Lessons Learned from the 90 Day New Testament Challenge

On Sunday our church completed a summer activity called The 90 Day New Testament Challenge. It was actually pretty simple. I asked our congregation to read through the entire New Testament over the course of 90 days beginning June 1. I believed that this would be an important piece of our summer strategy, given that we committed our Wednesday nights to serving our community though an initiative called "The Summer of Love." To encourage our people to stay with the task, we developed a blogsite, www.nt90.com, to give people a chance to read entries, find a reading plan, sign up for daily text message reminders, and to post comments. So what was the take away from this promotion? What did we learn from our shared experience? Here are a few things that I learned and hope that others learned as well.

First, the New Testament is a primarily missional document and should be read with that in mind. For example, the Book of Acts has no ending. The story just stops, as if to assume that the second and third generations of believers would continue to walk in the same path. As we read the New Testament, we were able to understand the mission of the Kingdom past and make associations with the mission of Kingdom present. Like those whose “sentness” has been documented in the grand story of the New Testament, we too have been “sent” into the world to be the presence of Christ.

Second, there is a unique power that comes when the people of God are immersed in Scripture together. I enjoyed every conversation that I had with others who were taking the journey. Bible reading is intensified when it is a shared experience.

Third, the people of God are informed and encouraged by the ancient story. We were able to identify with many of the experiences we discovered in our reading. We felt things, saw things, and shared in things that Jesus and the apostles felt, saw, and shared.

Finally, the mission of Jesus is sustained and energized by the written word. Scripture reading provided spiritual sustenance for the unique mission we undertook this summer with The Summer of Love. To intentionally engage our community this summer apart from the steady ready of Scripture would be the equivalent of an athlete going to the game with an empty stomach. In John 4, Jesus told his disciples, “I have a kind of food that you know nothing about.”

At the beginning of our challenge, I pointed out that it takes 28 days to create a habit, whether good or bad. My prayer is that the completion of the challenge will not be an end to an accomplishment, but rather serve as the initial steps of a lifelong discipline of daily Bible reading.

11 Ways to Help Prepare Your Child for Worship

One thing I appreciate about churches is their commitment to children. Churches in general offer nurseries for babies and childcare for preschoolers during the worship hour. Churches with high commitment to children’s ministry will even provide a full hour worship experience designed specifically for elementary age children while the parents worship in “big church.” As a pastor, I’ve always appreciated every expression of a church to meet the spiritual needs of kids.

Some churches do not have a full program for children during worship, leaving mom and dad wondering how to best prepare their kids to sit through an hour of worship that is designed for and aimed toward adults. How can parents best prepare their child for worship? I don’t confess to having all of the answers, but here are 11 things that you may want to consider.

1. Before you do anything, determine the expectations you will have for your child. Are your expectations age appropriate for your child? Are they reasonable? Are you and your spouse in agreement on the expectations? Do you have goals? Will there be rewards or consequences? Thinking through your expectations in advance will prevent you from flying by the seat of your pants when it’s time to walk into the worship center.

2. Talk with your child in advance. Kids function best when parents take the time to explain what worship is and what they can expect when they arrive. Talking kids through the routine of worship will help them to understand the rhythm of the service. (Even the most contemporary churches have a worship template they follow!) It is especially important to help the child understand unique situations in worship such as baptism or communion. Certainly we would want the child to know that the offering plate is for putting money in, not helping one’s self!

3. Teach your child correctly from the beginning. Sometimes parents will take short cuts in explaining spiritual things to their children because frankly, it’s easier. For example, every now and then I hear a parent refer to the church facility as “God’s House.” While this is not intended to be a negative thing, it communicates some really poor theology. It communicates that God is restricted to a given location; that we can go see God like we go see Grandma; that when we leave the building, God stays put, and so forth. Some of you are thinking that I’m a little harsh on this, but from my perspective there are more adults than not who practically live out those same concepts that I’ve listed above on a daily basis. When you teach your kids about God, be simple without being simplistic. You don’t help your child grow up to think right by teaching them wrong in their most formative years.

4. Arrange for your child to meet the pastor. My wife is a school teacher. Occasionally we’ll be shopping or eating out and we’ll have a chance encounter with one of her school kids who is out with his or her family. I’m always amazed at the kid’s reaction to seeing their teacher out in public, as if it hadn’t occurred to them that their teacher actually bought groceries or had a life outside of the classroom. Children are helped when they can meet the pastor and see that the pastor is a real person apart from the pulpit.

