In Memory of American's Fallen: August 2009

Please pray for the following men and their families. They bravely sacrificed their lives for us this month.

Pvt. Keiffer P. Wilhelm died August 4th, 2009
Spc. Richard A. Walters Jr. died August 10th, 2009
Spc. Matthew D. Hastings died August 17th, 2009
Pfc. William Z. Vanosdol died August 19th, 2009
2nd Lt. Joseph D. Fortin died August 23rd, 2009
U/I pending notification of next-of-kin died today
U/I pending notification of next-of-kin died today

Exactly Why I Don't Twitter

Saving or Swapping Sheep?

Attendees from a representative sample of 12 mega-churches nationwide were asked where they had gone to church immediately before they started going to the megachurch.

44% Another local church

28% Another church far away

18% Had not attended any church for years

6% Had never attended any church

4% Had attended the megachurch most of their life

Discipleship Begins at Home, Part 2

Start Early

You can and should teach your children basic Christian beliefs and how to memorize Scripture. This can be both fun and educational. You can choose short Scriptures to begin teaching your children. As you continue to learn the Scriptures, you can use longer passages such as the Ten Commandants and 23rd Psalm for when you and your children feel ready to go deeper. You can also use a short family catechism with questions and answers for you to discuss together that will help your children learn basic Christian doctrine.

Some Practical Ideas

Here are a few practical ideas that may help you disciple your children.

• Find a good children’s Bible.
• Remember to have fun with your children while learning the Bible.
• Keep the time brief to hold the child's attention.
• Recite the verse several times a day in your child's presence so it becomes familiar to them.
• Make flash cards with Scripture on one side and the book, chapter, and verse on the other.
• Put the verse to music or rhythm. Your child will enjoy singing and clapping their hands.
• Think of fun activities to make the verse fun and easy to remember.
• Tell them you are proud of them and have them recite it to someone else, like a grandparent or teacher.
• Pray with your children every day at meals and before they go to bed at night.

The Revolution Begins at Home

If we want a revolution of discipleship in our nation, it will have to begin in our homes. Discipleship begins in our marriages, by loving our spouses with the love of Christ. It happens by teaching, loving, and disciplining our children. When we bring the gospel back in the home, it will spread through our neighborhoods and into the communities where we live. If every family in every church got serious about making disciples in the home, it would change our world.

The great Puritan pastor Richard Baxter knew the importance of family ministry. He said, “We must have a special eye upon families, to see that they are well ordered, and the duties of each relation performed. The life of religion, and the welfare and glory of both the Church and the State, depend much on family government and duty. If we suffer the neglect of this, we shall undo all…. I beseech you, therefore, if you desire the reformation and welfare of your people, do all you can to promote family religion.” Let us not neglect our duty to disciple those who are within our very homes.

HT: The Resurgence

Missional Training for Small Group Leaders

Ed Stetzer recently posted the video from his one day missional small community training in Oklahoma City. Great stuff ... check it out.

Missional Small Communities from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

HT: Missional Communities

Story Conference: October 28 & 29

The Story that we are all part of. Here’s the rundown:

STORY is a first-of-its-kind experience for communicators of the Gospel – the greatest story ever told. It will be held on Wednesday, October 28 at the Paramount Theater in Aurora, Illinois. Speakers include Donald Miller, Nancy Beach, Dave Gibbons, Ed Young, Stacy Spencer, Chris Seay and Mike Foster. A day of workshops will follow on October 29 at nearby Orchard Valley Community Church, featuring illustrators, designers, scholars, authors and communications experts. Register for the conference and enter to win 2 free trips to the Kilns – CS Lewis’ home in Oxford, England – at www.StoryChicago.com.

What Does a Gospel-Centered Life Look Like?

The gospel centered life produces:

When the gospel is central in our lives we have confidence before God – not because of our achievements, but because of Christ’s atonement. We can approach God knowing that he receives us as his children. We do not allow our sins to anchor us to guilt and despair, but their very presence in our lives compels us to flee again and again to Christ for grace that restores our spirits and gives us strength.

