TopekaChurch

Plans to Prosper You?

2009-01-15T18:16:00.000-08:00

Our memory verse this week is Jer. 29:11-14a. In it God says that his plans are for the shalom of his people. His plans are to "prosper" his people. What does that mean?

It does not necessarily mean health, wealth, and material prosperity. Consider this really intense video.

~ Chris

Does God help those who help themselves?

2009-01-06T10:31:00.000-08:00

I don't know. Maybe. But I do know two things:

1) There is no "self" in Christian self-control. I mean that literally. The Greek word (egkrateia) translated as "self-control" does not include the word "self."* So, as I make my plans to live out my resolution in 2009, I need to think about exercising self-control not by my own power, but by the power of the Spirit of God.

2) God might not be inclined to help those who help themselves, but He clearly says that he helps those who wait on him:

"From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him." ~ Isa. 64:4

"The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him." ~ Lam. 3:25

May God give us strength to wait on him for help in 2009.

- Chris

*Philip Kenneson suggests that an alternate translation, one that carries slightly less baggage in our culture of self help, would be "continence." See his Life on the Vine, p. 228.

Christians are called to be fierce.

2009-01-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I talked about the biblical call to a ferocious faith:

"Strive (agonizomai) to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." ~ Lk. 13:24

- "Fight the good fight of faith (agonizou ton kalon agona). Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called...." ~ 1 Tim. 6:12a

"And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." ~ Mt. 5:28-30

This morning John Piper reminded me of this truth in his blog post, "Swords Are for Killing." Swords, Piper suggests, are not made for digging, or for whittling. Swords are made for killing. So, when I pick up the "sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6:17), what am I to do with it? Whittle? Dig? Or kill?

And if Piper is right that I'm to wield the Bible to kill, who am I to kill? Paul gives the answer in his letter to the Romans:

"If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." ~ Rom. 8:13

May God open our eyes to the fight of faith, teach us to properly use his sword, and strengthen us to be fierce.

- Chris

On Devouring the Word in 2009

2009-01-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

I want to be more like this in 2009:

"Many a night I woke to the murmur of paper and knew [Dad] was up, sitting in the kitchen with frayed King James--oh, but he worked that book; he held to it like a rope ladder. I remember creeping out once... and there he was, holy Bible on the table top and himself bent to it, his back cupped as a weasel's; when I tapped his arm he sat up straight, his breath seizing a moment as if the motion hurt." (Leif Enger, Peace Like a River, p. 103)

I want to grow increasingly thirsty for God and his word this year.

- Chris

Recipe for Defeating Satan?

2008-12-30T09:36:00.000-08:00

The other day I read the following and I wondered if it was a recipe for defeating our accuser:

"And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." ~ Rev. 12:11

Seems to me there are three ingredients to this recipe:
1) The blood of the Lamb
2) The word of my (our) testimony
3) A spirit that is sold out, 100%, all in

So, my role, our role in this struggle is lean on the finished work of Christ, to speak up about it, and to sell out.

Not an easy cake to bake.

- Chris

Grace and "Effective" Prayer

2008-12-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

The other day I got up for my time with God but quickly gave in to the temptation to check my email. I was distracted for a while. Time growing short, I then rushed through my daily Bible reading and started to write a prayer. I started to write a guilty apology to God, telling him that once again I had not encountered him in my not-so-quiet time. But I stopped myself after one sentence. I realized that my expectations for an "effective" quiet time were very me-centered. I stopped, let go of the guilt, acknowledged that any quality time I have with God will be because he reveals himself to me, not because I discover him. I started to reflect on the fifteen minutes of Bible reading I had just finished. I began to realize that God had broken through after all, giving me a glimpse of himself as I read. I felt peace. I celebrated, in a small way, grace. It was good.

That's all.

- Chris

...that WE might sing for joy

2008-11-10T03:52:00.001-08:00

"Satisfy us this morning with your unfailing love that we might sing for joy and be glad all my days" - Ps. 90:14

I prayed for us this morning.

For the past several years I've been trying to develop a morning routine. I awake to the screaching buzz of my alarm, click it off, and then bent over, hands on knees, I pray for myself so that I might remain upright and get moving in a Godward direction: "Satisfy me this morning with your unfailing love that I might sing for joy and be glad all my days" (Ps. 90:14, adapted).

Yesterday, however, as I prepared a sermon about cultivating joy in Christian community, I was reminded that Moses's original prayer was not for an individual, but for the community of believers. Moses prayed "Satisfy us...that we might sing...."

So, when the alarm screeched this morning, I prayed for us.

And that really changes things.

- Chris

got t.v.?

2008-11-10T03:44:00.000-08:00

Are we average? I really want to know. Let me explain.

I read an article this morning in which the author suggested that the average American spends 28 hours in front of the television. I found that number striking. And then I began to wonder if we, as a church, are average.

Would you be willing to share how many hours you spend per week watching television?

(For the sake of transparency I will venture a guess: I average somewhere between one and 3 hours per week in front of the tube.)

- Chris

Searching for Joy in the Morning

2008-11-06T04:27:00.001-08:00

"What is man, that you make so much of him, and that you set your heart on him, visit him every morning and test him every moment?" - Job (Job 7:17-18)

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we might sing for joy and be glad all our days." - Moses (Ps. 90:14)

"O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch." - David (Ps. 5:3)

Does time of day matter? I'm just asking.

- Chris

Not a spectator sport!

2008-11-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

In our Sunday morning Bible class we are studying Acts. Our teacher, Roger, has asked us to read Acts through each week. I decided to switch this week from the Bible I normally read to The Message to see what jumps out at me in a new version. Before I even got started on Luke's account the introduction caught my attention:

"Because the story of Jesus is so impressive...there is a danger that we will be impressed, but only impressed. As the spectacular dimensions of this story slowly (or suddenly) dawn upon us, we could easily become enthusiastic spectators, and then let it go at that.... It is Luke's task to prevent that, to prevent us from becoming mere spectators to Jesus...."

May we never settle into the role of enthusiastic spectators!

- Chris

Being Loving versus Pretending to Love

2008-11-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

I love what Richard Foster has to say about "being" and the fruit of the Spirit.

Foster talks about the fact that God's love has slipped into the heart of a Christian. He suggests that divine love sneaks into one's inner spirit and begins taking over habit patterns. Once that happens, Foster says, we begin to spontaneously bear the fruit of the Spirit:

"In the unguarded moments there is a spontaneous flow from the inner sanctuary of our lives of 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithulness, gentleness, self-control' (Gal. 5:22,23). There is no longer the tiring need to hide our inner selves from others. We do not have to work hard at being good and kind; we are good and kind." - Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 9 (emphasis in original)

That sounds attractive to me. I want to be free to just be.

Lord, please work in me, work in us. Fill us with your Spirit so that we overflow with love and joy and peace and all that.

- Chris

Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.