5. Take your child on a tour of the platform. Before or after the service, escort your child to the front of the room and let them see what it’s like to stand on the platform and look out. Let them see the platform furniture and tell them about what each represents and how it functions. This will help them to become more familiar with the environment of worship and create a sense of comfort.

6. Decide beforehand what you’re plan of action will be for using the restroom. Many parents opt to explain to their children before the service that they will not be allowed to leave during the service to use the restroom. Parents who choose to take this position need to make sure that the child uses the restroom prior to the beginning of the service. If you decide you’ll allow your child to go to the restroom, it’s recommended that you escort the child to and from the restroom for their safety and security.

7. Encourage the child to participate as much as possible. While the sermon may be a little out of reach for the school age child, many elements of the service provide reasonable opportunities for the child to participate, such as praying, singing, and giving.

8. Consider taking a “church bag.” When our kids were small, my wife prepared a church bag for our kids to take to worship. She encouraged our kids to sing, pray, and give, and then when I got up to speak she would pull out the “church bag.” The church bag contained a small etch-a-sketch, a magna-doodle, crayons, paper, scissors, and a simple snack such as teddy grahams. (As a pastor I’ve never objected to kids eating during church. Frankly, I’d like to eat during church but my mother taught me that it’s impolite to speak with your mouth full!) This allowed our kids to do something constructive during the sermon. The church bag was only used for church, so the special items in it stayed special week in and week out. If you utilize an idea such as this, make sure to clean up after yourself at the conclusion of the service. In addition to this, I’d also recommend that you include an age appropriate Bible or Bible story books. I’d further recommend that you leave the Disney and Loony-Tunes books at home. Christian childhood education specialists recommend that parents and Sunday School teachers not use secular children’s literature at church because children will make the association that Jesus is a story like Cinderella is a story. (see #3!)

9. Talk with your child on the drive home about the service. This gives you an opportunity to reinforce the good things about your family’s worship experience and answer any questions the child may have.

10. Model worship to your child during the service. Your child will not progress beyond where you are as a worshipper. If you don’t pray, sing, give, or open a Bible, chances are your child will not see the value of the experience. As a parent you set the benchmark for your child’s spiritual development. When you engage in worship you teach your child the difference between worshipping God and merely going to church.

11. Above all, don’t stress! Many times parents feel embarrassed about their child’s behavior during the worship service. My standard and unoriginal response to that apology is “I’d rather hear a baby cry than an old man snore.” What parents need to realize, perhaps more than anything else, is that the goal is to teach the child how to worship God. When we teach our children how to worship God we make the experience about worship and God. On the other hand, if the goal is to teach the child how to behave in church we make the experience about ourselves as parents and how we wish to be perceived by those around us. In church, teaching “behavior” is about ourselves and how we can impress others around us.

Creating Movement

The disciple’s first response to persecution was to pray. When they prayed about their problem, they acknowledged the sovereignty of God then gave God the problem. They concluded by committing themselves to live according to the promises of God rather than by conventional wisdom. As a result of this prayer, “the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31, NLT).

It takes prayer to create the movement of God.

Maybe you’re like me in that you’ve tried to create the movement of God on your own, apart from prayer. Doing things like bargaining with God or trying to earn favor by your good works are just a couple of ways we try to create movement. But the bottom line is that God moves in response to prayer.

When he does move, he moves within his people to fulfill his plan and purpose. The disciples were filled with the Spirit, and when they were filled with the Spirit the gospel spilled from their lips. Remember that whenever you’re shaken, whatever fills you will spill out. In Acts 4, when the place was shaken the gospel spilled out of the disciples because the Spirit was what they were full of.

Praying About Problems

Do you ever wonder how you should pray when you face a problem? Life is certainly filled with adversity, and as people of faith we are compelled to take those problems to God by way of prayer. Acts 4:24-30 contains the content of the prayer that Peter and his cohort prayed in response to the persecution that broke out following the healing of the lame man. While their problem specifically involved religious persecution, I think the prayer itself offers a very helpful blueprint on how to address God with our challenges.

The first thing the disciples did in prayer was acknowledge the sovereignty of God. “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them—you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, you servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.’ In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will” (Acts 4:24-28, NLT). Notice in those verses that they confessed their belief that God was in control and on his throne. God had foreknown this event and was not caught by surprise.

The second thing they did in prayer was to hand the problem over to God. Acts 4:29 continues, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.” The disciples realized that the opposition they were facing was nothing personal. The opposition was to the gospel. Therefore, the problem was God’s, not theirs. Their job was to be faithful, and God’s job was to handle the challenges that accompanied the task at hand.

