Category Archives: Christian discipleship

Awesome God First St Johns Lutheran Church August 10, 2014

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We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father, and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who know that we trust and obey God and never rely on our own understanding said … AMEN
Pastor Cory Burma refers to the Rich Mullins song “Awesome God”, Burma says that Mullins was surprised that people were taking “awesome” in a contemporary sense, like amazing, or really cool. “awesome” means that God is “to be feared and loved, one who has done things our mind cannot fully comprehend.” 1
If we go back to chapter 1 in the Book of Job starts by saying “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from all evil.” Quick note, Uz was also where Moses lived for forty years.2 Satan reports into God, and seems a little random, but God pops up with: ‘Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” The Hebrew word translated “turning away”, means not just avoiding but even actively turning away evil influences. So what we see here is God not just commending Job for being so great, but actively pushing away the influence of evil. WOW! Wouldn’t that be great, if God was talking about you that way? Ya that Jim he’s such a great guy, not only does he live his life right, but he actively does things in order to rip out evil in his part of the world. I’d certainly love it if God talked about me that way. But Satan kind of challenges God on Job; sure Job’s great, everyone would be great if you set them up the way You’ve set up Job.
You might hear in Christian circles people praying that God will set a hedge about them. In other words that God will protect them and this is where the expression comes from because Satan says; “Hast Thou not made a hedge about him and his house?” (Job 1:10) Satan is saying; “of course Job is all righteous, he’s your fair-haired boy, you’ve set his life up to be perfect. Job knows where his blessings are coming from and so of course he’s going to be faithful and upright with you. But if you rip everything away from him then “he will surely curse Thee to Thy Face.”’ I couldn’t find anyone who would take a shot to say why God would allow Satan to go and stomp on Job, but there can be no doubt that God, in His sovereignty, has already set this whole thing up. I have no doubt that God wants us to know that He doesn’t have favorites, that He will subject us to trials, that no one is so “good”, that they are immune to the trials and tribulations of life.
Job is immensely wealthy and he has a lot to lose and almost immediately Satan swoops in and arranges for the Sabeans to attack and they took off with all Job’s livestock, and killed all his servants. Then a great wind comes and knocks the house that his children are in and kills all his children. What was Job’s response to what would seem to be this unfair treatment? Those words we have heard so often: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). Wow! Job is a righteous man. Then God allows Satan to take Job’s health. At this point the advice starts pouring into Job. His wife says, the Driskell translation; “really, you’re still faithful to God? Just curse Him and die!” Advice Job rejects. Then his three friends come along; Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar. What’s their answer to all of this? … Come on Job, you’ve obviously committed a really huge sin, fess up, ask for forgiveness and then trust God. Longman and Dillard point out that “The Three friends represent the age-old wisdom of retribution theology… God blesses the righteous; he curses the wicked. If so, then if Job suffers, he must be a sinner in need of repentance.”3 Now is that the case? Is Job being punished for some really humongo sin?… No! We just read at the beginning of Job what God Himself has said about Job: “…there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar are all wet, they don’t know what they’re talking about, yet they presume to make judgments for God. Not smart! Job even responds after Zophar’s speech to say: “Behold, the ‘fear’ of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.”(Job 28: 28) Job goes on through chapter 30 praising and extolling God and then, well, the cheese kinda slips off the cracker. “Hey it’s not because of my sin, come on, look at all these great things I’ve done to serve God,” really saying “hey I don’t deserve to be kicked around by God and I’ll tell Him all these great things to His face, ‘Behold, here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me!… I would declare to Him the number of my steps”’.(Job 31: 35, 37) OK, now Job’s kind of stepped off the deep end, now he’s getting a little self righteous and ya, “maybe God does owe me an explanation, because I did all these great things and I don’t deserved to be kicked around.”
Elihu has stepped into the conversation now and he takes offense and finally someone is the voice of reason. He tells Job, woe now, just wait a minute here: “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33: 4) Let’s get a little perspective here Job and remember who created us and what He does for us. You have no right to demand an explanation. Elihu goes on four more chapters praising God and all that He is. Then finally what happens? … Ya, our reading today. God Himself steps in and says, woe, wait just a minute all of you and speaks to Job. “Hey, where were you when I created all things, where are you when I sustain all things. You have no clue the vastness of all these things. Who are you to get up into My grill and demand answers.” God goes on three chapters pushing Job and questioning him. Obviously Job is just overwhelmed, he has no answer to God’s questions and finally says: “But now my eye sees Thee; Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6). God gave Job a four chapter beatdown, which applies to us also. Especially in this day and age when we think that science and technology have all the answers and we don’t need to rely on God. Read chapters 38-41, do you think you or any of our brilliant scientists have any answers to the questions God raises? No! Sure, we can still keep learning and searching, but keep in mind that there will always be questions that we will never know the answers to.
Take some time this week to first read chapters 28-30 in Job. See how Job glorifies God, even though Job has just been beaten down and maybe we might think unfairly, but in His sovereignty. “…we know, that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
as Paul told us in our readings from a couple of weeks ago. From ancient Scripture God is using Job’s experience to teach us today that it’s not our understanding that matters, it is God’s will that matters and yes sometimes His will is really tough to accept. But in the end, it is God’s will who saved us through Jesus, His will, which we don’t understand, that caused Jesus’ suffering but for our deliverance. When we are Job, we don’t understand the need for suffering. When we are sinners in need of a Savior, then we do accept God’s wisdom, that wisdom that put His own Son on a Cross to die for our sins.
So yes, “Our God is an awesome God, He does reign from heaven above with wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God.”
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

