The Puzzle, February 2, 2009
When God Does a Jailbreak
Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals. And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” Acts 12:6-11
That’s not even the whole story. It had started out tragically, with King Herod, who had a reputation to live up to with that name, singling out James, brother of John, and executing him. This garnered enough excitement among the Jewish authorities to encourage Herod to arrest Peter, too, which he did. The prospect of not living another day didn’t prevent Peter from sleeping so peacefully that God’s angel had to swat him to wake him up—God’s peace is like that.
The dreamlike scenario continues as chains fall off, gates open by themselves (quite a novelty, back then), and the angel of the Lord continues to give Peter step-by-step instructions until he is well on his way to where the gathered Church is praying urgently for his release, though not with sufficient faith to believe it’s really him when he shows up. No matter. This whole thing is God’s deal, anyway. Usually He lets people help, at least a little. This jailbreak He pulled off all on His own. Soon afterward, God also deals with the king on His own. Herod Agrippa I fancied himself a god. The Real One knocked Herod off with nothing more than a fistful of worms. Note: Real gods are not brought down by intestinal parasites. (So much for Herod being a real god).
The word of God increased and multiplied. It was going to happen. God was going to make sure it happened! Jesus didn’t come to this earth to live, die and rise again, only to have it all snuffed out by ne’er do well’s in royal robes! When necessary, He intervened directly. Still does.
He seems to prefer the subtle approach, though. I think He liked the part (Acts 12: 25) where the odd couple of Barnabas and Saul don’t leave Jerusalem alone, but purposely bring with them a young protege named John Mark. Sure, God won’t let the Church die, and He will throw as many angels at the situation as it requires, in order to achieve His ends, but He seems to greatly prefer dedicated, constant service to flashy, inexplicable miracles. In other words, if the only thing that works is to knock Saul down on the road to Damascus, that’s fine, He’ll do it, but He’d much rather have a couple seasoned disciples take a young man under their wing and train him to be a disciple with patience and love, like Barnabas and Saul are doing with Mark. Compared to raising kids or disciples, miracles are easy! We need to do a better job of bringing along younger disciples. There are basically two generations floating around out there, the great majority of whom could care less about the Church, some of it because they feel the Church has never cared much about them. “What do you mean?! We’ve provided untold programs and materials, we’ve given them everything we could think of, and paid professional ministers to relate to them! How could they not get this?!”
I’m afraid that far too many times, we’ve wanted the younger generation to cherish our traditions more than we’ve wanted them to cherish our God. They always want to do everything differently, which means we lose something important to us: Our traditions, our methods, our control. It’s easier to warehouse them somewhere by themselves until they grow up. Then, when they’ve learned to see things our way, they can come join us. (Anyone notice how few are coming)?
Barnabas and Saul took the chance of letting this kid come with them. This wasn’t a two-week mission trip to Mexico, with a stop at Disneyland on the way back; this was the real deal, where people would do stuff like throw rocks at disciples. John Mark couldn’t cut it, and abruptly abandoned a couple disappointed missionaries in the middle of their journey. One, his relative, Barnabas, would later forego his own future career as a missionary in order to try to salvage Mark’s. It worked. And the young guy from the new generation did a new thing: He wrote down what Jesus had done. The message had been circulating orally for years, but nobody had written it down, yet. Mark did it. Others followed.
God makes sure it comes out right. He can do jailbreaks, lights in the sky, anything. That’s either with us or without us; He’s always successful. So why bother trying to do anything for a God who doesn’t really need us? Because He seems to like the “slow miracles” best—raising kids, raising disciples, patiently loving people into faith. And He almost always leaves those for us.
The Puzzle, February 3-4, 2009
When God Downsizes the Staff
Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
Acts 13:1-4
You never know what’s going to happen when you’re worshiping the Lord and fasting! In the process of observing these spiritual disciplines together, the Church in Antioch got a message from the Lord: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” It sounds to me like God had already put this burden on their hearts, and others were aware of it. Either that, or in the course of their worship and fasting, God made it clear to the whole bunch that this was what He was doing. Either way, they were sure this was God, and they were O.K. with it, even though it meant they were sending 40% of their eldership off to who-knows-where, with no guarantees that they would ever return. It was the Holy Spirit who planned the first missionary journey of the Church. Fortunately, the Antioch Church was agreeable and responsive. Because they were, they became the first real missionary church, and Barnabas and Saul the first of this new breed of foreign missionaries.
What would happen if every church in America sent out a couple missionaries? Yes, I know that it would be a rare denomination without some sort of centralized missions program stocked with trained professionals; I’m not saying we should abandon what has been carefully developed over many years, and what has been in many places, enormously successful. I’m thinking more in terms of missionary “journeys”—think tourists who talk about Jesus a lot, but who have no plans for long-term residency in a foreign country; they just come home after a few weeks or months, but hopefully they have been able to lead some people to the Lord, and leave behind an established church. This would be more of a glancing blow, but with many participants. What would happen if there were thousands of established Christians who descended on a chosen country as visitors in a given year, while folks back home fasted and prayed for them? The credentialed, trained missionaries who might already be present in that nation could be of huge assistance in terms of organizing and training new believers, and coordinating “tourist” missionaries. I would have a hard time believing the effort would not pan out. I think it would result in breakthrough’s in evangelism in the targeted country, plus renewed enthusiasm for the Great Commission in the sending country. If that spark could be lit in every church in America!...
Speaking of America. Though we seem reluctant to admit it, the U.S. is now more of a mission field than many of the nations to which we are sending “missionaries”! How about if we tried this on the USA? Pick a city, a state or a region, and fast and pray for that area. Send waves of missionaries, not in big clumps but in two’s. Make them identifiable, so the locals notice them and it seems they’re everywhere; also, so their replacements represent that same spiritual presence in the community. These are short-term missionaries, only on the site for a brief period of maybe a few weeks, but they would go with a single mission in mind: Be kind to people in Jesus’ name, and tell people how good Jesus is.
Just for instance, let’s take a city an hour’s drive from mine: Centralia, Washington. It’s not a large city at all—I just looked it up and it comes in around 15,000 people. Because of its location on I-5, many of us would drive through it numerous times in any given year. In the past two years, Centralia has experienced major flooding twice, plus the economic turmoil which has engulfed our nation. There are a lot of needy people, there.
What if even one city (Kelso-Longview, Washington) took on their neighbor as a mission field for the year? What if teams of Christians were praying for Centralia, fasting for Centralia, while each participating church congregation prayed and fasted, selected at least a couple people from their group, and sent them to Centralia for two weeks? If we had twenty congregations participate, that would be 40 people, which would cover about half the year if they were spread out, and allow for some pretty good numbers of “missionaries” present, simultaneously, if they weren’t. It’s close enough that the missionaries wouldn’t even need to rent a motel room; they could just commute.
What would they do in Centralia during their two weeks? The options would be practically limitless. Anything anyone could do for another person which would be kind (and free) would qualify! I would think that acts of service would be best, but it could be many different things, according to the open doors and resources available at the time. With prayer and fasting as the organizing principle in this venture, and the Holy Spirit as the Coordinator, I believe we would see amazing things take place in any town we felt led to target.
I could go on and on—please realize that this is just a “for instance” possibility rather than an actual plan—but the idea has gotten me excited in the hour it’s taken me to write it. It makes me wonder how many ideas are out there, dormant, just waiting for some folks to gather for worship and fasting, so the Holy Spirit can hatch a new, effective plan for spreading the Good News to more of the people God loves.
God’s purpose is that the whole world will know about Jesus. It’s going to happen, and we get to be a part! If we’re ever unsure of what to do next, sharing about Jesus is an activity pretty sure to please God. Another one is worship and prayer; if you’re serious, throw in fasting. After that, it’s just a matter of doing what the Holy Spirit says. The nice thing is, unless He directs us to, we don’t even have to come up with our own plan! That’s often already provided.
Another nice thing is that each of us has a place in the Kingdom, and everyone doesn’t have the same role. Think of the variety of responses expected of the Antioch Church:
Lucius and Manaen knew they weren’t called to go to foreign countries. They were supposed to stay at Antioch, and they knew it. Saul and Barnabas knew they were called to go. I think most of us know what God would have us to do, if we’ve bothered to ask. And if we don’t, that evangelism default can kick in!
It’s important that the missionaries God has called actually go, not just talk about it.
It’s important that not everyone goes—as in, all five prophet/teachers heading out, leaving the Antioch Church leaderless.
