My Top Reasons for Pursuing Biblical Unity

Here are my top reasons for pursuing biblical unity in all that I believe and live in my Christian life: (in no particular order)

1. I am a child of a triune, fully unified God
2. I love Jesus Christ and His Good News
3. I love the church, the universal, catholic church
4. I love the Holy Spirit
5. Jesus' prayer in John 17 - His glory and fame is on the line!
6. I love people
7. I love the mission to make disciples
8. I love my wife
9. I love my daughter
10. I love theology
11. I love the Word
12. Sin is real, dangerous and hopeless
13. I love creation
14. I hate the Fall and all of its effects and fruit
15. Division in the Church is real, unfruitful and counterproductive
16. Infighting prevents outreach
17. "Unity" today has been lost in translation, especially in Christian circles
18. Time must be redeemed because the days are still evil
19. Jesus is coming back soon!
20. I'm still breathing...

I list these primarily to be stated, not debated.

The Functionality of the Gospel: An Intro

"One of the greatest challenges, yet one of the most important tasks of the pastor is to help people actually see the connections between the gospel and the thinking and behavior that make up their everyday lives. We know well the centrality of the gospel message but in order for it to have a functional centrality it must be clearly and carefully connected to the real issues – issues of thought and conduct-of people's lives..."(Mike Bullmore, The Functional Centrality of the Gospel in the life of the local Church).

The Gospel must become "functionally central to the individual Christian and the local church" (Mike Bullmore). Okay, so you know the Gospel must be keptat center stage, but how then does it become functional at center stage? How does this truth leap off the stage and into my life and invade my heart? This question and the tireless search for its answer has been at the forefront of my mind for the last 2 years. I want to share with you why, in my opinion, this question is one of THE most important questions a Christian could answer. Because answering it will effect your entire Christian walk, specifically the manner in which you act, react, think, and feel about everything.

I want to begin before I make my case with some legitimate reactions in response to this plea for a functioning and practical Gospel: (both are extremes to fit the way my mind typically works)

1. Extreme Skepticism - "Make the Gospel practical? no way! The last thing we need is a watered-down, simplistic, dumbed down, child-like, easy-to-believe Gospel. The Gospel is challenging, powerful, lofty, theological and divine!"

This would be an understandable reaction. However, this person misses the point and goes to the extreme in their perception of the words "functioning and practical". They fear this would make the Gospel basic and everydayish in concept and application, thereby causing the Gospel to be stripped of its divine power to save. But what they don't understand is that God's Gospel was not designed primarily to benefit us in the beginning by our faith, but is to function daily throughout our walk with Christ. The skeptics' "hard-to-reach only-for-mature-deep-thinking-Christians" Gospel should not be simplified or made 'user-friendly'. So he can only view an attempt to functionalize the Gospel as hostile to its very nature. These skeptics may be trusting in a "Jesus + Gospel", works based righteousness, or their own rigid, pragmatic, and stuck-in-a-book Gospel. To them, the Gospel is indeed the "power of God to salvation", however it never functions in any other aspect other than adhering to a list of facts or dutifully reciting some creed.

2. Extreme Acceptance - "Yes, yes, yes. This is what I've been talking about. The Gospel is so simple and basic. We need to be making it practical and easy for all to understand and accept. The Gospel is not for intelligent, high-minded, intellectuals obsessed with theology and reading, but is for the down-and-out, the prostitute, the tax-evader, the murderer, the rapist, and the child molester. These people need simplistic answers. They need a simple formula. A basic truth. A little nugget of Christ, just enough to chew on and enjoy the taste. Yes, the Gospel must be practical and functional in the most simplist way".

This would also be an understandable reaction to my argument for a "functioning" Gospel. However, this hypothetical person also misses my point and therefore takes their interpretation to the extreme. He believes the Gospel is simple. He is correct. Simple in that one does not have to study, and study, and study, and study to become a brainiac to be saved or to understand it. This Simpleton person rightly sees the danger of overintellectualizing (I think I made that up) and overcomplicating the Gospel and therefore understandably reacts as they do. He knows that God is not a God of confusion and that the devil is the Father of all lies. So he deducts from those truths a line of reasoning that says that God would not complicate His message so it must be easy. He also believes that God is pleased to reveal this to babes and to conceal it from the wise (Matt 11:25; Lk 10:21). And he would be right. He is also right in that the Gospel is not just for smart men. Most of us would be in trouble if it was; it is for the down-and-out too. Its simple in that the humble, lowly, poor in spirit and those thirsting for truth will receive it. The high-minded and prideful, those trusting in their righteousness won't. He is confused about what I mean by a "functioning" Gospel. Functioning doesn't imply dumbing it down. It doesn't imply making it so base that a brick can comprehend it.

Functioning means the Gospel must be living and active in the life of the believer. But we cannot make the Gospel simple or acceptable for man to understand. No amount of our simplifying it for the lost man will do much good if we strip it of its power, the content, namely the work, person, and words of Jesus Christ. But the Gospel is not simple as far as responding to it. It is impossible for man to heed the commands of the Gospel, namely to repent and believe, in order to be saved without the regnerating work of the Holy Spirit. Our part as Christians is to faithfully present the Gospel as it truly is, foolishness to those who are perishing, and God will give the growth as He sees fit. Its simple because we plant or water the seed, but God gives the increase. Yet the Simpleton must understand that to the unregenerate man, this Gospel is utter foolishness (1 Cor 1:18, 21). So it is complicated and illogical to the lost man. And to the saved man, it makes perfect sense. Despite the saved man's limitations in fully understanding the whole counsel of God, for him the Gospel is simple in belief and to believe.

Isn't there a midpoint or a compromise between these two extreme reactions to desire a functioning Gospel? What's the appropriate response to understanding "the Gospel must be fully functional"? I am going to argue liberally and hopefully charitably that the proper understanding of a "functioning" Gospel is one that is...

• Theologically Deep
• Purposefully Practical
• Powerfully Performing
• Faithfully Fruitful
• Heart transforming
• Truth Revealing
• Christ Conforming
• Church Reforming
• Culture Reshaping
• Community Reviving

The Gospel is so perfect in its design because its designer, God, is so perfect. It functions for what it was designed to function for: bring people to God to know and enjoy Him forever. So, the question is how does this Good News, the Gospel, function to do this in every aspect of the life of the believer?

Tune in next time and see.

Powerful Gospel Quotes from Pastor Tim Keller

One of the most powerful and liberating articles I've ever read on believing and applying rightly the Gospel, is Pastor Tim Keller's "The Centrality of the Gospel".

It's available here for free.

Especially crucial in Pastor Tim's article is his explanation of the "two thieves of the gospel", religion (moralism) and irreligion (hedonism). Both are dangerous enemies to the grace of the Gospel and the glory of God. Both are rooted heart issues of unbelief that steal our joy, squash our hope, quench our thirsts, quiet our minds, and confuse our lives into thinking either we must work hard to earn God's favor or we can't earn God's favor so why work at all? Both are very self-satisfying and damning.