Disciples then members? Chicken – egg thing going on?

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Please don’t think I’m picking a fight with Reggie McNeal, believe me, I know when I’m out gunned. On this particular point I tend to agree, but…
Yes, absolutely, we need to make disciples! How does one do that? Disciple is from the Greek word, mathetes, which is student and also a teacher. Pastor McNeal, speaking at the Southeast District Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod’s “Tending the Flame” conference says we should be more concerned about making disciples and not so concerned about making church members. Yea, not so quick.
We have put too little emphasis on making disciples, but seems that this might be a little “chicken-eggish” and I want to make the case that someone should be a member first, then be in more of a relationship to grow into discipling. In fact, Thom Rainer’s book “Simple Church”, would seem to support my thesis.
Rainer’s plan: 1) Let folks get a little comfortable, sit them down at some early point, teach them what they need to function in the church, make them a member.
2) Help them to be a member of a small group, which will be a, hopefully, less intimidating way to be a part of the church. Really grow as a disciple and also learn so that they can grow into facilitating their own group.
3) Finding the gifts that they bring to the church and building a group around like minded persons to serve the church.
The expectation is that the disciple has to start in a position of belonging, being a part of the group. Being a member is certainly going to facilitate that.
The LCMS teaches closed communion, that is you have to be a member to receive the true Body and Blood of Jesus. This is something that Pastor McNeal would probably not take into account since the Baptist church does not hold to a high view of the Lord’s Supper. Reason being, the LCMS wants the person to understand the whats and whys of worship. Why would you try to be involved in something that you really don’t know what it’s about?
I’d like to take it further, for six and a half days a week, we are doing what we should be doing, but certainly in Christian integrity. On that half day, we all get over ourselves and come together on the same basis as the Body of Christ, put aside all our unfounded “opinions” and nonsense, put away our self-obsession and spend serious time focused on God and real worship.
It just seems as if there are too many people who can’t put aside their personal agendas, their personal goals, their own footballs and continue to use their priorities as a way to avoid having to deal with Christ.
So I see this as an issue of being part of worship as a fully participating member of worship. I am very serious about this issue of membership because that is where people take some vows, begin to understand the seriousness of being part of the church, being a part of not just what the church is today, but what it has been over the past 2,000 years. That is truly belonging, being part of something.
I see this as another way of leaving your “stuff” at the door and joining with brothers and sisters and being responsible to them and them to you.
Too often we let people get bogged down in what is often just nonsense, we enable them by giving and giving and giving and we don’t put it in front of them; “This is what is going to address your problems! Maybe not according to your agenda, in your way, your cultural context, it may not be the right size, shape or color, but Christ is what you need.” Sorry, guess I’m going to keep doing it backwards, like the Acts church. Yes, I will do what I can to reach out, but my highest priority is always going to be worship, serving those in the church community, brothers and sisters in Jesus. They are my priority, versus those who remain in the periphery, the shadows, not willing to commit and too often just there to pursue their own agenda. I am not going to be an “enabler” and just keep going along with every avoidance mechanism each person employs. This means those who use their poverty or their disability, or their lack of initiative, alcohol, drugs or some other agenda in order to avoid a real commitment, claim that is what keeping them from Christ. But oh yeah, when’s the Food Bank open?
Yea it really is about maintaining the excuse and expecting someone to keep enabling them.
Does this mean that I expect you to have your act together before you come to church? No! It does mean give and take, being part of the community, not just taking, but learning how to start giving back. It can be done. I’ve seen it. But it’s done when you become a member and make a commitment to growing as a member and a disciple.
Frankly it seems to me there are plenty out there looking for that opportunity. “Yes I need help, but I also need a chance to be part of something that I can give to.” It doesn’t have to be a lot, a little change, a little time, a little service to others here and there. But this Sunday morning put away all the bupkus, come together with brothers and sisters in Jesus and come to worship. You’ve got 6 1/2 days to has out the rest of it. Frankly, I bet that Sunday morning will give you more of an opportunity to work out the rest of it, then the next 6 1/2 days will. Go ahead tell me I’m wrong. In the meantime, quit the “Cool Joe” stuff, or I don’t know the Groucho Marx, “I wouldn’t be a member of any club that would have me as a member”, make a commitment to really come before God. To the church, make a commitment to get people to be a true part of the church and quit the nibbling around the edges. Focus on those who make the commitment, if you can do something for the others then go for it.

