The Resurgence

4 Reasons Leaders Should Pray

Mark Driscoll — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

This content is for those that have signed up for Leadership Coaching with Pastor Mark.
Please sign in at http://theresurgence.com/.

Getting Through Challenges to Missional Community

Jonathan Dodson — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The popularity of missional community is rising among evangelicals, and yet, the American church is nowhere near a missional tipping point.

I’ve faced missional highs and missional lows. Along the way, I’ve considered a number of things that are absolutely necessary for us to endure the transition to missional church. How should we respond to the challenges of missional community? Here are three things to keep in mind as you lead in God's mission (and thanks for doing so).

1. Building Missional Community Requires Stretched Grace

We need more than a drop of grace to get us going on God’s mission. We need an ocean of grace to swim in to continue on God’s mission together. Do you remember when you knew nothing about being missional? That's where many people are. Do you recall how long it took you to process, assimilate, and live out the principles of missional community? This probably took a couple of years, and if you're a leader, you are in it "full time."

Motivate people with grace.

When leading others in missional community, remember the slowness in your own story and extend others the same grace and patience King Jesus extended you. We need more than a drop of grace to get us going on God’s mission. We need grace stretched across the length of our lives and depth of our missional failures and successes. Jesus secured this grace, so revel in it and splash it on others.

Leader Tip

Try to avoid making mission a new benchmark of religious performance. Instead, motivate people with grace: grace preached and grace embodied. Embody the grace of Christ, who has put up with our missional fumblings for centuries, as you lead others on mission. When it comes to mission, it's not perfection overnight but progress over a lifetime.

2. Community Is What You Make of It

In order to make progress with your community, remind them that community is what you make it. Community isn't an idea; it's real people, awkward, struggling, weird, different, funny, slow, arrogant, sheepish, humble, curious, skeptical, excitable. You get the idea. Jesus didn’t die to make cliques. He died and rose to form diverse communities.

Jesus didn’t die to make cliques. He died and rose to form diverse communities.

Diverse and different is hard. It requires love, effort, and patience. Community doesn’t just magically appear in a church. In fact, churches don't have community at all; they are community. The question is, “What will you make of the community?” I’m falling in love with messy, real community with people who are so different from me and yet so alike in Jesus. There’s nothing like pursuing difficult people, being loved by different people, and serving alongside a diverse people. What a display of grace (nothing else could hold us together).

Leader Tip

In a highly consumeristic, individual-centered society, it will take at least a generation to get back to the biblical notion of community. And even then, we will need more than community to sustain community. Let’s all agree to shatter our ideal of community and enter the real community of people God has placed in our lives. Let’s lift Christ higher than the community. Jesus is the head not the body. He's Lord of the church. He's the hope of the community, not the community itself. Community needs a center deeper than connection and a purpose greater than comfort. It needs the God-man, Jesus Christ, to knit unlikely people together as a display of our common need for grace. Insist on this.

3. Labor for the Lord of Mission not the Fruit of Mission

With all the missional hype, our faith can easily slip from trusting in the Lord of the harvest to trusting in the fruit of our labors. I’ve had several deep relationships with non-Christians dissolve over the past year and a half. This came after spending a lot of time with them over meals, out for philosophy discussions, in our home for counseling, and with our family doing fun stuff. They were loved and heard the gospel in ways that were profoundly relevant to their own fears, struggles, and hopes… and they walked away.

Jesus is not only a model of missional endurance, he’s also the hope for missional endurance.

They walked away from Jesus and created distance from us. That’s hard. If I’m putting faith in the fruit of my missional labors (at least at what I can see), then I’m discouraged. But if I’m putting faith in the Lord of the harvest, I can be confident that he has been lifted up and that he is in charge of all salvation. He has endured much more to witness friends walk away from his costly sacrifice. Jesus is not only a model of missional endurance, he’s also the hope for missional endurance.

Leader Tip

Put your faith in the Lord of mission, not the fruit of mission. It can be easy to congratulate ourselves when mission is high and berate ourselves when mission is low. That’s a sign that we’ve misplaced our faith. We put it in ourselves or our “fruitfulness.” Come back to the gospel every single day and ask the Spirit to put Jesus highest among your affections and greatest among your hopes. Keep repenting and putting your faith in Jesus and he will take care of the mission.

Posted with permission from GCM
Gospel Communities on Mission

How Shame and Guilt Can Enter into Parenting

Julie Lowe — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

Julie Lowe talks about how shame and guilt often enter into how we parent. She’ll be speaking at CCEF’s 2012 National Conference this October in Tennessee.

Love Your (Theological) Enemies

Phil Ryken — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

I find it hard enough to love the people I agree with.

So how can I love someone on the other side, especially when the things that divide us are theological principles that really matter?

Disagreements Are Inevitable

Since the time of the apostles, the church has always had its theological disputes. I often wish that I could live at a time or in a place that was controversy-free.

Yet a sober look at human nature and the limitations of our understanding makes it clear that there will always be theological disagreements. If we care about biblical truth, inevitably we will find ourselves engaged in some of these disagreements, and our love will be tested to the limit.

1 Corinthians 13: Not Just for Weddings

In recent years my teaching and writing have taken me back repeatedly to 1 Corinthians 13, which takes a sober look at the impossibly high biblical standard for love.

The love in this passage is applicable to marriage, but Paul is also directly addressing the theological disagreements in the church. The Corinthians were plagued with controversies about worship, social class, and spiritual gifts. All of the things that divided them had theological entailments and implications. And all of their disagreements threatened to expose their loveless hearts.

So the Apostle Paul told them everything that love is—and everything that love isn’t. It is patient and kind. It isn’t rude or irritable. And so forth. 1 Corinthians 13 is a complete portrait of love for Christians caught up in controversy.

Be Loving in Church, in Friendship—and Online

We have our own controversies. And frankly, when we are convinced that we’re right and someone else is wrong, patience and kindness aren’t exactly the areas where most of us excel.

If this is an area of struggle for us, then we would be wise to make 1 Corinthians 13 our constant companion. We should read and reflect on these verses when we think an error needs to be corrected in our local church, when we are tempted to straighten out a friend’s theology, or when we are about to express our opinion in a doctrinal disagreement online.

Our Savior Is Love

As we read and reread 1 Corinthians, we should look for all the ways that it paints a portrait of the Savior whose love is everything that our love is not.

We may not be patient and kind, but Jesus is.

His affections are never irritable or rude, never arrogant or resentful.

This is the love that I need for the people I disagree with, and who disagree with me. In fact, it is the love I need for everyone. Happily, it is also the love that Jesus has promised to give me, as I trust in him.

Philip Ryken is president of Wheaton College and the author of Loving the Way Jesus Loves, a practical exposition of 1 Corinthians 13, which comes with a guide for personal or small group study.

Theology of Scripture

Gregg Allison — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:00 -0800

This lecture was recently given by Dr. Gregg Allsion to train the Mars Hill staff in a theology of Scripture and its importance in life and ministry. Below, you can download the supplementary notes that coincide with the lecture.

Supplementary PDF

An Apologetic of Gratitude

Douglas Wilson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Having considered that we should be more concerned with winning the man than with winning the argument, the next question that arises (obviously) is how?

The best way to begin asking how a man may be won is by recognizing in what way he is lost. “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).

There are two things mentioned here that result in futility of thought and in darkened hearts. The first of the two things is the refusal to honor the office of God, despite knowing him at some level. They knew God, but did not honor him as God. The second thing is related to this: they refuse to render thanks to him.

Therefore, one of our central apologetic tasks is to bring such unbelievers into the presence of Christians who glorify God as God, and who are overtly grateful to him. The second flows out of the first.

If God is God over all, then it is possible to give thanks to him for absolutely everything.

“. . .giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

This is what the unbeliever doesn’t want to do. This is what he is running from. He doesn’t want to do it himself, and he doesn’t want to be around it. And if he is running from it, one of our tasks is to make sure that gratitude is right behind him, right on his heels. Since it cannot be his gratitude yet, it must be ours.

The Scriptures tell us plainly that this kind of behavior sets a stark contrast between us and the world.

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.” Philippians 2:14b–16a

Negatively stated, this is an absence of grumbling and disputing. Positively stated, we are talking about a life of gratitude and contentment. Paul says that if we do this we are holding fast to the word of life, and we are shining as lights in a crooked and twisted generation. That is true evangelism.

That is an apologetic for the light of Christ that shines in the dark places. It is an apologetic of gratitude.

We tend to think that intellectual difficulties create heart difficulties. But in fact, it is the other way around. The rebel commander is the heart; the grad school credits are just foot soldiers in that rebellion. Notice the order and progression as Paul sees it.

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” Ephesians 4:17–18

Paul attributes darkness of understanding to a hardness of heart. This is why we should aim for the heart. And the thing we should be shooting at an ungrateful heart is several clips of gratitude bullets.

We all know enough to thank God for our food, but we often get stuck there. I suggest branching out a bit, especially around the unbelievers we are seeking to win. This means figuring out how to express thankfulness for really good sneezes, a Styrofoam cup of truck stop coffee, the way it feels when you pull your socks all the way up, the tricks your smartphone does, the way the clouds can do that, not to mention the way those birds are fooling around in the tree, your wife’s neck, the happy task of mowing the lawn, and steaks on the grill. And by all these things, I am not talking about “happy about,” but rather “thankful to.”

Dante Rossetti once summed it up nicely: 'The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.'

An apologetic of gratitude is one which helps create those moments, and which presses the point when it happens. And a good way to press the point is by chuckling and saying to your friend, “You know what’s cool? A narwhal’s horn, that’s what.”

Tremble at the Word

Alex Early — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

I’ve found that for some it is far too easy to simply handle the Bible as scientists handle radioactive material.

Scripture gets examined like it's behind glass and you need to be covered in sterile clothing with gloves to approach it. The Word gets treated as something solely to be studied and examined for its contents and data to be reported, rather than something to be encountered which actually reads you better than you read it.

Thinking the Characters' Thoughts

This doesn’t mean that we hijack faithful biblical interpretation or exegesis. Authors, locations, genres, audiences and so on are critical! Historian R.G. Collingwood said it right: “Any worthwhile history must involve thinking the characters' thoughts after them.” Thus, running off in any direction desired by the reader is just foolish and selfish. Reading like that betrays a basic respect for the Author and authors of the Bible.

The Bible contains the very words of God.

I believe the prophet Isaiah offers us more than a clue to encountering the living God. He provides the exact prescription, “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2).

Moved with Awe

This means literally to shake or quake and be moved with awe before God’s Word. What was the last experience that caused you to tremble? Standing before Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon? Staring out into the sea or up into the cosmos? Seeing your baby born? Visiting a cathedral? Attending a funeral?

What if that experience of trembling was to actually precede our interpretation and exegesis of the Word? We simply need to recognize what we are reading matters. The Bible contains the very words of God.

Yawning or Trembling?

I find that my walk with God is most stagnate when I’m no longer trembling before God’s Word, but rather yawning as I stare at the words on the pages because I’ve grown self-absorbed, bored with God as I’m too familiar with him and focused on “my kingdom come” instead of “Thy Kingdom come.”

The Bible is like a lion.

When was the last time you trembled at the Word of God? If you’ll notice, Isaiah doesn’t say, “This is the one to whom I will look..."

“the one who has a PhD in Theology.”
“the one who has perfect church attendance.”
“the one who has all their t’s crossed and i’s dotted.”
“the one who has the most followers on Twitter.”

God looks for the trembling, the humble, the broken, and the one who shudders before the Creator’s Word. This isn’t trying to scare you out of Bible study. This is simply giving the Bible it’s proper place. The Bible is like a lion; if you really know what you’re looking at, you, by nature, will tremble because of its power.

“At these words Peter trembled, Plato did not; so let the fisherman keep what the great and famous philosopher ignored!” (Augustine Sermon 68.7).

The Strategically Generous Church

Craig Groeschel — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

I pray your church or ministry gives spontaneously to meet needs. But if we only give spontaneously, this style of giving will limit what we’re able to give.

Another way to think about giving is to be strategic.