Intimacy (Heb. 7:25; 10:22; James 4:8)
When the gospel is central in our lives we have and maintain intimacy with God, not because of our religious performance, but because of Jesus’ priestly ministry. We know that Jesus is our mediator with God the Father and that he has made perfect peace for us through his sacrifice allowing us to draw near to God with the eager expectation of receiving grace, not judgment.

Transformation (2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13)
When the gospel is central in our lives we experience spiritual transformation, not just moral improvement, and this change does not come about by our willpower, but by the power of the resurrection. Our hope for becoming what God designed and desires for us is not trying harder, but trusting more – relying on his truth and Spirit to sanctify us.

Community (Heb. 3:12, 13; 10:25; 2 Tim 3:16, 17)
When the gospel is central in our lives we long for and discover unity with other believers in the local church, not because of any cultural commonality, but because of our common faith and Savior. It is within this covenant community, if the community itself is gospel-centered, that we experience the kind of fellowship that comforts the afflicted, corrects the wayward, strengthens the weak, and encourages the disheartened.

I Dare You to Pray This By Francis Chan

HT: Francis Chan

Books Which Influenced C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis was an avid reader. He also had an extraordinary and enviable capacity to recall what he read. In 1962, The Christian Century approached the preeminent academic apologist for the Christian faith with the question of which books had been the most influential in his life. The precise question was: "What books did most to shape your vocational attitude and your philosophy of life?" Lewis' response was published in the June 6, 1962 issue of the magazine.

It can be assumed that the Holy Scriptures would have been the single most important book to Lewis, although he did not include this self-evident text on his list. At the same time, it must be noted that Lewis did not possess a contemporary "fundamentalist" attitude towards the Bible. While he read it virtually every day of his life following his conversion (except when he was extremely ill), Lewis affirmed that "it is Christ himself, not the Bible, who is the true word of God. The Bible, read in the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him." Thus, the written word is the avenue for encounter the living Word. Here are the books Lewis mentioned as being influential in his life:

1. Phantastes by George MacDonald
2. The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton
3. The Aeneid by Virgil
4. The Temple by George Herbert
5. The Prelude by William Wordsworth
6. The Idea of the Holy by Rudolf Otto
7. The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius
8. Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
9. Descent into Hell by Charles Williams
10. Theism and Humanism by Arthur James Balfour

In Lewis' final interview, conducted for Decision magazine by editor Sherwood Wirt, he reiterated that The Everlasting Man significantly influenced his faith. In response to the question "what Christian writers have helped you," he also included "Edwyn Bevan's book, Symbolism and Belief, and Rudolf Otto's The Idea of the Holy, and the plays of Dorothy Sayers."

The C.S. Lewis Readers' Encyclopedia includes a variety of other volumes expressly referred to by Lewis as influential in his life. They include:

The Bible (especially the Psalms and New Testament)
Centuries of Meditations by Thomas Traherne

Confessions by Augustine
He Came Down from Heaven by Charles Williams
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
Introduction to the Devout Life by Francis de Sales
The Man Born to Be King by Dorothy Sayers
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
The Sermon on the Mount by Charles Gore
Philosophy of the Good Life by Charles Gore
Serious Call to a Devout & Holy Life by William Law
An Appeal by William Law
Smoke on the Mountains by Joy Davidman
Theologia Germanica
Works by Jane Austen, Scott and Trollope

Fight Your Sin By John Piper

This passage from God’s word—John 5:1-18—is amazing in what it shows us about Jesus; and how we should think about the fact that, in spite of Jesus’ power to heal, our world continues to be shot through with sin and disease and calamity and death. It is a very rich text, and I pray that God will open my mouth, and your mind and heart, and lead us into Christ-exalting truth.

HT: Desiring God

New Study on Philippians By Matt Chandler

A new study from Matt Chandler on Philippians produced by The Hub (formerly S.O.S). There are a few more previews available, so check it out! You can view a playback of a webinar here, where Matt talks in depth about why he selected the book of Philiippians to teach on and what you can get out of this study (you do have to provide your address and phone number in order to access the webinar, but if you're comfortable with Matt Chandler knowing where you live I would recommend checking this out) ... good stuff!

