Keeping God’s People Attentive to God

28 Oct , 2011 No Comments

Eugene Peterson is best known for his brilliant work presented in “The Message”- a paraphrase of the New Testament that has challenged millions to read the Bible in a different and enlightening way. As a former professor in my doctoral work, I have followed him from afar as a mentor in pastoral ministry. His writings regarding the role of the pastor are his best. His trilogy- “Contemplative Pastor”, “Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work”, “Under the Unpredictable Plant”- on pastoral leadership have encouraged and challenged me through the years. I’m inspired and troubled by his words below and I want my fellow pastors to be as well.

“American pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Congregations still pay their salaries. Their names remain on the church stationary and they continue to appear in pulpits on Sundays. But they are abandoning their posts, their calling. They have gone whoring after other gods. What they do with their time under the guise of pastoral ministry hasn’t the remotest connection with what the church’s pastors have done for most of twenty centuries.
A few of us are angry about it. We are angry because we have been deserted…. It is bitterly disappointing to enter a room full of people whom you have every reason to expect share the quest and commitments of pastoral work and find within ten minutes that they most definitely do not. They talk of images and statistics. They drop names. They discuss influence and status. Matters of God and the soul and Scripture are not grist for their mills.
The pastors of America have metamorphosed into a company of shopkeepers, and the shops they keep are churches. They are preoccupied with shopkeeper’s concerns– how to keep the customers happy, how to lure customers away from competitors down the street, how to package the goods so that the customers will lay out more money.
Some of them are very good shopkeepers. They attract a lot of customers, pull in great sums of money, develop splendid reputations. Yet it is still shopkeeping; religious shopkeeping, to be sure, but shopkeeping all the same. The marketing strategies of the fast-food franchise occupy the waking minds of these entrepreneurs; while asleep they dream of the kind of success that will get the attention of journalists.
The biblical fact is that there are no successful churches. There are, instead, communities of sinners, gathered before God week after week in towns and villages all over the world. The Holy Spirit gathers them and does his work in them. In these communities of sinners, one of the sinners is called pastor and given a designated responsibility in the community. The pastor’s responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God. It is this responsibility that is being abandoned in spades.”
-Eugene Peterson

Lord God, break us. Keep us on task, seeking to please you alone, glorifying our Savior to the end.

Revolutionary Prayer

14 Oct , 2011 1 Comment

An elderly Jewish man had been praying at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem for Arabs and Jews to stop their fighting. Someone asked him, “How long have you been praying?” “50 years” “How do you feel, praying for that long and the fighting continues?” “Like I’m talking to a brick wall.”

Have you ever felt like that guy? Let’s all just get real honest- we’ve all struggled with prayer. We’ve all felt guilty for not praying enough, we’ve all doubted the reality of prayer and we’ve all wondered if God really answers prayer. We’ve all walked through seasons of prayerlessness and the truth be known many of us pray very little.

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus teaches us that the main reason for unanswered prayer is prayerlessness.

In his classic work, With Christ in the School of Prayer, Andrew Murray writes, “Moses gave neither command nor regulation with regard to prayer: even the prophets say little directly of the duty of prayer. It is Christ who teaches us to pray.”

What is prayer? Prayer is communication and communion with God. Again, only in Christ do you find a relationship, a friendship, communion with God.

Why pray? The purpose of prayer is to develop my relationship and intimacy with Christ and align my life up to His will.
I’ve thought about my relationship with Stacy (think about anyone you love)- my relationship with her has very little to do with asking her to do things for me. It’s really all about expressing my love for her, just being with her, getting to know her, and asking, “How can I love you more?” This is the kind of intimacy our Lord Jesus seeks with us:

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

Why don’t we pray? The main reason we do not pray is our own self-sufficiency. We think we do not need our Lord’s help.