2008-11-03T06:46:00.000-08:00

To begin the sermon yesterday Chris tried to communicate the utterly overwhelming nature of God's love. He began by singing a sorrowful note. But did you hear the powerful background music of joy?

Listen again to the sorrow and the joy.

The Sorrow
God wants to cultivate the fruit of love in my life. And this is not a cotton candy kind of love. It is a Jesus on the cross kind of love. He wants to cultivate a Hosea to Gomer kind of love. Listen to how Eugene Peterson describes it:

"Hosea is the prophet of love, but not love as we imagine or fantasize it. He was a parable of God's love for his people lived out as God revealed and enacted it--a lived parable. It is an astonishing story: a prophet commanded to marry a common whore and have children with her. It is an even more astonishing message: God loves us in just this way--goes after us at our worst, keeps after us until he gets us, and makes lovers of men and women who know nothing of real love." (The Message, Introduction to Hosea)

Am I willing to become a living parable of God's love? It is an overwhelming, daunting, perplexing, dismaying prospect. It causes me to sing a song of sorrow because I am so far from being willing. But this is our calling (Lk. 6:27-36).

The Powerful Background Music of Joy
God pursues us at our worst (Rom. 5:8) and keeps after us until he completely wins our hearts (Phil 1:6). God loves us. He continues loving us until he has won our heart. God is not finished with us, but wants us more and more.

Does that not make your heart sing?!

Oh, Lord, please satisfy us this morning with your unfailing love, so that we might sing for joy, and be glad all our days (Ps. 90:14).

Need pruning?

2008-10-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we considered the fact that God wants to make our lives more fruitful. He will prune away that which inhibits our spiritual growth. Below is a paraphrase of the text we looked at in Galatians:

"Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfshness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?" (Gal. 5:16-18, The Message)

Hmm. Self interest versus a free spirit. I think I'll choose the free spirit. You?

Ready for love?

2008-09-01T08:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I spoke in church about the measure of our faith from 1 John 5:1. I suggested that our love for one another is to be visible enough to be an indicator of authentic faith. Take for example Jesus words as recorded by John:

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." - John 13:35

What would our love for one another have to look like for "all people" to know that we are his disciples? That sounds like a crazy kind of love. It sounds risky and uncomfortable and invasive and sold out and free.

I don't know if we're ready for that. I think it might be more comfortable to just play church.

Defining success

2008-08-29T14:42:00.001-07:00

Some of the leaders at church are wrestling with the question of how we are to measure our efforts as a group. How do we know if we are doing what God wants us to be doing? How do we define success?

Most churches measure the ABC's (attendance, buildings, and cash). We've decided that the ABC's do not get at the heart of the matter. So, then, how do we know we're doing what we're supposed to do?

I saw the following quote on the wall of a classroom at Robinson Middle School this week and it made me smile and nod. Though I'm not yet sure how something like this translates into organizational terms, and despite the fact that he leaves God completely out of the picture, Emerson paints an interesting picture of success for an individual.

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intellingent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

ministry out of imagination or memory?

2008-08-11T05:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I suggested to the church that we need to recapture a bit of the maverick spirit we once had as a congregation. Mark Batterson says something similar in an article I read this morning. He says that one of the dangers of ministry for church leaders is when we stop looking forward:

"One of the great dangers of leadership is this: we stop doing ministry out of imagination and we start doing ministry out of memory. We learn how and forget why. We stop creating the future and start repeating the past. And that is the beginning of the end...."

May God stir our imaginations, remind us why, and lead us into the future of what he's doing in Topeka.

Putting Limits on God?

2008-08-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Why do I so desperately want to set limits on what God can ask of me? I'm just like the lawyer in the parable of the "Good Samaritan."

On Wednesday a small group of us discussed the parable of "The Good Samaritan." We wrestled with what the lawyer was saying when he attempted to "justify himself" (Lk. 10:29).

The word "justify" comes from the Greek word dikaioo, which appears 40 times in the New Testament. It is usually translated as "justified" or "justify." A couple times it's translated as "freed," "vindicated," and "acquitted." And it is closely related to the group of words which deal with our word "righteousness" (dikaiosune, dikaios, etc.).

So, to sum up, the lawyer wanted to prove himself to be "right" with God on his own terms. Jesus, however, blew him out of the water by setting impossible terms for the fulfillment of the command to love our neighbor. In other words, we cannot justify ourselves before God. He did the work of justification at the cross. We respond to that justification by living it out in love, following his lead, loving those we meet along the way.

We are not in control. We do not determine when enough is enough. We do not determine who we get to love and who we get to pass by on the other side.

So, why do we tend to be like the lawyer, putting limits on God?

Share in His Sufferings?

2008-07-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, but I do not want to share in his sufferings or conform to his death." - Phil. 3:10, adapted

I thought of the above adaptation of Paul's words as I was running 14 miles this morning. But do you think it's a package deal?

Wrestling with the text

2008-07-16T06:02:00.000-07:00

I've been encouraged by several of those I respect to blog more. I've decided, therefore, to do more of my wrestling with the text here. I usually do most of this in my private journal. In part that's because I don't like to arrive too quickly at answers to deep questions. I like to ask the question of the text and of God and then stew on it for a while, allowing the Spirit to work a deeper answer in my soul. I don't need head answers. I need heart and soul answers.

My question for today is this: What is the connection between love for one another and holiness?

Today I read in 1 Thess. 3:11-13 that Paul was praying for the church to love one another and all "so that" God would work holiness in their hearts. Looking forward to the day when we will all stand before the Father, Paul was praying for them to be ultimately right with God. And so he prayed that they would abound in love "so that" God would establish them blameless in holiness.

What does "so that" mean here? Is there a causal relationship? Is abundant "love for one another and for all" a prerequisite for final holiness? Is community that much more important to God than it is to me?

I suspect it is.

"Better than I deserve."

2008-07-15T06:50:00.001-07:00

It happened again yesterday.

Not long ago I stole a saying from Dave Ramsey. When people ask me, "How are you?" I now answer with Ramsey's, "Better than I deserve." For me this is simply an acknowlegment of God's grace. I'm saying to them and at the same time reminding myself that no matter how good life is and no matter how bad life gets, I am where I am by the sovereign grace of God.

The responses I get, however, are interesting. Often it's just a pregnant pause. The person in front of me has not heard that before and he or she doesn't know how to reply. They pause and stumble through an, "Uh...well...." and then they awkwardly move on. I've taken to quickly following "Better than I deserve" with a question for them in order to keep the conversation going.

Yesterday, I heard a reply I've gotten several times and am not yet sure what to do with. Conversation is an art, not a science, I know that, and so I'm trying to engage the artist and poet in me to figure out how to best point to the Creator who gives me grace in my conversations. Yesterday a woman I was doing business with on the phone said, "Oh, I'm sure you deserve better than you think!" I just let it slide and moved on. But what could I say?