Prayer together

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Dr Harold Koenig, is a Medical Doctor, a rather unique one. He taught at Harvard Medical about the healing effects of  prayer, of spirituality (and yea “spirituality” really bugs, sorry, but it’s kind of a vacuous copout, buffet style “religion”) and he is now the Director of Duke University’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health. That a major university would have a center that is based on the relationship between spirituality and health is certainly notable. Dr Koenig is Christian and is not reluctant to point that out and to point to true healing in Jesus.

His book, along with Dr Chester Tolson PhD is titled “The Healing Power of Prayer”. We have our part in prayer, no doubt, we should never lose sight of that. But ultimate healing, ultimate peace is in God. Make no mistake, true healing, true peace are never going to come in the world. As of this date, all you have to do is pick from Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Nigeria places that don’t even occur to me, to know that if anything the world is becoming more violent and the Book of Revelation tells us it will be even more so before the end. So when I quote the following from Dr Koenig, it’s from someone who has been at very high levels of education, of teaching, of medicine and also a Christian who has done these things and exercised authority in the secular world, that he knows where his true power lies:

“…Only God is capable and powerful enough to give lasting peace within us. As we are lifted up by the power of God to a single purpose to do God’s will, this brings peace and satisfaction. Such an experience only comes through grace and the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Similarly, the conflicts that occur within humankind can only be resolved by God. Only as the warring natures of men are brought together in the common loving nature of God, will the world find peace. As we pray together we are united in a common fellowship. Through prayer and the uniting power of Jesus Christ, all humanity will discover its true oneness. We shall know that the forces dividing us are not nearly as great a the God uniting us. As the old hymn ‘The Church’s One Foundation’ says, ‘True hearts everywhere shall their high communion find’

Prayer is intmate, yet it is cosmic. Prayer is immediate, yet it is eternal. Prayer is truly the driving-human encounter. Through prayer we are made well.