Abraham thought ahead of time to send gifts with his servant for Isaac’s future wife (Genesis 24).
The Magi planned ahead of time to bring extravagant gifts for God’s son (Matthew 2).
God strategically showed his love for us by sending Christ while we were still sinning against him (Romans 5).
Isaiah 32:8 (NLT) says, “But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.”

We could say generous churches plan to do what is generous.

Instead of just planning our next building project or fundraiser, we should also “plan to do what is generous.”

Unquestionably we should plan to help the poor and needy. We can also plan to help and support other churches or ministries. In our meetings, we have learned to strategically ask, “What can we give to other churches to help them?”

Do you have a building you could offer another ministry one day a week or more?
When you upgrade choir robes, a van, or a sound system, can you give what you had to bless another ministry?
Can you make your sermons, outlines, or videos available to serve other churches?

When you plan to be generous, you might be surprised how many ways you can be a blessing.

How is God using your ministry to serve others?

Adapted from LifeChurch.tv's blog, Swerve.

The Bull’s-Eye of the Gospel

Justin Holcomb — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

There was a woman named Kathy who swiped credit cards in a cafeteria at the University of Virginia, where I used to teach. Everyone who ate there knew her, because she emanated enough kindness to cheer up even the most discouraged students. She had a Facebook fan group with over 1400 fans, and people would go to the cafeteria just to hear her comforting words. She always delivered.

Kathy was a hit because she tapped into the human need for a comforting word. People feel tired, ugly, stupid, and unwanted, and they want to hear something different than what they think about themselves or are told by others or culture.

Jesus gives a warm invitation to himself.

We are no different. We are all "weary and heavy laden." Whether it's job loss, illness, discouragement, loneliness, repeated sins, or memory of what's been done to us, we all have things in the back or the front of our minds that add to our weariness and burdens. Then we read these amazing words of Jesus which are the bull's-eye of the gospel:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. - Matt 11:28-30

“Come to me”

According to Jesus, it’s all about Jesus. He claims to be the center of all God’s revelation (Luke 24) and the source of ultimate rest and rescue. Notice the invitation, “Come to me.” He doesn’t just give advice and instruction; he doesn’t say, “Go try this principle.” Instead, he gives a warm invitation to himself.

Jesus’ invitation shows us the heart of God. God came to seek us out. In his book Training in Christianity, Søren Kierkegaard wrote:

He is the friend of sinners: When it is a question of a sinner, He does not merely stand still, open His arms and say, ‘Come here.’ No, he does not stand and wait, he goes forward to seek, as the shepherd searched for the lost sheep, as the woman searched for the lost coin. He has gone infinitely farther than any shepherd or any woman, He went the infinitely long way from being God to becoming man, and that way He went in search of sinners.

“All who labor and are heavy laden”

God favors the weak and burdened, not the spiritually proud. Jesus embraces the meek and the broken—the ones who feel swamped with heavy burdens. It is no small thing that he spent so much time with those considered spiritual losers of his day.

Jesus invites all who are worn out and “carrying heavy burdens.” This last phrase is unique and only repeated in Matt 23:4—Pharisees “tie up heavy burdens… and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” Jesus is referring to a religion that was meant to honor God, but its effect was to condemn the ordinary person to hard labor.

Those who come to Jesus will find that his yoke is lighter, not because he demands less but because he bears the load for us.

Graceless religion sounds very pious and well-intentioned, but it grinds you down even further. Through the arbitrary demands of the super-religious, religion becomes even more of a burden on top of the burdens you already have. Jesus paints a picture of being under a huge weight that is crushing you—and then the religious people are jumping on your back and whipping you.

Graceless Religion

In the Bible, graceless religion is presented as an intolerable burden. Peter asked those who emphasized the law without the gospel, “Why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (Acts 15:10).

Everyone feels this sense of burden, whether it’s the legitimate burden of God’s law or burdens manufactured by yourself or other people. Jesus makes his invitation to all who are weary and burdened.

“I will give you rest”

Jesus offers rest and relief to the broken and weighed-down. The image that should come to mind when Jesus says “weary and heavy laden” is of an exhausted slave worker, and when he says “I will give you rest,” it could best be translated as “relief.” When you feel the emotional and spiritual weariness of carrying a heavy burden, Jesus is not a slave driver, but the one who frees you from slavery and gives you relief.

Jesus talks about his “yoke” (v. 30) and contrasts it with the yoke of the Pharisees who heap burdens but don’t lift a finger to help. Jesus is the opposite. Those who come to Jesus will find that his yoke is lighter, not because he demands less but because he bears the load for us.

God favors the weak and burdened, not the spiritually proud.

A yoke was used for training cattle to plow. It was a wooden bar that fit around the head and on the shoulders. To train an ox, you’d put a strong experienced one on one side and then the younger ox on the other. The big ox would do all the pulling and work, while the young one strolled along, pulling off in various directions. This is what Jesus means. He straps the yoke to his neck and pushes it for us. He takes the yoke we are incapable of carrying, and then takes the whippings of the Law for us at the cross. Our burden is light because he takes the yoke that burdens us and does all the work.

The main way this rest applies to us is the forgiveness of our sins. We have rest in this life as we are forgiven of our sins, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:1). And we will have eternal rest when God wipes every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain or weariness or heavy burdens.

So, come to Jesus, all you who are weary and burdened, and he will give you rest.

Gospel Grazing

Hilary Tompkins — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

“Is that all you’re eating?” I ask my son, who is lounging on the sofa with a cheese stick. “Would you like me to make you a sandwich?”

“I’m grazing, Mom.”

He’s always grazed, ever since he was a little guy. It’s best for him, these small meals taken regularly throughout the day. His blood sugar tanks unless he eats well and often. We know from experience that if all he eats on a cross-country flight is gummi bears he will not do well later in the day. Gummi bears sustain thee not. Remembering to eat well is important to his well-being, and I encourage this by filling his lunch bag with good food designed to nourish and sustain until I can feed him again at dinner.

The Daily Diet

“Daily remind yourself of the gospel.” This was the encouragement given to a group of pastors’ wives on retreat. I’ve kept those notes in my Bible and refer to them frequently. It’s full of quotes like this one from C.J. Mahaney in The Cross-Centered Life:

“Reminding ourselves of the gospel is the most important daily habit we can establish. If the gospel is the most vital news in the world, and if salvation by grace is the defining truth of our existence, we should create ways to immerse ourselves in the these truths every day.”

I think on this as it relates to a healthy diet. God designed us to require food regularly. He knows us well, so he uses the language of our daily needs to communicate good news.

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

“‘. . . whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” John 4:14

Please, give me this day your daily bread.

Oh how I want this—bread and water from Jesus to fill my thirsty, hungry places and remind me that while my need for him is great, he is able to meet it freely and often.

Feasting in Fullness

I function best when I eat healthy, whole food but it feels like work to remember to eat well and often. I feel guilty and self critical when I lazily neglect the principles of good eating. I do this with the gospel, too: forgetting the ample daily diet of nourishing, sustaining refreshment from my Father, I deny myself the very truth that is life giving.

Weak and running on empty, I’m trying to satisfy hunger and thirst on a gummi bear diet.

I am listening to lies, telling myself I should know the truth, shouldn’t need the reminder, should work harder while ingesting less.

Perhaps Paul knew that this was the condition of the Ephesians when he prayed for them to “be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19). Ah, the fullness of God, the cure for my heart’s hunger and water for my thirsty soul. Fullness comes when I consume freely, when craving is satisfied with the richness of mercy:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:4–9

Take the Water of Life

My dear friend shares a gospel-centered worship video on Facebook. She comments apologetically, “I've watched this about 5 times tonight … because sometimes that's how much I need to hear it.” Another comments on her need to hear it often, and maybe it will sink in. They agree that they must both have thick heads.

“Not thick headed—thirsty!” I respond.

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” Revelation 22:17

How do you daily remind yourself of the gospel? Are you feasting regularly upon mercy and grace? It is life to you, and free.

In the Spirit

Sam Storms — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

In Colossians 1:3, Paul praises and thanks God for having evoked love in the hearts of the people of the church in Colossae, and in the next verse, he acknowledges the love these believers have toward one another. In verse 8, he mentions this love yet again, but here explicitly describes it as being "in the Spirit.

The Only Explicit Reference

Somewhat surprisingly, this is the only explicit reference to the Holy Spirit in the book of Colossians. Needless to say, there are countless activities and virtues and experiences mentioned in this book that are elsewhere in the New Testament attributed to the work of the Spirit, but in Colossians this is simply taken for granted rather than openly stated. So, Paul has thus far said five things concerning Christian love:

It is ultimately the work of divine grace in our hearts, for it is God whom Paul thanks for its presence and expression in the lives of the Colossian believers (v. 3).
It cannot exist independently of faith in Jesus (v. 4).
It is an affection for and commitment to "all the saints," not just those whom we find it easy to love and who in turn will love us back (v. 4).
It is the fruit of hope, which is to say that love flows from the fountain of confident expectation that what God has promised and laid up for us in heaven will indeed come pass (v. 5).
It is a public virtue, one that will make itself known in visible and vocal ways (v. 6).

To these five truths Paul now adds a sixth. In verses 7 and 8, he mentions the ministry of Epaphras (I'll return to him in the next study) who "has made known to us your love in the Spirit." So, this love of the Colossians one for another is in some sense due to the work or operation of the Spirit in their lives.

The Spirit Is Responsible

This phrase "in the Spirit" could also be translated "by the Spirit" or "through the Spirit" in the sense that it is the Spirit who is responsible for the power and incentive and steadfast commitment to fulfill whatever is in view. For example, Paul exhorts us to pray "at all times in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18), by which I think he means, among other things, (a) as the Spirit prompts us, (b) in the strength and power the Spirit supplies, (c) always asking the Spirit to bring to mind the truths of God's Word that are relevant to the person or subject of our intercession, and (d) always and ever dependent on the Spirit to cleanse our minds of sin and guard us against distraction and frustration.

We are by nature selfish and guarded and absorbed with our own concerns.

Therefore, to experience and express "love in the Spirit" points us yet again to the divine origin of this affection. It is a God-given love, one that cannot be cranked up or willed into existence by human grit and determination. James Dunn put it best when he described this love as one that "can only be aroused and sustained by the Spirit of God. The phrase carries overtones of an inspiration that wells up from within, charismatically enabled (Romans 2:29; 1 Corinthians 12:3, 9, 13, 14:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:5), and that depends on continued openness to the Spirit if its quality of unselfish service of others is to be maintained."

Love in the Spirit

Clearly, then, this love that the Colossians have for Paul and for all the saints is not a love that is natural to the human heart. We are by nature selfish and guarded and absorbed with our own concerns. If we are to love as the Colossians loved it must happen "in the Spirit," which is to say: as the Spirit reminds us of Christ's love expressed in the cross, as the Spirit works to direct our thoughts from self to the saints, as the Spirit awakens in us a recognition of the presence of Christ in other believers, as the Spirit overcomes our inclination to harbor bitterness and unforgiveness toward those who have hurt us, and as the Spirit energizes our hearts to believe that it is truly more blessed to give than to receive. This is why "love" is a fruit of the Spirit, as Paul states in Galatians 5:22.

There is yet a seventh, and final, observation Paul makes about this love. He has already said that love (and faith) flows from that hope laid up for us in heaven (Colossians 1:5a) and that this hope is an essential component in the gospel which the Colossians (and we) heard (vv. 5–6). Indeed, this gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the Colossians and us (v. 6). This fruit, in part, is love. So, the way this love will continue to be nurtured and nourished and sustained in our hearts through the activity of the Spirit is by listening to and reading about and trusting in the truth of the gospel!

Love is a fruit of the Spirit.

If hearing the gospel produces hope and hope produces love, we must be diligent to immerse our minds in the gospel by reading of it in the inspired Word, by meditating on its promises, obeying its warnings, memorizing those texts that speak of its blessings, and trusting that it will do for our souls what nothing else can. As we, by God's grace, focus our faith on the promises of the gospel and relish its beauty the Spirit will work to evoke and stimulate and sustain a supernatural love one for another that will redound to the glory of Jesus, for "by this all people will know that" we are his disciples, if we have "love for one another" (John 13:35).