Once I tried, "Well I'm a sinner and I deserve the wrath of God." While true, it most definitely is a conversation stopper with most Americans. I could try to explain the meaning of grace. But often such an explanation requires too many words for a brief encounter with a stranger.

What about you? How would you answer someone who told you that you deserve better than you're getting?

What am I hacking at?

2008-07-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

"For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root." - Henry David Thoreau

Suffering with joy?

2008-07-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "...you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit...." They suffered with joy. And it became an example for the believers throughout the region.

It's hard for my American mind and heart to completely wrap around that. We tend to think that if we're suffering somebody should pay. If we experience affliction we want to call a lawyer and sue somebody.

One of the preachers who's helping me to understand biblical truth about suffering is John Piper. He reminded me again this week that God's ways are often too big for me to understand.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.

Community Matters

2008-07-09T06:36:00.000-07:00

"Community matters. That's about like saying oxygen matters. As our lungs require air, so our souls require what only community provides." - Larry Crabb

What would you be willing to sacrifice to live in rich, rewarding community? The following, taken from Randy Frazee's The Connecting Church, is an example of what I dream about happening in central Topeka.

"Several years ago my husband and I built a home in a heighborhood of about a hundred homes. It was a great neighborhood--perfect for raising children. Just on our street alone there must have been twelve children. All of the kids would play out front and make up games. People were always out walking and would stop to talk. We had lived in this neighborhood for about two and a half years when we came across this beautiful piece of property on one and a half acres, with lots of trees and a creek at the back of the property. We were so excited. This would be the perfect place to build our dream house and raise our four boys. So we bought the property. We put our current house up for sale. We started with what would be the backyard--our park. We built a go-cart track, a trampoline pit, and zip lines from tree to tree. The we built retaining walls and sidewalks and had plans drawn for the pool. The house we designed was approximately seven thousand square feet--from marble floors to granite countertops to special paint finishes. It was awesome. Finally, there it was. The American Dream! A large house and lots of property. This house had it all--except my old neighborhood. We had everything we thought we could want, but I wanted so badly to be back in my old neighborhood.
What we did not realize is that it's not the value or the size that makes a house a home; it's the neighborhood. We sold our big, beautiul "American Dream" house one year later, only to move back to "our" neighborhood in a house less than half the size. A neighborhood Home Group (a Bible study and fellowship group from their church) was forming shortly after we moved back. We meet with several neighbors each week to support each other, share faith, and try to make a difference in our community. The group grew so large so quickly that we had to split into two groups. I love my neighbors and my Home Group" (taken from Randy Frazee, The Connecting Church, p. 150).

The family in the story above didn't give up much. She says that they gave up the American Dream. Nah. They just went from the Super Sized American Dream to the average, every day suburban American Dream. But at least they recognized their God-given need for community and pursued it.

What about you? What would you be willing to give up to experience authentic community?

Friendship and sin

2008-06-24T19:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of a messy problem at church. I tried to confront someone in sin several months ago. They did not take it well. Then they hid from me. I did not pursue them any further. Now it's coming up again and people are getting angry. It's messy.

I was reminded of that situation when I read the following by John Steinbeck in East of Eden:

"'It's my duty to take this thing of yours and kick it in the face, then raise it up and spread slime on it thick enough to blot out its dangerous light.' His voice grew strong with vehemence. 'I should hold it up to you muck-covered and show you its dirt and danger. I should warn you to look closer until you can see how ugly it really is. I should ask you to think of inconstancy and give you examples. I should give you Othello's handkerchief. Oh, I know I should. And I should straighten out your tangled thoughts, show you that the impulse is gray as lead and rotten as a dead cow in wet weather....'

'It is the duty of a friend. But I'm a false friend.'"

Steinbeck's character did not do the duty of a friend. The price was too high.

Oh, that God would grant me friends who would pay the price, who would confront my sin. And, oh, that God would grant me the strength to endure good friendship.

What is truth? Is it worth the risk?

2008-04-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to speak the truth about Jesus Christ in the world today?

An Iranian man recently released a film portraying an Islamic version of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He is quoted as having said, "I pray for Christians. They've been misled. They will one day realize the true story."

How am I to respond to such a man? What would I say to him if we were left alone in room for ten minutes? Would I speak differently if the room were in Tehran than if it were in Topeka?

A Funny Way to Die

2008-04-23T06:52:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the title is irreverent. I can't decide. A friend passed away early this morning. I got the call shortly after 4:00am.

My friend had just celebrated her 80th birthday a couple weeks before she was admitted to hospice. The cancer was spreading rapidly. We all knew the end was coming. She died gracefully.

So, what was funny? It was her sense of humor. She kept her dry sense of humor intact.

When they started giving her morphine orally they decided to give the liquid form to prevent choking. She commented, "It's funny that they're worried about me choking when I came here to die."

Later when one of her relatives asked how she was doing she replied dryly, "Well, I've been dying all day."

My friend died gracefully. When I last knelt by the bed, my hand gently on her head and my ear close to her mouth, I smiled at her gracious and humorous words. She was polite to the last minute. She was funny.

May God give me the same grace to share with others when I reach the end of my own days.

Talking about reality

2008-04-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit it, but my family is hooked on a reality show. For weeks my wife and kids plan their week so they can be perched on the couch, eating dessert, watching overweight people work and sweat and worry, attempting to become The Biggest Loser. And I must also confess that, try as I might, I can't help but get sucked in whenever I'm home on Tuesday nights.

I suppose part of the attraction is that these are real people, battling real temptations, and expriencing real transformation. I would suggest that such drama is what God wired us for: God made us so that we're intrigued by the battle against temptation and thrilled to see authentic transformation. Even so, it's still just television. It's not reality.

What's real? According to the Bible this life is just a mist that will soon evaporate. Our souls, however, are eternal. We, in our true essence, will last forever. That's reality. And all of us, as real people, are facing real temptations every day that will affect "forever." As real people we all long for real transformation that will last forever. So why don't we talk about it more? Why don't we talk about eternal realities more?

I stumbled on a couple of articles this week that speak to this subject. I'd love to hear your perspective. Check out the following two articles and then check back for more in a post later this week:

"The Naked Truth about the Lie Running around the Church"

"Beginning a Conversation about Christ"

Speaking and praying the gospel

2008-04-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

It seems like every where I turn God is saying something about speaking the gospel into the lives of the people around me. I'm not very good about that. Yes, I preach grace and gospel on Sunday mornings, but I don't consistenly speak it into the hearts of those around me "as you are going" (see Mt. 28:19a). But recently God keeps bringing up the subject.

Last night I prayed for my daughters, rubbing their backs as they drifted off to sleep. I felt the irresistible urge to pray the gospel. I tried to pour it into them, praying that they would overflow into the lives of those around them:
"Father, open our eyes to the good news. Help us to know that Jesus Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. Grant us joy in the realization. Fill us up so that we can't help but overflow."

Lately I'm increasingly convinced that we can't know the joy of our salvation if we don't share it with others.

The Bridge: Up and running.