It’s important that the Church, especially the remaining leadership, let them go, instead of trying to change their minds or hang on to them.
It’s important that the Church doesn’t slam a couple people into leadership after Barnabas and Saul leave, in an attempt to fill “vacancies,” but wait on God for that, too.
It’s a beautiful thing to belong to Jesus, to be part of His Body, the Church. The Holy Spirit is fully capable of guiding the affairs of the Church. He doesn’t even need our plans, strategies, etc., though often He lets us help. We need to make sure, though, that we hold onto any plans, even Spirit-led ones, loosely. The Spirit may lead in a way that seems dangerous or difficult. He may seem to reverse directions, such as assembling a wonderful team of prophets and teachers, only to abruptly downsize the staff by 40%. We have to remember that when God downsizes the staff (or does anything else), it’s because He has something even better in mind. This is a God we can totally trust! It’s so nice to be on a winning team!
The Puzzle, February 5-6, 2009
Rejoicing in Failure
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Acts 13:4
“Sent out by the Holy Spirit...” How many of our modern mission ventures could be truthfully characterized by those words? Is the Holy Spirit still the Director of what we do in the Church, or is most of our mission molded by the minds of ecclesiastical leaders, with prayers thrown in, appealing for God’s blessing? There’s no beauty like knowing you are on a mission from God, that came from God. As rough as Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey was, it was important that they knew they were on a divine mission, not one cooked up in headquarters. Even that God-given mandate wasn’t enough to keep John Mark around for the whole thing; after Cyprus, he went home, leaving his companions short-handed, to face ornery, rock-throwing Galatians alone.
What I find most interesting about this whole chapter is the ending. Look at it:
And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:48-52
How could they rejoice when they had just met with miserable failure and rejection, and they were short-handed because their helper had gone home? Because they had done what God had asked them to do. Obedience brings that kind of joy; circumstances are powerless to steal it. Paul and Barnabas had done everything God asked them to do in Pisidian Antioch. Thus, when they were persecuted, they were able to shake it off, and go away without taking the apparent “failure” personally.
Having risked their lives repeatedly in order to bring the Good News of the Gospel to these people, Barnabas and Paul are rewarded with public revilement by their own people, the Jews. Not only that, but these same contrary Jews will follow them from town to town, stirring up the populace, eventually causing Paul to be stoned. All the while, Gentiles are readily accepting the Gospel. In this mixed bag of blessings and trials, the reaction of the missionaries, rather than getting discouraged or going home, is simply to go to the next town when their welcome has wilted and they’ve done all they can do. But check out their mood: And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Really! Their missionary scorecard isn’t looking that good, they are wanted in several cities (as in “wanted” posters, not wanted, nicely), but still they press on, filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. How’s this work, anyway? How do you keep the joy when you’re getting beat up, and your side is losing?
It goes back to the phrase, “sent out by the Holy Spirit,” for one thing. When you’re commissioned by denominational headquarters, you need something to prove this was a good idea; you need success. When you’re sent out by God, all you need is obedience. As long as you didn’t quit, even a “losing” effort is a successful one, and cause for joy; you did what God said.
It’s hard for us to get a handle on how God’s plan for us might somehow include “failure.” We’re living in a culture that despises failure and glorifies success. The creep of that mentality into the Church makes it easy for the Christian to assume that everything he touches ought to result in “success,” as defined by him. “God-directed failure” is a pretty hard sell these days, in America. It sounds like an oxymoron. How could an all-powerful God direct one of His own to take on a project which would result in rejection, persecution or death?! Isn’t that failure of the worst kind?
Let’s apply it to Jesus. The plan of salvation took Jesus Christ from heaven’s throne room to a stable manger, then threaded Him through a life of rejection, persecution and death on a cross. Rejected by His own people, humiliated, tortured. Crucified. Failure? No, it was the greatest victory in the history of the earth, because He defeated sin and death, forever, and freed mankind from the penalty of eternal damnation, all in one afternoon. It appeared to be the ultimate defeat, from a worldly standpoint, even as Jesus successfully saved the world and exhibited perfect obedience to His Father. That’s what it looks like when God directs His people toward “failure,” but regards their obedience as “righteousness,” the ultimate success.
We really need to get off the pragmatic mindset of this age, which tells us not to pursue anything that won’t bring us good results, and soon. When we adopt the “Unless it brings pleasant results, it can’t be from God” frame of mind, we disqualify ourselves from the tougher assignments God uses to bring about the greatest triumphs. For some jobs, only tough disciples need apply.
Paul and Barnabas could have just gone home. After the first city, it didn’t take a genius to know what was going to happen, if they persisted in this approach of going to the synagogues first, preaching to the Jews, alarming the locals to the point of obstinacy, then turning to the Gentiles, only to be frustrated and persecuted by the Jews they had been trying to help, until they were driven out of the city. The pragmatic thing to do would have been to sneak around among the Gentiles in a few towns, sharing the Gospel with people who wouldn’t get upset, instead of feeling a burden to go to their own countrymen, first, seeing as how it didn’t seem to do much good, judging from the rocks being thrown at them.
But that’s not the way they did it. Compelled by a love for their own people, Barnabas and Paul came into each city and headed straight for the synagogue, to share the news that the Messiah had come. Maybe a few would believe, here. Maybe not. When they got kicked out of the synagogue, which always happened, they would go to the non-Jews. When persecution forced them from that city, they would go on to the next. It wasn’t the most workable of plans, seeing as how it was so predictable, including the ignoble exit. What it did, though, was forge the Church in Galatia, among people who from the start knew the Christian way was not without suffering or hardship, that it demanded obedience to God always, not just when obedience brought pleasant results.
When are we going to learn that? And how? I can’t count how many times I’ve heard the sentiment, “God wants me to be happy,” usually served up as rationalization for disobedience to Him, and quoted like a Bible verse (Sorry, it isn’t). The source of the Early Christians’ joy was not in nice circumstances accompanying their faith, but in the satisfaction of obedience to God. When they had done what God directed them to do, they felt joyful. When they opened every aspect of their lives to the presence of the Holy Spirit, He came in and filled them with joy. It had very little to do with their results or their circumstances. Hence, they could even rejoice in “failure,” if it was the outcome of obedience to God. And they could joyfully begin a process which seemed doomed from the beginning, if they knew it was the Holy Spirit sending them. Different, huh? I’ll bet it would work with us, too, though.
In lining up for discipleship training, are we always going to check the box marked “easy level,” or are we willing to spring for “difficult,” if we sense God’s leading? Will we go through doors of opportunity with no guarantee of success, and a high probability of pain? Do we love people to the extent that we would risk everything so they might know Christ, or are we reluctant to go through even the easy doors when it comes to witnessing? (I’m talking to myself, here).
Generations ago, circuit riding Methodist preachers scoured the countryside, evangelizing much and dying young. Where are the missionaries to America, these days? Shouldn’t that be us?
Based on Acts 13, what are some of the ministry questions we should be pondering in 2009?
*Are we being led by the Holy Spirit, or by man? The answer to that question is quite important, especially when things get tough and results are less than favorable. The only incentive which keeps us in the game, sometimes, is a divine commission.
*Are we committed to the cause of Christ and the mission on which He has sent us? If not, all it takes are some disappointing circumstances, a desertion or two, or one angry letter, and we’re ready to bag it. Committed to Christ—regardless!
*Are we willing to forego pragmatism in favor of the leading of the Holy Spirit? In many situations in the world, the only kind of evangelism which will break through is courageous evangelism, where you’re not sure you’ll survive. Are we willing to obey Christ, even when we seemingly have nothing to show for it but loss?
*Are we willing to “release” when told by Christ? This means releasing a town, a person, a ministry method, in order to go on to the next assignment. A willingness to release when led by the Spirit is important, as is the willingness to pursue ministry through pure obedience, regardless of the prospect of “success.” Will we grab on or let go, according to the Spirit’s will?
*Are we willing to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? This is not an automatic thing. It comes when the disciple invites the Spirit to have full control of his life, withholding nothing. The joy comes when we’re filled with the Spirit. The joy accompanies complete obedience.
When we’ve opened our lives fully to the Holy Spirit, allowed Him to fill us, allowed Him to lead us; when we’ve completely obeyed, there is an indescribable, indestructible joy. It’s circumstance-proof, desertion-proof, rock-proof. This kind of joy comes only from God. It’s available for every disciple who invites God to fill him with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
The Puzzle, February 9, 2009
What’s My Mission?