Please read this article.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from it:

• "the Christian life is a process of renewing every dimension of our life -- spiritual, psychological, corporate, social -- by thinking, hoping, and living out the "lines" or ramifications of the gospel. The gospel is to be applied to every area of thinking, feeling, relating, working, and behaving".
• "All our problems come from a failure to apply the Gospel".
• "The main problem, then, in the Christian life is that we have not thought out the deep implications of the gospel, we have not "used" the gospel in and on all parts of our life. Richard Lovelace says that most people's problems are just a failure to be oriented to the gospel -- a failure to grasp and believe it through and through".
• "All of us, to some degree live around the truth of the gospel but do not "get" it. So the key to continual and deeper spiritual renewal and revival is the continual re-discovery of the gospel".
• "The gospel shows us a God far more holy thatn the legalist can bear (hehad to die because we could not satisfy his holy demands) and yet far more merciful than a humanist can conceive (he had to die because he loved us)".
• "We must bring everything into line with the gospel".
• The Gospel and Worship: "But the gospel leads us to see that God is both transcendent yet immanent. His immanence makes his transcendence comforting, while his transcendence makes his immanence amazing. The gospel leads us to both awe and intimacy in worship, for the Holy One is now our Father".

Rebuilding Burned Bridges - How the Gospel demands bulls return and clean the china shops

To all you church-hoppers, church-shoppers, pew jumpers, ship abandoners, captain haters, hill-diers, preference martyrs, stake nailers and wedge drivers who have burnt bridges by leaving churches in wrong ways for wrong reasons:

the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His cross demands that you humble yourself, love your brothers and sisters, and seek for unity and peace with the churches you have left in ruins by going back for reconciliation.

Too often, Christians in their pride and prejudice, pickiness and preferences have acted like "a bull in a china shop" toward the churches they have left. The Gospel demands that these Christian bullys return to these china shops for a mass cleanup and reconcile not only with the customers (church members) but the china shop owner (pastor/leaders).

It's high time us bullys clean up our messes for the sake of the Gospel.

This is not my idea. It's been designed and decided on by the entire trinity of the Godhead: God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I get this from perhaps the sweetest of all the words of Christ, the High Priestly Prayer in John 17.

Jesus says:

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may knowthat you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."

Wow, did you catch that? Jesus, in a prayer for His saints for Himself and His Father's glory, prays for perfect harmonious unity for the purpose of missions. Did you catch that? "Just as you, Father are in me, and I in you, that they may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (verse 21).

This puts a more serious bent and perspective on the damage done by Christian bullys who stormed out of a church. If they left in a sinful way for sinful reasons with a sinful heart, then they most likely did damage to the unity of that community of believers and therefore (like Christ prays) prevented the nearby world from believing in Jesus.

Let me say it again simpler: The bully causes a ruckus, storms out of a church with hurt feelings and hurt people, leaves a mess, causes division, the body suffers, the leadership struggles, unity is threatened, and therefore the local community is either preached a false Gospel or a nonexistent one. In other words, No Gospel At All is Preached!

Even Paul argues for unity once he learns of the bullying and division and immaturity going on in the church of Corinth in the first chapter of first Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Here Paul, embarassingly, has to remind the Corinthians believers why he was chosen by Christ: not to baptize but to preach the Gospel. And to do it not with eloquence or excellence but with authenticity so that the cross of Christ would be displayed as it truly is: powerful and purposeful and effective!

Paul is pleading with the Corinthians to stop creating cliques and groups and causing quarrels but rather to unify under Christ Jesus. Not under any favorite teacher, preacher, sermon, doctrine, preference, style of worship or other perifferal non-essential of the faith.

Its the same today. Same thing different day. Believers today are fighting over their personal favorites and preferences and prideful version of Christianity rather than submitting to the unity and power of the cross of Jesus Christ by the Spirit. They are, in a sense, bullying their way through the pews to manipulate and govern and let their boisterous voices be heard. They will not stop until damage has been done.

If you can relate to what I am speaking of and you have been this raging bull, the damage has already been done. The bridge is burned. The fires have raged. The wood is singed. The ashes are piled up. The smoke is almost done smoldering. The damage is done.

However, praise God it's not too late to rebuild! It's not too late to go back. It's not too late to reconcile. It's not too late to rediscover the beauty of the unity of the cross of Jesus Christ. What you must do is humble yourself, seek out the offended, take the initiative to seek restoration, and fight hard to reestablish a relationship of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

I know first hand what it is like to transition from gentle lamb to raging, fiery bull. Unfortunately, I was the bull in the china shop. I stormed out of a church in 2005 that I grew up in for 11 years. All of it over hatred for the man who led this church. If I'm honest I'll ask these questions:

• Did I seek out this pastor for conversation?
• Did I seek to understand him?
• Did I pursue a relationship with him?
• Did I seek to honor, respect, love, and submit to his person and office?
• Did I seek to see him as a brother in Christ, giving him the benefit of the doubt?
• Did I seek to encourage, exhort, edify, build up?
• Did I seek to ask more questions than make demands?
• Did I seek humility towards him or pride over him?
• Did I speak kindly and gently about him and his character and office?
• Did I seek for peace, unity, kinship, and reconciliation?

The answer to all of these questions is a big fat NO!!!

I was too caught up in my own arrogant and damning pride to see the error of my own ways. The log I had in my own eye kept me from seeing clearly to actually help him with the specks in his. Grant it, reasons I left were largely theological, which very well could have been resolved if I had chosen the fight side of the "fight or flight mentality" rather than the flight side.

Typically the bull's preference is to make a lot of noise, do a lot of damage and then run out. Not fight it out and stick around to help clean up and restore.

I am aware and encouraged by God's mysterious sovereignty to take me out of that church and where I am now. Even with my own sin and pride to leave in a wrong way. Even though I may have done great damage to the testimony of Christ and to the preaching and applying of His Gospel. Yet there is not a day that goes by that I don't regret and doubt my decisions of hastiness, desperation, impatience, hopelessness, and unbelief in the Gospel.

The simple truth is: I left too fast, too wrong, and too foolishly. There are people I should seek forgiveness from and those I should seek to forgive. Some of them leaders. It will take much humbling on my part to go back and reconcile. It doesn't mean I have to go back permanently and rejoin for membership. But think of what power may come if I stepped out of my comfort zone for the sake of the prayer of our Lord and Savior, to gain unity among brothers so that Christ would be glorified and the world may believe.

Is it possible that the world is in grave unbelief now and the church is in a destitute state now because of an extreme lack of unity? Could it be that we don't preach the unity of the cross accurately let alone period? What if the church came under the cross together? What would the world see?

The world would see Jesus; and more specifically they would see God and the oneness of His love and grace.

So Christian, what are you gonna do? The Gospel demands reconciliation whether you want it or not. If you are a creation of the cross of Christ, then you have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5). Your main duty of delight is to reconcile others to God, to each other, and to King Jesus! What does that look like?

Can you go back to that church you left in a rubble? Can you retreat in humility and seek out restoration? Can you forgive? Can you reach out? Will you obey the Gospel? God calls you to glorify Himself by glorifying His Son. One major way that happens is to be reconciled to your brothers and sisters in Christ. Being divided against them is unloving and hateful. And 1 John warns that those who do not love their brother cannot be born of God.