Finally, they claimed the promises of God. In verse 30 they conclude their prayer by asking God to “stretch our your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Every time we face a problem we face a choice between conventional wisdom and faith. Faith is simply behaving in ways that are consistent with what God has said. The disciples prayed that God would do what he promised to do in order to advance the gospel. What God had said was more important than what the officials had said.

Next time you take time to pray about a problem, remember the template of Acts 4. Begin by acknowledging the sovereignty of God. Then give the problem to God, and make the choice to live by faith and not by sight.

Emerging Adults

There was an interesting article posted by Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler on the "20 somethings" in America today. Great food for thought, especially for those who minister and serve this generation. Click here for the article.

Prayer as the First Response

When Peter and John were released from custody, they returned to their group and shared all that had taken place. Upon hearing the news that persecution was breaking out against the gospel, their first response was to pray.

“When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God” (Acts 4:24, NLT).

More than 20 years ago I participated in a study on prayer that was written by Peter Lord. His “2959 Prayer Plan” provided Christians with a comprehensive method to systematically pray for personal needs and to intercede on behalf of others. One of the first principles that Peter Lord taught was that believers should make prayer “their first response, not their last resort.”

That principle made a lasting impression on me. Reading this verse reminded me of how critical it is for each of us to pray first when our world gets topsy-turvy. It was convicting to reflect on my life and to see how often I try to fix things myself or depend on my own resources and resourcefulness as my first response. Too many times our attitude toward prayer is that of the final, last ditch effort when all else has failed. Not the apostles. They were so dependent and desperate for God to work in their lives as they spread the gospel that it was natural for them to pray. It was quite childlike. May we never mature beyond the point of childlike faith and desperate dependence.

The Strategically Small Church

It’s about time! That was my first reaction to picking up The Strategically Small Church. Written by small church pastor and Leadership Journal editor Brandon O’Brien, this book was a breath of fresh air in an era that is replete with “how to” books written by big guys about their big places. O’Brien vicariously pushes back against the conventional wisdom of the church growth movement and shares a very encouraging word to those who faithfully plod along.

O’Brien introduces his monograph with some helpful explanation behind the book’s title. A strategically small church isn’t necessarily an intentionally small church, but rather a church that is comfortable in its smallness because it has recognized some of the unique advantages that smallness offers to both congregation and community. Utilizing the strengths of its size, the small church can leverage what it brings to the table and make a significant impact. O’Brien quotes Chuck Warnock, who has said that “small churches are in desperate need of brand revival.” This was an important insight, because the number one problem of the small church is not its size but its perception. Being small is not the problem, according to the author. The problem lies in the insecurity and defensiveness that rises out of the failure to meet the expectations of their selves and others.

According to research in the book, 94% of churches in America are less than 500 in attendance, 177,000 of which are less than 100 in weekly attendance. Just over 5% of churches statistically average between 500 and 2,000, with one half of one percent exceeding 2,000 in weekly attendance. O’Brien suggests that there is a real problem if the 94% of small churches try to mimic the one half of one percent who are over 2,000 each week instead of working within their strengths and giftedness to meet the needs of their communities. The author suggests that small churches should recalibrate the metrics of success. He believes that bigger churches appear more successful because the possess statistics in areas that we already know how to measure. It is easy to put a statistic on church growth, but how does one measure kingdom growth?

The core of the book describes four strengths that small churches need to assess as such and build upon. The first strength that the small church inherently possesses is authenticity. Due to their size, small churches more naturally offer possibilities for personalized and intimate relationships. Small churches are somewhat more transparent, making hypocrisy more difficult to mask. O’Brien encourages the small church to simply stay authentic and to resist the temptation to be something they are not. By avoiding trendiness and business models the small church can maintain a high level of authenticity.

The second strength the writer points out is that small churches are lean. Instead of trying to “become all things to all people,” the small church should seek to do the things that no one else is doing and find a particular niche that the entire church can rally around. Programs should be developed solely on community need and giftedness within the body to exercise those programs. If a small church has members that have a particular interest that the church is incapable of developing, the author recommends that those particular members adopt a kingdom mindset and go serve that particular need through the auspices of a neighboring church.

Strength number three is for the small church to equip its members to serve as the missional presence of Christ through their jobs and neighborhoods. He cites statistics that reveal that people have significantly less discretionary time and income than their grandparents who devoted endless hours and dollars to their churches. Because of this socio-economic trend, O’Brien believes churches can be more effective by training their memberships to serve as they are and where they are rather than developing programs that depend on the church building to serve as the epicenter of ministry. Small churches need to shift their value system from attracting to sending and recognize the importance of making Kingdom contributions.