HT: The Hub

Can a Practicing Homosexual Be a Christian?

The narrative that has been constructed within Christian communities to address homosexuality often suggests, even if only implicitly, that homosexuality is somehow different from other sins. Yes, I do believe that homosexuality is a sin, but I do not see it as being different from any other sin. The Bible is clear on this; anyone who completes an open-minded, exhaustive study of the Biblical position on the practice of homosexuality cannot deny that the Bible counts homosexuality as a sin. That said, does the Bible really deal with homosexuality more seriously than it does any other sin?

I think this question is absurd. Can a practicing homosexual be a Christian? Really, that's the question we want answered? Well, can a practicing liar be a Christian? Can a heterosexual man who lusts after a beautiful woman be a Christian? Can someone who is greedy be a Christian? What about someone who places their career ahead of their family on their list of priorities, can they be Christian?

We have no means of knowing with certainty who is among the elect and who isn't, so it's absurd to me to ask questions like whether or not practicing homosexuals can be Christians. For me this question can be answered with a question, "Do the elect sin?" The answer? Of course they do. But Christ has paid their debt in full for their sin and that debt is no longer chargeable to them.

In this way I think Mac Arthur is misguided to make such a statement as, "Homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God." Of course that's true, just as a liar shall not inherit the Kingdom of God and nor shall a gossip, a cheat, a thief, or an adulterer; and the reason is because the righteousness of Jesus is placed upon all who, by the grace of God, believe in the deity of our King and Savior Jesus Christ. Our sin, the sin of the gossip and of the homosexual, if one has received the gift of salvation, is wiped away by the blood of Christ. The believer's old life, in which he was enslaved to his sin, has died away and he has received a new life in Christ, and thus is justified in the eyes of God as an inheritor of the Kingdom of God.

As Christians we need to recognize our tendency to single out certain sins as intolerable while tolerating others, seemingly based on the level of "ickyness" we feel about a particular sinful lifestyle. All sin separates us from God and without Jesus we're all walking around dead in our trespasses. We are called by Christ to share the Good News with everyone and singling out homosexuality as something unforgivable is not going to help the effort to share the gospel with the gay community. Let's stop focusing on the wrong questions, start doing battle with all sin, and begin sharing the love of Christ with all unrepentant sinners! Amen?

Masturbation

Tim Chester, pastor and author of Total Church, is working on a new book focused on pornography. I appreciate where he rightly points out the strong, but under recognized (I would argue), influence of non-biblical secular psychologies on our culture. The same field that promotes a self-help strategy for coping with life's struggles certainly promotes a individualistic ethic when it comes to all things sexual, including masturbation. "If it makes you feel good, then it can't be bad;" that's the philosophical canker sore that psychology has promoted for decades and it's bankrupting our marriages, it's stealing our youth (how many years are devoured by the moths of pornography addiction, all in the name if self-gratification?), and distorted the gift of sexuality that God has given us. I think Chester is right to highlight the most common justification for the practice of masturbation - that it relieves pent up sexual tension. Chester remarks:

Masturbation does not relieve tension; it fuels it. Sexual temptation is not dissipated through sexual activity, except on the most short-term activity such as masturbation makes sexual temptation come back sooner and stronger. This is one reason why people think they can't stop masturbating. They get caught in a vicious cycle of desire and the temporary release of masturbating which is in fact reinforcing.

Here's the section on masturbation from Chester's manuscript. He's posted a pdf version to be downloaded for free in hopes that other's will read it and offer their thoughts. Check it out.

HT: Tim Chester

An Understanding Way

By John MacArthur

What does it mean to dwell with your wife in an understanding way?

The apostle Peter wrote "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered" (1 Peter 3:7).