2008-04-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

The last four months have passed like a whirlwind. Our new urban ministry, "The Bridge," is up and running. Volunteers have spent countless hours remodeling the house so that it looks like a house again, instead of an office. The Stewarts are packing boxes and preparing to move in this Saturday. It's been a whirlwind of activity.

May we hear God in spite of the wind, listening for the sound of his "low whisper" (1 Kings 19:12, esv).

Awesome?

2008-01-07T09:16:00.001-08:00

Can I use the same word to describe both God and my friend's new sports car? Can I describe the catch Randy Moss makes in a football game and the majesty of Yahweh using the same word?

I think "awesome" is not so awesome any more. I need new words to describe the Creator.

Any suggestions?

Pray Big: What draws you to prayer?

2008-01-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at Southwest we talked about "Pray Big." One very big prayer is, "Your kingdom come." It is like dropping a seed into a crack in the sidewalk.

The seed starts small and fragile, but can grow to be a towering oak that shatters the sidewalk.

In an effort to stimulate a conversation about prayer and thereby, Lord willing, spurring one another on to more and deeper and bigger prayers, I handed out a card with four questions about prayer. Over the next several days I'll post those questions and some of the responses we received. Please join in the conversation.

Today's question: "What draws you to prayer?"

Being church: Comfortable?

2008-01-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

I had fun in church last Sunday. But something was nagging at me.

I enjoyed the place and the people and the singing. It was a big church, and the building felt new and spacious and well lit. It felt like a mall. I'm told that is the goal of architects and designers when they design a church building in the suburbs: They want it to feel like the mall because we are comfortable in a mall. They want us to feel comfortable.

Okay. Fine. So what was nagging at me?

It took me a while to put my finger on it. I was having fun, smiling, reconnecting with old friends, sipping coffee from the coffee bar in the foyer, looking around the auditorium, admiring the layout, wondering if we should incorporate some of their ideas at Southwest. Then I was singing and worshiping and feeling really good. Then I was surprised to see an old friend and was excited and feeling great. I was having a great Sunday!

But something quiet and subtle was nagging at me.

Later that afternoon I was trying to communicate my nagging discomfort to my wife and friends when I remembered something I had read in a book by Shane Claiborne:

"While the ghettos may have their share of violence and crime, the suburbs are the home of the more subtle demonic forces--numbness, complacency, comfort--and it is these that can eat away at our souls." - Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, p. 227

And then Claiborne quoted his mother:

"'I have come to see that we Christians are not called to safety, but we are promised that God will be with us when we are in danger, and there is no better place to be than in the hands of God.' Perhaps the mose dangerous place for a Christian to be is in safefy and comfort."

And that is what I think was subtly nagging at me: I was extremely comfortable in an all-white, suburban, fun, well-organized worship service. And I think I could sense the demons of complacency and comfort and numbness trying to draw me in.

And it made me uncomfortable.

Having fun being church.

2007-12-31T06:51:00.000-08:00

I had a great time "at church" yesterday morning.

We're in Texas on vacation visiting old friends, Geoff and Beth. We decided to do church with another family, Jeff and Annette, who are friends who've moved here from Topeka. We joined them at their large, suburban church in Allen, Tx. I loved it.

The singing was good. The songs were Bible-saturated. The concordance in my head was whirling, reminding me who God is and what he does. Tears came to my eyes. I raised my hands in praise. I got to lean down and point out to my daughter sitting next to me the connection between the words in one song and the Bible verses we had read at the breakfast table that morning.

And then, in the middle of the Lord's Supper I looked up and saw a friend I haven't seen in ten years. I stood and walked thirty feet to sit next to him to drink the cup. Annette invited them to lunch with us at their house. Three families joined for a meal, joking, laughing, eating, complimenting the cook.

I had a great time at church yesterday.

Being church: What does it mean?

2007-12-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

I like the case study I posted yesterday because it makes me think about the essence of what it means to be church. It forces me to ask myself what are the most important parts of Christianity. The fear factor would, I think, send me running to God to know what he would want me to do, rather than coasting along with the status quo.

So, the first thing I thought of, of course, was prayer:

If I were suddenly dropped into a culture that was more openly hostile to Christianity I would immediately run to God in prayer. I would ask him the following:

- keep my family together and steadfast, clinging to God and his truth
- to lead us to those being called out of darkness (1 Peter 2:9) so that we might have a community of support (church)
- to give us wisdom and boldness to speak to those people
- to pray with the new believers: Once He made them part of the church I would begin to pray with them.

I think prayer would be one of the primary activities we would need to do as we were "being church" is such an environment. That fits with what Jesus said, "My house shall be a house of prayer."

I think it would be an exciting adventure to be faced with such a situation. What about you?

Being Church

2007-12-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

Imagine for a moment that you wake up tomorrow morning and discover that God has plunked you down in a place where Christianity is illegal. There is no section in the Yellow Pages listing churches. There are no cathedrals, no church buildings. You know only a small handful of people who seem sympathetic to the idea of Christianity, but you don't know them well. Your current network of Christian friends/family live far away and they are available to you only by phone or by mail.

What would you do? How would you go about being the church in that place? What would God have you do?

Assume the following:
- the rest of your life is just like your current situation
- you have the same kind of job, same income
- you live in the same kind of neighborhood
- you have the same time, money, and energy constraints you currently have

What would you do? How would you go about being the church in that place? What would your priorities be?

Prayers of those who suffer

2007-12-18T19:35:00.000-08:00

Talking about the work of prayer, Mother Teresa once wrote that "the sick can be especially effective in a work that infinitely surpasses human capabilities...." She credited the fact that their weakness strips them of pride and leaves them believing that "they are useless dependents on God alone."

"Useless dependents on God alone." "Especially effective." Heavy.

Upside-down: I don't get it.

2007-12-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

At church we are in the middle of a series on the gospel and how upside-down it is. And I confess that it's messing with my head. I just don't think that I get the gospel. I mean I get it. I get grace and all that. I think I'm growing in grace and knowledge and going deeper as I walk with God. But, man, I'm not there yet. You know?

Here's what I mean. I was reading what D.A. Carson wrote in The Cross and Christian Ministry, and I underlined what he says about God's weakness being stronger than our strength:

"This is much more radical than saying that God has more wisdom than human beings, or that he is stronger than human beings--as if we are dealing with mere degrees of wisdom and power. Now, we are dealing with polar opposites. Human 'wisdom' and 'strength' are, from God's perspective, rebellious folly and moral weakness." (Carson, p. 26)

I think I believe what Carson says, and that when I'm weak, God is strong. But I must confess that I don't want to be weak. I don't. Not with my heart. I loathe to be weak. Weak? Why?! That's stupid!

So, that's why I say that I don't think I get it. Man, this Christianity thing is a long journey.

What do I deserve?