Finally, small churches should recognize the intergenerational advantages it possesses and use the older generations to mentor the young. This chapter offers the suggestion that small churches not feel pressured to age grade every ministry, but to let the natural blending of both young and old foster a family environment.

In conclusion, O’Brien confesses that the problem of the small church is that the very thing it’s attempting to achieve is the very thing that is undermining the very opportunity it’s been afforded. By exercising the natural strengths due to its size, the small church can, as it always has, continue to make an impact people’s lives and communities.

The Strategically Small Church is an excellent read for anyone in a church under 300. If you are a member of such a church, you’ll benefit deeply by this thoughtful and well written book. I would recommend that you purchase a copy, and after you’ve read it, share it with a friend or your pastor who is a part of a small church. It may be the most encouraging gift you give this year.

Marks of a World Changer: #4 Confidence in the Face of Opposition

So far this week we’ve looked at three marks of a world changer. World changers are people of unwavering conviction; committed to practicing spiritual disciplines; and consistently put compassion into action. The fourth mark is that world changers are confident in the face of persecution. Reading on in the fourth chapter of Acts, the Bible says, “So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.’ The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than 40 years” (Acts 4:18-22, NLT).

When the gospel advances someone is going to become upset. Notice this conflict was not over something insignificant like the color of the carpet or anyone’s musical preference. It was over the core conviction that Jesus had been raised from the dead. The apostle’s affirmed it, but the religious leaders denied it. When they were commanded to “shut up,” the apostles confidently stood their ground and recited their preference to live under the pleasure of God’s affirmation than to comply and conform to the pressure of public opinion.
I think this begs a very provocative question: What would it take to shut you up? What would it take to silence your witness or to stifle your conviction? Those who aspire to change the world in Jesus name cannot be silenced.

The obvious response to this line of thought could be something to the effect of, “This is America…who do I know that suffers persecution?” Good question. Let me encourage you to become acquainted with www.voiceofthemartyrs.com. This website is devoted to telling the story of the persecution of Christians around the world. We presently live in a world with some 171 nations. Of the 171 nations, 54 of them have made it illegal to adhere to Jesus Christ as Lord. The persecution and martyrdom of Christians in the 21st century is at an all time high. But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourself.

Some Love for Summer of Love!

Ashworth Road Baptist Church was featured in last week's West Des Moines Living Magazine for Summer of Love. Click here for the article. For more information about Summer of Love, visit our website at http://www.arbcsummeroflove.com!

Marks of a World Changer: #3 Compassion for People

The third mark of a world changer is that they show compassion for people. In the conversation recorded in Acts 4, several points stand out. In verse 9, Peter responds to the interrogation by saying, “Are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man?” Then in verses 14-16 the religious leaders remark to themselves that indeed the man with the congenital disability had been healed.

I think it’s become popular to talk about compassion. But talk is cheap. The thing that separates the catalyst from the rabble is action. Agents of change “do” compassion for those in need.

For 2,000 years the New Testament has nudged the Christian community toward compassionate action. This morning I read the book of James. With the weekend message still on my mind, I smiled at how frequently James pointed out to his audience that faith without demonstration is worthless. “Be warm and be filled” is lip service that is still alive and well today. I believe it’s time for the people of God to put up when it comes to justice issues and dealing with real problems in our communities. Shutting up is not a viable option.

Marks of a World Changer: #2 Spiritual Formation

The second mark of a world changer is that world changers are people who find inner strength through practicing the principles of spiritual formation. Notice Acts 4:13, which states, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus” (NLT).

The verse points out three things about Peter and John. First, they were ordinary guys. Fishermen by vocation, in fact. There was nothing extraordinary about them, whether it be physical features, intelligence, eloquence, or charisma. Average Joes, so to speak.
The second thing it points out is that they had bypassed conventional wisdom, which said that you had to have completed Rabbinical school in order to articulate religious concepts. No sheepskin on the wall for Peter and John.

The third thing is that the only distinguishing feature about them is that they had spent time with Jesus. For three years, Peter and John had sat at the feet of the master teacher. They had been with Jesus on good days and bad. They had witnessed miraculous acts performed by Jesus that words could scarcely portray. They had listened intently as he taught with imagery and metaphor. Time with Jesus was the distinguishing mark.

Have you been spending time with Jesus? Spiritual formation is the process that transforms our selfish souls into the Savior’s likeness. Some will speak of spiritual formation as the practice of spiritual disciplines, such as Bible reading, prayer, fasting and the like.