But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Acts 14:19-23
The first missionary journey was one crazy adventure! Barnabas and Paul have been journeying from town to town in Galatia, sharing the Gospel. When they hit pagan Lystra, Paul’s impressive miracle of healing produces an unwanted response: Worship! The local populace, folklore-primed to expect Zeus and Hermes any day now, note that the gods have arrived, and prepare appropriate sacrifices. A horrified Barnabas and Paul are barely able to derail the worship. Meanwhile, who should appear but a troop of ne’er-do’well’s, who have marched a hundred miles out of their way to harass the missionaries. They are effective in transforming the formerly worshiping crowd into a rock-hurling mob.
Paul’s seemingly lifeless body is deposited outside the city gates. End of story. Ah, don’t forget God. The battered missionary arises, limps into the city, then departs the next day. For home? No, the next city! Mercifully, this one is more fruitful, plus Paul’s enemies, satisfied that he’s dead, no longer follow him around, the only benefit to being unsuccessfully stoned to death I can think of.
When their mission is complete in Derbe, where is the next stop? It’s a straight shot to go home, but that’s not where they go. Lystra. Same place where the stones were thrown. The apostles retrace their steps through each city where they have ministered, even adding a new one along the circuitous journey home. Why? Because follow-up was that important to them. At each stop, they are careful to do several things:
-They strengthen the souls of the disciples and encourage them to continue in the faith.
-They tell them that tribulation is part of the deal, when it comes to serving Jesus (Coming from someone left for dead, this must have been pretty convincing).
-They appointed elders for them in every church (Note the plural—it was always a plurality of leaders in the church, never just one).
-They prayed (and fasted) for them, committing them to the Lord, probably in a public sort of fashion.
When it was all over, the tired missionaries arrived back home in Antioch, confident that what they had planted would continue to grow. It’s amazing, but it just took two men, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, to launch the Church in Galatia. Courageous and thorough, Paul and Barnabas set a pattern for effective missions.
How did they do it? Powerful preaching, signs and wonders, especially miracles of healing. When questioned, they were prepared to give carefully reasoned answers concerning the faith. They didn’t back down; neither were they obnoxious. They showed tremendous courage, which was convincing proof that they were sincere in their faith. They were generous in their love. They were careful to establish leadership for each church.
The biggest key to their missionary success was mentioned at the very beginning: “Sent out by the Holy Spirit,...” (Acts 13:4) Had it not been for the Spirit’s power and direction, this whole trip would have gone nowhere! Even as it was, it was fraught with hardship and danger, but there was never a question why they were doing this: God had sent them.
What’s my mission?
We all have one; it looks like it’s up to us to find it, though. It became clear to Barnabas and Paul what they were supposed to do, while engaging in worship and fasting (Acts 13:2). Sometimes it comes when a fugitive shepherd is just out watching sheep, and God speaks out of a burning bush. The once-in-a-while things like “Go save my people, Israel” or “Why don’t you crack open a new world area with the Gospel?” are few and far between, though. Even with those rare individuals charged with Bible-worthy exploits, it usually started pretty small: “Follow me.” The mission parameters come later, and sometimes not until we’re done!
The issue gets down to this: Are we willing to go? Being sent is a given, even if it’s just being sent across the room, to minister to a grumpy loved one. The big stuff? It might come, later. Then again, that might be the big stuff.
We all have a place and a mission. It’s up to us to find it. There’s no need to point fingers at others not interested in doing anything for the Lord; we ought to just worship, pray and fast, find out what the Lord wants us to do, then do it.
The Puzzle, February 10, 2009
Faith Field Trips
I got an idea the other day about how to do missions in America. It’s not very original; the reason I thought of it is because I’ve been working in the book of Acts, and I just applied some of those same ideas to our present situation, but I’d like you to take a look at it, and let me know what you think. If I get some favorable response, I’ll know I’m supposed to pursue it. If not, I may still be led to go this direction, but probably on a very small scale. Here goes. The pattern is right out of Acts 13-14; it’s what Paul and Barnabas did on their first mission trip.
The concept is quite simple: Let the Holy Spirit direct us, and we obey. In the case of the first missionary journey (Acts 13-14), the leaders of the Antioch Church were fasting and worshiping, when the Holy Spirit made His will clear to them. They were to commission Barnabas and Saul as missionaries, and send them out. Their approximately two year journey ended up in the establishment of at least four churches in Galatia. They spent three to five months in each city, retraced their steps to further strengthen the new bodies, and logged a total of around 1200 miles, by land and sea. The missionaries returned to the sending church to rest and report, prior to going out on a new mission.
What would happen if we repeated the pattern, and sent missionaries into America, at the Spirit’s leading? They wouldn’t have to be “professionals,” and they wouldn’t need to be long-termers. Anywhere from a few days to a few months would make a tremendous difference, if the approach was Spirit-led.
Here’s a brief outline of how this could work.
STEP ONE:
Step One would be to meet together for worship and fasting, confident that God would give us clear direction as to His wishes concerning missions, as we prayed together.
STEP TWO:
Step Two would be to come to agreement on the specifics of the mission, by praying through questions like, “Am I supposed to go somewhere or be part of the mission support team here at home?” “Where do we go, and what do we do when we get there?” “What materials or preparation are needed for this mission?” “When are we going?”, etc.
STEP THREE:
Step Three is the preparation process, probably a few weeks, consisting of planning, preparation and prayer.
STEP FOUR:
Step Four would be a time of commissioning, gathering around the missionaries, blessing them, and sending them out on the mission to which God has called them, with the promise to hold them up in prayer.
STEP FIVE:
This would be the actual mission. (Understand that I’m thinking short-term assignments, only days or weeks in length, and within the United States, unless the Holy Spirit directed otherwise. I’m also thinking that each missionary has a partner or a team, and the only people doing anything solo would be those who had clear leading from God that theirs was to be a solo mission).
STEP SIX:
The final step in the process would be celebrating together, as the teams reported back on what had happened.
It would be possible to have several groups of missionaries working through this process, simultaneously, with teams going out in waves. This would be particularly helpful if the Lord led us to focus on a specific city or region, and team after team went through, in the course of a year or more. I guess the point is, anything we were led to do would at least be something!
My reason for hatching this Acts-like plan is that the Church in America has mostly been “talk,” in my lifetime. We have conferences on all kinds of things, “train” people in various skills they never end up using, then do the same thing next year. With short-term missions within the country, pretty much anyone could be part of an honest-to-goodness mission trip, and get to do something, instead of just having to hear about what someone else did. This is not “quit-your-job-and-become-a-professional–missionary;” this is devoting a couple weeks of your life to a short-term assignment where you can use your gifts and talents to help people, then you come home.
If you think God wants you to be part of something like this, let me know, O.K.? (Email or (360) 431-4245). If there is good response, I’ll take that as a “Go.” If not, I’ll put this in the file with all the other plans which have flitted through my mind on what we can do toward the spiritual transformation of America.
The Puzzle, February 11, 2009
Faith Field Trip Possibilities
Today, I’m filling in details and possibilities for the potential Faith Field Trips, with the plan of resuming the regular Puzzle devotionals out of Acts, tomorrow. All of the possibilities I will be including in today’s writing are just that, possibilities, so please don’t think this is what anyone is committed to do, at this point. I’m merely throwing out ideas, so people will have a better understanding of the way this could work. Take these options as nothing more than ideas.
Possible Itineraries
*Spirit-led, with no plan. It seems to have been that way at least some of the time, in Acts. God has no trouble pulling it off, but sometimes He wants us to plan; other times, He wants us to just trust Him.*In prayer, determine a city or region on which to concentrate all energies for a time.
*Focus on an area, and prayerfully choose cities or sections to visit within the area.
*Let each team go wherever they are led to go, without trying to coordinate or focus efforts.
Possible Missions
*Door-to-door ministry, utilizing a useful gift of some sort. In this economy, lots of things would qualify!*Something focused on children. It could be a VBS or some other structured type of spiritual outreach, or it could be something like a sports workshop.
*Find a needy group in town, such as a nursing home, and do something to reach out to them.
*”Fishing.” That’s what I call it when Christians stake out a restaurant, a dock, or any sort of public place, and they talk with each other about spiritual things, keeping on the lookout for whomever God sends their way. A great place to “fish” is the food court in a mall. Starbucks is another one.
*Compassionate ministry. Distributing food, helping clean up after a flood, anything where there is physical help being given in the name of Jesus makes a big impact. It also connects you to big-hearted people in the community who may not be Christians. One that I particularly like is handing out free bottles of water at community-type events.