2007-10-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

"...all our righteous acts are like filthy rags...." (Isa. 64:6)

Imagine yourself walking into the throne room of God. Picture yourself standing in the presence of the full glory and majesty of the Creator. What would you say? Would you say, "Father, I deserve more. I deserve better than I'm getting right now. I don't deserve to have bad things happen to me"? Can you imagine saying that to God?

The person who approaches God demanding better does not have a very well informed imagination. The person who thinks it's okay to tell God what he does and does not deserve lacks a biblical understanding of who God is, not to mention humility.

Last Sunday we talked about the fact that the good works we do are like filthy rags before God. Tim Keller, referring to Isaiah 64:6, says the following:

"Imagine the most unsightly, smelly, decrepit, homeless person, wandering the city streets in rags. He does not have much of a mind left. He has no resources at all. He has nothing to recommend him. That is what all of us are before God, says Isaiah." -Tim Keller, Ministries of Mercy, 58, emphasis in original

If that's true, if my righteous acts are worse than worthless before God, then any conversation I might have with God about what I deserve would lead me to humbly bow before him. I would not dare to tell him what I deserve. Instead, I would humbly plead for mercy. I would join the Apostle Paul saying, "Wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death!" And then, continuing to the next verse, I would proclaim, "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Rom. 7:25)

This week, in order to feel the full impact of God's amazing grace and to move closer to God himself, I'm meditating on my wretchedness. Some will argue that this is a ridiculous, paternalistic, and damaging way to view God. "God is love," they will reproach, "He is not hateful and mean! He's merciful." And I agree. God is merciful and full of undeserved grace. But remember what Paul warns the Romans to do: "Consider [both] the kindness and sternness of God" (Rom. 11:22). God is my loving Father, but he is also my righteous Judge. I dare not narrow my view of him to only those characteristics with which I am comfortable.

So, I'm thinking this week about my wretchedness. What do I deserve? I deserve the wrath and punishment of God. What have I received? I've been given grace upon grace. And I believe that once I digest this truth, once I internalize it, once I wrap my heart around it, then, even when things go badly for me, I will want to sing to Him my thanks and praise.

What about you? What do you deserve?

The Stewarts in Minneapolis

2007-10-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

Angie and I are in the middle of an eight day trip. It is partly a vacation and a celebration of sixteen years of marriage: Our anniversary was last Friday. But the trip is also partly a training and research trip. We're getting ready to build "The Bridge," an afterschool program for urban children in Topeka.

We came to Minneapolis for a worship conference that filled our souls. I raised my hands, lifted my voice in songs of praise, and wiped tears from my eyes as I worshiped our Creator and our God. God filled my heart from his word by the preaching of godly men and has inspired me to love him more. Angie and I connected at the highest level, in the presence of the Most High God.

On Monday and Tuesday we made our way around Minneapolis, visiting urban ministries, learning what God is doing here. I strongly believe that vision fuels ministry, even during dark and frustrating times, and so it is good to see what God is doing in other cities. We've prayed with inspired, hard-working, risk-taking urban ministers. My heart has raced and my eyes have filled with tears. My mind has been opened to the ways that God works. God is filling me up.

Today, Lord willing, we'll visit a SAY Yes! center in St. Paul. Tomorrow we'll travel to Chicago for training to use the SAY Yes! curriculum at The Bridge.

Struggling in prayer

2007-09-06T08:52:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday the sermon was about struggling in prayer:

"I appeal to you, brothers...

to strive (struggle) together with me

in your prayers...."

- Rom. 15:30

The following were the key points of the message:

1) I should not be surprised that prayer is a struggle: I will struggle against the enemy (Eph. 6:12); against sin (Ps. 66:18); and against distractions. I will even struggle with God himself (see Dan.9:27).

2) By joining God on His mission I'll experience a deeper striving in prayer. Just in the last few weeks, as we've been working toward the start of a risky new ministry venture, I've found myself waking up in the mornings with a prayer on my lips. When I step out on faith, when I take risks in Jesus name and boldly attempt new initiatives, it forces me to my knees in prayer.

3) Pray the Bible. I don't pray well and I don't pray for very long without the Bible. Try praying through the memory verses for 2007. We did that at our men's prayer breakfast this week and one of the guys commented, "That was really cool." Yeah, cool and powerful.

May God give us strength to strive together in prayer this week.

The Long Road to Holiness

2007-08-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday the sermon was about sanctification, which is a five syllable, religious-sounding word. But don't let that deter you. Sanctification is a beautiful process. It refers the transformation of a follower of God from a dingy, cracked mirror to the clean, bright, and shining reflection of his Son. It's not always easy, this process of getting cleaned up, but the final product is beautiful and attractive to others.

Below are some of the ways you can plug in to the power of the Spirit and join Him in cleaning up the mirror.

Remind yourself that God is at work in you:

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely.... He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it" (1 Thess. 4:23-24).

"...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13).

Pray for more holiness in your life:

"Lord, give me strength to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that I may be filled with all of your fullness" (adapted from Eph. 3:19).

"Lord, make me increase and abound in love so that my heart may be established blameless in holiness before you" (adapted from 1 Thess. 3:12).

Why memorize Scripture?

2007-08-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

It was a Saturday night and I was feeling blue. I was preparing for church the next day, getting myself ready mentally and spiritually. But the voice in my head was arguing with me, saying things like, "Why bother? It doesn't do any good." I felt worthless. I felt blue. It was as if a heavy darkness was encroaching, surrounding me.

But then I thought, "I don't believe that. I believe God is at work and that he has a purpose for me." I remembered what I had heard one of my mentors say about preaching good news to himself. So I preached to myself. I spoke aloud, quoting Ps. 42:11 to myself:

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God." - Ps. 42:11

As soon as I heard myself say, "hope in God," a light flicked on in my soul. The light was small, like a candle in a pitch black cave, but as that light came to life the encroaching darkness suddenly jumped back. I felt hope begin to burn in my heart and I said to myself, "Whoa! That was cool."

It was cool. And I want more of that. And so I memorize Scripture.

The Mystery of Prayer: Fellowship with God

2007-08-02T14:34:00.001-07:00

For the past four days I've taught teenagers about prayer. They're at camp, having a blast with their friends, and I got the priviledge and challenge of interrupting their fun in order to direct their minds toward the Bible and what God has to say about communication with Him.

What was great about this week was that I was asked to teach the same material for four different groups over four days. This allowed me to teach, reevaluate, reconsider, dig deeper, and then teach again and again. I loved it! Normally I rush through a week, trying to dig into Scripture in order to teach a class and preach a sermon, and then I immediately begin thinking about next week. So, the opportunity to dig down into Scripture on the subject of prayer was refreshing and reinvigorating.

One of the passages that really came to life for me was 1 John 1:5-6:

"...God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another...."

Fellowship with one another? Who are the one and the other? I've always understood this verse to refer to the horizontal relationships within the church. But does it necessarily mean that? It seems from the context that he's referring to our relationship with God. If we walk in the light we have fellowship with God and he has fellowship with us. It's a two way fellowship! I get to hang out with the creator of the universe!

