jeff warren Posts

Questions to ask at the beginning of a new year:

31 Dec , 2012 No Comments

Are you in a rut? Are you slow to think about resolutions because you’ve made them (and tossed them) before? If you’re not intentional, momentary ruts can cost you greatly and you’ll end up squandering days, months, even years of this one and only life you’ve been given. The following diagnostic questions will help you dream again and, with God’s help, allow you to be all you can be in 2013.

  • What is your dream for your life?
  • What do you see as the vision/calling- or God-given picture– of your life?
  • If you had unlimited resources (of time, money, energy, people) what would you want to accomplish with the rest of your life?
  • What do you love to do more than anything else?  What makes you feel fully alive?  Why?
  • What do hate the most?  What makes you angry?  Why?
  • What do you do best?  What are your best gifts?  These are things you’ve heard others (not just mom) say mark you as being unique.
  • What is God’s unique mission for your life?
  • How will you fulfill this mission, starting TODAY?

You can begin by setting S.M.A.R.T. goals now. It’s critical that you write them down.

S pecific- Be as detailed as you can be about the goals you are stating. A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. I heard years ago that, “If you shoot at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions: Who will be involved? What do I want to accomplish? Where will it happen? When will it happen? Which requirements and constraints will place on me? Why will I do this? (What will be the specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing this goal.

M easurable- Every goal must be measured. How will you know you’ve accomplished it? What will be success? At what point will you know you’ve achieved that goal?

A ttainable- An attainable goal will stretch you to achieve it, but it will not be extreme. Attainable goals will challenge your attitudes and abilities and help you develop skills you may not have in order to reach them. Attainable goals will help you identify previously overlooked opportunities and bring you closer to the achievement of goals you once thought impossible.

R ealisitic- A realistic goal represents something that you are both willing and able to work toward. A goal can be both very challenging (perhaps seemingly beyond your reach to start) and realistic.  You are the only one who can decide just how challenging your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents major progress. Challenging goals are more often reached than lower, easier ones because a low goal exerts a much lower motivational force.

T imely- Your goals must have target dates. If you don’t set a timeline you will not be motivated and you will not reach your goals. A deadline too far in the future is too easily put off and a goal that’s set too close is unrealistic and then discouraging. Place times/dates on a calendar that will mark where you should (will!) be when you get to that date.

PRAY, DREAM again and then set S.M.A.R.T. goals in order to accomplish your dreams. Remember: If your dreams are not God’s dreams for your life you will fail, or even worse, you will succeed at the wrong things and squander your life. Go for it!

Happy 2013!

Merry Christmas!

13 Dec , 2012 No Comments

Merry Christmas.

Thank you to my friend Emily Davidson (in our youth ministry) for using her amazing gift of voice to worship her Savior!

The Power of Biblical Hope

03 Dec , 2012 No Comments

When we think of “hope”, we generally are not thinking of biblical hope. We have all “hoped” for things that did not happen or that we did not receive. That is not biblical hope. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. Biblical hope is living in the confidence of a past event, a present reality, and a future certainty. It is full confidence in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, the sovereign work of God in my life right now, and the certainty of His promised future. Like our salvation, there are past, present, and future dimensions of hope. Biblical hope is a bold and certain expectation that God will do what He says He will do. So like faith, hope has this maddening quality of the unseen- the yet to be. It has a future orientation. It’s why Paul says-

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope (present) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (past), to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, & unfading, kept in heaven for you. (future)” 1 Peter 1:3-4

This Christmas remember that your hope & my hope is not dependent possessions, or material things, but on a Person. We need to continually remind each other of our glorious future ahead. It changes everything. My Christmas prayer for you:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

Where does hope come from?

Hope comes from the “God of hope” so you must come to Him to receive it. Ephesians 2:12 says, “..you were.. separated from Christ.. and strangers to the covenants of promise, having NO HOPE & without God in the world.” Hope comes from the Lord. There is no HOPE apart from Him, because apart from Him it does not exist. You must come to Him to get it. Are you?

How do you get hope?