The point is this: many Christ followers expect a 60 minute weekly worship experience to meet their basic spiritual needs. That’s like saying that brushing your teeth or showering once a week is good enough. Or maybe more appropriately, eating food once a week will physically sustain your body’s needs.

World changers are people who make a difference in their environments. They do so because they are spiritually nourished and motivated from a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ.

Making Ideas Happen

One of the things that I appreciate most about my career peers is the level of creativity they possess. Think about what the average pastor has to produce over the course of a year. There are sermons to be researched, written and then orally communicated to attendees that possess on average a seven minute attention span. There are services for special occasions ranging from holidays to weddings and funerals. There is program administration, which requires a pastor to take a concept and lead volunteers to action. And in addition to all of this is the routine writing of letters, articles, and in my instance, a blog where I make about four posts per week. All of that to say that over a lifetime, a pastor creates volumes and volumes of material, beginning often with nothing more than a Bible, a pen, and a legal pad. Many ideas get implemented. But I suspect many are left to wither and die on the corner of a napkin that is tucked in a desk drawer.

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky is one of the best reads I’ve picked up in 2010. While it is clearly written for a business audience, I think it is very applicable to the pastors and clergy of our communities of faith. The title was compelling because I’m one who typically spends most of his time with the right half of the brain. Getting the plethora of ideas turned into reality has always been a sticking point for me. Thankfully, I’ve been blessed in my ministry career to be partnered with people who are excellent at gaming out those annoying nuts and bolts. Belsky’s book is helpful because through it I have discovered that I need to assume the responsibility for turning those wonderful ideas into action plans.

I think it’s important to note that Making Ideas Happen is not a book about how to become creative or how to increase creativity. By and large, the author assumes that the reader’s primary challenge is not the absence of creativity. The book is about how to take your ideas and turn them into something tangible. Any idea, regardless of good it may be, is nothing more than an idea unless it is executed. In fact, according to Belsky, an average idea with a plan of implementation is always better than a great idea with no plan of implementation.

The book is written in three broad sections. The first section deals with how to organize and execute ideas. Beginning with a bias toward action, the author walks the reader through basic steps of how to organize and structure an idea so that the idea can transition from concept into something that is concrete. The best basic advice he provides is that once the idea is conceived it must immediately be viewed as a project. Treating the idea as a project aids the creative mind in the actual implementation of the idea as well as fending off any distractions that might rear their heads.

Section two deals with “othering.” Ideas need members of the community to speak to them in order to help shape and refine them. I found this section intriguing because Belsky advocates vulnerability and transparency over and against vanity and narcissism. Anyone who has had an idea faces the temptation to become protective and possessive. Vanity can prevent the honest evaluation from others that is often necessary to put the concept in motion. As I read this I thought of artists, musicians and entertainers who have split up or sued over “creative control.” Belsky goes 180 degrees against that line of thought and encourages creative people to expose their ideas to feedback and evaluation. He makes it simple, asking the reader to consider whether creative control is the goal versus implementation. Great question!

In the concluding section, Belsky discusses the implications of creativity upon leadership styles. This section is helpful because Belsky addresses issues such as how creative people express leadership and how creative people prefer to be led. This section may have been worth the price of the book.

For too long people have polarized themselves around labels such as abstract and analytical. The author demonstrates that through discipline the creative person can have the best of both worlds. Making Ideas Happen was helpful on many levels, and I whole heartedly commend it to you for your reading pleasure. I believe you will find it beneficial.

Marks of a World Changer: #1 Conviction

In Acts 17:6, those first generation Christ followers had developed quite the reputation. They were known as those who were “turning the world upside down.” One may be surprised at the rapid growth of the Christian movement following the Day of Pentecost, but we should not be surprised at how quickly and fiercely opposition to the gospel of Jesus sprung up. When the gospel advances and good things begin to happen, somebody is going to become upset.

Acts 4 reports the initial development of persecution and opposition the gospelers. Undeterred, the apostles continued to advance the gospel with boldness and courage. They were out to change the world, and change the world they did.

What characterizes a world changer? What marks can we detect from Peter and John that will encourage us today?

First, world changers are people of unwavering conviction. In Acts 4:1-12, opposition arose over the apostle’s assertion that Jesus had risen from the dead. The religious leaders dutifully denied such things as possible. Yet Peter and John were unshakable on this significant theological point.