If you don't love your family, you are not a child of God. Those are strong words. Do you believe them? Can you go back?

I will. I can. I must. Let's go together. For the sake of the cross. For the sake of their unity and ours. For the sake of the world's faith. For the sake of God's glory.

It may take time, a lot of it. But it's more than worth it. Let's rebuild these burnt bridges. Let's lay down our pride. Let's embrace the humility of the cross and love our family in Christ. Clean up the china you bull. Repent and have faith in the unity and restoration of the Gospel of Christ. God forgives as you forgive others.

What are you gonna do? Maybe you need to write a hand-written letter. Maybe you need to show up in person. Maybe you need to buy lunch or make dinner and invite them over. Maybe you need to serve them by doing radical Gospel service for them. Maybe you need to privately confess. Maybe you need to serve under their leadership for some time. Maybe you need to seek them out for counsel for a while. Maybe you need to publicly apologize and repent before many.

Take a leap of faith. Make sacrifices. Take the initiative. Do the right thing, come what may.

Can Gospel-Centered Business Ideas Be Doodled?

So I found this awesome book. So awesome, I bought it for my pastor instead of myself. ;)

But it will prove to be a great tool for doodling ideas and thoughts period. But especially ideas on how to apply the Gospel to the business world.

The book is "The Back of the Napkin". You must buy it and use it. I know you have doodled on a napkin or collected fragments of a newspaper to write an idea down. Same concept yet more intuitive.

Enjoy.

The Gospel Demands a Hatred for Sin, Not Culture: Three Views

The Gospel drives us to hate the sin of the people in culture not the culture of the people or the people in the culture. Hating the culture is unintelligent; hating the people is ungodly.

I had a very striking conversation with my dad and dear brother Jeremy. We started to talk about the tragic losses of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. That led naturally to discussions about our culture and society as a whole. We talked about everything from the evolution of technology from ipods and twitter to increased violence in schools and a loss of meaning in communication today.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that we live in a world obsessed with technology; especially pc technology. By pc technology what I mean is technology that is linked or influenced by the use of a personal computer: the internet, ipods, mp3 players, iphones, webcams, twitter, myspace, facebook, google, youtube, etc. Pc technology is literally exploding off of the scene in a rate that most people cannot keep up with the tidal wave of growth. What's really sad is I am nearly 28 and have already started to notice that I struggle to interpret the lingo and terminology of today's youth from 12-18.

In our fascinating conversation I noticed that Christians typically have three main reactions or philosophies toward the culture they live in (I like to think in threes, it captures both extremes and a middle road but I am not so naive to think that there are not more that I don't know of):

1. Sectarianism - Ultra-conservative; Fundamentalism; Legalism
2. Missional - Fundamergents; biblical
3. Syncretism - Liberalism; Emergent; Antinomianism

Let me say from the onset that I don't believe words are inherently evil; so words like "conservative" and "liberal" are not bad. We only make them evil by the connotations they bring up in our mind and the most popular definition they are given by our culture at a specific time.

However, the word conservative and liberal have both come to bring good and bad connotations. More liberal-minded moralists typically consider conservatism a threat. And more conservative-minded moralists typically consider liberalism a threat. Liberalism is usually associated with a looser more relativistic view of morality and life. While conservatism is usually associated with a tighter more absolute view of morality and life.

Nonetheless, these are the definitions I will use for this post.

Christian Sectarianism

A definition:

This is the view that all of culture (including man and his ideas) is inherently evil, bad, unbiblical, ungodly, and in total and complete rebellion to God and His ways.

A response:

Sectarians thus respond by separating themselves from as many aspects of culture as possible including music, entertainment, arts, theater, clothing styles, certain languages and terminologies, certain peoples and groups of people, political stances, historical views, science, education, etc. Since the culture is evil, then separation is necessary to live a good and pleasing life to God. The more separate from culture, the more holy they become. As separation increases, sanctification therefore must be increasing. The more distance between culture and church, the closer the church gets to God.

A problem:

The problem with sectarians is that they find themselves so far removed from culture that they actually become out of touch to the point of having no part in the conversation of culture. They aren't able to properly translate the Gospel of Christ into their culture. They are stuck on their own terminology, definitions, appearances, and views so much that the culture struggles hard to see not only what they are saying and doing but how it's even relevant.

An encouragement:

Problem aside, sectarians are least on the right track with their professed love for God's holiness and their hatred for what appears evil or dishonorable to God. However, again, they "love" God only at the expense of not loving people enough to actually meet them where they are so that the Gospel can powerfully and accurately infiltrate their culture.

Christian Syncretism

A defintion:

This view, on the opposite side of the spectrum from sectarianists, holds thatall of culture is good, if not beneficial, God-ordained, and pleasing to God.

A response:

Syncretists thus respond by fully embracing culture and what it has to offer. Like sectarians, syncretists too measure the success of their mission by their distance to culture. However, sectarians see success in a far distance from culture while syncretists see success in a very close distance to culture. The closer one gets to embracing and becoming at one with the culture, the closer one gets to the honor of God and the fulfillment of one's mission. An increase in becoming like the culture (somehow) becomes an increase in becoming like God. In other words, the closer one gets to his culture the closer one gets to his God.

A problem:

The problem syncretists have is the exact opposite of sectarians (who would've guessed that?). Syncretists end up placing too much importance on intimacy to culture. They place nearness to culture over nearness to God. They draw near to man and his ideas and expression of those ideas at the expense of knowing and honoring God more. Like the sectarians, they too become irrelevant to the culture because they lose touch with who God is and what He is like. The closer they get to conforming to culture, the farther they get from God. Thus the culture sees no difference or powerful message from the syncretist, only yet another group within the culture; same basic message different way of preaching.

What the culture needs is a starkly different message, even if it is preached in a similar way.

An encouragement:

The good thing about the syncretist, apart from his major dangerous flaw of leaving God for culture, is that he pursues man where he is. The syncretist seeks out man at all cost. Like Paul says "be all things to all men...". The problem though is the syncretist stops there. He can do great at being all things to all men. But he misses Paul's point in being all things to all men, "so that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). Or even Paul's next statement: "I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings (1 Corinthians 9:23).

The syncretist forgets that the best way to reach into culture and love men is to save them, to do it for the sake of the gospel. What is the Gospel's sake? To reconcile men to God. The end is that God may be glorified by the salvation of His people. The syncretist places a false sense of unity and harmony through all-encompassing acceptance at the expense of God redeeming for Himself a people.

Christian Missional

A definition:

Okay so this term has been tossed around to and fro the last 5 years or so. Especially by the likes of Mark Driscoll (who may have termed it), Ed Stetzer, Albert Mohler, and more. The best definition I can give is:

the view that culture is owned and ruled by God's sovereign mysterious hand, that it contains both good and evil, that nothing is inherently evil but rather the hearts of men who create and express ideas of culture are evil, and that God is not only capable of but will eventually redeem all things back to Himself, including the culture; that there are many honorable things about culture that show God's grace, creativity, and love; and that God has designed His gospel to infiltrate the culture, kill sin wherever it is found, love men wherever they may be, and lead them to Himself wherever He finds them.