Common Misconceptions of Prayer:

1. Prayer doesn’t work.
That’s another way of saying that God doesn’t answer my prayers. What happens is some of us have prayed and we think God hasn’t answered our prayers so we assume that He must not answer anyone’s prayers. We hear testimony of answered prayers and we think, “That didn’t happen. That was just a coincidence.” Well, for those who have discovered the adventure of prayer, we know that it’s sure interesting how many coincidences start happening when we pray.
“I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.” Psalm 17:6 It’s been said, “When we work, WE work, when we pray, GOD works.”

2. Prayer is breaking down the reluctance of God.
Prayer is not getting beyond God’s reluctance; it is laying hold of His highest willingness.

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:11

3. Prayer is not necessary. Again, prayer is the essence of the Christian life because the Christian life is all about a passionate pursuit of intimacy of relationship with Christ. It’s the ONE thing you’ve been called and the ONE thing you must devote your attention to.

4. Prayer is about asking God for what I want.
Johnny had been misbehaving and was sent to his room. After a while he emerged and informed his mother that he had thought it over and then said a prayer. “Fine,” said the pleased mother. “If you ask God to help you not misbehave, He will help you.” “Oh, I didn’t ask Him to help me not misbehave,” said Johnny. “I asked Him to help you to able to put up with me.” We need to move from selfish prayers. We struggle with our needs vs. our wants.

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:3

5. Prayer must be eloquent.
The most common prayer in the Bible is the simple prayer. A quick study of the prayers in the Bible reveals raw, heartfelt, and desperate prayers are the most common.

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” Matthew 6:7
One night Will’s parents overheard this prayer. “Now I lay me down to rest, and hope to pass tomorrow’s test, if I should die before I wake, that’s one less test I have to take.” Raw, heartfelt, honest prayer is the prayer of a child of God. All of these misconceptions are hindrances to prayer but:

6. The most common hindrance to unanswered prayer: Prayerlessness.
“…you do not have, because you do not ask God.” James 4:2
When we pray, according to His will, His character, His “name”, God answers our prayers- 100% of the time.

“I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:23-24

The Kingdom of God and the Gospel of Grace

30 Sep , 2011 1 Comment

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

What does it mean for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? Throughout the Gospels we read that Jesus came “proclaiming” and “bringing”- (enacting) the kingdom of God. This coming kingdom was accompanied by healing and great acts of compassion. Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes- a description of kingdom people. Most parables begin with the words, “The kingdom of God is like”. This kingdom is wherever and whenever the King reigns and some day, because of His completed salvific work on the cross His Kingdom will come on the New Earth exactly as it is in heaven.
It should be OBVIOUS from an honest reading of the Gospels that Jesus expected His disciples (US) to master the lessons He taught and actually LIVE a kingdom life- to actually practice illogical acts of compassion, unreasonable amounts mercy and stunning amounts of forgiveness. Clearly this Gospel of the kingdom of God… is a Gospel of grace. This Good News is that in God’s kingdom GRACE abounds. It’s Christ’s vision of the world and how it should be AND how it WILL be. If Christianity is about anything, it is about forgiveness. It is about grace. If we are to live as kingdom people, we need a recovery, a re-discovery of the core- the central- Message of Jesus- the FOCUS of the Christian faith: forgiveness. Indeed, in our best moments the gracious melody of forgiveness is heard as the recurring theme of our faith. The kingdom of God is a place where GRACE abounds.

The Kingdom comes when grace abounds. The parable of Jesus – like the story of the Vineyard workers in Matthew 20 leave the listener with head-scratching disbelief- how is it that one could work all day and another work for one hour and ALL receive the same compensation? Jesus taught “the new math of grace”. It’s not about human merit; but about divine forgiveness. It’s not about earning wages- in the kingdom of God the last are first, the weak are strong and there IS NO counting. Living in the kingdom, Jesus says, is not about religious moralism; it’s about a complete reorientation to the Gospel of grace.