1. By believing patiently. It says, “in believing”. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this HOPE we were saved. Now HOPE that is seen is not hope. For who HOPES for what they already have? But if we HOPE for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:23-25

2. By obeying the Word. Rom. 15:4 “through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have HOPE.” You must be in the Word. God’s Word gives hope.

3. By the power of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us …” His Spirit in us gives hope. N.T. Wright says, “The Spirit is given to us to begin the work of making God’s future real in the present.”

What does hope look like? What are the marks of hope? Notice too that the Bible describes this hope, not as simply “hanging on” but that we “ABOUND in hope” it is described as a “living hope”- a vibrant, dynamic, vigorous hope!  SO..

Hope results in a life filled with joy and peace.

“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” 2 Corinthians 3:12 God’s hope brings great confidence to us! Are you living in hope? Do you live every day filled with hope? Would others describe you as having a confident and constant future orientation? Friend, if you are a follower of Jesus remember, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” 1 Corinthians 15:19

“Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in HOPE of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:2-5
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:18
Come to Jesus. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred (delayed, postponed) makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Don’t wait. Don’t go another day without living in His hope. And remember hope is from God alone. Hope has come to us. Hope has a name and His name is Jesus.

 

Christ and Culture

15 Oct , 2012 No Comments

There is a great need in these days for followers of Christ to think more deeply about how to effectively engage culture as we join God in the renewal of all things. Richard Neibhur was arguably the most important Christian theological-ethicist in the 20th Century. For several decades he taught at Yale Divinity School and in 1951 he wrote his classic work, “Christ and Culture”- which is still used today to help frame the Christian’s cultural engagement.

Neibhur’s five typologies (or categories) offer a helpful framework as we consider how followers of Christ relate to culture at large. Below is a (far too simplified, but perhaps helpful) explanation of how Neibhur’s categories allow us think more deeply about our role in culture. One way to understand and apply his categories is to think of a more widely known principle: Christians are to be “in the world but not of the world” (actually based on Jesus’ words in the High Priestly Prayer of John 17).  Each of the five approaches is essentially a variation on the application of that often-referenced phrase. Here they are:

  • Christ against Culture – This is the “exclusive Christian” who sees history as the story of a rising church up against a dying pagan civilization. This approach, ultimately leads to an “us against them” approach- it’s the Church against the world.
  • Christ of Culture – This is the “cultural Christian” who sees history as the story of the Spirit’s encounter with nature and culture. Taken too far this could be described as “in the world and of the world” where there is no real distinction between the believer and the non-believer.
  • Christ above Culture – This approach might lead some to think we are to be in the world and over the world. That is, us over culture. This approach would say,  “We better get our man in the White House or we’re doomed (God is not going to know what to do) and the Gospel will cease to advance.” History proves otherwise.
  • Christ and Culture in Paradox – This is “the dualist” approach in which history is a struggle between church and culture and the constant tension that will only be lifted when Christ comes again. Taken to extremes this approach can lead to disinterest and apathy regarding cultural renewal, believing that God will make all things right in the end. The tendency is to disengage– to not be in the world.
  • Christ Transforming Culture – This is “the conversionist” who says, history is the story of God’s work in the world and humanity’s response to Him. Conversionists live more in the divine “now” than the followers listed above. This approach focuses more on the presence of God in time and would say it is Christ in us– in the world but not of the world. Christ brings about the transformation of culture through us, as we live as a “faithful presence” in our particular sphere of influence. This is the belief that there is a divine possibility of a present renewal, while at the same time, we prepare for what will take place in a final redemption and restoration of all creation.

Niebuhr doesn’t “land” on any one approach- as his work is more descriptive than prescriptive. I believe that Scripture (and experience) points us to the last one: Christ transforming culture through His followers as we live incarnational lives in every domain of culture. Is this God’s plan to change the world? If so, are you allowing his Spirit to live in and through you in your particular domain or sphere of influence? Are you practicing the faithful presence of Jesus in your life?  What do you think?

The Separation of Church & Hate

07 Oct , 2012 No Comments

Every four years Christians in America are challenged again to rediscover the incomparable power of the Gospel. Oh, most don’t realize that’s what is happening but it really is. It happens every four years. We claim that Christ alone is the hope of our nation and our world, that it is only the power of the Gospel that brings real transformation, but during the presidential race we seem to forget that. Our language, our argumentative spirits, our anger, and often hateful speech, betrays our hearts and the true nature of our belief.