Horatio Spafford, after losing his family at sea, was able to write:

When peace, life a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Prayer gives us that assurance.”

Amen. Dr Koenig has much background and research in the power of prayer for healing. It does not always mean physical healing, but if we faithfully follow what God is doing in our lives, how He is leading us, that no matter what, our soul is healed and we remember that eternal healing is in the eternal resurrection and in the meantime we trust His will for our lives.

Small groups ministry

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I have always had a heart for small group ministry. Corporate worship is vitally important and I’m not saying you should substitute corporate worship for a small group, frankly that would be like working out, but then not eating right. Yea, small groups can be a workout, but the way we truly feed on the Word and of course the Body and Blood of Jesus is done in corporate worship.

In the most recent issue of Christian Counseling Today Jennifer Cisney Ellers wrote a great article condensing the benefits of small groups. “We, as Christian caregivers, cannot ‘heal’ anyone, but we can create an environment and opportunity for individuals to encounter Christ in real and personal ways. We can provide people with the chance to be ‘Christlike’ in our interactions with each other and model agape love. I believe that small groups offer one of the most profound opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts and lives of Christians.” Think of it as taking what you receive from God in worship and then applying it in a more open forum with everyone in the group. At some point everyone in that group, you included, are going to need that “agape” love from others in the group. Seriously, where else do you think you are going to get that anywhere else in the world?

Please read the following with an open-mind, small groups really are so important. Guys, you need a group where you can be encouraged, strengthened, mentored. Too many guys think that they can handle everything on their own, despite the fact they’ve never had to deal with it, no one’s ever given them any information or guidance and, big guy, if you really are serious about your family, being a great husband and father, doesn’t your wife and children need your best effort? Part of that should be getting help and guidance from other Christian men. Right? We are pulling together a men’s group at First St Johns, we will need a lot of help to get going, so please be one of those guys who steps up if you live in the York, Pa. area. Otherwise find a good group in your area or better yet, get together with your pastor and let him know what you’d like to do. We already have a great women’s group at First St Johns, and we have other groups like “Discipling”, “Grief Share”, Employment Support, Prayer Group, Sunday Bible Study, so if you are local here, please don’t hesitate to be a part of great groups.

Jennifer Ellers goes on to enumerate the benefits of small groups:

  • Universality: Small groups reinforce the sense that we are connected to others through common experiences and shared feelings. When others describe emotions similar to what another member is going through, their sense of isolation is diminished and they experience connection.
  • Altruism: Small groups provide the opportunity for members to share themselves and help others. Many studies have shown the power of offering assistance to others to improve self-esteem.
  • Instillation of hope: When people see others moving through difficult situations and healing, they believe it is possible for them as well.
  • Imparting information: People in small groups share practical information about what has been helpful or harmful to them. Group members have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others.
  • Development of social skills or ‘socializing techniques’: Group members can learn and practice social and interpersonal skills in the safe and supervised environment of the group. They can learn how their actions and interactions are perceived by others and discover new ways of interacting when their current behaviors are not getting the desired outcome.
  • intimate behavior: Groups offer modeling, by leaders and other group members, of critical social skills – such as sharing feelings, handling criticism or conflict and offering support.
  • Cohesiveness: One of the most important healing factors in any small group experience is for group members to experience a sense of cohesiveness or belonging. This happens when members feel acceptance and validation.
  • Existential factors: Small groups can help members see a ‘big picture’ of life in terms of meaning and purpose.
  • Catharsis: Groups provide a safe atmosphere to let out deep emotions and painful experiences. Expressing emotions in front of others and having those feelings validated decreases levels of stress, tension and pain.
  • Interpersonal learning and self-understanding: Small group members may have a clearer view and the ability to learn when they see themselves in others or reflect how others see them. These two factors overlap and interact, but also provide an opportunity for increased self-awareness for all group members. (Jennifer Cisney Ellers  Christian Counseling Today Vol 20 No 4 pp 20-21)

These are the benefits to a small group. It’s sort of a workplace mantra to “not reinvent the wheel”, point taken in the work world. Why wouldn’t we benefit from the experiences of mature Christians in their interpersonal relations? Bear in mind that small groups need time to grow in a lot of ways; trust, cohesiveness, maturity, etc. If you do make a commitment to a group do it with the intent that you will give as much as get, that you want to be a better Christian disciple as well as Christian spouse, parent, child, employee, etc.