This post adapted from Enjoying God, Sam Storms' ministry.

Your Ministry Is Not Your Identity

Mark Driscoll — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:00:00 -0800

This content is for those that have signed up for Leadership Coaching with Pastor Mark.
Please sign in at http://theresurgence.com/.

Why Science Needs the Christian Worldview

Justin Holcomb — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Christians can be confident in a discussion on the nature and use of science, precisely because only the Christian worldview can provide the necessary preconditions for the intelligibility of scientific inquiry. Science requires a significant number of philosophical assumptions just to conduct empirical investigation.

Borrowed Elements?

The non-Christian account of science falters under the weight of numerous internal contradictions. It should be remembered that non-Christians do science (and usually do so very well), but they cannot give an account for the very science they are doing without relying on the “borrowed capital” from the Christian worldview. According to Cornelius Van Til, unbelievers use the good gifts of God, which are spread throughout creation and on which they unknowingly depend in their thought and life, without giving God the glory. Non-Christian scientists are able to avoid utter nihilism and skepticism in science only by being inconsistent with their own worldview and borrowing some elements of God’s revelation.

What are those borrowed elements? What are some of the most important presuppositions without which scientific investigation should prove impossible? A brief list of such presuppositions includes:

1. The uniformity of nature

The laws, properties, or characteristics of objects and phenomena of a particular class do not vary over distance or time. Nature should be regarded as uniform.

2. Induction

Since nature is considered uniform, one may, from a limited number of objects/phenomena of a class, properly induce generalizations about all objects/phenomena of that same class.

3. Ontological/epistemological realism

Nature has an objective existence as an interdependent system, and is both intelligible and accessible to the human intellect.

4. Mathematical realism

Nature can be described accurately by the use of mathematics.

5. Methodological, epistemic, and ethical values

Examples of these would be the common claims that some methods constitute good science, others bad or pseudo-science; good theories have certain characteristics; and scientists ought to report accurately and honestly.

6. The reliability of the human mind and sensory faculties

The human mind and senses “fit” the natural world, and the use of the laws of logic aids discovery of truth and tends to falsify error.

7. Ontological/conceptual categories

Observed phenomena and entities are defined a priori by known classes such as objects, facts, events, etc. and are construed in a scientific tradition as planets, waves, species, etc.

8. The usefulness/adequacy of human language to describe nature

Nature corresponds to the mind in such a way that human language closely “fits” nature.

9. The existence of singularities, ultimate boundary conditions, and brute givens

Certain features/constants of the cosmos are simply taken for granted (eg. the mass of a proton, some values for forces, free acts of moral agents, etc.).

The Necessary Presuppositions

My argument is that only the Christian description of the world offers these presuppositions necessary for scientific inquiry. The philosophical preconditions for science are in the pages of the Hebrew and Greek scriptures. According to Scripture, God is the transcendent and almighty Creator of heaven and earth, and everything owes its very existence and character to His creative powers and definition (Genesis 1; Nehemiah 9:6; Col. 1:16–17).

He makes particulars in creation the way they are and determines that they will function as they do. According to Psalm 147:5, “His understanding is infinite.” Ephesians 1:11 declares that God sovereignly governs every event that transpires, determining what, where, when, and how anything takes place. This includes the motion of the planets, the molecular world, and the death of a sparrow. Isaiah 40:12–28 celebrates the power, creation, providence, delineating, and directing of Yahweh. God has the freedom and control over the created order as the potter has over the clay (Romans 9:21). Moreover, knowledge is possible because of a corresponding capacity created in us by God.

The Uniformity of Nature

The atheist worldview cannot account for the uniformity of nature on which to base the scientific process. David Hume has taught us that to say the future will be like the past is to beg the question. Since the uniformity of nature is an unjustified assumption in the atheistic worldview, there is no basis upon which to engage in scientific activities. Bertrand Russell succinctly states the problem of assuming the uniformity of nature in The Problems of Philosophy:

The problem we have to discuss is whether there is any reason for believing in what is called ‘the uniformity of nature.’ The belief in the uniformity of nature is the belief that everything that has happened or will happen is an instance of some general law to which there are no exceptions... But science habitually assumes, at least as a working hypothesis, that general rules which have exceptions can be replaced by general rules which have no exceptions... Have we any reason, assuming that they (scientific laws) have always held in the past, to suppose that they (scientific laws) will hold in the future.

The problem is that without a basis for the uniformity of nature there is no basis for induction. Russell continues that the business of science is to find uniformities, such as the law of gravitation and the laws of motion. Is it possible to formulate general laws of science in a world with no basis for the uniformity of nature? Russell answers this in the negative by writing the following:

Experience might conceivably confirm the inductive principle as regards the cases that have been already examined; but as regards unexamined cases, it is the inductive principle alone that can justify any inference from what has been examined to what has not been examined. All arguments which, on the basis of experience, argue as to the future or the unexperienced parts of the past or present, assume the inductive principle; hence we can never use experience to prove the inductive principle without begging the question. Then we must either accept the inductive principle on the ground of its intrinsic evidence, or forgo all justification of our expectation about the future.

Christians are not left with such a problem, precisely because the uniformity of nature and induction are compatible with the Christian view of the world. God, who is providentially in control of all events, has revealed to humans that we can count on regularities in the natural world. Because of this regularity, the endeavors of science will be fruitful. Science would be impossible without the truth of the Christian worldview.

Film & Theology: The Grey

James Harleman — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:00:00 -0800

The Grey, starring Liam Neeson, was released on January 27. It tells the story of an oil drilling team whose plane crashes in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness.

The Message Isn’t Black and White in The Grey

When thrust into a violent Alaskan landscape where death seems almost certain, a formerly despondent man suddenly manifests an incredible will to survive, to fight, to lead a group of men through the wilderness, and to combat the wolves at their heels.

Less an action film and more an essay on naturalism, the movie builds on Bertrand Russell's firm foundation of unyielding despair. It evokes Solomon's lament about the similarities and differences between man and beast in Ecclesiastes 3.

The film is an incredible treatise on why we choose life and choose to fight for survival that demands conversation: Does the ending satisfy? Why or why not? Like its name, The Grey doesn't give a black and white answer and crashes that narrative plane across the landscape of conversation.

Pastor James Harleman has been analyzing movies for Film and Theology posts and events for several years at Mars Hill Church. For more from James on engaging culture and redefining entertainment, check out the Cinemagogue.

Why Should I Be on Mission?

Tim Gaydos — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

Is being "missional" just a passing fad or trend? Is it just an excuse to be cool or hip? Or is it all about people meeting Jesus?

Hearing the Beat of Your Community

Brad House — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

This is the fourth post in a series about how to serve your community. Be sure not to miss parts one, two, and three.

Seattle is home to the Boeing company, a significant employer for several neighborhoods in the north and south ends of the city. One of the rhythms that a Community Group in those neighborhoods must contend with is the work schedule for Boeing employees. To offset the Boeing schedule with traffic patterns, the typical manufacturing shift is from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. rather than from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To hold a group at a typical time of 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. would effectively exclude the majority of families in that neighborhood. They are on a different rhythm and need to be in bed by 9 p.m. to get up for work the next day. A group that observes this rhythm, however, can adjust the times when they gather to match the rhythms of that neighborhood.

The Neighborhood Beat

As we discussed before, the idea is to be intentional and ask why we do the things we do. What are the natural rhythms in your neighborhood and how can you begin to harmonize with them? Can you hear the beat of your neighborhood?

Everyone has a story about why it is hard to hear the neighborhood rhythms, but the reality is that very few are actually looking and listening. We are not accustomed to paying attention. The motivation to do so must come from our love of Jesus and recognition of his grace to us. When we are aware of this, we can get pretty excited about paying attention.

The best leaders become students of their mission field.

Practically, to hear the beat of your community you need be in it, walking it, and talking to people. Baristas, mailmen, bartenders, and checkout clerks are all observers of life in your neighborhood that you see every day and probably never ask more than an obligatory, “How are you?” If you want to get to know the vibe and the rhythms of your group, ask more questions of these folks. They have a wealth of social knowledge.

Study Your Streets

If you want to build a Community Group that leaves a lasting gospel effect on your neighborhood, you need to make it your goal to know as much about your neighborhood as you can. If community is happening, then you should be a part of it. Join neighborhood associations and community centers. Spend 20 minutes in front of the community bulletin board and take note of the types of activities that are happening in the community. Subscribe to community newsletters and blogs. Walk your neighborhood and pray that the Holy Spirit would help you see the rhythms of your community and the opportunities to build bridges.

What are the natural rhythms in your neighborhood and how can you begin to harmonize with them?

The best leaders become students of their mission field. As you become better at observing culture and rhythms, you will be more effective in reaching people for Jesus and you will become better at shepherding your group to become healthier disciples of Christ.

Tweets

The best leaders become students of their mission field. #community
To hear the beat of your neighborhood, you need be in it, walking it, and talking to people. #community
Don’t just live in your neighborhood; be a part of your #community.

Adapted material from
Community: Taking Your Small Groups Off Life Support

5 Core Values of a Church in Decline

Perry Noble — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

1. Laziness

Most people or churches are not “stuck” in decline because they do not know or understand what the Lord wants them to do. God speaks very clearly in his Word and through his Spirit—it’s just that God’s work always requires people to take a step of faith. Remember, God promised the Israelites the Promised Land, but they actually had to go in and fight the battles. A church that refuses to do whatever it takes and embraces laziness will eventually settle in the desert until that generation dies.

2. Fear of Man

God has called his people to set the world on fire. Unfortunately, too many church leaders waste their time trying to put fires out and make people happy! Scripture neatly sums it up in Proverbs 29:25: “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

If your first question is always “What does our biggest giver want?” and not “What does our God want?” your church is stepping into the casket!

3. Pride

When a church and/or its leaders are not willing to admit a mistake or admit that a method that used to work just doesn’t work anymore, it’s over.

4. Staff Abuse

When a leader cares more about what his staff does than who they are becoming, he will begin to push them to work 70- to 80-hour weeks on a consistent basis. When they begin to show signs of being pushed too hard, he will accuse them of being “disloyal” or “not invested enough to make things happen.” When a leader begins to do this (and other leaders sit by passively and watch it happen), then the quality of staff members will decrease significantly.

5. Loss of Focus

When a pastor or leader (or group of leaders) becomes more obsessed with their ministry platform and begins to dive into other ministry opportunities, and do so with such frequency that he ceases to love the people Jesus has called him to minister to, disaster is right around the corner. The church will become nothing more than a resource for the pastor to promote himself rather than a group of people whom God has brought together and given him responsibility over to love and lead.

Adapted from Perry’s Blog

What Does God Want for Families?

Richard Pratt — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Unless you live in complete isolation, you have seen a broken home. On Wednesday, we looked at the first broken family: Adam and Eve’s. But what about now? Can we overcome the brokenness of our homes in the present age? Hasn’t God promised that Christian families can overcome their brokenness?

In recent decades, Christian television has spread what many call the “prosperity gospel,” the misguided belief that if we have enough faith, God will heal our diseases and provide us with great financial blessings. Of course, most people reading this article scoff at the thought that faith can yield such benefits.

But don’t laugh too hard. We have our own prosperity gospel for our families. We simply replace having enough faith with having enough obedience.

We believe that we can lift our families out of their brokenness if we conform to God’s commands.

Ordinarily Doesn’t Mean Necessarily

You’ve probably encountered this outlook at one time or another. Teachers and pastors tell wives that they will enjoy wonderful relationships with their husbands and children if they will become “an excellent wife” (Proverbs 31:10). After all, Proverbs 31:28 says, “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” At men’s conferences, fathers recommit themselves for the sake of their children because “the righteous who walks in his integrity—blessed are his children after him!” (Proverbs 20:7).

In much the same way, young parents are led to believe that the eternal destinies of their children depend on strict and consistent training. You know the verse: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Passages like these have been taken to indicate that Christian families experience blessings and loss from God, quid pro quo. We believe that God promises a wonderful family life to those who obey his commands.