Living with your wife with understanding first of all involves mutual submission. Prior to commanding wives to submit to their husbands the apostle Paul taught that we are to submit to one another in the fear of the God (Ephesians 5:21). Submission is thus the responsibility of a Christian husbands as well as of wives. Though not submitting to his wife as a leader, a believing husband must submit to the loving duty of being sensitive to the needs, fears, and feelings of his wife. In other words, a Christian husband needs to subordinate his needs to hers, whether she is a Christian or not.

In 1 Peter 3:7 Peter specifically notes consideration, chivalry, and companionship. Let's look at each of these qualities in turn.

Be Considerate

"Understanding" speaks of being sensitive to your wife's deepest physical and emotional needs. In other words, be thoughtful and respectful. Remember, you are to nourish and cherish her (Eph. 5:25-28). Many women have said to me, "My husband doesn't understand me. We never talk. He doesn't know how I feel or what I'm thinking about." Such insensitivity builds walls in marriages. "Live with your wives in an understanding way" is another way of saying, "Be considerate." It isn't what you get out of marriage but what you put into it that brings glory to God. Do you know your wife's needs? Have you discussed them with her? Have you asked her what kind of husband she wants you to be?…

Continue reading.

Alright, so why did I think Rob Bell's talk last night was fantastic? Because it was. Say what you will, but he is clearly a very gifted speaker, entertaining, and his content is deep, thought-provkoing, and inquisitive. In general, Bell talked about suffering and how we tend to think about suffering when the unthinkable happens to us or to someone we deeply love; and his challenge (and prayer) to those listening was that they might begin to ask a whole new set of questions about the experience of suffering and how God uses it to shape us into different kinds of people.

For the record, Bell did mention the cross and the suffering of Christ on that cross, but not the substitutionary atonement we receive as the result of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, which of course is the point of the cross. However I didn't leave thinking that he had intentionally left out this most critical Biblical truth. Instead I did what Bell had challenged me to do, I left thinking about suffering in a whole new way. Bell suggested, and I think he's right on, that when suffering happens, and it always happens, we tend to focus on asking, "Why?" and we never seem to move on to other equally critical questions, like, "What now?"

He's right. When it comes to suffering, we often focus on asking why God would allow this to happen. Why this pain? Why this evil? Why to my loved one? Why to me? But we rarely ask, "What now?" What can I learn from this? Who am I now that this unexpected and painful situation has happened to me?

What Defines You?

Last night I went to see Rob Bell, currently on his most recent speaking tour, "Drops Like Stars," which I thought was fantastic (more on that in a later post, I'm still reflecting on what Bell presented), with three friends and at one point he asked, "What defines you?"

Bell provided an example of how one man answered a similar question when he was asked on his NYU college application, "In order for the admissions staff of our college to get to know you, that applicant, better, we ask that answer the following question: Are there any significant experiences you have had, or accomplishments you have realized, that have helped to define you as a person?"

Here is his answer:

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I'm bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don't perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

How would you answer this question? What defines you?

Discipleship Starts at Home, Part 1

By Winfield Bevins

“A house is actually a school and a church, and the head of the household is a pastor in his house.” – Martin Luther, The Great Need

I am the lead pastor of Church of the Outer Banks, located in Nags Head, NC. I am the husband of an amazing wife and the father of two incredible little girls. More than ever before, I see the importance of integrating faith in the home every day. Statistics for divorce are rising at an alarming rate. Statistics also show that between 70 and 88 percent of Christian teens will leave the church by their second year in college. More than ever, it is time for us to step back and rethink the importance of discipleship in our own homes.

Don’t Neglect Your Family

What good is it if you make disciples of your neighbors, co-workers, and friends, yet neglect to disciple your own family? This is what Paul meant when he said, “If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Tim. 3:5). This Scripture is not just for pastors, but is also applicable for all Christian parents. The reality is that we are not putting enough focus on discipling our own families, and instead we tend to leave the responsibility to the church.

Disciple Your Children

The call to “make disciples” begins in our homes first. It is our spiritual responsibility as parents to teach our children about the faith. The Bible tells parents, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). As Christian parents, we should desire for our children to have a firm foundation and grow up to love Jesus and know what the Bible says about their lives.