God lives in community, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we live in community with the Trinitarian God, and we live in community with the Body of Christ, our church, our brothers and sisters in Jesus. A body cannot live in isolation from other parts of the body, to be strong, healthy Christians. To be part of a strong, healthy church we need to be part of a Christian group where we can grow and where we can help brothers and sisters in Jesus to grow.

Please check out some of the groups at First St Johns, if you have an idea please let me know. Believe me, I will go to great extents to do whatever I can to help build strong Christian brothers and sisters to be part of strong groups of Christians. But make a commitment to be a part of a Christian small group and grow as a mature Christian disciple.

Serious ministry in a serious urban setting Pastor Charles Wildner

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I’m a pastor of an inner-city church. In this day and age of suburban “campus” type churches, the old, truly magnificent, awe-inspiring churches located in the inner city are often considered to be an anachronism. Inner-city ministry is seen more in terms of a social service agency, and an inner city church is either a career ender in ministry or a stop on to the wealthier, more active, with a much larger membership suburban church.

Yea, well, we know that most popular perceptions are bupkus, based more on the same perception that made someone the cool kid in school and less on what the real substance is. I am proud to be the pastor of one of those awe-inspiring inner-city churches, every time I walk into the sanctuary I can’t help but think, “wow, I get to be the pastor of this church”. I can see the steeple about three blocks away from where I drive in the morning. It never fails to inspire me and is inspiration that the average suburban church pastor will never get to feel. I go out of my way to show anyone, who is willing (ok, sometimes not so willing), the sanctuary and it makes my day to hear them kind of whoosh and then let out a soft, reverential “wow”, when they step into the sanctuary. Frankly I find it hard to understand why on earth anyone would want to go to any other kind of church. the people of First St Johns have done a magnificent job of maintaining this inspiring place of worship to the glory of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit for almost 145 years. Please don’t assume that I think it’s all about the building, it is not. It is about those people who make up the Body of Christ. You can have great Christian disciples who meet in a bowling alley, and you have a great church. I just happen to be fortunate to have both, a great group of people who are true disciples of Christ and who maintain a great building that truly honors God and evokes true reverence from those who serve the Lord there.

This isn’t about just a tribute to a great old church and people who are such great servants of the Lord. It’s also to recognize that these kinds of churches are where ministry really and regularly happens. There is hardly a day that goes by when I don’t encounter someone who is dealing with some serious issue in their life. Often it’s some kind of substance abuse, too often the problems of the people I encounter are self-inflicted.  Frankly it’s tough to deal with those people, all they really want is for you to hand over money, we’re about 100 yards up the street from the city bus station and the first “institution” people going to or from the bus station encounter. You can imagine the possibilities, I get a lot of people who need money for a “bus pass”. Hey I take the opportunity to talk to them about their life and Jesus, the usual reaction is not spoken, but is clearly “I’m not interested in that, just hand over some money so I can buy booze or drugs.” When that doesn’t happen I usually get a sneer of disgust suggesting that I just don’t get it.

Well there is one pastor that gets it better than me and has been getting it for over thirty years. York, Pa. is a small city, it has typical urban problems, but on the scale of a small city. Rev Charles Wildner is the pastor of St Thomas’ Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Md. I say that so you don’t confuse it with St Thomas’ in the Carribean, I assure you after one visit you won’t be confused. I was raised in and we raised our children in a pretty tough city outside of Boston, Ma. I think that I’m fairly hard to impress but when we took a field trip from First St Johns to St Thomas’ earlier this year, I was impressed, not in a positive way. While First St Johns contrasts sharply with it’s downtown neighborhood, can’t really say the same about St Thomas’. It is a very degenerated neighborhood and while the church definitely stands out from the rest of the neighborhood, you can tell that it is a struggle to maintain the structure. The article I have from Lutherans Engage the World ( Erik Lunsford May-June 2014 pp 4-6) observes’ “trash blows across the street while prostitutes huddle on the corner. As he walks inside, Wlidner sighs and shakes his head; Someone has stolen the couch cushions again.” I didn’t notice the prostitutes when we were there, but there were definitely guys who I can only assume were soliciting business for their drug distribution enterprise.