A response:

So missional Christians have a strong sense of the importance and power of life to be not only founded on Jesus Christ and His Gospel but God's Word, the Holy written, infallable, inerrant, fully divine authoritative unchangeable and sufficient Bible. And they have a duel passion for both God and His glory and man. Therefore missional-minded Christians realize they live within the culture to live among the culture so that they can go into the culture and spend their time loving people where they find them in the culture. This helps the Gospel be culturally relevant, because it has purchased a people out of that culture, and still not be like the culture. Cultural but not of the culture. This is how God has designed it.

A final comparison:

So for example, a sectarian Christian would say that rap music or hip hop style clothes are sinful because they are of the culture of the world. A syncretic Christian would say that rap music and hip hop clothing styles are perfectly fine, even when not sung in Jesus' name because they celebrate the diversity and creativity of God. But the missional Christian would say that no music style or clothing style (unless immodest) is inherently evil but the hearts of the ones producing or wearing it is evil. And that God finds great joy and wisdom in redeeming a people out of those cultures, not to reverse their cultural tattoo, but rather to transform their heart and mind, leave them tattooed so that they can preach the Gospel and live Christ Jesus in and among their cultural tatoo.

Syncretists love and embrace the culture apart from a theological view of God primer. This love for culture at the expense of God's demand for holiness and proper Gospel exclusion can border a hatred for culture. Sectarians border a hatred for the culture by professing a sole love for God at the expense of loving people. Being missional means loving God first and then loving people. It doesn't mean embracing culture, it means embracing the people of culture. It doesn't mean rejecting culture totally or rejecting the people in the culture but the sins of the people in culture.

The Gospel draws a balance line between loving the people in the culture, seeking to understand the culture so as to best meet the people who live in the culture, and then hating the sins of the people in that culture.

The Gospel must necessarily redeem a people within their culture so that they can live as light and salt inside of their culture. Yes the Gospel does redeem a people outside of their culture to be extracultural missionaries to other cultures. But here I am referring to the power of the Gospel to take a rebel, change him into a child of God and a joining priests with King Jesus, and send him to find other rebels to make them priests.

That's awesome! And that doesn't come at all from loving culture at the expense of living for and loving God's glory (syncretism) or from hating culture at the expense of loving people (sectarianism). It comes from loving God, loving people, and hating everything in the people that hates God!

Embrace the Gospel. Don't hate the culture. Don't hate the people in the culture. Don't love the culture. Hate their sin. Love the people. Love God. Believe and live the Gospel that hates sin, not the container that holds or displays sin.

The Missional Gospel: Love God, love people, hate sin, and do it all in your culture for the glory of God!

A Good Way to Avoid a Church Split: Decrease the "I's" and Increase the "We"

Ladies and gentlemen, the I's have it.

I was reading an article on "How to Prevent A Church Split, Part 1" and was brought to specific attention to two of the warning signs of church splits:

• Low concern for the church qua church. We live in a Christian era that stresses the individual like no era before it. Most people think Christianity is about me and "my personal relationship with Jesus." That littly phrase, "my personal," acting as a kind of double possessive, is deadly to the body. And it's often compounded by the next warning signal.

• Self-interests dominate group interests. If life is all about "my personal relationship" then I'm likely to be quite self-seeking. I want to be stimulated. I want to be served. I want my preferences met. I... I... I... till there is no "we" left. And where that exists, there will be little concern--certainly not ultimate concern--for the needs and mission of the larger group, the church.

I couldn't agree more. I have noticed this trend more in the last 2 years of my life than ever before. Even in pockets where revival has broken out and a spirit of self-denial and fervent love for the saints has broken in, a subtle cloud of selfishness and indepence still looms like a poisonous mushroom cloud.

So I would ride on the back of the above author's points and simply say this:to kill the chance of a church flee,

kill the I's and resurrect the We!

In order to do this, your theological foundation, especially your view of the church, needs to be set right. In sum, your view of salvation can't be primarily one of individualistic and personal, but rather that of corporate and shared.

Jesus Christ died for "sinners", not a sinner. He layed down His life for "the sheep", not a sheep. He was a "a friend of sinners" not just one. Christ gave His life for the church, not one man. He was willing to suffer and die so that out of every tribe, tongue and nation peoples would come to know Him and He could have a people to call His own; not a person.

Yes He saves us individually, but also to place us in a larger body of people. We are saved into the church. We are rescued into a body of people. We are brought from the dead with other dead into life with other alive people.

Our theology of salvation must be primarily viewed as a part of the body of Christ, Christ being the head. It's not about one member, but about the body representing the head. Christ died to purchase for Himself a body, not one arm or a leg. A head couldn't make it with just a foot or an ear. It needs the whole body.

So the sooner a local church murders the "I" terminology and the "my personal Savior" and "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" and instead adopts the "We, Us, Our, Let's" terminology and the "church, body", the sooner it can begin to head towards lasting unity.

Believing Jesus is your personal Savior is not wrong; only when viewed as primary and forget that He has saved you as part of a bigger body of people. Also personal revival is key too. I am not suggesting that any sense of individualism in our relationship to Jesus Christ is unbiblical or ungodly even. Rather, we must find our personal relationship to Christ primarily as viewed through our position in the local body and the universal body of Jesus Christ, the church!

John the Baptist and Jesus both sought out seclusion on many occasions to seek the Lord in prayer, fasting, and the Word. Seeking out the wilderness is often key in being sanctified. But if the wilderness is left at the expense of the town, something is seriously awry.

The greatest display on earth of an individual's redemption must be shown in the context of a local body of believers. No such thing as hermit-Christianity. The church is a community of believers. No cavern dwelling, bottom dwellers. Only for a season. But the year must be lived in and around others.

This means confessing sins, worship, fellowship, care, evangelism, prayer, bible study, fasting, and more are to be done together, as a body. The body can't repent for the individual, but I would go so far as to argue that without a primary focus on the body as our role in Christ, the individual can't repent successfully.

Our sanctification comes individually only as much as we live and breathe corporately in the church.

Your Savior died for sinners. Don't be selfish with your redemption.

Visit the wilderness often, but make your home the church. Dwell there. For in the church is where you will truly find your head, Jesus Christ!

Gospel in Action: Practice on the Homeless

Look at him. He is homeless. Look again. Do you see his eyes? Do you see his face? What do you see in him? How you feel towards him?

Let your heart be examined: what's the first thing you notice? His dirty face? His wild and unkempt hair? His cigarette habit? His beer? His need for new clothes and a shower?

What about the weather on his face? The sign of age and hardness? The gentle look and soft eyes? The spirit of his willingness to keep living?

Often times Christians are very good at reasoning through excuses as to why we don't evangelize, why we don't witness, why we don't try harder to display Christ.

Not to sound inhumane or extremely insensitive, but I say practice on the homeless.