Faith as Routine

Faith is not just something that we do once a week, but should be incorporated into the daily routines of the home. David Wegener said, “Reading and memorizing Scripture and the catechisms of the church results in incredible development of children, both spiritually and intellectually… What families regard as important is evidenced by the manner in which they spend their time.” How do we spend our time? Watching TV, playing video games, or shopping? Sadly, many families devote more time to these things than they do teaching their children about God, or just simply spending quality time together.

It’s Our Responsibility

It is not the churches’ or schools’ responsibility to raise our kids. Too often, we think that the church is more like a baby-sitting service to watch our kids for a few hours a week while we enjoy the worship service. While church is important, the Bible tells us that the home is the primary place of learning the Bible and moral instruction. In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we read:

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

HT: The Resurgence

Evidence of Abiding in Christ

Many people think that becoming a Christian is the same thing as being a Christian. We tend to see following Jesus as a one time event rather than a constant and continual lifestyle. To truly be a disciple, or Christ Follower, we have to following Jesus daily. Following him means we have had our eyes and hearts opened by the Spirit of God to see Jesus as he is - God, Savior and King. It means to respond to the Spirit by following Jesus faithfully. It means receiving a new identity (his) but it's also LIVING in this new identity each and every minute of each and every day. Jesus calls it "Abiding" in John 15. The word means to remain in, survive by, or exist. Thats pretty powerful. Not only does Jesus offer life, but he is life and to truly live we must remain in him. It's daily trust in his daily truth. Are you right now living in the reality of who Jesus is, what he has done and who you are in him? Are you relying on his identity and responding out of it in each and every decision? That's what it is to abide...to exist in Christ.

“Starbucking” and Covenant Epistemology: Knowing as Interpersonal Communion

By Esther Meek

Something is a bit out of kilter about what I am doing at the moment: I’m sitting drinking my Starbucks coffee—alone.

I’m seated beneath a 1936 Monocoupe 110 Special, a bright red little plane suspended from the rafters of the Lambert St. Louis Airport Terminal, waiting for my flight home. Having spent a few days communing with loved family and friends, the fact that I drink my Grande in solitude is only of minor note: my heart is full. Nevertheless—good coffee is meant for communing.

Some years ago, I coined the term, “Starbucking,” to denote outings for non-romantic heart to heart conversations between friends. A conversation that blends caring listening, mutual self-disclosure, quiet communion, and the exploration of ideas and calling in pursuit of stewardly and abundant living, has got to be among God’s richest gifts.

But now, in a manner reminiscent of Spiderman or some space fantasy, my epistemology and my idea of a good time, two strains of my being, are melding. Starbucking is coming to be front and center in my epistemology, and my epistemology is morphing into a vision of life.

I am committed to fleshing out the epistemological proposal I call covenant epistemology. I propose that we take as our paradigm of all acts of knowing the interpersonal covenantal relationship. Knowing is interpersonal communion between knower and known. A prime sample of the paradigm I have in mind is—well, Starbucking.

Consider the surprising pronouncements of education guru Parker Palmer:

I not only pursue truth but truth pursues me. I not only grasp truth but truth grasps me. I not only know truth but truth knows me. Ultimately, I do not master truth but truth masters me. Here, the one-way movement of objectivism, in which the active knower tracks down the inert object of knowledge, becomes the two-way movement of persons in search of each other. Here, we know even as we are known. To speak this way about knowing is not “merely poetic” (as if poetry could ever be mere!) Images such as these are faithful to our moments of deep knowing.[1]

Human knowing, whatever skeptics and antirealists and materialists and pragmatists may argue, has got to be about connecting with something that is objectivelythere. My fingers tap the keys of my laptop and the cursor treks across the screen, pushed by emerging text. My fingers make overtures, and something responds.

The personal, Palmer says, is the most clearly objectively there. The coffee I sip and savor somewhat absently encourages (ordinarily) a wordless but palpable communion with my friend, a being-present-to-one-another, in the context of which I invite, not demand, a self-disclosure my friend initiates. And in the encounter I find I also come to know myself, and become more fully myself—truth pursues me.