I want more of that.

Don't quench the Spirit: Don't play it safe.

2007-07-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday at Southwest we talked about Paul's command to not quench the Spirit. How do we do that? What do I do to avoid pouring water on the flame of God's fire?

Consider this quote by the 19th century missionary John Paton. Maybe playing it safe douses the fire.

"During the crisis [an epidemic that killed thousands for which Paton and the other missionaries were blamed], I felt generally calm, and firm of soul, standing erect and with my whole weight on the promise, 'Lo! I am with you alway.' Precious promise!

Without that abiding consciousness of the presence and power of my dear Lord and Savior, nothing else in all the world could have preserved me from losing my reason and perishing miserably. He became to me so real that it would not have startled me to behold Him, as Stephen did gazing down upon the scene. I felt His supporting power.... It is the sober truth, and it comes back to me sweetly after 20 years, that I had my nearest and dearest glimpses of the face and smiles of my blessed Lord in those dread moments when musket, club, or spear was being leveled at my life. Oh the bliss of living and enduring, as seeing 'Him who is
invisible'!"

Paton experienced the warmth and light of the Spirit of God most acutely when godly risk and mortal danger fanned the flames. Are we missing something when we fail to take similar risks?

May we too know the bliss of risks taken in the name of Jesus!

Beautiful!: A vision for our daughters

2007-07-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

"Beautiful!"

When I'm at peace, when life is good, I look at my daughters and think, "Beautiful!" And I want to communicate that belief to them in such a way that strengthens them, empowers them. I want to give them a baseline of confidence in who they already are in God's eyes.

Our memory verse this week is a great way to convey to them what true beauty is and where it comes from:

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." - Proverbs 31:30

Truly beautiful women, women who should be praised, are those who fear God. But what does that mean? People ask, "God is love, why should I fear Him if He is love?" It is difficult to comprehend. And Scripture even seems to contradict itself on this topic:

"Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.' Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.'" - Exodus 20:18-20

Do not fear God. Instead, let the fear of God be before you. What?!

And maybe that's a good place to start with my daughters this week: Show them God's awesome power by telling the story of Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:10-19). Explain what an awesome and fearful thing it is to approach the throne of God. He is not to be trifled with, and yet we are invited to approach him with confidence (Heb. 4:16). How can that be? How can he inspire both fear and confidence? In Jesus Christ we will find the answer (Heb. 4:14-15).

Church Matters: What kind of government is this?

2007-07-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is the second in a series of posts on church leadership. On July 1st I preached a sermon from 1 Thess. 5:12-13 considering what it means for leaders to be "over you in the Lord." This topic is too broad to be surveyed in a single sermon, therefore I offer this series and pray that we will meditate on what God considers to be a healthy leadership in the local church.

In my reading about healthy leadership in the church I came across a reference to the polity of the church as a mixture of three types of government: The local church is like a monarchy in that Christ is our king; it is like an aristocracy in that it is governed by a body of elders, an elite group of leaders; and it is like a democracy in that the congregation has authority and responsibility to decide matters of discipline and doctrine.

Local church government is like a democracy in that it is the assembled church, not just the elders, who make the final decision in matters of discipline:

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." - Mt. 18:15-18

And when it comes to the interpetation of doctrine, it is the church, not the elders or the preacher alone who are responsible to discern truth or error:

"Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said." - 1 Cor. 14:29

"Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good." - 1 Thess. 5:21

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." - 1 John 4:1

So, what does that mean for us? It means that the church is unlike any other human institution. We already knew that, but we often fail to recognize the assumptions and prejudices that color our understanding of the church. It's not a just democracy. It's not just an aristocracy. Nor is it just a monarchy. Church is more complex. But just as a well cut diamond has many facets through which to scatter light, so also we will see true spiritual beauty as we discover the many facets of church.

Church Matters: Healthy Spiritual Leaders

2007-07-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

What has been your experience with those who have been "over you in the Lord"? Has it been a positve experience? Have they been like guides leading you in the mountains, taking you to majestic peaks where they've been before? Or have they been more like managers from the accounting department who can always be counted on to tell you what not to do?

The reason I ask is Sunday's sermon was from 1 Thess. 5:12-13.

We ask you brothers to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

Paul refers in this passage, I believe, to the team of elders who are charged by God to lead and teach the church. A team of elders--also called pastors or shepherds, also called overseers or bishops (see Titus 1:5-7 and 1 Peter 5:1-2 for examples of the linking of these titles under the banner of the same office)--is to labor among us, be over us, and lead us.

At Southwest we do not have such a team. I pray that God will raise up men who are qualified to fill this role, but in the meantime we might need to overcome some prejudices.

Many of us have had negative experiences with unhealthy spiritual leadership. We tend to have very negative preconceived notions about spiritual authority in general and elders in particular.
We've seen pretenders given power and watched them do great damage to churches. But does that we've seen failure mean we should give up on God's design?

And so I ask, what has been your experience with those who have been "over you in the Lord"? Has it been a positve experience? If not, how can we overcome the damage done by the Enemy?

Washed away.

2007-06-27T11:42:00.001-07:00

What if a natural disaster occurred tonight and washed away everything you own? What would you do? How would you feel? Would you be angry with God?

The picture above, upper left, shows a roofless house directly in front of the London canal levee in New Orleans. If you look closely you can see our boys climbing on it. The house in front of them has been gutted and the roof removed. The houses next door to that one, however, are completely gone. Perhaps they were washed away.

In the upper right photo you see the pile of debris, furniture, and sheetrock from one of the houses we helped to gut. And the last picture shows the living room of that same house. I was surprised to find that the closet in the bedroom was completely full. It was untouched from the day the floodwaters rose.

Seeing these things made us wonder, "Where am I laying up treasures? What would I do if all my earthly treasures were suddenly and irrevocably taken from me?"

The PAPA Prayer

2007-06-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

What is prayer? Will I ever master it?

Last night our "Book of Every Other Month Club" met at Barnes & Noble to discuss The PAPA Prayer, by Larry Crabb. Not everyone in the group appreciated the book. I did.

One of the things I liked about Crabb's teaching is that the PAPA prayer moves me. It starts with an honest look at where I am and takes me deeper into me than I want to go. PAPA then teaches me to look up to God and moves me out of the muddy pit of my flesh and sets my feet on the Rock.

I agree with Matthew Hoffman who said, "I spend far too much time contemplating myself (my desires, my opinions, my thoughts, etc.) and never enough time contemplating my Savior's work and grace. I am so very thankful for men like Mr. Jerry Bridges, C.J. Mahaney and of course Mr. Spurgeon himself who call us to 'preach the gospel to ourselves every day!'"

If prayer leaves me stuck on me and my desires then I am lost in a deep, empty pit. If, however, I can pray P.A.P.A., I will pray the gospel into my own heart. I will learn to focus on who God is for me. I will learn to want more of God, not just more from God.