While most city churches like his are a thing of the past and he told of many local churches that have closed during his pastorate, leaving him and the store front “ministries” as the only groups left ministering to those in the inner-city. One thing I tell people is that if they want to do real Christian ministry, do real Christian discipling, there is no place like an inner-city church. Pastor Wildner certainly lives that, I have my challenges to deal with, but I tip my hat to Pastor Wildner, I would describe him as a Lutheran Mother Theresa. Yea more than a little hyperbolic, but wow the man does some serious ministry in a serious area, he’s done it for thirty years and still has a congregation that can reach out and serve those around him.

I’m in the same district as Wildner, York is only 50 miles north of Baltimore, but the first time I heard of him was at an urban ministry conference at the seminary in Fort Wayne, In. I had to go all the way to Fort Wayne to meet this guy. When I heard his presentation I was hooked. Wow this guy pastors a church in this setting doing what he does with what he has to work with, you sir are my hero! Well I followed him around like a puppy dog for a couple of days to pick up his words of wisdom. He takes worship seriously, he takes his role as pastor seriously, I haven’t seen him without a Roman collar and sometimes even a cassock. Remember the scene in The Graduate when the man leans over to Dustin Hoffman and whispers “plastics”. In the same sense Pastor Wildner says to me Setting Three. This is the most liturgical, formal of the five recognized worship settings in our hymnal. He pastors in an area where the regular color of life is, at best, gray. Day in and day out is all the same, there is little excitement, little charm in the gritty inner city. He makes church special for those whose lives have very little “special”. He makes Jesus special to people who really don’t have anyone to think of as special, lots of people who might not even really have any family, they have a family in Christ at St Thomas’.

It’s not just worship, he regularly has people from the congregation at his home which is close by to the church. Let’s just say that for most of these people, dinner at the pastor’s house, is a big event. They somehow manage to maintain a halfway house. it sure ain’t much but for at least one of the guys who lives there (he talked to us during his visit) it is a roof, food and a chance to also rebuild his life by helping to run this house. There is a Food Bank, there is a ministry to the blind, there is a clothing locker. People in the neighborhood might not have much, but at St Thomas’ they can find something to wear and something to eat. My takeaway? Get serious about worship, about the liturgy, why we worship that way and how to impress those reasons on those in worship. Try to find ways to better serve those truly in need. Don’t misunderstand the folks at First St Johns do a lot of servant ministry; a really good foodbank, an unemployment support group, supports a family group, Spanish-speaking outreach, NA and AA groups, martial arts, Grief Share, police chaplaincy, prayer outreaches and others. But if a resource starved church in the middle of one of Baltimore’s toughest area can support a ministry like a half-way house, or providing transportation, well it inspires me to keep looking to step up our outreaches. It also inspires me to raise the level of my personal image, making more of an attempt to appear pastoral and serious about it. To raise worship to a more serious, profound level, in order for people who often do deal with real life and death, to have worship that really transports them into the presence Lord.

If anyone is so inclined, I would encourage you to provide whatever support you can to St Thomas’, I will be more than happy to provide address, phone, contact, Pastor Wildner’s ministry is worthy to be supported. I certainly will keep them in my prayers and would ask you to do so also and in the meantime, I am in awe and admiration of those, like Pastor Wildner, who are such devoted servants of our Lord Jesus Christ and who give me a role-model to strive to emulate.

We’re called to be in the world, not of it.