Reflection on this reciprocity between knower and known connects epistemology to the intimate relationship with God that Christian believers know is the heartbeat of their religion and life. We knew the relationship mattered; we haven’t always been encouraged to see it as epistemologically central and normative.

The psalmist prays, “Oh Lord! You have searched me and you know me!” John Calvin presumes, in his Institutes, that “the knowledge of God and that of ourselves is connected.” Augustine prays, “Let me know myself, let me know thee.” As humans, we are what we are because we are situated in intimate, reciprocal, face-to-face relationship with Yahweh, Scripture’s God, who covenants all that exists into reality with his “Let there be’s,” and who sovereignly initiates the relationship that creates us, defines us, and which through Christ he sovereignly redeems and restores.

All human knowing, I believe, has about it the aura of interpersonal communion, having been set in that context originally. We may rightly understand covenant to be the all-embracing God-human relationship that unfolds in Scripture’s grand drama of redemption.[2] But we may yet in our propensity to worded abstractions tend to forget the persons between whom alone covenant-shaped relationship occurs. The palpable experience of interpersonal communion, face to face, above a cup of good coffee, can return us to the feel of the thing.

How Good Are You?

This is an excellent tract (click here to read the tract) to use when sharing your faith with non-Christians. A related resource, also excellent, is a curriculum developed by Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, to help you grow in sharing your faith. Pastors should consider bringing this resource to their churches in order to help establish a culture of evangelism, something most American churches are lacking considerably, within their congregational family. To learn more, visit Proclaim.com

Prayer Mirrors the Gospel

"The gospel, God's free gift of grace in Jesus, only works when we realize we don't have it all together. The same is true for prayer. The very thing we are allergic to-our helplessness-is what makes prayer work. It works because we are helpless. We can't do life on our own.

Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer,the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help. We look at the inadequacy of our praying and give up, thinking something is wrong with us. God looks as the adequacy of his Son and delights in our sloppy, meandering prayers."

-Paul Miller, APraying Life (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress 2009), 55

Glorifying God With Your TV

By Jordan Stone

The advent and subsequent evolution of TV in my life is quite funny to think about. My first recollection of a television in the Stone home was a large and loud silver box that played nine channels and had no remote. To change a channel you entered the number into a part of the TV that was not dissimilar to a calculator and then pressed a large "Enter" button to confirm the change. After a few seconds of buzzing static sounds, the channel reached its destination. Such a cumbersome viewing experience mitigated the number of hours that the TV was on at the Stone home.

About five years later the introduction of a remote and cable TV (praise Jesus for ESPN) revolutionized television in our house . . . in that we watched much more of it.

Much more.

Over the next seven or eight years more TVs showed up and before we knew it, TV was a huge part of family life.

And TV still is a huge part of life for most families.

Is there a way to redeem all the time devoted to a television? How might we better glorify God with our TVs? In a helpful article, author Randy Alcorn tackles these questions with fourteen points for “taking charge of the TV”. I have provided only the points, to see Alcorn’s commentary click here.

1. Keep track of how much time you spend watching.

2. Decide in advance how much TV to watch per week.

3. Use a schedule to choose programs for the week - then stick to your choices.

4. Keep your television unplugged, store it in a closet, and/or put it in a remote part of the house (prevents mindless flip-on).

5. Periodically "fast" from television for a week or a month. Notice the "cold turkey" effects. (Avoids addiction, reminds you of all that can be done when TV off).



6. Choose programs that uplift rather than undermine biblical values.

7. Use the "off" switch freely. If it's wrong and you keep watching, you're saying "I approve." (Unless it doesn't present temptation and you're critically analyzing it).

8. Use the channel changer frequently.

9. Watch and discuss programs together as a family--to avoid passivity and develop active moral discernment through interaction. (Avoid the second TV set that splits the family and leaves children unsupervised).