And that sounds sweet to my soul.

On the Road Again

2007-06-26T14:12:00.001-07:00

One of the best things about a summer mission trip is the time together in the van: long conversations about deep subjects; plenty of opportunity to get to know one another; the sharing of new sights and experiences.

It's also one of the worst things about the trip too: seemingly endless hours on the road; travel grunge all over the van; stinky teenaged boys; irritating personal habits that begin to grate one's nerves. Last year we traveled to Miami. Talk about a long drive! This year we only traveled 1,000 miles to New Orleans.

Southwest Mission Trip 2007

2007-06-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Traveling to a mission point and experiencing firsthand the work of missions opens the mind and the heart to what God is doing in the world. The Southwest church, therefore, has committed to sending out a group of short-term missionaries every summer. Our prayer is that God will ignite the fire of a missionary vision in the heart of our congregation.

Last week we sent a group of seven men to New Orleans to work with Operation Nehemiah. Over the next several days we'll post photos and stories from the trip. I invite you to use the stories and pictures to inspire you to prayerfully consider how God might want all of us to be on mission right here in Topeka.

Generosity

2007-06-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

Anthony is a friend and mentor. He works in Little Rock. Here's one of his "Mission Messages."

6/12/07

It was a nice shirt, Lord. Just a t-shirt, but a gray one with "Hilti" on it, and I like gray t-shirts. I don't know what "Hilti" means, but Will noticed me admiring the shirt still in the package. The shirt he was wearing was dirty, and he smelled.

"You want it?" he asked. I shook my head thinking, "Of course not, what, take a new shirt from a man who sleeps on the street at night? No way."

Then, it started to hit me what was happening. 'You don't need it?" I asked.

He smiled with a seriousness, "But, do you want it?"

"Yes, I do," realizing he was trying to give me a gift.

"You see, God's still workin' on me, to serve others, that's what He's teaching me right now, how to serve others. I'll see if I can go get another one tomorrow," he smiled.

I took the shirt, smiled and told him I would wear it tomorrow.

Lord, thanks for letting me meet the widow today, with her small, but very great gift.

"Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more in the treasury than all the others. They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on (Mark 12:43-44, NIV)."

Blessings,

Anthony Wood, Evangelist

River City Ministry

"What a horrible translation!"

2007-04-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

I couldn't find my Bible Sunday morning. I had set it down somewhere in the auditorium, and so when I got up to preach I had to take my NIV into the pulpit. And then, in the middle of my sermon, I couldn't help myself:

"What a horrible translation!"

It just poured out of my mouth. And some people were offended, defensive of their translation. Let me tell you why I think Phil. 2:30 is translated poorly in the NIV.

I was going to compare the structure of Col. 1:24 with the structure of Phil 2:30. Col.1:24 says,

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church." (Col. 1:24, ESV)

My point was that there is nothing lacking in the quality Christ's afflictions. What was lacking was some kind of experiential knowledge of the afflictions. Paul's sufferings, therefore, allowed them to know something about the afflictions of Christ. I was going to make that point comparing the two passages which have identical word structure in Greek. Phil. 2:30 says that Epaphroditus had risked his life to...

"complete what was lacking in your service to me." (Phil. 2:30, ESV)

That is a fairly literal translation of the Greek text. The NIV, however, translates the verse to say that Epaphroditus had risked his life to...

"make up for the help you could not give me" (emphasis mine).

The NIV translates the verse exactly opposite what I believe it should. The NIV says that the Philippians were not able to help Paul. It seems clear from the context, however, that the only thing lacking, the only thing they were not able to do was that they were not present to give him support (see Phil. 4:10). He's praising them for their support, not pointing out that they couldn't help.

So, that's why I said what I said. I was surprised because I had prepared to preach using my ESV copy of the Scriptures. I did not intend to offend users of the NIV. I still believe, however, that in Phil. 3:20, among other passages, the NIV offers us a horrible translation.

What makes you happy in God?

2007-04-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

"...above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord." - George Mueller

The first order of business every day, says Mueller, is to get my soul happy in God. Great advice. But I've not yet mastered the technique. One of the ways I like to do that is by thinking about glory. I don't know exactly what glory looks like. I've been asking God to show it to me lately, but he's not yet given me a big glorious experience. The Apostle Paul, however, must have had a strong vision of it:

"...the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
- Romans 8:18-19

And talk about suffering! Paul knew suffering:

"Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three timesI was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea...." -2 Cor. 11:24-25

So, Paul suffered much, but said it couldn't be compared with the glory to be revealed. He must, therefore, have had a big, bold, and beautiful understanding of the glory of God. And I, to be able to endure suffering like a man of God, need a better understanding of the glory of God. So, last night as I was falling asleep I started to meditate on the throne room of heaven. I can't remember too much--I was falling asleep--but I know that my heart began to race. I felt happy in God.

Not a big deal, I know, but I want to be like Moses: "Lord, show me your glory" (Ex. 33:18) . And I trust that a better understanding of his glory will give me deeper satisfaction in his presence.

What about you? What makes you happy in God? Where do you find the joy that will help you, like Jesus, endure the cross set before you (Heb. 12:2; Lk. 9:23)?

Authentic Community and the American Lifestyle

2007-03-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

"The biggest challenge facing the church is to address the fragmentation and discontinuity of the American lifestyle."
- Lyle E. Schaller

I read the following this morning in Sam O'Neal's post at Out of Ur:

Randy Frazee spoke on the call to community. According to Frazee, the average American family manages 35 separate relationships on a day-to-day basis—children, extended family, neighbors, government, school, friends, work, Starbucks employees, landlords, telemarketers, etc. And this is before that family gets invited to church, which usually adds another 6 connections—at least.
As a result, Americans are knee-deep in the unprecedented phenomenon of grouped isolation—what Frazee refers to as "crowded loneliness." We are in desperate need of meaningful relationships, yet too busy and too pulled to maintain them.

Thirty-five separate relationships? No wonder I'm so tired. What can we do? How will we ever conquer the busyness of life? I think one crucial step is to recognize that this is an American phenomenon. Well, that's too narrow. Perhaps "western" would be a better adjective. But it makes me think of Jesus parable in Mark 4: "...the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word...." And not just the word. They also choke authentic community.

What can we do? We need to pull some weeds.

Double Brothers

2007-03-07T09:09:00.000-08:00

My older brother called me yesterday. He was on his way to a training program put on the Crown Financial Ministries. He had that note of excitement in his voice that I remember from when we were kids. Now that I think about it, it reminds me of when he got his Yamaha 360. Not an impressive bike by today's standards, but he was in love. He wanted to sleep on it that night.

Yesterday he was just calling to check in. It was a spur of the moment thing. Cell phones are good for that. We talked about ministry and about ambition and about submission to a Master who wants to draw us away from the love of the praise of men. And then we prayed.