What is grace?
Justice is getting what you deserve. Could’ve started with the word “revenge”- which we see a lot of in our world- that’s when someone does you wrong and you pay back with more than what you deserve.
Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Now, James tells us that mercy triumphs over justice (James 2:12).
Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
To live the grace-filled life means that we see grace- not simply as a means toward salvation but as a WAY of LIFE. That’s why you’ve been forgiven- so that you might LIVE forgiven. Grace demands a radical love and a forgiveness- in the final analysis forgiveness is an act of faith. I’m trusting God to be a better justice-maker than I am. Too often we know we should forgive, we want to forgive, we almost forgive, but in the end we realize we cannot forgive- we are too just. My need for justice trumps my ability to forgive. But in James 2:13 the Bible says that, “Mercy triumphs over justice”.
“The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:20-21
So, among God’s people, grace “abounds” (it overflows, it thrives, it increases). How does it “abound”, increase? It abounds, it thrives through us as God’s people when we extend grace to others.
Luke 14:15-24 Jesus tells the story of the Master who is planning a grand banquet and he tells his servants to go and invite certain people to come. One by one they offer excuses and say that they cannot come. The Master opens the invitation up to all and extends as invitation to the banquet to the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. The kingdom comes when grace abounds!

Grace abounds when…
1. We embrace God’s forgiveness. When God forgives He sees you as though your sin never happened. Can you forgive like that? You never will- until you realize that change won’t happen through ‘trying harder’ but only through encountering the radical grace of God. There is so much in your future but you’ve got to leave the past behind you! You need to bury the past- what could’ve been, what should’ve been, and how justice must be served in the life of that individual who has hurt you.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

2. We become agents of God’s forgiveness. Christians sometime believe in a theology of grace but not a lifestyle of grace. Grace abounds when we take on the heart of Jesus. As kingdom people we are administrators of grace dispensers of His grace- we peddle, (we tout, we push) grace… here’s the picture of a kingdom person: wherever they go, they are so filled up with God’s grace- it abounds, it overflows, it spills over on to everyone they encounter. Have you ever met someone like that? Here’s how you spot them: they are kind to everyone. In fact, to the point that it doesn’t make sense- if grace doesn’t make you say, “Wait a minute…that CAN’T be right”, it’s not grace. Because grace, by it’s very nature is NOT fair. It is a most unnatural act. Grace-filled people have lots of friends- and lots of friends who don’t look like them. Following Jesus will always take you into relationships that make you uncomfortable.”
Grace-filled people are joy-filled people. Grace-givers are FUN to be around. They’re the people you want at your party. In fact, they know how to party! Don’t miss this: Jesus is saying the kingdom of God is like a party. It’s a feast! And why is it that so many Christians are unhappy, tight, grumpy, and solemn?! They have never truly embraced God’s grace. Because grace-filled people are constantly overwhelmed by the grace they’ve received from God- so much so, they want you to experience as well- so they show you what grace looks like. You can spot grace-givers. Are you one of them?

3. We decide to include everyone- especially those who are undeserving. We must determine that we will include everyone in this kingdom party. Everyone is invited to be a recipient of my love. I will show NO discrimination as I dispense this grace that I have been given.

4. We introduce others to the Grace-giver Jesus.
Everyone is welcome… the kingdom of God is all-inclusive (or more correctly- exclusive to those who come undeserving, humble, and contrite before God.
As we apply this as a church family- we’ve said that as kingdom people- we are a Gospel-centered church- and this Gospel is the Gospel of grace. Grace leads to inclusion (the central point of this parable in Luke Grace leads to diversity which should lead to more grace. That’s the Church!

A sign you’re growing in grace: You realize Jesus ALWAYS writes stories of mercy, of grace, compassion, and reconciliation bigger than you would. Join Him in writing a story of grace today.

When Christianity Becomes Idolatry

01 Sep , 2011 No Comments

Excerpt from Matt Johnson

Even good Christian theology can become an idol. When Christian belief is information detached from the substance of Jesus’ objective work on the cross for sinners, it becomes idolatry. Like it or not, you and I are guilty of it. How so?