I think it’s important to note that the opposition to the gospel that I’m speaking of is over a significant point of doctrine. It wasn’t over carpet color or song selection or dress code for church. It was an attack directed at the very heart of the gospel. For them the resurrection of Jesus was not a negotiable point. They believed without reservation or hesitation.
Every person in world history who has made a significant impact for good or bad was a person of unwavering conviction. If you desire to be a world changer, you’re going to need to determine what your non-negotiable convictions are and stick to them like glue.

Seizing Opportunities (part 4)

Peter’s gospel message came as a response to the attention that was stirred by the healing of the lame man. As I posted earlier this week, in Acts, events lead to explanations. With that being said, let me share a couple of points of application as I wrap up this series from Acts chapter 4.

First, God sightings begin by discerning God’s work in your own life. Unfortunately we miss a lot of the “events” because at our very core we are pretty self absorbed. We esteem ourselves as intelligent and hardworking, therefore the blessings that come in our lives we take credit for. Until you begin to intentionally and diligently give God glory for the good things in your life, you may continue your journey and miss the very God who is at work in your life on a daily basis.

Second, let the good things in your life become your platform to share the good news. You’re not lucky. You’re not fortunate. You’re not deserving. You are very blessed. As you discern God’s blessing and give him the glory for those blessings, you’ll find that your opportunities to share the gospel will dramatically increase. And so will your effectiveness.

Summer of Love

Last night's Summer of Love project took some from our church to work with Rebuilding Together, a Des Moines organization helping those in the city do some basic remodelling and rennovation jobs around their homes. Pictured with me above is Matthew Pierce who I worked with finishing the last portion of the house. Did I mention the heat index last night was 110 degrees?! For more information and photos from Summer of Love, check out http://www.arbcsummeroflove.com/.

Seizing Opportunities (part 3)

There’s a guy at the end of the street I’ve noticed recently. He wears a black trenchcoat, a black hat and sunglasses. Standing there at the corner, he holds a sign that reads, “The end is near.” I think that’s the perspective that some people may share regarding the gospel…that it’s nothing more than a message designed to induce blame and shame.

But the gospel isn’t really the gospel until grace is introduced. Grace is the resolution to the dissonant that sin creates in our lives. And while some are unbalanced on guilt, in fairness I think some are unbalanced on grace. But we cannot treat guilt and grace as either/or propositions. The message of the gospel is both/and.

Having dealt with glory and guilt, Peter then moves to the climax of his message: God’s grace. The Bible states, “Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:19-21, NLT).

In those three verses, Peter informed his audience of three things that grace would bring to them. First, grace provides forgiveness of sin that eliminates the guilt of the past. Writers point out that in the first century ink contained no acid content. The ink would dry on top of the parchment, but would not become imbedded in the fibers like our permanent ink does today. Ink in the first century was not unlike our modern dry erase markers where if you make a mistake, you just wipe it away. That’s a good word picture of forgiveness…the slate is wiped clean.

Grace also provides refreshment for today. That word is lost on our younger generation today, but those who are my age and older know what refreshments are. Refreshments are served at the end of a meeting or in the middle of a difficult task and offer rest and renewal. Grace recognizes that even though we have been “wiped clean,” life here on earth is still filled with difficult challenges. Grace provides refreshment so that we can continue our Christian journey through life.

Finally, grace promises a future deliverance from the cares and troubles of this world. When Christ returns, he will make all things new. The brokenness we experience in our lives and our creation which has resulted from the fall will be eliminated. We will be delivered and all things will be restored.

Past, present, and future. God’s grace deals with our yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Jesus is glorious, we are guilty, but God’s grace is sufficient to meet every need of our lives. That’s the good news of the gospel.

Seizing Opportunities (part 2)

Peter’s explanation of the gospel in Acts chapter 3 began with him declaring the wonderful glory of Jesus Christ. He then took an interesting twist, moving from the glory of Christ to the guilt that each person carries because of their sin. In Acts 3:14-18, Peter shared a list of accusations. They had handed Christ over for crucifixion, denied and disowned him as Messiah, demanded the release of Barabbas, and ultimately “killed the author of life.” Why does gospel preaching seem to gravitate toward sin and guilt? Why so confrontational?

First, as my father used to say, you cannot be saved until you know you’re lost. Gospel preaching informs the listeners of their grave situation of danger. Sin and guilt have separated all of us from God. Furthermore, we must assume personal responsibility for who we are and what we have done. And in case we ever wonder, ignorance is not an excuse (cf. 3:17). That’s why the preaching of Acts falls on our ears as strong and at times even harsh. Our self righteousness is no righteousness at all.