I'm a preacher. I set it as my goal to end nearly every phone conversation with church members with a "quick prayer." I don't know why, but many Christians are surprised by the request, but they almost always appreciate it. And lets be honest--we're Americans--the addition of "quick" provides relief.

Yesterday it was not I who suggested the prayer. Jon did. I think he even said, "quick." I loved it.

Why do I write this? I'm not sure. I guess I just wanted to celebrate the fact that my brother and I now share something that we didn't used to share. We now aspire to grow in our admiration for the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We both now long to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

I'm glad my biological brother is also my spiritual brother.

"The Lost Tomb of Jesus"

2007-03-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

This Sunday the Discovery Channel will release a documentary entitled, “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” The film asserts that the tomb of Jesus may have been found in Jerusalem. What does this mean for us? Why should I pay attention? Let me give three reasons.

"It doesn't get bigger than this." Those are the words used by James Cameron, the director of the film "Titanic," in support of the documentary. He's right. If their claim that they have found the bones of Jesus of Nazareth are true then our faith will have sustained a fatal blow. And that's why such claims always make the front page of every major newspaper. If Jesus of Nazareth did not rise from the grave and ascend into heaven then, as Paul wrote, “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:17a, 18).

“Make the most of every opportunity.” This documentary, like all the other films and discoveries that purport to uncover the conspiracy behind Christianity, offers authentic Christ-followers with a great opportunity to share our faith. If we were open and honest enough to admit that we are a pitiful people if Christ did not rise from the dead, then I believe we would encounter an openness to spiritual conversations with unbelievers. And if we're talking with other believers it will add a deep seriousness to the conversation. Too often we chat about trivia. But the cross and the empty tomb are not trivial myths put forth by a creative mind. Rather, they are profound realities orchestrated by a holy Creator. They are the foundation of our faith and without them our faith necessarily crumbles.

Conspiracy theories are popular. Even if the assertions put forth by the documentary are not true, many of our co-workers and neighbors and friends will jump on this “revelation” like a cat on catnip. We live in a conspiracy-minded society. Many will use this to try to challenge our faith.

So, are you ready to respond graciously? Or will you get angry and defensive? Will you see this as an opportunity, or as a nuisance? Consider watching “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” Maybe you could invite a non-Christian friend.

What would we look like if we took the Bible seriously?

2007-03-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

In the New York Times today there was an article entitled, "Is Looking Your Age Now Taboo?" The article made me wonder, what would Christian's look like if we took the Bible seriously? Would we resist societal pressure to color our hair and use Botox?

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment.... Instead, it should
be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit...
(1 Peter 3:3-4).

I long to be a part of a church where older people looked wrinkled on the outside, but whose eyes sparkle with the wisdom and joy of souls steeped in the grace of God.

But I have to admit that it's getting close to the time when I'll be tested on this.

I've always said that I'm not going to color the gray out of my hair. Well, my head is starting to glisten with more and more gray. And there is most certainly a great deal of pressure in America to look young. I imagine it is very humbling to be referred to as an old man when one's heart is still young and one's spirit feels vibrant. No, I take that back. I don't imagine it, I know it. I have a thirteen year old son who has been reared in a society that glamorizes youth and where wrinkles repulse. He is convinced I am ancient, and he loves to tell me about it. It hurts. It is humbling.

Cosmetic technologies are changing the way pop culture perceives the aging face. The pressure to indulge will increase in the coming years. So, Christian, what about you? Will you embrace the humbling experiences that come with gray hair and a wrinkled face? Or will it be botox and Restylene?

Teaching my kids about the bloody atonement

2007-02-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

Our memory verse this week is 1 Peter 2:24:

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

As I was working on memorizing it during my prayer time today it occurred to me that I should use this verse to teach my kids about the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Why? Why do I think it's important to teach them about the atonement?

The atonement is one of the central doctrines of Christianity. Paul said, "I resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."
The tendency in American churches is to get soft on sin and not talk too much about the bloody atonement of Christ.
A full understanding of the atonement will grab their hearts. It will inspire worship. If they understand who God is and why he does what he does then the roots of their faith will sink deep into the soil of God's love and they will bear the fruit of righteousness.

So, here's what I did to start the conversation with my kids as we sat around the breakfast table today:

I read the verse out loud to them.
I asked, "Why did Jesus have to die? Doesn't that seem like an overreaction?"
I told the story of David's sin with Bathsheba and how he murdered Uriah (2 Sam. 11). Then I read about Nathan's confrontation with David (2 Samuel 12:4-6). Then I asked, "Why was David so angry about the stolen lamb? How would you feel if someone stole Otis and ate him?" (Otis is our new puppy.)
I explained that our sense of outrage comes from our innate sense of justice. We were created in the image of God. We're like him. Injustice makes Him angry. It makes us angry. But we have to multiply God's wrath by 1,000 because He is infinitely just and eternally holy. God cannot let sin come near him. He is light and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5).
So, Jesus death in our place, bearing our sins on the tree heals our wounds. We can come near to God because Jesus' death appeased the wrath of God.

I don't know how much they got it. My son is 13. My youngest daughter is 7. It's hard to teach something as profound as substitutionary atonement in one brief devotional, speaking both the language of an eighth grader and a second grader. But I figure a couple thousand interactions like this one over the decades they are in my house will lay a foundation for a faith that will carry on to the next generations.

I plan to talk more about the ugliness of sin in the days to come.

Led by the Spirit?

2007-02-19T20:37:00.000-08:00

What does it mean to be led by the Spirit? How can I test myself to see whether I'm following his lead? One of the most concrete places to look would be my checkbook. Today I came across an anecdote that illustrates the point:

"Allen and Jean Hitchcock decided to en their marriage of 24 years. In anticipation of the divorce settlement, Allen began to review the family's financial records. As he sorter through the files, he came across an old faded check made out to the hotel where he and Jean had stayed on their honeymoon. Another check had paid for an installment on their first car. He picked up still another check and remembered with fatherly pride how he had written it out the hospital when their daughter was born. And then there was the down payment on their first home..." (Howard Dayton, Your Money Counts, p. 7)."

After several hours of sorting through such checks Allen picked up the the phone and called his wife. He surprised her by blurting out that he wanted to work on their marriage.

Why? What motivated the change of heart? He had realized how much he and his wife had invested in their marriage. He had looked at all those canceled checks and saw what had been so important to him for over two decades.

I wonder if I could do the same thing when it comes to my relationship with the Spirit of God.

My prayer for Southwest is that we would live and spend today in such a way that twety years from now we'll be able to look back at a stack of canceled checks and see investment in a relationship with God.

God, please teach us that you are our treasure in heaven, and that earth has nothing we desire by comparison. Our flesh and our heart may fail, but you are the strength of our hearts and our portion forever (Ps. 73:25-26).

The Treasure Principle

2007-02-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

Today in my sermon I talked about understanding money in terms of the eternal reward God promises to his followers. Here's a classic quote from C.S. Lewis that well illustrates the point:

"If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mudpies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

May God increase our desires.