• Do you live for the approval of others in the church?
• Do you stew over your spiritual performance and personal holiness more than you steep in what God has already accomplished for you in Jesus?
• Are you prideful about your biblical knowledge?
• Do you love to debate finer points of theology with others and get angry when you’re challenged by your views?
• Are you feeling burnt out and joyless in your service to those in the church?
• Are you uncomfortable with suffering people and find you’re quick to recite Bible verses as a way to avoid awkward, personal engagement?

If you answered “yes” to any of these, there is a good chance you have taken God’s good gifts and used them for your own selfish purpose. You have used God to make yourself look good through your service, your knowledge, and personal growth. This form of idolatry is hard to detect because the “fruit bearing” looks good to everyone else. Let’s face facts though; it’s idolatry.

The problem is, like the Pharisees, we prefer our safe religion over the death of our selfish spiritual aspirations.

The Ten Traits of a Healthy Family

31 Aug , 2011 No Comments

1. They have an irrational commitment to each member of the family. They display an illogical love for one another, spread lavishly and without discretion. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” 1 John 3:1 Driven by 1 John 3:1, stunning amounts of love, kindness, and forgiveness are shared to family member.

2. They communicate with truth and grace. Mom and Dad model Ephesians 4:15 How we treat our spouse (and how we extend grace to our family members) will confirm or contradict what we believe about God.
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15 Create an atmosphere where truth can be discussed, regardless of how difficult it may be to talk about.

3. They affirm the value and uniqueness of each member of the family. Each person is loved for free and without judgment. His or her opinions and feelings are always honored.
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7 Celebrate the uniqueness of each child in our family. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”

4. They vow never to abuse, shame, control, or intimidate one another. “Oh, children are resilient- they bounce back.” No children are fragile and understanding that children are fragile- no emotional, verbal, or physical abuse is tolerated in any way and is immediately confronted. Consider the power of words.
“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Philippians 4:5
Unkind words are not tolerated- “We do not talk to each other like that in our family.” Parents: You must model kind words and challenge this early on.

5. They share a strong spiritual foundation. Parents recognize that a “mild
dose” of God will never cultivate a life that has Christ at the very center, guiding every aspect of life (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). There is no abdication of spiritual formation- no outsourcing to the church. We create spiritual orphans, spiritual schizophrenics. Complete disconnect! What’s your goal parents? There’s a big difference between a young person who goes to church & one who is truly sold out to God.

6. They teach respect for others. Racism, arrogant superiority, or disrespect
for people who are different is never tolerated. Jesus added to the Shema that we should love each other as we love ourselves:
“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’.” Matthew 22:39
When you see a child who is different than other kids ask, “What would it feel like to be that kid?” Teach your children to love and honor all people- adopt Martin Luther King Jr.s’ dream for our nation. Help your children dream of the day when every person- Hispanic, black, Asian, European and all people will know that they are loved with the unprejudiced, unbiased, and unrestrained love of Jesus.

7. They instill a sense of responsibility in one another. Each member knows that they must take responsibility for their own actions and face the consequences of their poor choices. Self-esteem does not result from simply heaping large amounts of affirmation and praise. It happens when a child learns to be responsible.
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.” 1 John 1:8-10
Let the consequences do the teaching. It’s God’s way- and parents too often get in the way of what God wants to do, simply through the consequences of choices made or not made. Parents: Do NOT rescue your child. This takes courageous parenting- it takes faith- to believe that God will work in your children’s life as He sees fit. When you let the consequences do the teaching you place that child in the hands of God.

8. They play together. This is so important. Laughter and fun mark a family that builds strong relationships with one another.
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

9. They celebrate rituals and traditions together. This gives the family a sense of constancy and permanence. They know that the love and commitment of the family will never change- this year, next year, and the next…
“Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?” Job 8:8-10

10. They seek help when they come to an impasse. They understand that all families have issues that may need outside or professional help and they are not afraid to ask for help when needed.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

God is very clear about the kind of families He wants us to have. Let us follow His principles and seek to honor Him in our families.