*Prayer walking. It’s simply walking through a neighborhood, praying God’s blessing upon the people. You don’t even have to engage people in conversation, and it works! We’ve seen amazing results from prayer walking.
*Specialized ministries. What I’m talking about are ministries really unique to the ministry team or to the situation. It calls for creativity, but these are also perhaps the most enjoyable ministries, because not everyone could do that ministry. An example on the foreign field was when a pediatrician on our team did a free medical clinic in Africa.
*Incorporate a mission into another activity. Examples: Camping trips, fairs, sporting events, family gatherings, fishing or hunting trips, cruises or vacations. This kind of setting puts you in contact with folks who share common interests, and offer unique opportunities for ministry at the same time.
These are just a few ideas for sending out mission teams. There are many, many more! I think what counts is people considering that they are on a mission, which makes them considerably more aware of the opportunities which present themselves. Another really helpful aspect is having a partner; otherwise, most of our mission thoughts remain as only good intentions. We do much better if we agree together on a plan, and urge one another on. The courage is multiplied, too, when we have someone else alongside us (plus having someone with whom to share the experience and the memory).
I also think it would be the most effective if people were led to focus on a very short list of places, so whatever personnel were going out would all minister in the same city or area. I would think the prayer support from home would be stronger, too, were it concentrated on a specific town or region. The teams could go out simultaneously, or in waves; either one would be effective, I think.
Well, enough of my ramblings. Pray about it. If you think the Lord is calling you to some sort of Faith Field Trip, let me know, and if you’d like, I’ll see what I can do to help: (360) 431-4245, or email.
The Puzzle, February 12, 2009
Careful with the Yoke
The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, 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? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus, just as they will.” Acts 15:6-11
What was the cause of the debate? Some Jewish believers had determined that newly converted Gentiles needed to undergo circumcision in order to be Christians. Along with that came the implication that they should also be subject to the other laws of the Jewish faith, in effect needing to become Jews before they could become Christians. This was a big deal. It could have resulted in the first church split, or it could have severely damaged the Gospel, turning it from a free gift by faith into something based on works and rituals. There would have been little appeal to a Gentile audience, since if becoming a Jew was the drawing point, that option had been available for centuries.
The Early Church did a great job of approaching this question. Here are some of the things they did right:
(1) They got right on it. People’s lives had already been affected by this controversy. There wasn’t time to toss this to a blue-ribbon panel of theologians to dissertate about for a few years. They called the council right away.
(2) They didn’t pick sides, or demonize one another. They came together as the Church, all on the same team, regardless of disagreements.
(3) They listened to one another. It must have been hard to sit through some of those speeches, but they did it, respectfully.
(4) They spoke up when they needed to, and where it could do some good.
(5) They maintained a spirit of humility, prayer and worship, even as they wrestled with an uncomfortable question. This was a godly discussion. That doesn’t happen by accident.
(6) Though they stated their opinions, there was a willingness to submit to one another, and most importantly, submit to God. God granted them grace.
(7) They came to agreement! That means a lot of people were willing to change their minds, compromise, or at least agree to stick with the group, even if they didn’t see it that way.
(8) They made a clear and simple decision, prayerfully, then wrote it down and communicated it clearly and consistently to everyone. They even went to the trouble of sending impartial, trusted witnesses along to confirm the accuracy of the message. The conclusion at which they arrived kept the Gospel focused on grace rather than laws and rituals, yet encouraged the new believers to abstain from particularly offensive practices. When they heard the news, they rejoiced. This decision had God’s grace upon it.
(9) They followed through on the decision. The letter they wrote wasn’t just a piece of parchment, subsequently ignored; they lived by the decision of the Jerusalem Council.
(10) They let it rest. Those who didn’t get their way didn’t bring it up every year, trying to get the ruling overturned, keeping the pot stirred. The Church came together, prayed together, listened to one another and voiced their opinions, made a prayerful, clear decision and communicated it, then moved on. The result was amazing. Maybe we could take a few lessons from the Early Church in how to resolve problems in the Church. We would also do well to remember that the Savior who promised “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” wants us to be pretty careful about what yokes we might place on someone else.
They did it right, when it came to resolving differences of opinion in the Church. Maybe we should try that way, more often.
The Puzzle, February 13, 2009
Full-time Christian Service
And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. Acts 15:32-35
I wish I’d never heard the term: “Full-time Christian Service.” I’ve heard various opinions on why I resigned the pastorate four years ago, including burnout, a nervous breakdown, frustration, or retirement; none of them correct. The reason I resigned is because I knew that was what God wanted me to do. And, since He’s the One who called me in the first place, I figured it was also His prerogative to call me out of that particular ministry, too, if He saw fit. It wasn’t frustration, burnout or breakdown; it was obedience. No regrets.
Back to “full-time Christian service.” My problem with the term is not that I don’t believe in it—I do, with all my heart! The reason I wish I’d never heard it called that is because it gives the strong implication that only a few of us would have such a call, that we’ll probably have to do time in a Bible college or seminary and drum up a license for it, and that everybody else is off the hook. In other words, if God doesn’t nail you with “a call to full-time Christian service,” you’re free to engage in....what? “Part-time Christian service”? (Read: “Part-time follower of Jesus”—that’s how it plays out in daily life).
Shouldn’t “full-time Christian service” be for all “full-time Christians”? It’s not that there’s anything at all wrong with the concept of full-time Christian service; the problem is that the existence of the concept has led to an awful lot of “part-time Christians,” plus immense frustration on the part of many who have found their Christianity became a career and a way to make a living, rather than a lifestyle to be lived.
How was it in the Early Church? In the Church at Antioch, the first place they were called “Christians,” the assumption was that everyone was automatically called to “full-time Christian service.” Had they used that term (and fortunately they didn’t), it would have just been another name for discipleship. There was no concept of “conversion” in the Early Church separate from discipleship, and discipleship meant following Jesus and serving Him, full-time. If that included using a God-given gift of prophecy, people were given all the freedom they needed to exercise that gift. Same thing for teaching and preaching, or in the case of Dorcas, being pretty good with a needle and thread. Since church leadership was always more than one individual, folks felt free to serve Christ in the way which best fit them, without worrying about pulling a lot of other responsibilities for which they might be ill-equipped. Since there was no special “clergy” class of spiritual professionals who would be drawing a salary for their ministry, while others were not, there would have been less pressure to try to either put on a performance or control the actions of others. Had someone in Antioch testified to being called to “full-time Christian service,” I think he would have just drawn confused looks from the hundreds of other believers searching for something noteworthy about his statement (“So? Who isn’t?”). Had the same person said, “I think God is calling me to go to Galatia and preach to the people there,” that would have made sense to them—a specific assignment of how they were to serve Christ (that’s just what happened with Barnabas and Paul).
In the Church at Antioch, there was an assumption that everyone was automatically called to “full-time Christian service.” The messengers from Jerusalem who happen to also be prophets get to minister. Paul and Barnabas preach and teach, but note the end of the sentence which tells of them doing that: with many others also. (v. 35) It wasn’t just the apostles, the educated or the gifted who were preaching and teaching—it was all kinds of people, and I don’t think the audience was just each other. They were talking about Jesus to people who didn’t know Him, and they were teaching people about God who didn’t already know the answers. And pretty much anyone who called himself a follower of Jesus also understood serving Jesus to be a full-time pursuit, kind of like breathing. It wasn’t that everyone would excel at preaching or teaching; serving Jesus somehow was just what you did if you were a disciple, and you did it on a continuing basis.
While writing this, my wife came and handed me an email from a friend. Yesterday, her daughter’s public school experienced a lock-down, as a man who had stolen a gun from a home near the school was being pursued by police. The man was apprehended and the school did a good job with the lock-down, but it created fear among the school kids, particularly the younger ones. Four of them were hiding in a bathroom, including our friend’s daughter, about age seven. A couple of the girls started to cry, fearing they were going to be killed. They were told by their young Christian friend that even if they did die, they could all go to heaven if they had asked Jesus into their hearts. They asked her if she would lead them in prayer to do that, and there in the restroom of a public school, a seven-year-old led her two friends to Christ. Full-time Christian service. It’s everyone’s call.