10. Don't allow young children to choose their own programs--that's the parent's responsibility.

11. Don't use television as a baby sitter.

12. Spend an hour reading Scripture, a Christian book or magazine, or doing a ministry for each hour you watch TV.

13. Consider dropping cable, Showtime, HBO, or any other service that you determine is importing ungodliness or temptation into your home.

14. If you find you can't control it--or you're tired of the battle--get rid of your television.

HT: Providence Church

5 Great Commission Myths

Matthew 28:18-20, And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The passage above is commonly known as “The Great Commission”. Jesus spoke these words to his followers before ascending back to heaven to be with the Father. His followers were left to discover the Holy Spirit and to change the world through one simple process – making and multiplying disciples [learners] of Jesus. Many people teach on this passage… most of us don’t regularly obey it. Below are five of the more common myths about the Great Commission that lead us to miss out on disciple making.

1. The myth of accidental discipleship. Many Christians think, consciously or unconsciously, that we can make disciples without changing anything in our daily lives; that as we go about doing our own thing, disciples will be almost accidentally made. This comes across in phrases like, “I will just live my daily life and if someone wants to ask about the Gospel, I will share it”, or, “I just ‘do life’ with others and pray that they will start becoming interested in Jesus”. Many Christians are willing to talk about or declare the Gospel, but only if opportunities pleasantly come they’re way. They are waiting for the perfect moment to drop from the sky upon them to actually verbalize the Gospel or start demonstrating the Gospel. The myth here is that merely “doing life” with others is an straight path to making disciples.

Like all pervasive myths, this contains a nugget of truth, but it is incomplete: living your life with others is a part of making disciples, but without intentional proclamation and demonstration of the Gospel, just doing life with others will not lead alone to making and multiplying disciples. The ministry of Jesus is a great example: Jesus did life with others, but every step of the way he prayed, planned, and pursued intentionally the growth and transformation of his followers. Jesus lived a very intentional life. For example, Jesus did not just happen upon 12 disciples accidentally. He spent all night in prayer before selecting his disciples. He carefully, strategically and prayerfully developed his followers. Thus, he modeled a distinct process of how to make disciples (for more on this process, see the classic outline in The Master Plan of Evangelism).

In fact, the Greek text of the Great Commission conveys intentionality. There is a participle in the Greek used in the Great Commission that implies “going” is the intentional action that has to take place in order to achieve “making disciples”. The nations will never become disciples if people do not go to them. In other words, “going” is the prerequisite of “making disciples”.[2] Alas! Intentionality is built into the very words of the Great Commission!

The bottom line here is that the Great Commission will be completed only by intentional action and resoluteness. Jesus commands us today to set our eyes on the goal of disciple making and pursue that goal with stubborn focus. This means, that unless you pray and plan to make disciples, you won’t do it!

Read more.

Two Roads

The folks at Matthias Media recently adapted the well-known Two Ways to Live gospel outline into a new tract called Two Roads. Here’s an example below. Check out the whole thing and order some here.

HT: Doug Wolter

If God Is Good

Randy Alcorn has written a new book, If God Is Good (releases Sept 15), which addresses the problem of evil biblically, theologically, and practically.

8 Ways to Be Missional Without Overwhelming Your Schedule

Missional is not an event we tack onto our already busy lives. It is our life. Mission should be the way we live, not something we add onto life: “As you go, make disciples….”; “Walk wisely towards outsiders”; “Let your speech always be seasoned with salt”; “be prepared to give a defense for your hope”. We can be missional in everyday ways without even overloading our schedules.

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Eat with Non-Christians.
2. Walk, Don't Drive. If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox, convenience store, or apartment office, walk to get mail, groceries, and stuff. Be deliberate in your walk.
3. Be a Regular. Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places.
4. Hobby with Non-Christians. Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others.
5. Talk to Your Co-workers. How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality.
6. Volunteer with Non-Profits.
7. Participate in City Events.
8. Serve your Neighbors. Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, fixing a car.

Don’t make the mistake of making “missional” another thing to add to your schedule. Instead, make your existing schedule missional. Check out this related article on integrating Gospel, Community and Mission into everyday life.

HT: Creation Project