Now, we need to be clear here. The proverbs commend certain paths to family members because they reflect the ways God ordinarily distributes his blessings. But ordinarily does not mean necessarily. Excellent wives have good reason to expect honor from their husbands and children. Fathers with integrity often enjoy seeing God’s blessings on their children. Parents who train their children in the fear of the Lord follow the path that frequently brings children to saving faith.

But excellent wives, faithful husbands, and conscientious parents often endure terrible hardship in their homes because proverbs are not promises. They are adages that direct us toward general principles that must be applied carefully in a fallen world where life is always somewhat out of kilter. As the books of Job and Ecclesiastes illustrate so vividly, we misconstrue the Word of God when we treat proverbs as if they were divine promises.

What Hope Is There?

If all of this is true, what hope is there? To understand the hope that the Scriptures offer us, we have to come to grips with some good news and bad news. The good news is that you cannot be bad enough to ensure God’s condemnation of your family. You might have been the most unfaithful spouse and the worst parent in human history, but you cannot be wicked enough to put your family beyond the possibility of redemption. The bad news, however, is that you cannot be good enough to ensure God’s blessings on your family. You might be the best spouse and parent that has ever walked on the planet, but you cannot be righteous enough to protect your family from terrible trials and suffering. The future of your family, for good or ill, is in the hands of God.

Without a doubt, we should look to Scripture for guidance in our homes. It addresses the familial responsibilities of men (Eph. 5:25–33; 6:4; Col. 3:19, 21; 1 Peter 3:1–6), women (Eph. 5:22–24; Col. 3:18; 1 Peter 3:7), and children (Eph. 6:1–3; Col. 3:20). It also offers family stories that provide rather obvious guidance. For instance, the relationship of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 2–4) is as positive an example as David’s adultery with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11) is negative. We should do our very best to follow all the teachings of Scripture. But we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that the future depends on us.

The same is true in modern life. We all know parents who raise their children to be followers of Christ, but their children reject the Christian faith. At the same time, many of us know parents who came to faith late in life. Despite the fact that they had trained their children to mock everything holy, their adult children soon trusted Christ as well. We all know innocent victims of divorce who suffer their entire lives with the pain of loneliness and guilty parties who repent and find peace with God and happiness in another marriage. These scenarios may not make much sense to us, but they demonstrate one thing very clearly: the future of our families depends on God, not you or me.

The End of the Matter

What’s the bottom line? Do your best to be the kind of spouse, parent, or child God wants you to be, but never take your eyes off of the One who actually holds your family’s future. If things are going well in your home right now, don’t be fooled into thinking that somehow you have made it that way. Look again: your home is broken beneath the surface and able to disintegrate in a moment. So, give God the thanks he deserves and earnestly pray for his continuing mercy in the future. But if things are not going well in your home, don’t give up on the hope of redemption. God delights in showing his amazing saving power through people who have nothing left. Whatever the condition of your family may be, turn to the One who holds the future in his hands and ask him to honor himself through your broken home.

The Bible talks a lot about broken homes and we should, too. Rejoice when your family enjoys God’s blessing. Be sympathetic when you become aware of brokenness in other families. There will be times when you will face brokenness in your own family.

But you have a God who is also your heavenly Father, and he loves you as a member of his family. God promises no easy fixes or simple solutions. There are no steps to follow that will guarantee healing and restoration. But your heavenly Father can and does heal families. He can turn mourning into dancing, and he can create praise out of despair. He can bind the wounds of the brokenhearted and set free those imprisoned in darkness.

God can restore families and use the tragedies that so deeply hurt us now to move us forward in the purposes for which he created us.

So call out to him as your Father, and pray for his mercy on you and your home. Trust in his love for you and never give up. Our Father sent his only Son to die and rise again to forgive our sins and heal our shame. He is our hope in all the brokenness we face in our lives.

Read part 1 of this post here. This post is adapted from Ligonier Ministries.

It Is Finished, and So Is This Interview

Tullian Tchividjian — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Matt Johnson, the Manager of Re:Lit had the opportunity to talk with Tullian Tchividjian about his new book, Jesus + Nothing = Everything. We didn’t want you to miss anything, so we’re breaking it down into three posts. In the first post, Matt talked with Tullian about the challenges he faced in 2009 that sparked his book. The second post dealt with idols. Below he talks about how he really hopes people will be able to just relax . . . in Christ.

In Christ Alone—but I’ve Got a Few Things to Add

Matt: So how did Christians become legalists about the whole idea of sanctification, where did we get it wrong do you think?

Tullian: I think since Genesis 3, we have all been prone towards works righteousness. Our heart is bent to do it on our own and that doesn’t go away after we become Christians. We still drift into what Jerry Bridges calls the “performance treadmill.”

For instance, none of us has a problem saying that our good works don’t get us in. We know our good works don’t get us in. Any good works are as filthy rags because we’re justified by grace alone through faith alone and the finished work of Christ alone. We acknowledge that.

We become the centerpiece of our own narrative, and Jesus is sitting on the sidelines.

But once God saves us it gets weird because we start thinking, OK, my good works do keep God’s favor. My good works may have not earned God’s favor, but it’s up to me to keep God’s favor. As a result, we become the hero of the story. We become the centerpiece of our own narrative, and Jesus is sitting on the sidelines and we’re on the field and he’s like, “Put me in, coach,” and we’re like, “No. We got it. Thanks for getting us on the field, but we’ll take it from here.” And we add all sorts of things.

When we think about legalism we think about, Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t—whatever. That, however, is not the subtle kind of legalism that Christians like me are prone towards. Christians like me are prone towards the kind of legalism that says God is angry with me if I don’t read my Bible today. And if I want to be sure God loves me, I have to make sure that I dot the i’s and cross the t’s. And if I’m not nice to my wife, one day God is going to shut me out.

If I know my wife loves me unconditionally, does that make me want to be more of a jerk?

The good news of the gospel is that my standing with God is not dependent on my obedience but Christ’s obedience for me. People will say, “Well, you can’t say that because then what impetus will you have to get people to do what they need to do?” and I simply go back and give them an illustration and say, “Listen: if I know that my wife loves me unconditionally—whether I’m being nice or whether I’m being a jerk—does that make me want to be more of a jerk?” [Laughing] It actually makes me want to be nicer. The thing that makes me want to love my wife more is when she loves me when I’m not being nice.

That’s the kindness of the Lord that Paul says leads to repentance. It’s the amazing grace of God, the unconditional favor of God given to us because of what Christ has done that transforms the human heart and turns us into the kind of people the Bible describes.

What to Do When You Have Nothing to Do

Matt: Aw man, I love it. Yeah! That’s good stuff. I think, so often, we get that backwards. It’s very subtle. As you said, we have these things on our radar of what the Christian life is like: don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t cuss, and we subtly fall into these patterns of works righteousness. It’s tricky and it’s hard to really see in the day-in and day-out.

So what’s the big idea you’re hoping readers are going to come away with after they read Jesus + Nothing = Everything?

Tullian: My hope and prayer is that this book will set people free, that it will cause them to relax and rejoice because we live our lives under a banner that reads, “It is finished.”

The question I ask throughout the book is this: “In light of Christ’s finished work and the imputed righteousness that we possess, what are we going to do now that we don’t have to do anything?” That’s a scandalous question to ask people because they think, “Wait a minute . . . we have to do this and we have to do that.”

It reminds me of Jesus’ disciples in John 6 when they said, “What must we be doing to be doing the works of God?” And it’s like they got their pad and pen out and they’re all ready to take notes and make a checklist to do those things Jesus tells them to do. And Jesus says, “You want to know what you need to be doing to be doing the works of God? Believe in the one whom God has sent.” And they’re like, “That’s too good to be true. What are you talking about?”

It is finished. It’s a done deal. Just rest.

We have a ton of things we think we need to do. We have to change the world and we’ve got to fix problems and we’ve got to fix people, and I’ve got to fix my wife and make sure my kids turn out OK. I need to make sure people are obeying God. These are things people, pastors specifically, fall into and Jesus is like, “Just trust me. Trust me. I’ve done it and it is finished. It’s a done deal. Just rest.”

The #1 Command in the Bible

Mark Driscoll — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

This content is for those that have signed up for Leadership Coaching with Pastor Mark.
Please sign in at http://theresurgence.com/.

Why You Should Know the Journal of Biblical Counseling

Mike Wilkerson — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

After four years of anticipating the return of the Journal of Biblical Counseling, my wait is over at last.

Yesterday, CCEF announced the JBC's return in a new online format, with the new issue freely viewable now. In years past, this journal has been a goldmine for me personally, as a pastor and counselor, and as a trainer of other counselors.

To give you a sense of how timely and helpful this journal has often been, just yesterday, I was looking into reference books on psychoactive medications. The same day, CCEF released the new journal with an article by Mike Emlet, a biblical counselor with an M.D., called "Listening to Prozac . . . and to the Scriptures: A Primer on Psychoactive Medications." Bingo. A perfectly timed primer from a biblical perspective to go along with the desk reference. This is not the first time I've been delightfully surprised by the JBC with fresh, relevant, trustworthy content—just in time. So glad they're back.

Go check out the new issue. You might even grab their searchable archives on CD to catch up on this important journal for biblical counseling.

Watch a video from the Senior Editor David Powlison here:

Broken Homes in the Bible

Richard Pratt — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

Unless you live in complete isolation, you have seen a broken home. Maybe it’s the family of a friend or relative, maybe it’s your own home.

Families fall apart in ways that are short-lived and lifelong, hidden from view and out there for everyone to see. Whatever the case, hardly anything perplexes and discourages us more than broken homes.

The Scriptures teach us that the pandemic of damaged families we see today is nothing new. Many of us attribute the problem to recent cultural shifts away from church and the gospel, but the Scriptures point in a different direction. Broken homes actually appear very early in the Bible. They come into view when God pronounced judgment against our first parents, Adam and Eve.

The First Broken Home

When God made humanity, he blessed us with the privilege of being his royal and priestly images. God first ordained that we should “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it” to prepare the earth for the fullness of his glory and eternal praise. God also established the family as the main social unit by which this multi-generational mission would be fulfilled (2:19–24). This is why, in most circumstances when family works well, we move forward in the purposes for which God created us. When it does not, we are severely hindered in our service to him.

Of course, it was not long before Adam and Eve sinned and fell under the judgment of God. When most of us think about the consequences of humanity’s fall into sin, our minds turn toward the physical and spiritual death that came to our first parents and to all of their descendants (Romans 5:12). We also recall God’s curse on nature and how it makes human life difficult until Christ returns in glory (8:18–25).

As important as these features of our fallen condition may be, the opening chapters of Genesis emphasize something else. The Scriptures stress how God’s judgment against our first parents was directed toward the family. God indicated as much when he said to Eve: “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing” (Genesis 3:16). Eve’s reaction to Abel’s death indicated that her maternal pain not only included physical childbirth but also the emotional grief caused by the waywardness of her children (4:25).

The familial focus of God’s judgment also becomes evident in the disharmony that grew between Adam and Eve: “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (3:16). Moreover, God warned Adam “in pain you shall eat” (v. 17), indicating that providing for the physical needs of his family would be riddled with hardship. The early chapters of Genesis explain that the brokenness of nearly every facet of family life stems from God’s judgment against our first parents.

Every Home Is Broken

Unfortunately, very few people acknowledge how long and how deeply the human family has been broken. When troubles come to our homes, we almost always pin the blame on someone’s personal failures.

“My family was fine,” one mother told me, “until my son became a teenager.”

“We were without problems,” a husband once commented, “and suddenly my wife was unfaithful to me.”

“We were a great family,” a child confided in me, “but then Dad just got up and left.”

Of course, we all have personal failures, and there is plenty of blame to go around for the problems our families suffer. But statements like these reveal how much we need to look more carefully at the root of our problems. No family is “fine,” “without problems,” or “great” until someone destroys it.

Every home is broken from the day it begins.

If you and I were to believe what the Bible says about the origins of our family problems, our attitudes and actions would be very different. We would be more sympathetic with others going through hard times, more vigilant about keeping our own families on track, and more devoted to pursuing help from God rather than simply assigning blame. Wouldn’t that be a welcome change?

But Hasn’t God Promised?

