this be the Christ?"  Allowing people to arrive at their own answers may very well bring a revival.  It did with the woman at the well.