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We’ve been reading Dr Gene Veith’s book God at Work in our Wednesday morning group at the Green Bean in downtown York, Pa. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are interested in a fundamental understanding of the issues related to living your Christian life in the workplace.

One great point we discussed this past week was Dr Veith’s following observation: “Christians live in tension with the fallen world. And they are not allowed to diminish that tension by either retreating form the world or by uncritically embracing it. Jesus alludes to this in His great priestly prayer in John 17: 14-18: “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

Throughout the history of the church, it has lurched from one extreme to the other. For so long  people were honored who escaped into the desert, forests, mountains, for a time those who lived on the top of poles or, sort of, scaffolds. This is clearly not Christian, not at all what Jesus taught. Sure Jesus is depicted as going off to pray somewhere, but sure enough the next day was right in the mix of the crowds. And it was not just with other Jewish people. Jesus interacted with Samaritans, Romans, Greeks, a Syro-Phoenician woman, free, slaves and no doubt others, Jerusalem was an international crossroads in His time.

Many Christians exist in an, essentially, Christian sub-culture, many have no non-Christian friends an don’t interact with any non-Christian unless it’s necessary. We look at Paul’s life and travels, from Israel to Rome and maybe even Spain. According to legend the rest of the apostles were dispersed to all the points of the new world. Biblically we are encouraged to interact with all non-Christians.

Dr Veith’s other point about “uncritically embracing” the world is also a great observation. Jesus certainly didn’t in His time, He was very counter-cultural, He was in the world to fulfill and observe the Law. He was against the Law, He did oppose those who abused, twisted the Law. Today we see the other extreme, especially in, so-called, liberal Christianity, which seems to allow itself to be dictated to by the world, regardless of what the Bible teaches.

Having said this, there seems to be this idea among Christians who do feel led to venture out into the world (which we are supposed to do), that if we are nice and sweet to everyone than they will all immediately fall in love with us/Jesus and everything will be all sweetness and spice or the other extreme, if people find out we’re Christian then we will be immediately set upon by the evil world. The latter supposition is probably closer to the truth, but neither one is really a day to day. Jesus told us: “”If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (Jn 15:18)
There’s this kind of odd idea among some Christians, that if we just say the right words, people will come around and love us and love Jesus. There is no magic set of words that people will immediately respond to in some kind of “come to Jesus” epiphany. It certainly didn’t happen with Jesus. Sure many responded to Him and what He did, but no question there were plenty of people who wanted to get rid of Jesus.

The world really does see Christians as gullible, suckers, easily led. This is the same world that will jump through hoops if you wave a few bucks in front of it, or booze, drugs, sex, the world will fall right in. Talk about gullible, Jesus is life, what the world wants is inevitable death. It’s stupid, but it is consistent, the world is all about death.

Dr Veith’s point is that as a Christian it is tough to be in the world. Jesus recognized this in His prayer. We live in this constant tension and yes sometimes we do give in to the temptations. Difference is, we’re forgiven, the world in the same circumstances, is condemned. As Christians we have to keep all this in mind. We can’t give up on the world, Jesus didn’t, He is our Lord, and we have to be faithful to His leading. We have to keep witnessing to Christ in all the areas of our life. But when we do that it is with the realization that often we won’t be “liked”, appreciated and the good works we do will often be repaid in spite and coldness. We can’t run away from the world, and we can’t affirm the world’s sinful lifestyle. We have to be faithful to Jesus’ leading and endure the world’s animosity.

We won’t be meeting this Wednesday because of a funeral, but May 14 we should be meeting the coffee shop at the corner of W King St and Beaver, 10am, welcome to park right behind the church.