Yeah that's right, go and find some really poor, destitute, down-and-out people who have nearly nothing but their own clothes, and sit and talk with them. For hours, not like on your lunch break or when you're at the gas pump throw some change at one of them because they look "scary".

No, that's too stinkin' easy in our westernized, must-be-convenient and "safe" idea of Modern American Christian missions. No, real service and Gospel missions will very often be inconvenient, require much sacrifice, be very unsafe and even dangerous and risky, cause some type of pain (be it physical, emotional, or mental), cause some type of persecution, and possibly end in what seems like absolute and utter failure and a waste of time.

But saint, go! I say "practice on the homeless" is for two reasons:

1. We're all homeless, the human heart is homeless. All mankind suffers with the same basic factor that separates them from God: the sin of unbelief,
2. The homeless are typically the most rejected, misunderstood group in America, apart from aborted babies.

Have you ever really talked to a homeless person? Really? Rather, have you ever really listened to a homeless person? Truly listened. Listening to their needs, their rants, their seeming randomness and possible deception can train you powerfully in missions.

All the homeless need is a preacher to go and listen to their particular avenue of unbelief, meet their needs, and then preach the Gospel in a way that carefully and intimately targets their unbelief at its root. Loving them, serving them, caring for them, taking them in.

The homeless aren't interested in a tract that says "you're gonna burn" or something about the prosperity Gospel. They don't want a big white poster that says "turn or burn". They don't care about how bad your day was. They usually don't want to listen to people too much either, they want to talk.

But what they need to hear is the Gospel that calls them to find their ultimate satisfaction in Jesus Christ. Their bread is the bread of life and their water is the Living water. But Jesus must be preached in such a way as to pierce their hearts of unbelief to meet them where they are. They've got to see that Christians truly do care about them and for them. How? Go to them. Find them. Search them out. And then bring them in. Or stay out with them as long as it takes. Be willing to be seen with them, to smell like them, to look like them, to be near them and be associated with them. Put to death your reputation and self-worth to be labeled as a "friend of sinners".

You remember who received that label right? God did. Jesus Christ was labeled as the friend of sinners. Although the Pharisees meant it as mockery, Jesus embraced it as an unashamed character attribute that greatly displayed His redemptive love for sinners.

Nevermind the fact that most of them are probably homeless because of their own faults, sins, bad choices, habits and addictions. Weren't you a sinner because you were born that way and chose to love it?

Thank God He was the friend of sinners. Now will you be?

Jesus, a Yoke of Rest?

Who would ever claim that the yoke Jesus wore was easy or that the burdens He carried were light? Surely the world can even see, historically and humanly, that Jesus suffered greatly, physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

So how is it that Jesus can offer true rest in Matthew 11:29:

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls".

Uh, wait a minute, take YOUR yoke upon myself? Your yoke Jesus? You mean the one that you carried? The yoke of self-denial, temptation fighting, sin-killing, disciple making, persecution, rejection, mocking and death? How is that rest? How is that going to relieve the toil from carrying my own burdens and weariness?

To which Jesus responds: "learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart". Scripture says that Jesus "did not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering flax". That He was the most humble man. That He was very meek. How could one with a yoke that heavy be so gentle? Probably because the weight of it humbled Him under His Father. He is God, and He carried the weight of the universe on His shoulders. Yet He was lowly in heart.

Again, how can we live up to that high standard of lowliness? First He offers us rest. Then He says that in order to get that rest, is to come to Him and take His yoke upon our own shoulders. To learn from Him and become gentle and lowly like He is. So to receive rest for our souls and relief from our burdens, we must come to Jesus, place His heavy yoke upon us, then become as gentle as He is.

Whoa! How can this be rest? Sounds like a lot of work.

Thankfully, Jesus tells us. "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light".

This means we can not only rest assure that He has accomplished the work for us needed to experience the Father's love and grace, but also that we can stop our vain labor which causes heavy burdens in exchange for true rest. A rest that requires Christ-like work toward humility, gentleness, cross-bearing, and day after day of grace upon grace to fulfill the mission He has called us to.

Are you burdened, heavy laden, and weary? Come to Jesus. You can stop laboring in vain and start laboring for a purpose. You can rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross by resting in Him and living like Him and for Him.

Thoughts on Jesus being our Authoritative Refuge

I was driving back from lunch today thinking of why I still find myself in the struggle of a battle of refuges. Let me explain. Typically when I am tired, weary, worn out, discouraged, or just plain feeling leisurely my mind takes me through a list of things I can use to find rest and happiness in.

For example: I can take a dip in our new pool, I can go buy a Sonic Route 44oz. drink, I can get on the internet and surf articles, I can go buy a Playstation 3, etc. I am amazed at how fast my mind and heart build up so many replacements for Jesus. He is THE one true refuge and rest. He alone is the one who gives us happiness and pleasure in finding rest. He is a rock of refuge in time of need.

So I pondered, "If I know this about Jesus (but obviously don't believe it as true or I would embrace it), then why do I still replace Him for refuge idols?"

"Ah", I though, "Because He is the Only refuge with divine authority!" That's it! He is the only place of rest that actually requires something of me. And not just a little something, but hard things. Like self-sacrifice, worship, self-denial, study, discipline, service, selfless love and more.

Jesus was right when He said...

Matthew 11:28-30 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

But out of that same mouth came "deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me" and "you will be hated for my name's sake" and "humble yourself" and "the first shall be last and the last shall be first" and more and more. Jesus has been given all authority on heaven and on earth. Our typical human hearts rebel against authority non-stop. Even in our need for rest we rebel against authority.

So what kind of rest and refuge do we look for? A peaceful one? Yes of course. But only a peace we want; a peace requiring no action, no hardness, no work, no sweat, no thinking or feeling. A numb, apathetic, selfish peace that is ruled by ME.

What I need is a refuge I can rest in AND submit to. I need a refuge who is Sovereign and Gracious. I need a rest that is peaceful and fruitful. One that is easy and light but also hard and heavy to point me to sanctification. It is only by jumping through the briars that one reaches the other side of the bushes. Cuts and scrapes must come to get to the healing hand on the other side.

So saint, be honest with yourself. Stop running away from the authoritative rest found in Jesus Christ and run towards Him. Stop creating your own world of rest and refuge where YOU are the authority and you make the rules and you sit on your throne. But humble yourself, repent, and flee to the throne of the Savior.

You can find refuge at His feet in peace and rest, but remember that He sits on His throne with power and authority in your rest. The Rock is our refuge!

Christian: work while you rest and rest while you work.

The Transcendence of the Gospel: Transforming Little into Big!

Transcendence - the state of being beyond and outside of the ordinary range of human experience.

Paul David Tripp puts it this way in his new book, Quest for More:

"The bottom line: You were created to be part of something big."

What Christian would ever argue that God is big, huge, massive, greater than what we can imagine? And what Christian would also deny that they pale in comparison to this BIG God, that they are small, tiny, and puny? But do you ever notice a common disconnect between the two? Sure they are polar opposites: small vs. BIG! But how are they related?