But hasn’t God promised that Christian families can overcome their brokenness? It is true that followers of Christ will receive full relief in the future. The New Testament teaches that at Christ’s return, “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption” (Romans 8:20–21). Although “in the resurrection [we] neither marry nor are given in marriage” (Matthew 22:30), when Christ appears he will reverse every harm sin has caused, including the breakdown of our families.

But what about now? Can we overcome the brokenness of our homes in the present age?

Check back Saturday for a response to these questions in part 2 of this post. This post adapted from Ligonier Ministries.

Why Jesus Wants You to Lose Hope

Justin Holcomb — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

In Mark 10, a young rich man eagerly comes to Jesus. He is a winner who does not want to give up trying to win.

The good thing about him is that he has a desire for something more, something beyond worldly winning. He asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

It is good to ask about eternal life, but his question reveals a deep flaw. You see, as Robert Capon notes, while he wants something more, he can’t imagine pursuing it in any other way than doing through more winning and striving. His question shows he believes there are techniques for inheriting eternal life.

Breaking the Law

Jesus knows the man’s mindset. He responds, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” Jesus is showing him that the law can save no one because the law can be kept by no one. He’s bringing up the law so the young man will take an honest look at how unsuccessful he’s been at practicing the righteousness he thinks is the answer to his problems.

But instead of recognizing his shortcomings as measured by these basic commands, this guy cuts Jesus off with, “I’ve done all those things perfectly since I was a kid.” In effect what he’s saying is, “Why don’t you give me a harder, more grown-up spiritual assignment?”

And how does Jesus respond? This is good for us to see. After being cut-off and ignored, Jesus looks at him and loves him. That’s what he does to us.

Jesus loves us when we don’t get it, when we rebel, when we rely on our own selves and not him. He is the picture of perfect, patient love.

So, with patient love and cosmic understatement, Jesus presses the law even further. “You only have to do one simple little thing.” The man’s eyes widen with anticipation. “Sell all that you have and give to the poor . . . and follow me.”

Jesus has really just applied the first of the Ten Commandments to this rich guy: Worship no other gods but God. Serve nothing but God. Jesus is revealing to him how much he fails to fulfill the commandments because he worships his wealth so much and asking him to give it up.

Jesus does the same thing to us, too. It might not be riches, but it could be anything you love more than God. Your idol is whatever you rely on to justify your existence. This text is not really about wealth, but idolatry. We are all guilty of loving something more than God, so Jesus turns the law on us, too.

Intensifying the Law

There is a reason we write about law and gospel so much: it’s because Jesus and the Apostle Paul talked and wrote about it so much. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus intensified the law when he took the Ten Commandments and told us, it is not just about our outward behavior. If you sin inwardly you have broken all of the law.

Then, in Matthew 22:37 he summarized the law with two prongs. He was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” He replied: “Love God with all your heart” (summarizing the first four commandments), and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (summarizing the last six).

Jesus made the law even more dangerous and intense than it was in the Old Testament. He wasn’t just explaining an ethical code for his followers—he was freaking people out so they would know their need for a Savior.

This is what’s supposed to happen when we read: “Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength . . . and love your neighbor as yourself.” That is the law pointing directly at us and asking us to give an account. Our response is not “Sure, that sounds easy and fun,” but instead “Lord have mercy on us!” We need mercy because we fail at those two things.

You don’t love God or your neighbor perfectly. That’s why you need a Savior.

The Law Is a Mirror

You see, the law is a mirror. It reflects to us our problem, our condition, our need, and our death. The law is good because it shows us reality. When we look in the mirror, it says, “You need to shave or apply some make-up.” Like a mirror, the law shows us our problem, but it doesn’t fix our problem. The law cannot generate what it commands.

The correct response to understanding the perfect law of a perfect God is what the disciples say in Mark 10:26: “Who then can be saved?”

The Rescue

When applied to sin, the law curses us with judgment. In the presence of the law, only a holy substitute can save us, or else we leave in depression like the young man. Look at what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7 and 8: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! . . . There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do” (Romans 7:24–8:3).

Jesus died on the cross in our place to take away our curse for breaking God’s law. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”

Because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, there is an answer to the disciples’ question, “Who then can be saved?” The good news comes when Jesus says, “With man [salvation] is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).

That’s the point of the law and the gospel: with us, salvation is impossible (law), but for God, everything is possible (gospel). It’s when we face the impossibility of doing anything to save ourselves that the gospel of Jesus floods in.

Dangers Leaders Face

Dave Kraft — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

Being in leadership is dangerous.

The Bible is full of warnings and examples of this truth. The devil is always lurking in the shadows to sidetrack, plateau, neutralize or flat out destroy Christian leaders. It is at times overlooked that 1 Peter 5:8 is in the middle of a passage directed to leaders. Leaders are often the first target of the enemy of our souls and the ministry.

We have all observed many well-known, godly Christian leaders who have fallen due to financial greed, sexual misconduct, and/or a variety of poor decisions. It seems that there are some obvious and common dangers related to such things as money and sex, then there are other dangers that fall into the category of deeper issues related to insecurity, ego, power and where our sense of identity really lies.

I personally assumed that once I was experiencing victory in the more obvious areas, I was relatively safe, only to discover that there was an entirely new cluster of dangers that were much deeper and woven into the fabric of my mindset and habits. Many of them were devious distortions of the gospel.

These deeper issues proved themselves much harder to identify and more difficult to deal with and very likely were the root causes for falling rather than the obvious sex and money issues.

Let's explore two of these less obvious dangers that leaders face. They are absolutely real, but not often discussed. They are not often taken seriously, but they are absolutely fatal.

Choosing Acceptance over Honesty

There is a strong desire in each of us to be liked, accepted, appreciated, respected, and popular with those we lead, but there is a real danger here as well. Jesus spoke to this in Luke 6:26, "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you."

Eugene Peterson in the Message renders it, "There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests." Is it wrong to be liked, popular with those you lead? Yes, if it comes at the price of truthfulness. John Maxwell has said, "If you need people, you can't lead people."

My sense of significance and acceptance needs to be rooted and fixed in what Jesus accomplished on the cross and through his resurrection, not wrapped up in the people I lead. If I have a deep unhealthy need for acceptance and popularity with those I lead, I will find it difficult to be objective and hold them to a high standard. I can ask myself if I am bothered to the point of ineffectiveness when the people I lead are unhappy with me. Do I tend to water down what needs to be said in order to not risk being unpopular?

With Jesus' help, I want to focus more on being a man of consistency and integrity rather than being well liked and popular.

Sometimes I can be a first-class chicken in dealing with the real issues. Jesus, speaking to the Jews in John 5:41 in the New Living Translation, says, "Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me." That is where I want to be, by his grace, getting off the emotional yo-yo of others’ approval or disapproval. As a leader I need to be able to deal with being unpopular, temporarily disliked, or misunderstood. It goes with the territory!

Choosing Artificial Harmony over Healthy Conflict

This is a close cousin to the first one. Many in leadership view conflict as something to avoid at all cost. There is a belief that conflict is harmful, divisive, and counter-productive. Or is it? It could very well be that If no one gets a little pushed out of shape during a meeting, we probably didn't put all our issues on the table.

Tumultuous meetings are often signs of progress. Tame ones are often signs of leaving important issues off the table.

I recall a very painful experience I had when a conflict arose between a key leader and me. I wanted to go to him and discuss it but was strongly warned that I should not do that, but simply walk away and "sweep it under the carpet." I discovered others who had been involved with this leader who believed that harmony was to be maintained (albeit a veneer of harmony), conflict avoided even if it meant that lies were told, discussions were shut down, and people were let go.

So many were hurt because of his desire to skirt around conflict and not deal with it. I think it comes back to insecurity on the part of a leader who, deep inside, is afraid to be wrong or have his opinions challenged.

Insecure leaders are dangerous people.

Dr. Larry Crabb expressed it well when he said, "My personal need for significance and security can only be genuinely and fully met in my relationship with Jesus Christ." Getting it met some place else leads down a road of a gradual, but sure, leadership destruction and is flat-out idolatry.

Choosing harmony over conflict will shut down creative interaction, rob us of great ideas, keep us in the same old rut, and set a precedent for dishonesty and game playing, which will cause more conflict than the conflict itself might have caused.

I must admit it is hard for me to welcome opposing viewpoints to my thinking. It always stings when people disagree with me and tell me in no uncertain terms. But the alternative is not an option for me any longer. Conflict and tension are well worth the price for the prize that is gained.

Have Dave Kraft speak at your church about Leaders Who Last.

Confessions of an Idol Worshiper

Dustin Kensrue — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Worship Is Killing Me

I was 23 years old, and already a few years into a fog of doubt and confusion that was slowly suffocating me. I was not unaware of my situation, but my diagnosis was way off the mark. To be sure, I knew that I had “lost my faith,” but I didn’t understand why.

The Grand Inquisitor

I had grown up in church, and was the kid in Sunday School with all the answers. I was a good kid, got good grades, and stayed out of trouble for the most part. I was smart and analytical. During my teens I examined and re-examined the reasons for my faith in God, each time satisfied (and a bit proud) that my inquisitions continued to vindicate my beliefs.

Until they didn’t.

One day I came to see that I did not know everything, that I didn’t have all the answers, and that I never would. This might seem fairly obvious to you, but it was devastating to me at the time. I would still say that I believed in God, and in Jesus (mostly just because I didn’t know what else to do) but my trust in the Bible had been pulled out from under me and the implications were huge. It felt at first as if I was falling, but soon after the curious weightlessness that settles in as one is falling for a long time.

Worship involves our entire life.

Life Goes On, Sort of

Fast forward a couple of years and I’m married, on tour with my band 9 months a year, and the darkness is now just the place that I live. I go to church when I’m home, I read ‘spiritual’ books, but I really have no sure footing in any way. I had previously wondered (with a detached arrogance) how people lived in this state of uncertainty, and now I was finding out. The worst part was worrying about what I would teach my children one day.

Wasn't This Blog Supposed to Be about Worship?

Yes. Many of us have grown up, either inside or outside the church, with the misconception that worship is somehow inextricably tied to music. Usually bad music. But the Bible describes it as something else entirely.

We Are Worshipers All

Yep, even you. Harold Best says lays this out well in his book Continuous Worship.

We begin with one fundamental fact about worship: at this very moment, and for as long as this world endures, everybody inhabiting it is bowing down and serving something or someone—an artifact, a person, an institution, an idea, a spirit, or God through Christ.

The point here is that the term describes something that is bigger than singing a song, or any specifically “religious” action. When you take your first bite of an amazing meal, when you witness the phenomenal catch in a baseball game, when you hold your newborn child for the first time, you naturally and freely proclaim your wonder and joy to everyone without shouting/tweeting distance. These are not bad responses in and of themselves in the right context, but they help to illustrate that we can’t help but worship, all the time. Worship involves our entire life.

Idol Factories

So what’s the problem then? In two words - the Fall. We were created worshipping, and our worship was pure. But when sin entered the world, it changed everything. Romans 1:25 says that we “…exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” So our worship became bent, from the giver to the gifts. The Bible calls this corruption of our worship “idolatry.” So if you’re tracking with me, you’ll see that when we speak of an idol worshipper, we can’t only be referring to primitive people bowing down to statues, but to all of us, all the time, as we worship anything and everything but the creator of all things. We do this so naturally that theologian John Calvin called the human heart an idol factory.

My problem was that I was on the throne of my life.

Who Is on the Throne?

So, when we look back at me in 2003, I want you to see that worship, wrong idolatrous worship, was killing me. My problem was not that I had good questions that couldn’t be answered. My problem was that I was on the throne of my life. Specifically I worshipped my intellect. It was worthy of all honor and praise. It was given precedence. It was my pole star; it was the point around which my world spun. When I read my Bible, I stood in judgement over it, rather than under it’s authority. I somehow thought that I, small and finite as I was, was somehow qualified to judge God, and call his goodness into question when his every action did not live up to my standards.

The Veil Is Lifted

Through some amazing people, God eventually humbled me. This didn’t change my questions, but they profoundly changed the way I approached them. I have a tattoo on the inside of my left wrist that I got to solidify what God taught me as he pulled me from that darkness. In Hebrew, it says “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,” which is from Proverbs 9:10. Saying it negatively, when God is not the center of my worship, I was on a path of darkness, foolishness, and self-destruction.