The Puzzle, February 16, 2009
Timothy, Mark and Jesus
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. Acts 16:1-5
Whom are we bringing along with us? Hopefully, it’s someone. History is strewn with the examples of great men who did outstanding deeds, then passed from the scene with no one to take up their mantle. That last figure of speech hails back to a time when someone did it right (at God’s direction): Elijah, prophet of God, took on an assistant, Elisha, and poured everything of himself into the younger man. When Elisha became aware that his master would be departing, his request was that he might inherit a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire, Elijah’s mantle (cloak) fluttered to the ground as Elisha watched. Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah, strode to the Jordan River, and shouted, “Where is the God of Elijah” as he struck the water with the cloak. The waters parted for Elisha as they had for Elijah, previously. The onlookers remarked, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” It wasn’t a fluke. Total up the miracles and wonders done through the younger prophet, and you’ll come up with about twice as many as his teacher. It’s worth it to invest in the younger generation. But transferring what is meaningful from one generation to another must be done with strong commitment and on purpose, otherwise it usually won’t happen. There have been lots of failures in that area through the centuries, which makes the successes stand out all the more.
Paul and Timothy were one of those successes. Paul was about as “Type A” as you can get, personality-wise, which meant he wouldn’t be a particularly patient teacher, nor a very willing “babysitter.” If one was going to learn from Paul, he would quite probably have to do it on the run. John Mark hadn’t been able to cut it, for one reason or another, but Paul took seriously the need to raise up young disciples, and he saw in Timothy someone who might be a better fit. To his credit, the apostle was willing to give it another try. It paid off. Timothy ended up being like a son to Paul. Not only that, but Barnabas’ rescue effort involving his nephew, John Mark, also worked out, and earned Paul’s renewed respect for Mark. Paul and Barnabas were two for two!
The main thing is they both tried. They were willing to invest heavily of themselves into younger men, in the process gifting the world with new leaders who had been trained by some of the best. There are some things you can’t get in school. What Barnabas did for Mark and what Paul did for Timothy are examples.
It takes two, though. Mark had to catch the rung the second time around, with a patient uncle willing to give up being a missionary in order to nurture him, one on one. Timothy was faced with several challenges, not the least of which was undergoing circumcision, in order to not be an obstacle to ministry among the Jews. There were many sacrifices along the way, on both ends of the mentor/protege relationship. But it really paid off.
Who is following us?
There are two main ingredients required on the part of a mentor, simple but vital: First, we have to have it. Then, we have to be willing to give it.
If we don’t have anything to offer, spiritually, there’s no need to pursue mentoring. We can’t give what we don’t possess. One way of putting it is like this: Would anyone want a double portion of your spirit?
The way to possess an enviable relationship with God, and the life that goes with it, is to seek God with all our heart. He always makes sure we find Him. Then come the changes, as we submit to Him, body, mind and spirit. He does a makeover on every believer, some of it instant, much of it gradual. Everyone is accepted, but we have to show up and be willing. It’s like my favorite light bulb joke:
“How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?”
“Only one. But the light bulb has to want to change.”
Once we are engaged in a new, Spirit-led life, we have something to share. It may be pretty raw, but it’s still worthwhile, and there’s someone who isn’t as far along the trail as we are, who could use our help, or at least our company.
Here’s the next question: Are we willing to share what we have?
Chances are, this will seem like a one-way relationship, at least for a while, with the novice supplying mostly mistakes and frustrations for the mentor. Over time, it usually changes, though sometimes people get burned. It’s messy. It doesn’t always work out. It’s what Jesus did, though, and some of His smarter followers have done the same thing. There are a lot of Mark’s and Timothy’s out there who need us. They’re worth it. If you’ve got it, give it. If you don’t have it yourself, yet, get it, then give it! Timothy, Mark and Jesus will be pleased.
The Puzzle, February 17-20, 2009
Eden Entertainment
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
Here’s the lineup. A new string of shows is coming to television, aimed at the elusive “faith community” which likes to hear stuff on religious subjects, yet which is funny, edgy and true to real life.
First off, we have the show, “Adam and Eve,” with two of the biggest names in Hollywood in the starring roles. Set, of course, in the beautiful Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve are two people who are drop-dead gorgeous, with a wardrobe composed mostly of flora and fauna blocking the camera shot. Filming must have been interesting.
There is in the Garden a tree, the one known in the Bible as “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” but here shortened to just “The Tree of Knowledge.” It’s the one God doesn’t want them to touch, since God, in this show, is paranoid of His people finding out what’s really behind all this, which is not much (kind of like “Ignore that man behind the curtain,” on “The Wizard of Oz”). God is against His people getting knowledge (read: Science), so He has quarantined the Tree of Knowledge, to keep the human race in perpetual stupidity (read: Believing and trusting in God, rather than in themselves).
There is another character with a major role. Through the wonders of computer animation, there is a talking snake who interacts with Adam and Eve on a daily basis. God does, too, but it’s only on a remote, voice-from-the-sky basis, and usually what He says is dorky and inane. Example: A booming voice startles Adam and Eve, as out of the blue, God commands, “Thou shalt not eat the yellow snow!” Adam looks heavenward, and says, “What’s snow?” There is a pause, and God replies, “Oh. Yeah. Never mind.” Adam and Eve shake their heads and go about their business.
The snake, however, is cool. Cast with the voiceover talent of one of the best comedians in the business, the snake is pretty much the highlight of “Adam and Eve.” He comes up with the best one-liners, he’s intelligent but not condescending, he’s pretty much the best friend Adam and Eve have. The snake consoles them in their fate of being stuck with a clueless Creator, and agrees to help them out. Using the snake’s intelligence, Adam and Eve are able to garner some of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, chow down, and instantly become brilliant scientists, who know the answers to everything, including how to get away from God, who starts pursuing them through the Garden, plodding along like the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk.” The snake helps them escape.
Now that they have the gift of knowledge, Adam, Eve and the snake have weekly adventures in outsmarting God, which usually isn’t that hard. The show is now set for sit-com style humor, with God as the fall guy and everyone else taking turns being the hero. “Adam and Eve” is lauded as a breakthrough success. Christians by the millions watch the show, chortle at the antics, then attempt to remind themselves that it’s not real, and that what the Bible says is what counts. It gets a little harder all the time, since they really do enjoy the show.
“Adam and Eve” looks to be such a hit that there are already spin-off’s: “Adam and Steve,” in which the growing colony of Edenites in rebellion against religion discover the wonders of same-sex relationships. “Adam and Steve” really gets in its digs at those who would dare to term such a noble lifestyle “sin,” as if humans had some control over their own behavior, in reaction to bodily urges and impulses.
There is also a crime show, “CSI Eden,” focused on the sad-but-true story of the first murder, when Caan killed his brother, Abel. The show’s emphasis is in understanding the inner pain of the perpetrator, plus showing gory shots of the crime scene in a kind of artsy fashion. The aspect of mystery keeps viewers’ attention.
Fortunately, the “Adam and Eve” show exists only in my imagination. There is no such show (I hope), nor are there spin-off’s. Satan, however, is real, and he continues to spin God’s good Word to make everything upside down, using every tool available, one of his favorites being the media. Consider most of the entertainment industry’s offerings. Is the bottom line of the programming all that different from my imaginary “Adam and Eve” show, or would “Adam and Eve” (and spin-off’s) only be a variation from what’s already out there? Does most of the programming available to us agree with Biblical reality, or is everything backwards? Who is the hero in television, movies, magazines, etc.? God? The person who believes in or follows Him? Hardly ever. God’s followers are consistently portrayed as narrow-minded, stupid, anti-intellectual, bigoted. God doesn’t exist, except in the minds of His weak-minded followers. Smart people will look within and find what it takes to save the planet. Dumb people will stick to the manmade rules of religion. If there’s a hero at all, it’s the mythical, cute, clever serpent who brings us the wisdom of the ages, and encourages us to break free from the moral restraints imposed by holier-than-thou types who insist their way is the only way. Oh, yeah. In the Bible, the roles are reversed. Christians probably should try to remember that.
It’s hard, though, when so much of our entertainment is geared to precisely the opposite of the scripture, and we tend to spend so little time occupied with the Bible. So we tell ourselves, “Enjoy the show, but forget each and every message it promoted. Enjoy the show, but don’t believe any of it. The Bible is real, this isn’t. The Bible is real, this isn’t. The Bible is real? Yeah, I’m supposed to believe that. Gets harder all the time.”
Find me a show or movie which agrees with the Bible on the subject of sin, and I’ll show you a program with an uphill battle ahead of it, and probably a very short life span.