Whether you like the quote from Tripp or not, the point is, it's true! Humans were not made for small things. We were not made to do little diddly things. Be born, play, grow up, start a family and career, retire, and start a rare seashell collection while travelling in a a motorhome across the country living off of roadside lemonades and old Quincy's buffets!

No! We were made for HUGE, MASSIVE, WEIGHTY, OTHER, ETERNAL, ALIEN-LIKE purposes in this one life. This is the story behind songs likeMeant to Live by Switchfoot and Don't Waste Your Life by Lecrae and John Piper's book "Dont Waste Your Life", which now has a huge movement behind it. These artists and authors are pleading with Christians and non-believers to live their life for real. To live and die for things that last. To treasure that which truly satisfies.

Enter: the Gospel!

The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, the Holy and Righteous Son of God, came to die and live for sinners to make them clean and bring them before God. In other words, this BIG God who created everything, sent His Son to this little planet, to die for little puny worthless sinners (like you and me), and calls us to live and die for Him and His MASSIVE glory doing BIG, GIGANTIC things that will matter after we die. It is this Good News that transforms our nature and hearts from puny to BIG and our life from insignificant to ETERNALLY CRUCIAL.

This transformation is what I call the Transcendence of the Gospel.

The origin of this transformation is God. At the heart of this transformation is therefore an alien righteousness and power that is not our own; it does not come from within. The world says that man's problem comes from without himself, outside of himself and therefore his answer lies within. He must find himself. God says, through the Gospel, that man's problem lies within and therefore his answer or hope lies outside of himself; an alien or foreign solution. So the world's idea of transcendence will be in stark contrast to God's idea of it.

This is why people feel compelled to stand on the edge of a cliff at sunset in the middle of the Grand Canyon; to feel overwhelmed with the HUGENESS of it all. Or why men climb Mt. Everest to death-defying heights. Or why divers brave the deep caverns of the ocean blue. Or why a young teenager feels called to travel the world solo in his own sailboat, alone. Or why people jump on the latest social networking group like Twitter; to be a part of a MASSIVE online community of people rather obsessed with publicly displaying their every action by the second (i.e., "Just found my missing toilet paper, it's used though, no worries").

Why do we seek these things that are so BIG, BOLD, and GREATER than ourselves? It's because, like Tripp says, we were made for something BIGGER. We were designed to live for GREATNESS. We were created to seek and display MIGHT.

The problem is we are trying to fulfill our desires for GRANDEUR in the wrong thing. The object of our affections is wrong. Our aim is a way skewed and misdirected.

This is where the Transcendence of the Gospel not only redeems but eradicates and replaces our targets of affections and hones them in on the one true aim that will give us the greatest grandeur our hearts can worship: Jesus Christ! He is the massive Son that our planets are to revolve around. He is the blazing center our hearts are to be set ablaze by.

In this age we live everyone seems to always breathe and move for more, more, give me more. But it's the people who breathe and move for more of Jesus, more of Jesus, give me more of Jesus that will be satisfied and found worthy before God their creator. What treasure are you seeking? You can be sure that where your treasure is, that's where you'll find your heart. (Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34)

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to meshall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

There is a promise we can bank on and place our full hope in. If we hunger and thirst for righteousness, namely for Jesus Himself, then we will be satisfied. Our hunger and thirst will be fulfilled. And if we come to Jesus, we will not hunger; if we believe in Jesus, we will not thirst.

Run to Jesus Christ the sinners' Savior and find your lust for GRANDEUR in the GRATIFYING GRANDEUR OF HIS GLORY AND GRACE! Your little heart will explode with affections for this BIG God!

Gospel-Centered and Driven Gratitude

"The greatest ingratitude we can achieve is when we forget that what we have we’ve received!"

Quite possibly one of the greatest atrocities committed by non-Christians and Christians alike is a deep sense of ingratitude toward God and His Goodness. Forgetfulness of the goodness and rich mercy of God is typically the root cause of this atrocious ingratitude. When we forget how truly kind and merciful God has been to not only withhold His righteous wrath and judgment everyday of life but to also abundantly bless all creatures with life, breath, and the ability to pursue happiness, one becomes increasingly ungrateful and enters into a state of constant complaining and inappreciativeness. This is in a sense nothing other than idolatry and blasphemous. It means that we have now become dependent on ourselves for what we need and want out of life and have reduced ourselves to covetousness, jealousy, greed, extreme discontent for what we have been given. Because we forget that what we have has been given to us by a force outside of ourselves: God!

Surely the best solution to resolve this blatant sin attack upon Heaven is: re-embracing the Gospel. To check ourselves to make sure we truly believe the Gospel, its inner and outer workings. One of the most timeless and precious truths of the Gospel is this: that God graciously gave Himself to the world to redeem for Himself a people who did not acknowledge Him nor were they thankful to Him but rather worshiped the creature instead of Him, who alone is worthy of all worship, praise, adoration and glory! God gave His only Son up for our good and His glory when we could never earn it or deserve it. That's what grace is. When we forget to remind ourselves of this daily, we are in essence refusing to believe and live out the Gospel. This is the root of every type of sin, whether its idolatry, lust, anger, greed, hatred, lack of forgiveness, or passing false judgment its all a result of forgetting the Gospel.

It is the height of pride and arrogance to come to the point in our walk with Christ where we forget that everything we have, everything, has been given to us by God. Everything we experience in life, whether hardship, trial, or great prosperity is all the mercy and grace of our good and great God. In Christ we experience no absence of any good thing. And if we are seeking first His kingdom and all His righteousness and ask according to His will, He will grant the desires of our heart. Think of Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" God who did not even spare His own Son but gave Him to us, will He not give us all things in Christ? What a promise from the great promise maker and keeper!

Saints, trust in God today. Stop complaining and living as if you have earned all you possess by some great work or power you have done. Stop worrying and wondering why you don't have, why you can't get, why you can't find, or why you aren't allowed to obtain certain things; much of which is probably stuff you don't need anyway. God gives to His children what they need, who are much more worthy to Him than the birds (Matthew 6). If we can be re captivated by the Gospel and recapture its great sufficiency to provide all we need in this world and the next, our ingratitude will turn into gratitude.

Believe the Gospel. Believe God. Study Gospel Truths. Remember whose you are. Remember who you are. Remember how you became what you are. Remember how you possessed what you have: you received it because it was graciously given to you. And remember the greatest gift of the Gospel: God Himself!

Problem: Us! Solution: God!

"Let me suggest to you something, just when you think about the logic of the Cross. If I could make something tangible here about how this impacts the Gospel, let me suggest this: Most Americans believe that what their problem is, is something that has happened to them; and their solution is going to be foundwithin. In other words they believe that they have an alien problem that is to be resolved with an inner solution; when the Gospel says that what we have is an inner problem and the only solution is an alien righteousness." - Albert Mohler

The Gospel Primer Code - A Neo-like Vision of Things

Don't worry, I'm not arguing for a "Gospel of the Matrix" or attempting to

make some far-reaching connection between the Matrix and the Gospel. However, I do see many thoughts and philosophies of the Matrix stolen from Christianity. But I'll save that for another blog. Today I wanted to touch on some thoughts I had Wednesday night at our Church's mid-week Care Group. As we were praying, I began to have thoughts about how crucial God's Word is to the Christian and how I've been seriously neglecting it in my daily walk. I thought of how we should all SEE the world and our lives through the lens of scripture and the Gospel. How verses should just trickle down over our eyes as we view everything. How everywhere we look we should see this kind of scriptural pattern encoded, like a visible ever-present primer. Then....