As I’ve watched this season approaching, I’ve grown increasingly disappointed with how Christ followers are more passionate about politics than the Gospel. And I know, already the questions surface, “But don’t politics matter? Shouldn’t we be engaged in every sphere of culture, including the political domain? Don’t we have a God-given right and responsibility to engage, inform, and enter the public discourse of politics?” Yes, yes, yes, and yes. But we are to enter into public discourse like Jesus (our perfect Model in all things) or we do more damage than good. To remain silent is not an option but to be ill-informed or to have a spirit that does not represent our Savior is unacceptable. Authors Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman, in their book unChristian, point out that most young (18-29) non-Christians in America see the primary witness of the Church as a political witness.  We simply do not find this in the teachings of Jesus or anywhere else in the New Testament. Many believe this younger generation just “don’t get it” (like former generations thought of them), but I see a generation of young believers who are tired of the culture wars and they see another way. Young Christians are ready for peace.  As one young Christian said, “We are ready to lay down our arms. We are ready to stop waging war and start washing feet.” The Jesus way is a different way.

How do we enter the political fray in a way that honors Jesus and keeps the Gospel central?

Too often believers seem to get a pass for their political indiscretions. Often they are applauded for what the Bible calls “slander.”  We slander others in order to win an argument, disguising it all behind “righteous anger.” What is more, other believers applaud our passion and “conviction”, all the while losing the battle but feeling good they were able to “speak our mind.” Rather than simply engaging in political discourse (which is rarely “discourse” in the end), Christians should actually elevate the process.  We are called to stand with Jesus, above the great partisan divide and demonstrate a better way.  I heard one speaker remind us that, “Jesus did not come to take sides but to take over.” If He is Lord of our lives, others will see a better way. Remember:

1. Simply because someone disagrees with you doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Imagine that. Believers should approach political discourse with a humble posture. We should enter in (like any conversation) first to understand, and then to be understood. Understanding, of course, means I enter in loving my neighbor, eager to learn, and willing to express the love of Jesus. When I disagree, I do so in a humble, clear yet loving way.

2. People from both political parties are followers of Jesus (and thus, your brothers and sisters). On the weekend just prior to the election, churches will gather together and pray towards the outcome. Some will pray for God’s “will to be done”, but most will be praying for their candidate to win. That’s an appropriate prayer but the point is that sincere Christians on both sides of the political aisle will be praying equal and opposite prayers. And I doubt God is wringing His hands over the conflicting prayers of His people. He is sovereign over all things.

3. Some people like to argue more than others.  Simply because someone is more passionate than you are about politics doesn’t mean they’re more committed to Christ than you are. You are probably more passionate than they are about other matters of faith and culture. In fact, the Bible teaches us that those who cause strife and are prone to quarrel are weak in their faith, not stronger (James 4:1-2). Consider the biblical strategy up against what we see most of the time in the public discourse of our day:

“Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.  Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 2:23-25

4. Thinking any one political party’s platform is altogether right, is wrong.  Any government, nation, or political party is only as good as those who make it up. All politicians (like each of us) are imperfect people and many (not all) are driven by sinful ambition. The policies of your political party are not altogether biblical or Spirit-led.

5. Broaden your perspective by listening to opposing views.  Many people narrow in on one political perspective and then listen only to those who affirm and confirm what they already believe, right or wrong. Remember that political talk radio and cable news channels are in it for the ratings; it’s what keeps them afloat.

Many who obsess over one political perspective become paranoid because the message heard is that the world will end if “our” political agenda is not established. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Our identity, worth, perspective, hope and focus is found in Jesus Christ.

6. Scripture tells us to pray for our governing leaders and to respect those in authority.  We are told to pray for those whom God has allowed to be placed over us (2 Timothy 2:1-4).  We are to give honor to our leaders and to show them respect as well because, “there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1-7). Instead of vilifying our political leaders, we should pray for them.  I’ve often wondered what God would do if we prayed for our political leaders for as much time as we spend talking about them, and often maligning them.