Sin, the Key Ingredient
In the Bible, sin is the key ingredient of death. In modern-day American culture, sin is the key ingredient of entertainment. Isn’t it?Check out what’s available in movies and television, plus the various other media avenues. Take the Bible definition of what constitutes sin (for a starting point, we’ll take the Ten Commandments), and how is sin portrayed? Once in a while, we get the Bible message that this stuff will kill you and bring you all kinds of misery, but more often this is what we see and hear:
Sin, made clever.
Sin, made funny.
Sin, made sophisticated.
Sin, made noble.
Sin, made artistic.
Sin, made interesting and exciting.
Sin, made romantic.
Only it’s never called “sin.” With the exception of a few sins like murder which are socially unacceptable even among the ungodly, there’s usually another name for the behavior, which doesn’t sound so, well,... sinful. Adultery is an “affair;” homosexual acts are a “gay” lifestyle practiced by, in real life, the unhappiest of folks, but portrayed by actors as enlightened, wise and carefree people; pre-marital sexual activity is true romance; lying is being smart; cursing is rugged, powerful and “realistic;” coveting is nothing more than the desired result of good advertising; at least murder is still “murder”—no, scratch that, I forgot about a woman’s right to choose.
Hour after hour, day after day, the serpent’s message blasts winsomely across our lives: Sin is great! Sin will get you “heaven.” Sin brings pleasure, power. Sin is the way to get what you want and deserve. You shall be like God, you’ll be as powerful as God, as smart as God, you are God, and the ever-present “There is no God, (so it doesn’t matter).”
Satan’s bottom line is, “Sin gains you Eden.” God’s bottom line is this: Sin costs you Eden, and it cost Jesus His life to get it back for you. Don’t talk to God about the romance of sin. He watched His only Son being tortured to death, in order to save you from its consequences.
Camera-angle Ethics
My reason for bringing up this subject is not to harp on anyone or cast judgment on the entertainment choices of other Christians. This is a personal journey, but I realize I’m not alone. Everyone who is trying to live a holy life, trying to be closer to God, yet continually being frustrated in the attempt by the ravages of our pervasive “culture” knows what I’m talking about. I’m wondering how many times we can imbibe the latest crud served up as “entertainment,” then shake it off and go back to loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.I’ve set limits for myself through the years, learned the hard way, as far as what my standards are to be regarding entertainment. For instance, with movies, I have refused to bring home “R” rated films, establishing the line at “PG-13.” This has kept me from seeing a lot of bad movies and a few good ones. I’ve plugged away at PG-13, and rejoiced in the rare PG or even G film made available which was also worthy of my time. “Good entertainment” vs “bad entertainment” has been determined for me according to the letters slapped on it by the MPAA ratings board. I guess it hasn’t worked that badly, but I’m rethinking some stuff. Why? Because I’m coming to see that more and more, regardless of the rating on the film, the message of so much of our media is the same: Sin is good; God and His laws are not.
Not all movies bear that underlying tone, of course, and some wonderful ones have been made over the years. But think about the message being communicated by the majority of films and television. If sin is portrayed at all, isn’t it almost always either taken for granted as being natural, or romanticized? When the message of the film is directed toward making young people think sex outside of marriage is noble and there’s nothing wrong with it, cutting out enough skin scenes to earn it PG-13 doesn’t change that message. After we watch the thing and find ourselves vicariously celebrating fornication as being romantic, we’re supposed to forget all about it, and go back to the view that the Bible standard is realistic, and the serpent’s version brings heartache and death. I’m thinking that many of us have a harder time getting all the way back to the Bible, each time we enjoy another movie where sin is glamorized.
When it’s all told, the damage is done by the repeated gospel that marginalizes God and exalts sin. The message is the same, whether the director graphically illustrated it or left it to the imagination.
Then there’s the issue of evangelism. When sin is celebrated, when it’s used as the base ingredient for nearly everything termed “entertainment,” convincing a culture that we are all sinners in need of a Savior becomes increasingly difficult. The more of the “romance of sin” we accept into our lives, the harder it is to be very disturbed over a world all around us headed for eternity without God. The more we entertain ourselves with sin made cute, clever, funny or noble, the harder it is to remember that it always leads to death in real life, which is the one that counts.
Real Life Reality
Real life. This is how it works in real life: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23). I believe that, but the more of the world’s contradictory view I willingly take in, the harder it is to have any kind of an edge to my belief. Sin is heavily romanticized in our culture, these days. It’s a struggle to maintain a lifestyle aimed at holiness when the exact opposite message is invited to occupy many hours of our time. It pretty much kills all desire for evangelism, too. When sin “isn’t that bad,” why risk embarrassment or rejection to try to free people from it by pointing them to Christ?The wages of sin is death. This is a concept usually absent from screens, big and small! It’s the truth, though, and God wants us to know it. This is the outcome of sin, glamorized or not: Death. You get the pay-off, regardless of whether you want it or not. Even a part-time pursuit of sin pays the minimum wage, which happens to be death. “Yes, but Jesus our Savior paid the penalty for sin, so we’re not under the Law, anymore!” Righto. The only reason we’re not all toast is because of the blood of the Son of God, given for us. That’s the “free gift of eternal life” part. Some have wrongly concluded, however, that “the free gift of eternal life” constitutes a coupon for unlimited free sin without consequence, that sin somehow no longer matters to God or anyone else.
The entire New Testament contradicts that thought, and since it was written after the events on Calvary, we’re talking about the new reality, not the Old Testament perspective of sin. The sacrifice has been made, we are free, and Jesus our Lord is able to deliver us from sin and its penalty! Yet, in Ephesians 5, we are told not to even talk about the sins committed by the disobedient, that it’s shameful to mention them. We are to have no part in the various works of darkness; instead, we live as children of light. (Awkward pause) Right?
Might I add that this was written to believers whose address was Ephesus, home to the temple of Diana, goddess of sex? And they’re supposed to not even talk about all that goes on in their key local industry? Maybe sin still matters to God, even in the New Testament. Maybe it’s like listening to someone you rescued from alcoholism, who is dry now, but spends all his time moaning about how great life was back when he was a drunk. So it cost you everything you had to get him clean and sober, but he insists on hanging around his old crowd and having a Coke—at the bar. You’re thinking perhaps your sacrifice may have been for nothing.
Celebrating Sin
I’m tired of being part of celebrating sin. I feel God is leading me to adjust my entertainment choices to reflect compliance with His message, rather than tolerating the romanticization of sin, content just because it wasn’t the worst thing available. I want to pursue the things which make me closer to God and more in love with Him, rather than the entertainments which push me away from Him and make it harder to live a holy life. I also want to give a harder look at things formerly considered “neutral,” having little effect on my spiritual life. Are they really that neutral? Or is the underlying message that sin is good, God is bad or non-existent, and we’re on our own?In addition to trying to avoid what is sinful in itself, I want to try to better avoid what promotes sin, or re-characterizes it as being normal or noble. I’m thinking if I feed my mind a diet rich on God’s values, I’ll do better than if I practice the form of entertainment bulimia to which so many of us Christians have grown accustomed (take it in, then purge and try to get rid of the effects and go back to Biblical values).
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
That’s a realistic, reasonable philosophy, right out of the Bible. If the entertainment in question agrees with that philosophy, it may be a candidate worthy of my time; if not, probably not. I’m going to try to do a lot better in selecting entertainments which reinforce that mindset, or else do without, which is also not a bad thing. It doesn’t have to be preachy or even religious; if it just doesn’t romanticize sin, it would be a step above much of what’s out there! I’m looking for the bottom-line message, not just the camera angle or the rating. Meanwhile, I’m glad that “Adam and Eve” is not a real TV show, even though they were real people. And I’m glad we have a real Savior named Jesus, who frees us from the law of sin and death and grants us eternal life. That’s the life I want to celebrate.
The Puzzle, February 23, 2009
Spirit-led is More Fun
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Acts 16:6-10
God likes to direct His own missionary journeys! Rather than just commissioning Paul and Silas and letting them romp where they would, the Holy Spirit carefully guides them according to His own agenda. I’m trying to imagine what it would be like to be on a missionary journey, marching 400 miles across ancient “Asia,” with no other plan than following the Holy Spirit’s leading. Frustrating? No, exciting! I can say that because I’m instantly reminded of my first solo “faith field trip” to Alaska, thirty years ago. My only reason for being there was I believed God wanted me to go, and my main guidance system, that first summer, was the Holy Spirit! I had the time of my life! I’d better not get started on Alaska, or I’ll never get back to Paul and Silas. Suffice it to say that there’s no experience quite like being guided by the Holy Spirit and knowing without a doubt that’s what’s happening.