...I began to immediately envision that scene in The Matrix where Neo's eyes are opened and he finally begins to SEE.

Everywhere he looks, he sees the Matrix as green showering coded primer in 1's and 0's. Sure to us its just numbers and code, however to Neo its REALITY. Its TRUTH. His eyes have been opened to SEEING his world as it really is. The truth about his world is beginning to be unveiled. His new found vision gave him new eyes to see through the facade that veiled the truth.

When I finished this mental picture, I couldn't believe how vivid it was in my mind. I felt I was there with Neo, looking through his eyes, standing in that hallway of fate and destiny. It directly led me to my thoughts on how we SEE this world. As Christians we must have a biblical worldview of life, in all areas: philosophy, theology (obviously), arts and culture, education, politics, ethics and morals, etc. But a biblical worldview can be insufficient if we don't have a permanent scriptural lens with which we view all of life. A lens that adjusts our focus clearly on the real thing. When God saves us He calls us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. That light allows us to SEE things we've never SEEN before. Suddenly, things become clearer and more real to us than ever before.

Just like Neo was raised from the dead back to true life by FAITH & LOVE, so God by His love and through our faith has resurrected our dead souls and given us life; that life includes eyes that SEE, ears that HEAR, and a heart that understands and longs for more TRUTH. Then we realize that the TRUTH we are longing for is God Himself, in the face of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. No movie could ever capture or explain this truth fully. But it was made a more vivid and practical reality to me through this gracious mental picture. Its amazing how the things that the world produces and creates can point to eternal truths. Especially amazing how the world has no idea they are being used of God. So I wanted to share this thought with you in hopes that it would help you SEE how we as redeemed people are to LOOK at this world and all of life.

SEE it through your renewed senses and your transformed mind. May God give us all a Neo-like vision of things. May we all long for EYES that SEE and a lens that views life through the Gospel. One that SEES this world as coded primer of scripture; having God's Word and Truth trickling through every avenue and corner, every street and back alley, every home and city, every person and creature. All coded with our Great and Mighty God.

The Saving Gospel at the "Savings Place" - Groceries and Gospel

In case you didn't know, Wal-Mart's theme used to be "the savings place". Unbeknownst to them, they have often been a springboard for preaching the Gospel under that theme. My wife and I entered in to the "always low prices" atmosphere last night and battled the pre-Halloween crowd. As usual, our attitudes were not one of "thank you God for bestowing to us the wonderful gift of Wal-mart" but rather "I hate this place! Oh I really hope we don't see anyone we know here. I don't want to get caught up talking. Let's just get in and get out of this wretched place." Can you relate? Examining my attitude toward Wal-mart and shopping there may seem silly and unnecessary to some, but I can see biblical precedence here. Two verses come to mind that address our thoughts and behavior concerning the Gospel:

2 Cor 10:5 "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,"

and...

Phil 1:27 "Only let your manner of life be worthy [1] of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,"

I don't want to be guilty of eisegesis here, but I can see grocery shopping at Wal-Mart included in both of these verses: "every thought captive" and "manner of life". So because of my stubborn blind heart, halfway through our grocery adventure (its always an adventure with the Chambers) I finally start to ask myself, "Jonathan, how can you administer the Gospel and truths of the Gospel while shopping at Wal-Mart?" Well, I had success and failure.

Success first began in the dairy section. That's right, the dairy section. You know...milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, creamer, and sour cream can really be a conducive atmosphere for administering the Gospel. Right? I thought so. I mean everything is white, creamy, and beginning to become curdled, so why not? As Allie and I were leaving the yogurt section so I could stock up onYoplait's breast cancer awareness yogurt, I kindly approached the dairy stocker and said, "looks good man" while motioning with my hands his well-stocked and organized yogurt display. However, his reply was a rather unenthusiastic apathetic grunt. I don't think he was speaking in tongues out of our spirits linking through the presence of the Holy Spirit. I don't think he discerned my attempt at encouragement either. So my attempt seemingly failed. Yet I still consider this a success because I attempted to give the guy some grace and encouragement for serving us effectively. Despite his unappreciative murmur, at least he witnessed an encouraging compliment. Afterall, results don't matter when it comes to loving others. And that's the lesson I was reminded of through this: don't do good for a specific reaction or to arise a certain outcome, but do good for love for God and love for others. And that is a Gospel truth.

More success came in small ways: moving out-of-commission strategically located carts from aisle traffic, making our cart a stunt buggy maneuvering carefully to ensure others had plenty of room, making eye contact with others, smiling, adjusting to others' shelf browsing needs "like a gazelle", etc. I am not trying to boast or make a case for "lifestyle/friendship evangelism"(which is typically presented as "don't speak the Gospel just do nice things for people"; I'd like to rediscover or even redefine "lifestyle evangelism" to mean living the Gospel by talking the talk and walking the walk; doctrine is not enough, it must be lived out in theological and practical ways). However, too often Christians get so stuck in rigid orthodoxy they forget that its okay to be nice to people. Loving doctrine does not require meanness. Smiling and speaking to sinners doesn't mean you endorse their lifestyle or wickedness. So I wanted to explore this some at Wal-Mart and God gave us the opportunity to do just that. In fact, my prayers were probably being answered from some other time and I just didn't realize it while it was happening. Because I was horribly sick while shopping and remember praying and thanking God for this sickness asking Him to use it according to His will. Plus being sick is great to push dependence on God and His Spirit.

Failure came at the end of our shopping pleasure with the typical checkout lane choice strategy. You know where one of you gets in one line while the other scouts the checkout perimeter looking for the line with the least amount of items? Well this time I rejected the lesser line because the cashier seemed to have a bit of an attitude. So I chose to stay with the happier-go-lucky cashier. Failure! It appears that convenience and ease are still excuses as to why we Christians avoid challenges which may lead to administering the Gospel. Almost immediately I felt convicted about my lane choice and soon after suppressed my convictions in justification of "we're in a hurry and I don't feel like dealing with a disgruntled employee". The reason this is a big deal to me is because it reveals a much deeper problem within me: I would rather be comfortable and happy then deal with a challenge which may lead to some type of suffering and persecution. That is a form of being ashamed of the Gospel. It is rooted in self-preservation. You see, typically the biggest sins in our life are manifested often in the smallest ways. I thank God that He reminded me of my problem while grocery shopping.