It’s a lesson I do not want to forget.

This piece is adapted from Dustin's blog

Win the Man, Not the Argument

Douglas Wilson — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

When the Lord Jesus called his disciples, he famously said that he was going to transform them into “fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).

He did not say, as it turns out, that he was going to send them fishing for fallacies. Similarly, the point of apologetics is to win the man, not the argument.

Now of course, arguments can (and should) play a role in this kind of public evangelism. Apologetics needs to consist of more than just smiling at people and being sweet. Argument plays a role, but argumentation is a sharp tool, and a tool is something that a craftsman should—if he wants to keep all his fingers—understand fully in order to wield it properly.

Start with Your Heart

Paul makes a variation of this point in his second letter to Timothy.

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24–26

We can see that argumentation is certainly involved (“correcting his opponents” and “able to teach”), but there is great deal more involved as well. The Lord’s servant is called to have a particular demeanor, one calculated to be used by God to change people’s hearts and minds. The apologist must not be “quarrelsome.” He must be “kind,” and also patient in how he puts up with various forms of “evil.” When he argues, he must know to do it “with gentleness.” In this context, when his character and demeanor line up in debate, we may offer up the prayer that God will give his opponents the great gift of repentance. This is the end game; this is the whole point.

Stop Swinging That Club

The goal of an apologetic encounter is not to put points on an abstract scoreboard. The apologist is not to be a gunslinger, looking for another notch to put in his Bible. The point of argument is to win people or, if any spectators are already won, to encourage them. To the degree that an argument contributes to that end, then God bless it. But in the meantime, it must be frankly stated that a lot of people who are deeply interested in apologetics need to think a lot less about winning, and a lot more about being winsome.

The truth is a wonderful thing. But because it is hard and unyielding, it makes a dandy club.

This means that there are many young bucks who need to be exhorted to stop swinging that thing around so much.

People Are the Point

I said a moment ago that the goal is win the lost and encourage those who are already won. This is another point of apologetics—to encourage believers who are perhaps unable to answer the arguments that are being pressed against them. But even here, the point is still people.

“And when [Apollos] wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.” Acts 18:27–28

In this passage, we don’t have any indication that the men in this debate were ever convinced, or won over (although Apollos would no doubt have been delighted if they had been). But we are told that the believers were encouraged by the refutation of the arguments that were being offered against the truth that Jesus was the Christ. In a similar way, when an apologist comes to a secular campus today and argues convincingly against materialistic atheism (say), he may not win the person up on stage debating with him. But if he knows his business, he will be a great encouragement to many in the audience. They have heard those arguments pressed against them in the classroom numerous times—and now they have seen them answered. But the apologist must remember that the people are the point.

The apologist is called to win hearts, and not to score points.

All of this is to say that the arguments are made for the audience, not the audience for the arguments.

Jesus Didn’t Die for Your Arguments

And of course, when the apologist turns to consider his opponent, it must be with the realization that Jesus died for men just like him. Jesus did not die for my arguments, my research, my preparation, my witticisms, my quick comebacks, or my clear mastery of the issues in hand. He did die, however, for my pride in any of those things.

Developing a Philosophy of Ministry

Jeremy Pace — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Your theology determines your philosophy, which in turn determines your methodology.

This was the mantra of the leadership at The Village Church in Dallas, Texas. I spent nearly six years there as a pastor and director of Missions and Church Planting before joining the Mars Hill Church and the Resurgence team in Seattle, Washington. It was from this mantra that the Lord birthed in me an understanding of how to develop a philosophy of ministry that could actually be articulated, taught through, and practically used to guide ministry on a daily basis.

I wanted to make this resource available to you to download:

The Neighborhood Approach

Brad House — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Two years into our marriage, my wife and I purchased our first house. It was during the height of the Seattle housing boom, when the average time a house stayed on the market was four days. That’s not a typo. We are talking pan-seared tuna. These things hit the market and were snatched up. So when a “For Sale” sign sprang up in one of the neighborhoods we were watching, we jumped on it. To show how quickly we jumped, the lock box hadn’t been installed yet but we found a key in the mailbox and checked it out. Before the house was actually shown we had an offer in. This wasn’t a great house but it had potential—which is a nice way of saying that it needed a ton of work. Once purchased, it was time to see how rough the old diamond was. It turned out to be Clint Eastwood rough. This thing was going to be a testament to physical redemption.

Three weeks later, the glow of our purchase was wearing down. As I contemplated everything required to fix the house and make it livable, I was overwhelmed. I would have to remove the basement slab, dig it out, drain it, and pour a new one. I would need to redo the plumbing, electrical, and exterior of the house, not to mention new framing, windows, chimney, furnace, hot water heater, and much more. Adding to my dismay was the reality that I had never done any remodel work before. I was overwhelmed to the point of paralysis. The vision was so big that I had no idea where to begin. As I sat in the damp basement, crowbar in hand, I could not see how I was going to redeem this house.

Big Vision, Small Steps

So it is with the mission of the church. It takes vision to lead the church and our God is a big vision kind of God. Think about Abraham becoming a nation, the exodus, building the temple, and building the church to the ends of the earth. God is into big visions. So the answer is not to suppress the vision of the church.

Leaders should dream big, but we need to make the mission of the church accessible to the church itself.

When I broke down the vision for my house into manageable tasks, I was able to move again. I could focus on the smaller task of rewiring without worrying about the plumbing. That would come later. This gave me little victories to look forward to as I completed the latest step toward the greater goal, which inspired me on to the next.

Big Church, Small Missions

This is the goal of the neighborhood approach. We want to make the mission of the church accessible to the members of the church so that they are not paralyzed by the vision but instead are inspired toward ownership and participation. By taking the greater mission of the church and breaking it down into smaller missions for each neighborhood, we make the mission accessible to anyone. This is bite-sized mission.

As a member of the church, it can be difficult to understand how I could meaningfully serve my city and make a difference. It is much easier to see how I could serve my neighbors and make an immediate impact on their lives. That is something I can get my hands around. After all, average members don’t have a website or a blog or a microphone. However, if you were to ask them to permeate their blocks with the gospel by loving and serving their neighbors, they could get a hold of that and be excited. When all members of the body of Christ use their gifts to contribute to the mission, they are able to accomplish the big picture mission. The strategy of reaching our cities by focusing groups on neighborhoods makes this mission accessible to individual members of a community group and helps them see how they are participating in advancing the kingdom of God.

Tweets:

The whole vision is too big for any one of us. That’s why we work on bite-sized, local missions. #community
How can you serve your neighbors? #community

This post is adapted from Community: Taking Your Small Groups Off Life Support.

11 Gospel-Centered Ways to Love Your City

Tim Gaydos — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Jesus calls us to “go and make disciples” and to love our city so that we might clearly communicate the gospel and see more people come to know him. But what does this look like practically? What does it mean to love our city? Here are 11 practical, gospel-centered ways you can love your city.

1. Reach out to “the least of these” in your city.

Who are the downtrodden, forgotten, or underserved people in your city? Start a mercy ministry to reach out to these groups. Create a transition plan for homeless people from shelters into community. Jesus tells us that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for him.

2. Get involved civically.

Set up a meeting with your mayor or city council members and find out specifically what your city needs. Then rally your church or Community Group to help meet those needs. Start attending your neighborhood association meetings and volunteering your time to make your city better.

3. Throw parties and invite your neighbors.

This could be anything from a get-together in your apartment to a full-scale neighborhood block party. The transient nature of many cities can lead to neighbors barely knowing one another. Sometimes all it takes is to initiate by invitation!

4. Take care of your city’s environment.

Pick a block or neighborhood and clean it up! Own it and take care of it. Organize a Green & Clean event to rally your church and keep your city sparkling.

5. Stay put.

Most cities have a sort of “revolving door” as people move in and out. This is one reason why in places like Seattle most people put little effort into trying to get to know their neighbors. So dig in, stay put, and make an effort to develop your relationships.

6. Give a gift of artistry.

Get your artists together and create a mural that blesses the city. Open your building to your city’s artwalk.

7. Be a positive presence, not a negative one.

Create a city or neighborhood blog that tells stories of hope and progress in your city. Focus on what’s working instead of complaining about what’s not working. Be a part of finding solutions to the problems your city faces.

8. Participate in and help plan and execute your city’s events and festivals.

Seriously, it’s ok to have fun. Enjoying your city and investing in its happiness is a great way to show you love it.

9. Start ministries that address your city’s specific felt or unseen needs.

Rescue girls out of slavery in sex trafficking. Connect your business people with a business ministry that helps them connect and share life together in a way they may not otherwise have the opportunity to.

10. Leaders are readers.

Get a newspaper subscription so that you can keep up with current events. Read up on your city’s history to understand how it started and what historical and cultural forces shaped it into the city it is today. Knowing your city’s past enables you to speak boldly to its context and mindset, because your city’s history shapes its present more than you can possibly imagine.

11. Pray for your city.

We can often forget that God really does listen to our prayers, and that he wants to hear from us. Not only does he hear us, but he acts. Pray that God would change your city. Pray that he would save its citizens. Pray that he would give wisdom to its leaders. Remember that your city’s well-being is your well-being.

This post originally appeared on the Mars Hill Church Downtown Seattle site.

Sex-Trafficking at the Super Bowl

Justin Holcomb — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

On February 5, 2012, over 100 million people will watch Super Bowl XLVI.

Few of them will know about the horrific crimes that will be committed during and around the event in Indianapolis.

The Super Bowl is the most-watched program on TV every year. But many people don’t know about its dark underside: the Super Bowl, like other large sporting events, is a magnet for sex trafficking and child prostitution. It is possibly the largest sex trafficking event in the US. As more than 100,000 football fans descend on Indianapolis, sex traffickers and pimps will also arrive in droves to take advantage of the demand.

What Is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world. It is the recruitment, transportation, harboring, or taking of people by means of threat, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, or deception for the purpose of exploiting them.

The United Nations estimates that 2.5 million people are trafficked annually. The U.S. State Department estimates an even higher number: about 12.3 million adults and children "in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world." It deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, it is a global health risk, and it fuels organized crime. Victims of trafficking are forced or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Sex trafficking is one of the most profitable forms of trafficking and involves many kinds of sexual exploitation, such as prostitution, pornography, bride trafficking, and the commercial sexual abuse of children. According to the United Nations, sex trafficking brings in an estimated $32 billion a year worldwide. In the U.S., sex trafficking brings in $9.5 billion annually.

Trafficking in the United States

The United States is a destination country for international trafficking: foreign women and children are transported into the United States for purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. The U.S. State Department estimates that approximately eighteen thousand foreign nationals are trafficked annually into the United States.

Victims are brought to the United States from Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa. Most women and children brought to the United States find themselves forced to work in massage parlors, commercial or residential brothels, escort services, and strip clubs.

Sex trafficking also happens to United States citizens residing within U.S. borders. The Department of Justice estimates that more than 250,000 American children are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry annually. The average age of girls who enter into street prostitution is between 12 and 14 years old.

Traffickers coerce women and children to enter the commercial sex industry through a variety of recruitment techniques in strip clubs, street-based prostitution, and escort services.

From Victim to Slave

Domestic sex traffickers particularly target vulnerable young girls, such as runaway, homeless, and foster care children. In the United States, the average age of entry into prostitution is 13. Incest and other forms of abuse often drive children to run away from home, making them vulnerable to the slick tactics of sex traffickers.

The pimp seduces a recruit with the lure of love, protection, wealth, designer clothes, fancy cars, and exclusive nightclubs. Pimps move from city to city looking for children and young women who are easy prey, those who are alone, desperate, and alienated. Once a pimp moves a victim from her hometown into a strange city, the pimp can easily force her to work as a prostitute. Thousands of children and women are victimized in this way every year.