Spiritual attack

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I suppose Good Friday isn’t a time to be whining, good things are happening, the Lord has been blessing us. But it’s hard to break this feeling of being under both spiritual attack and spiritual oppression.
In my heart I know that is a good thing, if you are truly being effective for the Kingdom, you certainly put a target on your back, you are going to attract Satan’s attention. In that sense I say bring it, if I’m going to be the one to suffer the slings and arrows, if I am taking the hits for Jesus, He tells us that we should rejoice, that it is commendable: “ESV Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
People who are just going through the motions, trying to stay “safe”, not stepping out for Jesus or His church, they aren’t a threat to Satan, so he’s not going to cause them grief. Wouldn’t the strategy be more to keep people kind of fat and happy and isolated? You just stay there and go by the numbers and nothing happens to you, I’m just interested in the guy who is trying to bring the Kingdom of Christ into my world. This is Satan’s world, those who are Christians are in the world, but not of the world. Seems that for those who actually step out, they draw the fire, while everyone else hides behind their barricades.
Jesus certainly stepped out, Jesus certainly confronts the world and no matter how attacked I feel, I know that Jesus is going to be there to support me and to keep me going. Jesus promised us: “And behold, I am with you always even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28: 20) In the meantime I certainly covet your prayers, I continue to pray that I stay strong and faithful, trusting that if I am drawing Satan’s fire, then Jesus must be using me effectively and I’m staying out of His way as best I can. But pray that this oppressiveness will be turned from feeling as if I’m being pushed down and give me strength to rise up and push back hard in the strength of Jesus Christ. We remember the death and sacrifice of Jesus today, His paying for our sins on that cross. Good Friday is the second most important day on the Christian calendar. On this day, Jesus made full payment for our sins, lifted what separates us from the Father. Sunday, He rises from the dead, our sins have been paid for and now we are restored to eternal life in Christ, the life that the Father had always intended for us in our resurrection. This is a great time for family, but set some of that time to worship together, today and Sunday. In His peace.

Discipling leadership, not management

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That heavy breathing you’re hearing is me putting down my Kindle and rushing back to my laptop keyboard to share these notes from Mike Breen.

Yea, these are observations that I have intuitively felt since I became a pastor. My Bachelor’s degree is in Business Management, I worked in corporate finance for twenty years. I’m certainly not averse to applying management principles, but every time it came up in discussions in church, I resisted 5-year plans, church-growth, mission statements. These have their place but as Breen observes:

“The Church is crying out for leaders who model a life worth imitating. Dan Kimball puts it this way: “Leadership in the emerging church is no longer about focusing on strategies, core values, mission statements, or church-growth principles. It is about leaders first becoming disciples of Jesus with prayerful, missional hearts that are broken for the emerging culture. All the rest will flow from this, not the other way around.” (Mike Breen Building a Discipling Culture on Kindle) Ya! Amen and Amen. As a pastor I have learned you do not “manage” church. Sure there are times when you have to apply the principles, but if you are busy “managing” and not open to the moving of the Holy Spirit, well frankly, you are in the wrong “business”.

“We need leaders who will step out of “managing church” and make discipling others their primary objective. The time has come to humbly acknowledge before God that we have failed to train men and women to lead in the style of Jesus. Whether through ignorance or fear, we have taken the safe option, training pastors to be theologically sound and effective managers of institutions rather than equipping them with the tools they need to disciple others.”

Yea, as Breen points out, we are being “managed” to death. I haven’t seen anyone in any sector of society who would disagree. No doubt we have different reasons, but we need leadership and we certainly need it in the church, which for too long has been a spiritual enabler versus, a spiritual leader. A  working understanding of discipleship will make any church a place that will be used by the Holy Spirit.

A further amen to the following: “the Church is the best place to offer a genuine model of leadership. We have Jesus’ example to learn from and to share with the rest of the world. When we take on the lifestyle of Jesus as a leader, those outside the Church will see and respond. This is not just a message to senior pastors— Jesus calls us all to be leaders. The commission to go and make disciples is a call for leaders—you are leading when you are making a disciple.” Yea, I know Jesus ain’t a Type A Wall St type. I think we would all agree that is a good thing. Why would we then “lead” His church, by those kind of principles and the answer is of course, NO.

Our “business” is to be “fishers of men” and then to go and make disciples. Anything that interferes with that is not of God and is not about helping us to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and salvation in Him.