To the early missionaries, this was normal. When they were “forbidden” by the Holy Spirit to engage the people of the country through which they were passing, and another plan was thwarted by the Lord, they don’t seem to have rebelled or even gotten confused; they simply waited at the city of Troas. They don’t seem to have had to wait long before Paul received a clear vision, and they sailed for Europe to help out the Macedonians.
What was with the wandering? Only God knows for sure, but something happened between verses eight and ten which may be at least part of the story: In Troas, “they” became “we.” The subtle change describing Paul’s missionary journey is consistent—from here on, Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles is in first person, not third. This seems to be where Luke got on board with the apostles. Maybe that’s why they were in Troas. Perhaps God had set up a divine appointment with the person who would write down their story, plus the story of Jesus, in the books called Acts and Luke. Either way, they knew it was God doing the guiding, not Headquarters and not they themselves. It’s a good feeling.
I wish we had that feeling more often in the Church in America, these days. When I look at the way the Church operates, “Spirit-led” is not what comes to mind. We can’t even seem to negotiate a morning worship service without a bulletin. For stuff like mission trips? Forget it! Those are planned by Headquarters years in advance. You just plug in the personnel when the time comes, and make sure they have their money, their passport and their shots.
I’ve drawn criticism for being anti-planning, a denominational sin if ever there was one; on the contrary, I love to plan—it’s implementing those ideas which is hardest for me! What God was teaching the early missionaries, and what I think He’d like to teach us, is the thrill of faith. Faith is when you don’t have blueprints, the money is not in the bank, and you don’t have a forwarding address, but you go anyway, because “God said.” When you get there, and find the miracles and provision are better than you could have imagined, you know it was God. It’s a kick! And when you get to Macedonia, because that’s where God sent you, and for your efforts you are beaten, thrown in jail and placed in the stocks so you can’t even move, you still know it was God, who somehow gives you the courage to sing hymns, setting Him up to pull off an earthquake, a little prison ministry, a new Church in Philippi, then it’s on to the next faith adventure.
There are people out there who live by faith. We should be among those people! I’m not talking about quitting your job (although, if that’s God’s direction, it’s a quick faith-builder!). I’m talking about getting our guidance from the Holy Spirit. I’m talking about believing that God has plans of His own which include us, and we’d be a lot happier going His way than ours. Living by faith means being so committed to Jesus that we obey Him, we wait for orders from Him, we are willing to be led by Him, which means there will be times when people are demanding to know what our plans are, and all we’ll be able to tell them is that we plan to serve Christ! It’s not easy living this way, but neither is it boring. If you want opportunities to be a witness for Christ, this is the way to go! Just live by faith.
We could be Spirit-led people, if we choose to be. He’s still doing it, and He uses whomever is willing to follow Him and listen to His direction. Did I ever tell you about my first summer in Alaska? Man, that was a blast! I didn’t know a soul in the whole state and I didn’t have a job or a place to live or transportation, but I just thought God wanted me to go there and....
I still remember telling the Lord at the end of that summer, “If this is living by faith, give me more!” That’s a prayer He’s answered.
The Puzzle, February 24-27, 2009
Disciple's Rights, More or Less
The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:22-31
Welcome to Philippi! What happened to the pleading Macedonian who wanted Paul to “Come over and help us”?! It’s a good thing this game plan came directly from the Holy Spirit, because had it come from denominational headquarters, somebody would have gotten fired over it. The missionary team had skipped over territory right in front of them, in order to sail to Europe, shortly to encounter this ignoble welcome. Their crime? Delivering a slave girl from some sort of evil spirit! (Her masters had been using her fortune-telling abilities to generate income; they didn’t appreciate Paul turning her back into an ordinary slave girl).
Things quickly went from low-key evangelism along the river bank to a high-profile mini-riot, complete with being stripped, beaten with rods and thrown into jail, with the added discomfort and indignity of their feet being placed in the stocks. So this is where helping people in Jesus’ name gets you!
When God Does a Jailbreak
The apostles had plenty of reasons to moan, to be angry and bitter, but they’re stronger men than that. What they do is the exact opposite of what logic or their bodies must have told them to do: they sang praises to God. Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. (v. 25)What in the world is this?! It’s God’s jailbreak, except He’s breaking in, not out. God has two tough apostles, ready to suffer anything for Jesus’ name. He also has some people in Philippi who need to hear the Gospel. One of them is a hardened jailer, grasping for purpose in life. He doesn’t get out much. He’s not the kind of person a couple missionaries would run into, down by the river. They won’t encounter him at “church,” either. If God wants Paul and Silas to witness to the Philippian jailer, He first needs them to come to Philippi; hence, the vision. Now, He’ll need to accomplish a jailbreak. He needs to get His boys into that jail! If they just show up, doing “jail ministry” or something, it will have no effect on the jailer and probably little on the prisoners; they need to go in as prisoners. That’s easy—have them deliver that slave girl from her personal demon, and the owners will throw a fit.
God’s plan is working, perfectly. He’s getting the missionaries into position. Paul and Silas will soon be face to face with the needy jailer. By the time the jailer meets them, they will have been publicly (and illegally) beaten and humiliated for doing a miraculous good deed. The jailer, responding to orders, will place them in the stocks, giving them additional cause for indignation. Stripped of dignity and rights, wrongly and cruelly mistreated for doing good, confined, bleeding and miserably immobile in the darkest part of a foreign jail, what will the missionaries do? It’s the absolute last thing anyone but God would expect them to do: pray and sing praises to God. First, God breaks into the jail with His men, then He has them put on a concert! The whole jail is listening. (Where are they going to go)?
It’s all set up: people who have been cruelly mistreated, in wretched circumstances, responding by singing hymns of praise and talking to God like He’s their best Friend; needy people listening to the Gospel through a message of prayer and music, and most of all, heart. So this is what they mean by a “captive audience”! God’s guys have done their part perfectly—you couldn’t get a better witness to the overcoming power of faith than this—Bam! It’s time. For what? For God to show His own strength and power, by doing something beyond the powers of man: shaking the stinking jail so hard with an earthquake that everyone’s chains rattle to the floor. They’re free! Do they flee?
That was the assumption of the poor jailer, who, quickly calculating his life-span if even one of his captives had crawled away in the dark, decided to end his life before his superiors got to it. (The Romans gave plenty of incentive to be watchful; if a prisoner got loose, they’d just kill the jailer, instead). Paul is not about to blow his chance, though. This is not about getting away. This is about giving the Gospel away. He yells out of the inky darkness, “We’re all here!”
An astonished jailer calls for a light, sees his freed prisoners standing around waiting to be re-shackled, and without hesitation, kneels at the feet of his prisoner and asks, “What must I do to be saved?”
What It Takes
This is what it takes to get to the hard ones. A soft sermon from a nice pulpit can be funny, touching and right on target, but the jailer doesn’t hear it because he’s not there, nor planning to be, anytime soon. The jail ministry team from the church troops through when they remember to show up, and the jailer humors them, but no deep impression is made, because this whole thing didn’t cost anybody too much. But something like this... there’s no explanation. How can they praise their God like nothing happened to them, when they’re bruised and bloody? The earthquake. That wasn’t coincidence, and he knows it. The fact that God would send two messengers to sing the Gospel to him, that they wouldn’t escape when they had the chance, that they would stop their tormentor and captor from taking his own life, because,... why? It was all too much for the Philippian jailer. He surrendered to Jesus on the spot.This is the kind of dedication it’s going to take to win people to Christ in the hard places. The power of the witness is proportionate to the suffering endured to give it. Anyone can drop a tract on the floor, and for some, that’s all it will take to impact them toward Christ. But for the hard ones, the witness that brings them to their knees is the power of God, displayed through ordinary people, reacting in ways beyond the ability of ordinary people. And that one takes extraordinary courage and commitment. Would that be one of the reasons we have seen evangelism in the Church in America driddle to nearly nothing? Considering how livid I have found myself even in the past few days, prompted by nothing more than perceived incompetence or injustice adversely affecting me or mine, I wonder what my chances would be of reacting with praise and grace if I were in a situation remotely similar to Paul and Silas. I wouldn’t bet on me. They did have the advantage of knowing it was because of Jesus that they were suffering, rather than just having a bad day at the auto shop or the billing office.... I still wouldn’t bet on me.
If I knew it was because of Jesus, and I had time to think it through and pray it through, plus I got to do it with a friend.... maybe. But those times when it’s just the routine bumps of life, which slime up the plans and prime the anger pump... I’m afraid those things don’t turn into praise to God very often in my life. The sad bottom line, for me, is this: What does? What does it take before I praise God, publicly?