So my challenge to you is this:

• Work hard to look for ways in which you can practically administer the Gospel in everyday life; grocery shopping is one of the best arenas to do that

• When you actually do administer a truth of the Gospel (i.e.- peace, patience, forgiveness, encouragement, love, grace, etc.), don't do it expecting/hoping for a particular reaction; and certainly don't be offended or upset by any particular reaction; your reaction to their reaction will reveal your heart's attitude, be it good or bad

• Work hard to have a second nature/immediate response care to others so that it becomes natural to wanna reach out despite seeming foreboding or uncomfortable circumstances; like an initial brain pulse that says, "ooh, go and serve" rather than "oh no, where's my exit?";WARNING: this may include choosing the ugliest, angriest, loudest, and most discomforting cashier to check you out in Wal-Mart.

This is what I gained from a simple shopping endeavor. It taught me more about myself, my sins, how to live the Gospel more practically, and how to view all of life through a Gospel lens. Afterall, as Christians we have God's Holy Spirit with us. We should live and breathe and move as if Christ was physically walking with us. Even at Wal-Mart.

The Centrality of the Gospel - An Intro

“The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled. We have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us” (CJ Mahaney quoting John Stott, The Main Thing).

When something is central, it is of utmost importance. It is the defining feature. It is the motivating factor. It is the life-force of the object at hand. Everything flows from it and to it. It contains all necessity and desire. It alone is the focus and pivot of everything. Just as the sun is typically viewed as the center of our universe, so…

“God is the blazing sun at the center of reality. Everything revolves around him. And as the most valuable and glorious person that exists, God is loving, not conceited, when he calls us to worship him, because he’s offering us the one thing that will make us the most happy: himself. God’s pursuit of glory and our pursuit of joy are not at odds. Because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” (John Piper, The Blazing Center).

Just as the heart is at the center of the human body giving it vitality, so is the very Gospel of God at the center of all things. Why? Because God is the Gospel. He is the ‘good news’. He is the promise of eternal life. So then God is perfectly pleased with His Gospel, because it is the glory of Himself and the reflection of His image in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:4,6). The very center of the Gospel is God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, and all that He is through His Son. Therefore since God is the Gospel and the Gospel is about the Godman, Jesus Christ, then the Gospel must by necessity be at the center of everything; especially the life of the believer.

The Gospel must be the very “heartbeat” in the soul of every believer. Just as sin and hatred towards God was the fueling nucleus in every sinner, so also the Gospel is the “life-blood” of every child of God. Because when God creates us anew and makes us born again, our heart no longer beats to the drum of sin, but beats for His glory. However, every true believer struggles with his own sin, namely idolatry, thereby making this refocus of the centrality of the Gospel an all out war. As Paul described his battle inRomans 7:22-23:

22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

The Christian life is a daily fight for the centrality of our hearts. And Satan wants nothing less than to make us forget about the cross and focus on our self. But regardless of who or what seems to be central, the Gospel is central. And it remains powerfully central despite our feelings, our thoughts, or our sins. It certainly won’t come naturally for men to be so Gospel-centered. Everyday we subject ourselves and are subjected to man-centerd thinking, feelings, philosophy, theology, and methodology. So what are we to do? Wecan’t make the Gospel the center, but only see it as where it is: at the Center of the universe. And God is the one that opens our eyes to the glorious liberating vision of such centrality.

Since God is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, so is His Gospel. The Gospel transcends time, space, and matter. It is not bound by human will, intellect or emotions. No finite force can even touch the Gospel without the authority and intervention of the infinite wise and holy God. It cannot be boxed or cornered or shaken. The Gospel is eternal. It is fully wise and fully powerful because it is God’s news, and it cannot be thwarted, surpassed, or stopped. Therefore, the Gospel is as crucial at the beginning of the Christian life (regeneration=being born again) and during the middle (sanctification), as it is at the end (glorification). Noone ever moves past the Gospel! Noone ever rises above the Gospel! The Christian life is not a race towards “spirituality” or “religious elitism”. But a journey to the cross. God uses the Gospel to save us, sanctify us, and glorify us. His means is His end, and His end is His means. Let me clarify: we need Christ at every step in our lives. We begin at the cross, dwell there, and end at the cross-bearer! Christ is our beginning, He is our sufficient middle, and He is the fulfilling end. He is the center!

Yet this is not the case with the majority of Christianity today. Or as my dad accurately calls it, “religianity”. Just stop and think, what is at the center of the life of the average Christian today? Going to “church”? Ministry? Relational Evangelism? Theology? Vacation Bible School? 5th Sunday fellowships? 3rd Sunday sings? Visitation? Or even more secular things like: work, school, family, friends, fellowship, vacation, hobbies, shopping, t.v., recreation, blogging (nah, that can’t be one, right?), etc. And all of these are not inherently evil. Yet is it not the good things in life that most often become the dearest idols in our heart? And why, as Christians, is this so? Why do we view our Christian life as one in which Christ is just a prayer at the beginning, a friend in time of need, or a Lord soon to return? His centrality is replaced by other things; anything really.

I am convinced that this is one of the most, if not THE most awful and blasphemous tragedies among the “Church” today. The centrality of Christ’s person and work is not kept central, but rather becoming a necessary initiator to the Chrisitan life, or a nice tag along, or a far outreaching distant ungraspable future thing. This is infinitely dangerous and threatening to His glory. Yet fortunately only in perception, because no amount of lack or replacement on our part can ultimately destroy His unchanging centrality. Therefore the battle lies in perception of that reality. And that battle is fought through the eyes of our heart. Do we see the cross as infinitely valuable for all of life, or only necessary at the beginning to ensure the end?

The cure for this idolatrous thinking and living will come only with a radical change of heart. God must enact His heart-regenerating work in some, and His mind-transforming work in others. Some need simply to be born again to see this saving truth. While others simply need to destroy their idols and come back to the cross they’ve insisted on leaving. If for one moment our body decided that it would be best to glean life from our gall bladder rather than our heart, we would die. If the solar system decided that it would be best rather to gain energy, light, and heat from pluto or even saturn, we would be in really rough shape. The sun must be the blazing center. The heart must be the beating center. The cross and therefore the Gospel must be the burning flame that lights our hearts afire with life. The Gospel will only have power if it remains central. It must be the focus of our attention and efforts. It must be the labor of our work. It must be the object of our affections. It alone must be what we center our very lives on because it alone is what gave us life and continues to give us life. Or have we forgotten that without the cross, we would be experiencing God’s righteous wrath and judgment? Hell burns pretty hot for those who have no righteousness. And who has righteousness without the cross of Christ? The Cross is infinitely and eternally necessary to sustain all of life.

The cross was central to all of life for Paul. This is what Paul dedicated himself to constantly. This is what he determined to know nothing for: Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor 2:2). This is what Paul delivered as of “first importance” (1 Cor 15:3). Jesus Himself set his face before Jerusalem to die. He knew He existed to give and display the glory of God and obey His heavenly Father. He embodies the Gospel. Christ was born to bear His cross and die. Can you see how central this is?

God created the Church through the Gospel, founded the Church on the Gospel made its existence to spread the Gospel. And the Church is filled with little Gospelites that should care about nothing but the same Gospel that called them. Oh that we could keep the Gospel at the center where it is and where it belongs. Christian, labor joyfully to “keep the main thing the main thing”. It’s why we exist: to glory in the cross of Jesus Christ, the image of God!