Super Bowl

Large sporting events like the Super Bowl are prime targets for sex traffickers because of the high demand generated by thousands of men pouring into an area for a weekend of fun. The 2010 Super Bowl saw an estimated 10,000 sex workers brought into Miami. Despite efforts to crack down on sex trafficking at the 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, there was still a tremendous number of women and children sexually exploited. In the past, attempted crackdowns by law enforcement have misfired by treating prostitutes as criminals to be locked up rather than victims to be rescued, but new efforts are gaining traction: a bill moving through the Indiana legislature aims to toughen the state’s sex-trafficking law before the Super Bowl. This year the event is actually near the Detroit-Toledo corridor, which has one of the highest incidences of trafficking in the country.

Human trafficking Is an Attack on God

Human trafficking is a sin against the victim and a sin against God. Evil is anti-creation, anti-life, and the force that seeks to oppose, deface, and destroy God, his good world, and his image bearers. Simply put, when someone defaces a human being—God’s image bearer—it is ultimately an attack against God himself.

The victim’s experience of trafficking is not ignored by God or minimized by the Bible, and it is not outside of the scope of healing and hope found in redemption. God’s response to evil and violence is redemption, renewal, and re-creation because of the gospel of Christ. And that should be the church’s message.

Christians and churches need to be awakened to the modern-day slavery occurring in our cities. Convinced of the problem? Here are some practical ways you can make a difference:

6 Ways You Can Fight Human Trafficking

Get informed and inform others. A recommended reading list can be found here.
Read Rid of My Disgrace to learn about the effects of sexual assault and sex trafficking and the hope and healing for victims found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Support organizations fighting trafficking:

Get involved
Be an informed consumer
Join a local or state anti-trafficking group

Justin Holcomb is a pastor at Mars Hill Church, the Executive Director of the Resurgence, and the co-author with his wife, Lindsey, of Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault. He and Lindsey started Mosaic, a non-profit that serves those suffering in Sudan and Uganda. Justin also serves on the board of REST (Real Escape from the Sex Trade).

Do You Want to Make a Point or Make a Difference?

Mark Driscoll — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

This content is for those that have signed up for Leadership Coaching with Pastor Mark.
Please sign in at http://theresurgence.com/.

What Does God Think about Productivity and Project Management?

Mike Anderson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Our faith leads us to good works, according to the book of James.

The Bible has a bit of wisdom for us as we set off on the various works that God has given us. You might have a vision for taking on a huge calling like making a big financial decision for your family, planting a church, starting a new ministry, or even taking on a big project at your job. Each of these things is a project, and Jesus has some wisdom to give us about approaching big tasks.

Project (n): a set of tasks that will lead to a desired result

Make no mistake—God calls his people to work hard and work smart to steward the gifts he's given. The book of Proverbs is clear that wisdom is essential to any Christian, so let's see what wisdom God has for us regarding project management.

Start by planning

Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.” Proverbs 24:27

Imagine you're going to build a house. You head to the hardware store, buy some wood and nails and cement, and just start nailing. Are you going to build a house like that? Probably not.

If you were wise, you'd start with drawing blueprints, running them by an engineer, creating a budget, and ordering the right amount of wood, nails, and cement. Jesus actually references a set of questions that you should ask yourself when starting work on a big project.

What does Jesus say about work?

Jesus is telling the disciples that discipleship is hard work and it's going to take everything they've got. He actually uses the project management of a tower and of rallying an army as examples. Jesus thinks that good project management is so obvious that he can use it as an illustration—which is awesome.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him." Luke 14:28–29

Now scope it out

Before starting any big project you need to decide what you want the outcome to be. If it were a tower, then you'd think about things like the height, square-footage, and environmental factors. If you were going to start a ministry you'd think about the number of volunteers, amount of space, and method of communicating to the people.

Scope is just one of the things that are required in order for your project to be successful.

An example of scope is the new marshill.com that we recently developed. We said that it had to:

work on mobile devices and large screens
be clean and easy to navigate
focus on connecting people to Jesus, Sunday services, and Community Groups
allow people to watch sermons easily
give people an easy way to donate
provide an easy way for users to see what's new

What are you trying to do and what needs to happen to make it work?

Count the cost

Before starting any project you've got know what it's going to cost. How much money will be required to pull it off?

The best kinds of projects are the ones that are successful, the second best are the kinds that never start. Figuring out if you have (or can get) enough resources to finish the project is essential to the project’s success.

How much will it cost to do what you're trying to do? Can you get that money?

Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace." Luke 14:31–32

Labor costs

In addition to money, you've got to ask if you have enough people to take on the task. Money can help bring on more people, but you can also bring on people by pitching a winsome and compelling vision and asking them to volunteer.

Do you have the people to take on the task?

All in good time

This king has a timeline he's working against—an army is marching right toward him. He's got to ask himself if he has the time to pull off a victory with the resources he has.

Do you have enough time to reasonably accomplish the task?

. . . also that everyone should . . . take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.” Ecclesiastes 3:13

We want to see Jesus-loving men and women working hard. We're going to be adding more content that equips you to take on the calling God's given you. We want to see thousands of churches planted, ministries started, and great businesses built to help fuel the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

For more discussion on management and productivity, check out Mike’s blog.

10 Ways to Love Your Kids

Rachel Jankovic — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

1) Eagerly, humbly submit to the Word of God.

When you sin in front of your children, confess it. When you assert your authority over them, your children should clearly see the authority that you are submitting to. Your submission to God is your qualification to teach them. Let them see it, and they will know that you aren’t a petty tyrant.

2) Don’t pigeonhole your children.

Seemingly harmless things like calling your children “the artistic one,” “the athletic one,” or “the loving one” can make your children feel like their value to you is tied up in one characteristic. It can further invite sibling rivalry and resentments. Moreover, sets you up to stop trying to learn about them, as you begin to interpret everything through that expectation and sets them up to think that that's the only part of them you appreciate.

3) Discipline biblically.

When you discipline, make sure it has a biblical category. A godly parent can't discipline for “being annoying,” “making a mess,” or “squirming.” Instead, look to correct disobeying, lying, or something that you can support with Scripture, Proverbs and Ephesians in particular. If there isn’t a biblical principle and name behind it, don’t discipline for it.

4) Set clear expectations.

Explain to your children in advance what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. Make sure they understand. This will greatly aid you in #3, as well as giving them the security of knowing what you want.

5) Recognize obedience.

Talk to your children when you aren’t correcting them. Talk about the things they do right. Tell them about specific things that you love about them. Let them know that you know them, that you think of them, and that you enjoy them.

6) Listen to the whole story first.

With little kids you actually might have to take some time to get the story out. Don’t try to hustle past your children in an effort to quickly discipline them. The discipline is for their benefit, not yours. Make sure that they understand and that they know you are interacting with them.

7) Honor your spouse in front of them.

Show love to each other in front of your children. Don't be short, snarky, or snide with each other in their presence (or out of it for that matter). Children need to see Mom and Dad as one. Parents in fellowship with each other is one of the most basic elements for a secure home.

8) Don’t change your behavior toward your children in public.

Don’t correct them for things just because someone is watching. Security for a child means knowing that their parent is for them, and that when one of them corrects the child, it is for his or her benefit, and not so that others will think the parents have it all together.

9) Don’t take your children’s sins as a personal insult.

Never discipline with a break in fellowship. Don’t be “mad” at your children. Be anxious to have things reconciled.

10) Forgive. For real.

If breaking the window has been forgiven, act like it. Forget it. Do not hold past incidents over your children, especially if you've told them you've forgiven them. Let it go all the way, every time, “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).

When a Small Church Staff Is Better

Craig Groeschel — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0800

Most church leaders believe that if they had more staff members, they could get more done.

While that’s occasionally true, it’s often not.

I’ve found that a smaller staff is often better than a larger one.

Based on my experience, when LifeChurch (or a specific campus or team) is slightly overstaffed, forward progress generally slows. When we are slightly understaffed, we usually take more ground.

Here are my theories on why smaller is often better when it comes to staff:

When you have more staff members, the roles are often clearly defined and can lead to “that’s not my job” mindsets. Smaller staff teams are forced to work together and innovate creating unity and a spirit of collaboration.
Bigger staffs take more time and energy to manage. Smaller staffs move quickly.
When more money goes to pay staff, less money goes to expand the ministry.
When more people are paid, it’s easier to stop building volunteer leaders, which eventually weakens the foundation of the church.
A larger team might unconsciously not work as hard as they would otherwise.

Obviously there are exceptions and being grossly understaffed for a long period of time is not healthy.

Still, given the choice between slightly more than we need and slightly less than (we think) we need, I’m choosing the leaner staff every time.

Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv. This post is adapted from his post on the church's blog, Swerve.

A Father’s Covenant

Hilary Tompkins — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

“I want my children to know that when they call, their father will answer.”

It took years for our children to sleep through the night. We had many conversations about letting them “cry it out.” It was during one of these discussions that my husband said these words. He made a covenant with our children: he would come when they called.

Did our children agree and concur? No, they were babies. Did they sign on the dotted line, accept the terms of the covenant, and agree to call at a certain decibel level, confirming that they could count on his answer under specific circumstances? Did they suggest a liability clause should he not answer? Of course not. They were helpless children, confined to their cribs, unable to hold him to his promise.

They only knew experientially that their father answered their frantic midnight calls—and every other call, too. They expected it, trusted it, and counted on his faithful response to their need. They even took it for granted. When we shut the door of their rooms at night, they knew that when they called that door would open and their daddy would walk through it. Nothing they did could change this—he would keep his covenant with them.

Our heavenly Father is a covenant-keeping God.

In Genesis 6, he initiates a covenant with Noah. “I will establish my covenant with you.” (v. 18) He gave Noah specific instructions about ark building and occupancy and then “the Lord shut him in.” (7:16)

In Genesis 9, the word covenant is used seven times, each time God is saying some version of “this is my covenant with you, Noah, and here’s how I’m going to uphold it.” Not once does Noah say, “So, what about that covenant?” He doesn’t have to—God keeps reminding him in both word and deed, giving a rainbow as a beautiful reminder.

But God doesn’t stop there: he makes a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and with Israel and his children. The entire Old Testament is his-story of relationship with his covenant people. He comes when they call, over and over again. He sticks around, even when they reject him.

In Jesus, he makes a new covenant with you and me. Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant. (Hebrews 7:22, 9:15) It’s sealed in his blood and had nothing to do with our good works.

We’re saved this way, says Titus 3:4–7:

· According to God’s mercy

· By the washing of regeneration

· By the renewal of the Holy Spirit who is poured out on us through Jesus

· We are justified by grace

· We’re made heirs

· We’re given hope of eternal life

Yep, pretty sure that there’s nothing on that list that I do.

In the same way our children couldn’t change the covenant their daddy initiated with them, we can’t add to or take away from the covenant God makes with us. It’s not our covenant to break.

We can’t take a pair of scissors and cut the rope that binds us to him in covenant love and commitment. We can’t tie ourselves back on because we were never able to remove ourselves in the first place. When you’re tempted to believe you’re that powerful, remember the baby in the crib, calling out in the night and waiting for Dad to answer.

God’s covenant with us is his to keep and uphold—this is our hope.

So let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23) to hear your call and answer like the covenant-keeping Father he is.

Hilary Tompkins is the director of women’s ministry at Mars Hill Church. Her husband, Steve, is the lead pastor of Mars Hill Shoreline.

“These Are Your Grandbabies!”

Bob Kellemen — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Sister Ellen Barney is the first lady (i.e. senior pastor’s wife) of a predominantly African-American megachurch near Baltimore, Maryland. For over a decade she has equipped over 1,000 women in her Life Encouragers and Disciplers ministry.

They do it up big! Their graduation ceremonies are better than many colleges. I remember the first time Sister Ellen invited me to be their commencement speaker. As she introduced me, she looked over the crowd of over 50 graduates, looked at me, and said, “These are your grandbabies, Dr. Kellemen! You trained me, and I trained them!” Now, years later, as Sister Ellen has trained trainers who train others, she tells me, “Dr. Kellemen, these are your great-great-grandbabies!”

The Ministry Mindset Shift That Changes Everything

Do you want to be a spiritual grandparent, someone who disciples disciple makers? It requires a ministry mindset shift implanted by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:11–16.