Second, gospel preaching helps us to understand that we are not like God. We are not even remotely close. Once again as we read Acts 3, Peter begins with the glory of Jesus, and contrasts that glory with our own guilt. This is not wordsmithing, but basic theology. Jesus is glorious and we are guilty, and there’s really nothing we can do about it. It’s the distance between Jesus’ glory and our guilt that makes grace so compelling.

Seizing Opportunities

The Book of Acts contains around 30 gospel sermons that were preached by the apostles. The pattern that we begin to see unfold thus far in Acts concerning the gospel is that events lead to explanations. In other words, a miraculous event is followed by an explanation of the event. These explanations are not explanations of how the event occurred, but rather explanations of who caused the event to happen.

For example, following the healing of the lame man at the onset of Acts 3 the people who witnessed the miracle are astounded and amazed at what they had just seen. Instead of letting people take the miracle and interpret it however they chose to interpret it, Peter saw an opportunity (3:12) and called for everyone’s attention for the purpose of explaining what had just taken place. His explanation became the platform for his second gospel sermon in as many chapters.

Peter began by ascribing glory to Jesus Christ. Here’s what he said: “People of Israel, what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this” (Acts 3:12-13, NLT) Giving glory to God is a two step process. It involves refusing to accept any credit and at the same time giving full credit to Jesus.

The apostles expected God to be at work in and around their lives. When they saw God at work, they seized the opportunity and used it as a platform to share good news. Where do you see God at work? Are you taking advantage of those opportunities to share good news?

Pastors are Fatter, Sicker, & more Depressed | Out of Ur | Conversations for Ministry Leaders

Pastors are Fatter, Sicker, & more Depressed Out of Ur Conversations for Ministry Leaders

Dangerous Assumptions

I've been thinking lately, which could be considered a dangerous thing in and of itself. Nonetheless, I've been contemplating assumptions that people like you and me make. We make assumptions all the time, and I suppose some of those assumptions are harmless enough. But sometimes our assumptions can become dangerous, leading us down paths that we would otherwise avoid. For example, many people and orgnanizations assume tomorrow will be like today.

A friend of mine once told me the story of a competition designed for meteorologists that was held at Purdue University. The plan was to crown the most accurate weather prognosticator in the nation. Over a long period of time, weather guys and gals were to submit their forecasts and at the end a winner would be crowned. As the story goes, the first winner was not a weather person, but an engineering student who used a simple formula: tomorrow's weather will be the same as today's.

This assumption deals with time and our expectations of time. Unfortunately, we live in a culture that is based on hours and days. If you don't believe me, look at your Daytimer or whatever time management tool you maintain. Those neat little lines on the page don't reveal the amount of change that is really taking place. Think of a person who loses a bunch of weight. If that person lives in your house, you may not notice the change. It's gradual, almost undetectable. Now think about that class reunion or the company picnic. You see those people once a year. If over the course of the year a person has lost a bunch of weight, you immediately notice.

We are often blind to the gradual changes that are under our noses. Some of those may be changes for the better, while others present threats and challenges that will catch us off guard if we are not anticipating them. Before you know it, those days pile up and we wake up one day and wipe the sleep from our eyes and wonder, "What just happened?"

On the Church Steps: Transformation

“He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them” (Acts 3:8, NLT)

Compassion that moves beyond mere accommodation participates and gets involved in a person’s life. While accommodation can be beneficial, God uses our participation to bring about transformation. Reflecting on the lame man in Acts 3, it is quite obvious that the power was God’s but the hand that raised him up was Peter’s.

If you think about your own life for a minute, every significant transformation that has occurred is covered with the fingerprints of those who have walked beside you through your stuff. Those people loved you, accepted you, were patient with you, challenged you, encouraged you, helped you, prayed with you, advised you, sat silently with you, and were available to you. God is clearly the one who works the miracle of transformation. But He uses others to help in significant ways.

Is there anything more exciting than seeing lives change? Is there any greater blessing than having a hand in God's transformational work?

On the Church Steps: Response

Confronted by a need and an expectation on the door step of the Temple, the story from Acts 2 takes an interesting twist. "Peter said, 'I don't have any money for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!' Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man's feet and anklebones were healed and strengthened" (Acts 3:6-7, NLT).

Rather than meet the expectation, Peter, by the power of the Holy Spirit, exceeded the expectation. I think this raises an important question: How do we respond to the expectations of those on the church steps?

Sometimes we may choose to avoid those expectations. We avoid the expectation by, proverbially speaking, entering the Temple at a different gate. Or, more commonly, we simply don't make eye contact. There's something about eye contact that acknowledges existence and reality. If we don't make eye contact, it doesn't exist in our own reality.