Leaving Behind Our Rights
Why doesn’t Twenty-first Century evangelism in the U.S. look like First Century evangelism in the Roman Empire? Has the Holy Spirit lost His touch? No, I think it has more to do with the unionization of the disciples. We’ve banded together and talked ourselves into the mentality that we have a bill of rights as Christians, including getting to live in a “Christian nation” where we not only don’t get beat up for practicing our faith; we get a tax break. Some of our other “rights” include the right to free speech, which we often interpret as not having to say anything about Jesus if we don’t want to, or if it might offend someone, cause our popularity to wane, etc. Most of the people who are using Jesus’ name in a good sense are getting paid to do it, and doing it from a church platform.Speaking of getting paid, we’re back to that troublesome theme of “professional Christians,” the idea that a few are selected to serve and pretty much everyone else gets to live a normal life, so long as they attend church on Sundays, and hopefully, tithe.
There is the right to be treated fairly. Because we are citizens of a nation founded on biblical principles, named or not, we have come to expect that we will be shown respect for our beliefs. Until recent generations, that was the practice. Now that public sentiment has shifted, our reaction is often more of an eagerness to regain our rights than our witness. Thus, if God allowed a couple of us to be shoved in jail on trumped up charges, rather than responding in praise to Him so we could witness to the jail population, our response would more probably be to call our attorney, post bail and start on the lawsuit. We’d probably go free. And probably no one would get saved, either.
Paul and Silas did the things which landed them in jail, didn’t escape when they had the perfect opportunity (I would probably have been thinking, “Answer to prayer!” when the earthquake released my chains, and gotten out of there), and even when they were emancipated the next morning, they wouldn’t go! Why? Because of their own rights? After all, their rights as Roman citizens had been grossly violated. No, it was the reputation of Christ about which Paul was concerned. He wanted to make sure no one thought Christians were criminals or seditionists, so he waited to be publicly escorted from prison by the apologetic authorities. All of this was about being a witness for Jesus, and none of it was about the rights of disciples.
Hmm. What kind of witness would we have if a few of us suddenly forsook all our self-granted “rights” and just focused on the reputation of Jesus, and letting our world know how good and true He is? What if we would talk about God’s goodness freely and publicly, and not worry too much about if people decided to be offended? I’m talking about praising God, not berating sinners. There’s a big difference! “Praising God” is the athlete thanking Jesus Christ publicly from the winner’s circle, while “berating sinners” is the guy carrying the sign that basically says, “God hates your sin; mine’s O.K.”
Reverse Jailbreak and Disciple's Rights
What if we allowed God to do really weird things with us like, for instance, a reverse jailbreak? God didn’t get Paul and Silas out of jail, He got them in! (Then, out). If we weren’t so preoccupied with our rights and the downward slope of society, we wouldn’t miss as many chances to be a flaming witness for Jesus Christ. How many of us in Paul and Silas’ shoes would have seen being slumped in a Philippian jail as a big witnessing opportunity? Pretty sure I would have missed that one! Unfortunately, I miss most of the lesser ones, too. Ask me to preach in your church on Sunday, and I’m there! I love to preach. I wouldn’t even have to get paid to do it (although honorariums are cheerfully accepted, then forwarded on in the house payment envelope). But praising God, publicly, in the face of humiliation, pain and mistreatment (or even without those three)? I almost always miss that one.Why? Because I’ve grown accustomed to “disciple’s rights,” a concoction of our society which has determined a few things not in the Gospel, but enshrined as truth. Here are some of them:
*God wants me to be happy. A favorite among many, this one is used as justification for avoiding every unpleasant thing facing a Christian, including remaining married to an unpleasant person. Neither the verse nor the sentiment is found in the Bible; however, there’s a whole lot about God wanting us to be obedient.
*God wants me to be financially prosperous. The last few months have put quite a dent in that one, in America. Also plucked out of wishful thinking and thin air, this “right” has no grounding in scripture, but many misled fans. The incarnation saw Jesus laying aside the glory of heaven, to be born in a stable. He commands His disciples to follow Him, which means laying aside any “right” to be wealthy. If the prosperity gospel was accurate, in the case of the rich young ruler who had obeyed the Law but was captive to his wealth, Jesus would have told His disciples, “Be like this guy! See what keeping the Law will get you? Wealth and honor. Good job, rich young ruler. I’ll bless you with even more.” Instead, Jesus told Him his possessions were keeping Him from being a disciple. He needed to sell out, give it away to the poor, and come and follow Jesus. That was the road to “happiness” for the young man. He kept his wealth and his rights, instead, and went away sad. Lessons?
*I have the right to be healthy, if I’m a Christian and I have faith. This one is a touchy one for many people, especially those who see “promises” in scripture which, to them, guarantee health for all who (sufficiently) believe, and claim those promises. Health is seen by some Christians as the “right” of a believer. I’ll back off a little on that one and say it’s always right for us to ask God for healing, plus more faith, but I’m thinking that with everything Jesus has already done for us, He doesn’t really owe us anything, including a healthy earthly body, particularly if we haven’t bothered much to take care of it. The part of this whole discussion which bugs me is when, in effect, someone says, “I’m not going to follow Jesus unless I feel well and I don’t get hurt.” You can’t even play football with that attitude. It doesn’t cut it for discipleship, either.
More Rights, Less Witness
There are more places we could go in exploring disciple’s rights, but I’m getting tired of it. We think we have the right to not be persecuted, though Jesus assured us we would be. We have the right to be “successful,” so if something isn’t working to our satisfaction, we can quit. Where did that come from? We have the right to make up our own plans and follow our own agenda, so long as we ask God’s blessing on it and be sure to pray “in Jesus’ name,” even if this is the first time He’s seen the plan (kind of like an employee giving orders to his boss). We have the right to opt out of any assignment which might be dangerous or conflict with T-ball games. We have the right to not show up if we’re tired. We have the right to have things go our way in all things church, or leave for where we can get better treatment and better leadership. Always, always, we have the right to air our grievances (complain) to whomever will listen, including those who were just beginning to think Jesus might be the answer, but who for some reason suddenly veer off. We have the right to speak our mind, particularly when we have been treated unfairly, unkindly or someone is just trying to bore us to death.When’s the last time a hardened sinner, beat up by life, knelt in front of us and pleaded with us, “What must I do to be saved?! Tell me what I need to do to get what you have!”
I’d love to have a few examples in my own life of similar responses to my witness, but I’m coming up with blanks. It seems First Century witnessing was more powerful than Twenty-first Century American witnessing tends to be. They had fewer rights, and a lot more power. We have less power in our witness, and a lot more rights. You know where I’m going with this, don’t you?
Conclusion, More or Less
Preachers like me are always talking about how we could win so many more people to Christ if we just had more. More what? More everything. More money, more programs, a better and bigger building, more parking. More leaders, more training, more organization, more technology, more money (again), more advertising, more public exposure, more or less contemporary music, more chances to make an impact for Christ. I think I’ve changed my mind.We need less. “More” is killing us. In terms of that entire list above, we already have more than almost anyone in the world! And we have less conversion results to show for it than almost anyone in the world, too.
In order to have a more powerful witness, we need less, far less. As a rule, when it comes to witnessing, even among the few who think that’s their job and not the pastor’s, there is total avoidance of any witnessing where our rights might be ruffled. We’re so concerned about our rights that if the mission will infringe on any of them, resulting in possible pain, embarrassment, inconvenience or whatever, this is a bad idea. If we had less rights, we’d have more converts, wouldn’t we?
What did our Leader do? We’ve been studying it in 8th Grade Bible. It goes like this, in the NIV, Philippians 2:5-11:
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and become obedient to death–even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
I don’t even want to count how many rights Jesus gave up, in order to come to earth and save us! Disciples don’t have rights; we have a Savior and Lord. That’s enough. And the less we hang onto “rights” and the more we focus on the Lord, the more power there will be in our witness for Him. Same Holy Spirit as in the First Century. Same rights for disciples, too. If we forget about our “rights” and focus on following the Savior, He could do really imaginative, effective stuff with us, just like He did with His First Century crew. Imagine. It could be us, being used of God to establish new churches in impossible places. We could be God’s missionaries, whom He could plant anywhere, knowing that when the time came, rather than whining about our circumstances, we’d be witnessing to His power. Then comes the earthquake. It could be us. Or we could cling to our rights.
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