“And he gave . . . the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11–12

Christ’s grand plan for his church is for pastors/teachers to focus on equipping every member to do the work of the ministry. In the context of Ephesians 4:11–16, that work is nothing less than making disciple makers through the personal ministry of the Word.

When leaders and members fulfill their purposes together the body of Christ builds itself up in two specific, cohesive ways: doctrinal unity and spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:12–13). When a congregation knows the truth not just academically, but personally, their love abounds in knowledge and depth of insight (Philippians 1:9–11).

Speaking the Truth in Love

We often miss the vital real-life, how-to application of the every-member-making-disciples idea that Paul embeds in Ephesians 4. How does the church come to unity and maturity? Exactly what are pastors equipping people to do? Specifically how do members do the work of the ministry?

Paul answers: by “speaking the truth in love,” we grow up in Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Every word in this passage funnels toward this remarkable phrase “speaking the truth in love.”

Christ’s grand plan for his church is for every member to be a disciple maker by speaking and living gospel truth to one another in love.

Paul selects an unusual Greek word, alētheuontes, that we often translate as “speaking the truth.” Actually, we should translate it both as speaking and living the truth. We might even coin the phrase “truthing.”

Paul likely had Psalm 15 in mind where the psalmist asks the Lord, “Who shall dwell on your holy hill?” He answers (emphasis, mine): “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2). Who can serve in God’s sanctuary, the church—the one who embodies the truth in relationships.

The word for “truthing” that Paul uses means transparent, truthfulness, genuine, authentic, reliable, sincere. It describes the person who ministers from a heart of integrity and Christ-like, grace-oriented love. It paints a picture of the person whose relational style is transparent and trustworthy.

The tense and context indicate that the body of Christ should continually, actively, and collectively be embodying truth in love as it walks together in intimate, vulnerable connection. In one word, Paul combines content, character, and competence shared in community (cf. Romans 15:14).

While the word means more than speaking, it does not mean less than speaking. While it means more than sheer factual content, it does not mean less than the gospel fully applied.

Paul uses the identical word in Galatians 4:16. There he is clearly speaking of preaching, teaching, and communicating the truth of the gospel of Christ’s grace (salvation) applied to daily growth in Christ (progressive sanctification).

Every Christian Makes Disciples

Combine Galatians 4:16 with Ephesians 4:16, both in context, and we find an amazing description of gospel-centered biblical counseling, the personal ministry of the Word. Speaking the truth in love involves communicating gospel truth about grace-focused sanctification in word, thought, and action through one-another relationships that have integrity, genuineness, authenticity, transparency, and reliability, done in love to promote the unity and maturity of the body of Christ for the ultimate purpose of displaying the glory of Christ’s grace.

The normal agenda and priority of every Christian is to make disciple makers. Christ’s training strategy for disciple-making involves pastors and teachers equipping every member to embody the truth in love through the personal ministry of the Word (biblical counseling).

What happens when leaders focus their calling on equipping God’s people to make disciple makers through the personal ministry of the Word by speaking and living the truth in love? Paul shows us in Ephesians 4:16: the body in robust health grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work. In other words, we birth spiritual grandbabies.

This post was adapted from material in Dr. Kellemen’s book, Equipping Counselors for Your Church.

4 Quick Questions about Studying the Bible

Justin Holcomb — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Bible Study Magazine: What is your personal Bible study method?

Justin Holcomb: I prefer to go through the books consecutively, which helps me focus on the message of each book. Reading book by book helps me understand how the text fits together. This way, I’m able to follow the Bible’s themes and ideas from beginning to end. I also don’t want to overlook details. Reading one book at a time helps me get into the texture of each passage and helps me locate themes that repeat.

BSM: What is your approach to reading the Bible?

JH: I think the big idea is: What is the Bible? Is it a to-do manual? Is it just a classic text? Do we read it so that we can find a few commands that we should follow, or is it saying something else?

Since I think the big idea of the Bible is “God saves sinners,” that is the theme I’m generally looking for. When I teach the Bible, I want people to be looking for what God has said about Himself, while also being fully aware of who we are or can be: redeemed sinners.

BSM: How did you teach chaplains in Sudan to study the Bible?

JH: In Sudan, we taught army chaplains who served without weapons on the front lines. They ministered to the southern army, northern prisoners of war and Sudanese civilians. In this instance, biblical literacy was our main concern. After visiting Sudan for the first time, I realized that these chaplains loved Jesus and they loved the Bible—but they didn’t have Bible training or resources, so they didn’t know it that well.

We went through the entire Bible and taught them how it all hangs together—dates, biblical writers, basic structure. They had such an eagerness to learn.

BSM: Currently, you’re teaching the Bible in several different contexts. What is your role at Mars Hill Church and at Reformed Theological Seminary?

JH: At Mars Hill, I am involved in leadership and ministry development. I help pastors develop sermons through preaching labs. I want to make sure our pastors are teaching with their eyes fixed on holiness and the grace of God. I have them ask themselves: Am I giving each person the good message of “repent and believe the gospel,” or am I giving them heaving burdens that they can’t carry?

With my seminary students, I focus on a “gospel-centered” hermeneutic. I want them to see the weight of the holiness of God and the response of repentance. I want them to understand their continual dependence on the grace of God and the message of the Bible, both for themselves and for the people they’re going to be leading and evangelizing.

Justin Holcomb is featured in the current January/February 2012 issue of Bible Study Magazine. This Q&A is available on their site where he talks with the magazine about studying the Bible and equipping leaders.

Sex, Marriage, & Fairytales

Resurgence — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:00:00 -0800

We posted a video from Jeff Bethke a couple weeks ago, and we wanted to follow up with this one as he addresses many of the ideas behind Pastor Mark and Grace Driscoll's book, Real Marriage. Here's the inspiration behind this Spoken Word.

For more on marriage check out Real Marriage by Pastor Mark and Grace along with the Real Marriage Tour

Owning vs. Renting Your Community

Brad House — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:00 -0800

"It’s a rental."

It was a perfect day for the beach, and my new bride and I had the top down in a fun but gutless Mustang. We had left the main track miles ago and were tearing down a dirt road riddled with potholes. My faith in the directions our host had given us was waning, but I was still having a good time. There was a sign saying something about four-wheel drive a few clicks back, but I didn’t bother getting the details. My wife began to get nervous about our adventure and asked if we should be taking a Mustang on a road like this. Without hesitation, I uttered those three little words that put our minds at ease and that have been used by most of us at one time or another to justify the reckless disregard for vehicle degradation: “It’s a rental.”

It’s amazing how differently we treat things that we own versus those that we rent. Ownership gives us a sense of responsibility and care. It is ours and in some way it reflects who we are, so we take care of it.

If We Own It, We Treat It Well

For several years I drove an old Buick Park Avenue that my wife and I had bought from her grandfather. It was hot beige with beige interior. Not exactly the ride of choice for a young man, but it was mine. It was not nearly as nice as the gutless Mustang we rented on our honeymoon, yet I treated it much better. My treatment of a car reflects my level of ownership more than it reflects the value of the car itself.

In the same way, when it comes to the mission of the church, our responses reflect our ownership more than any other aspect of the mission.

Our churches may have a clear, innovative, Holy Spirit-inspired vision for how God is calling us to proclaim his kingdom (Luke 9:60), but if we collectively have no ownership of that mission, we will be hard pressed to achieve anything. God is not limited in accomplishing his plans by our lack of ownership, but he has chosen, for his glory and our joy, to employ us in his work, and I don’t want to miss out on that.

If We Own It, We Become Passionate

Now, if owning a car makes you more careful when driving it, owning an idea makes you more passionate when sharing it. To test this theory, go to your favorite coffee shop or pancake house and offer your opinion on the most recent presidential election. You will soon discover who owns the vision and ideologies that each candidate represented. You will also get a pretty clear idea who was not impressed with either candidate, at least not to the point of owning their ideals.

The folks who own the vision of their candidate can articulate it well and are intent on convincing others of the merits of their position. They may have attended rallies and bought bumper stickers and undoubtedly had a lawn sign. Ownership and passion for those ideals drove them to live differently, to join the cause. Those who did not own the vision of any particular candidate will most likely finish quietly eating their pancakes. They couldn’t care less and probably will not have a strong opinion until they are personally affected, in a positive or negative manner, by those ideas. They don’t own them and therefore have no passion for them.

Do You Own the Mission?

The same principle applies to your ownership of the mission within the church. Ownership inspires passion and leads to action. Yet, for the Christian ownership does not come from believing in a good idea but from faith in the good news. Our ability to own comes from the fact that we are owned by Christ (Ephesians 1:13–14). We inherit ownership from our Father.

We don’t need to manufacture ownership as much as we need to awaken the church to the reality that this is our mission.

It is already ours; we need only to exercise that ownership.

So what is the mission of your church? Can you articulate it? Does it instill passion in you that causes you to live your life differently? How about the rest of your church? Do your church members display passion and ownership of the mission or do they just finish their pancakes?

Tweets:

We treat a car we own with a lot more care than we do a rental. Are you renting or owning your church’s mission?
Ownership inspires passion, which leads to action. #community
God has chosen, for his glory and our joy, to employ us in his work. Don’t miss out on that. #community

Adapted from Community: Taking Your Small Groups Off Life Support.

How the Trinity Relates to Marriage

Bruce Ware — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Three persons in one God may seem like a metaphysical head-scratcher, but far from being an esoteric theological concept, the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has numerous implications to daily life since we are each made in God's image. This lecture by Southern Seminary professor Dr. Bruce Ware, given at Mars Hill West Seattle, looks at how the Trinity applies to marriage specifically.

For more on marriage, check out Pastor Mark's and Grace Driscoll latest book Real Marriage

The Resurgence

4 Reasons Leaders Should Pray

Getting Through Challenges to Missional Community

1. Building Missional Community Requires Stretched Grace

Leader Tip

2. Community Is What You Make of It

Leader Tip

3. Labor for the Lord of Mission not the Fruit of Mission

Leader Tip

Posted with permission from GCMGospel Communities on Mission

How Shame and Guilt Can Enter into Parenting

Love Your (Theological) Enemies

Disagreements Are Inevitable

1 Corinthians 13: Not Just for Weddings

Be Loving in Church, in Friendship—and Online

Our Savior Is Love

Theology of Scripture

Supplementary PDF

An Apologetic of Gratitude

Tremble at the Word

Thinking the Characters' Thoughts

Moved with Awe

Yawning or Trembling?

The Strategically Generous Church

The Bull’s-Eye of the Gospel

“Come to me”

“All who labor and are heavy laden”

Graceless Religion

“I will give you rest”

Gospel Grazing

The Daily Diet

Feasting in Fullness

Take the Water of Life

In the Spirit

The Only Explicit Reference

The Spirit Is Responsible

Love in the Spirit

This post adapted from Enjoying God, Sam Storms' ministry.

Your Ministry Is Not Your Identity

Why Science Needs the Christian Worldview

Borrowed Elements?

1. The uniformity of nature

2. Induction

3. Ontological/epistemological realism

4. Mathematical realism

5. Methodological, epistemic, and ethical values

6. The reliability of the human mind and sensory faculties

7. Ontological/conceptual categories

8. The usefulness/adequacy of human language to describe nature

9. The existence of singularities, ultimate boundary conditions, and brute givens

The Necessary Presuppositions

The Uniformity of Nature

Film & Theology: The Grey

The Message Isn’t Black and White in The Grey

Why Should I Be on Mission?

Hearing the Beat of Your Community

The Neighborhood Beat

Study Your Streets

Tweets

5 Core Values of a Church in Decline

1. Laziness

2. Fear of Man

3. Pride

4. Staff Abuse

5. Loss of Focus

What Does God Want for Families?

Ordinarily Doesn’t Mean Necessarily

What Hope Is There?

The End of the Matter

It Is Finished, and So Is This Interview

In Christ Alone—but I’ve Got a Few Things to Add

What to Do When You Have Nothing to Do

The #1 Command in the Bible

Why You Should Know the Journal of Biblical Counseling

Broken Homes in the Bible

The First Broken Home

Every Home Is Broken

But Hasn’t God Promised?

Why Jesus Wants You to Lose Hope

Breaking the Law

Posted with permission from GCM
Gospel Communities on Mission