Other times we may choose to accomodate the expectations. This is a simple reponse that meets the need at face value. If the lame man asked for a couple of bucks and Peter and John had given a couple of bucks, no one would have condemned them for that. In fact, in our modern American culture, we would probably celebrate them. But if all they did was accomodate the need, we wouldn't be talking about it today. Commendable? Yes. Worth preserving for 2,000 years in Holy Scripture? Hardly.

Accomodating people's needs isn't all bad, and I don't want to sound disparaging. God's people, clothed with compassion, should seek to meet needs as much as possible. I am pleased to be in a church that seeks to accomodate every request that comes to our steps. Having said that, Peter and John didn't accomodate the lame man's need. Rather they chose to participate in his need.

Participating in one's need means that you roll up your sleeves and get involved with the real issues at hand. Rather than perpetuate a bad situation, they offered to invest in the lame man to the extent that his life was forever changed. They didn't meet his expectation, they exceeded it.

This is where being a Christian can potentially get messy. Granted, the Acts 3 account though powerful, is neat and clean. He couldn't walk. He was healed. And everyone lived happily ever after. But often times our experiences in participating in people's lives aren't so neat. People's lives can be pretty complicated, and the emotional and mental scars from where they are wounded don't go away so quickly. After all, not every need is visible to the eye. Nonetheless, I think Jesus calls us to participate in people's needs. Maybe not everyone's. But certainly some one's. But by God's grace and through the power he continues to make available to us through his Holy Spirit, we roll up our sleeves and do work. After all, that's what being the presence of Christ tangibly is all about.

On the Church Steps: Expectations

What do people who are proverbially on the church steps expect of those on the inside? The story of Acts 3 begins with Peter and John going to the afternoon prayer meeting at the Temple. On the steps of the Temple they encountered a man with a congenital disability, rendering him unable to stand or walk. As the story goes, this lame man was carried to the Temple steps on a daily basis where he would beg for money. To him, Peter and John were just two more guys going to church, so when he saw them he made his repeated request for alms. Picking up the story in Acts 3, the Bible says, “Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money” (Acts 3:4-5, NLT).

Notice that the lame man expected the people of God to be compassionate. Alms giving was an important part of Jewish piety in the first century. The Old Testament law commanded it, and Jesus commended it (see Matthew 6:1-4). Giving to the poor was a litmus test for faithfulness, so it makes sense that the man sought out the church steps for help.

Notice also, however, that the lame man didn’t really expect the people of God to do much more than toss him a couple of bucks. The story makes it fairly clear that this was his daily practice, presumably because he never received enough to carry him for more than about 24 hours.

Do you ever wonder what people outside the church expect from the people of God who worship inside the church? I think one of the biggest challenges we have in reaching our communities with the gospel is that most of the people inside the church have been going to church most of their lives. Reconcile that with Jesus’ commission to take the gospel to people who have never been to church much, if any at all. I wonder if there is a disconnect between the people on the church steps and the people who are inside the doors? What can we do about the tension between “their” expectations and “our” assumptions? I think that’s a conversation worth having. Tomorrow I’ll post on Peter and John’s response to the expectation they were met with, and how we can respond to expectations today.

On the Church Steps

Acts 2:43 reports that the Holy Spirit was doing miraculous things through the apostles. This insight is helpful as the reader turns the page and begins reading the account of the healing of the lame man in Acts 3. If we didn’t have access to the previous text, we might be tempted to think that this story was a rare occurrence in those days following Pentecost. But I think Acts 3 should be read in light of verse 2:43, giving it more of the flavor of “…for example.”

Acts 3 is a very encouraging passage. It reminds us that the ascension of Jesus didn’t end or reduce the power of Jesus to work in people’s lives. The power that Jesus displayed during his ministry is made available to those possessed and filled with the Holy Spirit. Though Jesus was no longer visibly present in bodily form, he routinely made his presence known through the Spirit. Acts is exciting because it reveals how the apostles and the early adopters to Christianity were learning to walk in rhythm with the Spirit.

So if I had to come up with a main point or big idea for this text, it would be that the power of God was continuing to produce transformation in people’s lives, even though Jesus had ascended.

This past weekend in worship, I wanted to deal with three questions about the text. Question 1: What do people outside the church expect of “the church?” Question 2: How do people inside “the church” respond to those expectations? And finally question 3: What is God’s goal for the process. I’ll pick up the question about expectations in tomorrow’s post.