Gospel Identities: Missionaries

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Reconciliation Church's teaching on our identity as missionaries.

thoughts from the break.

this has been quite an interesting break so far. i went from busy all the time - carefully planning my schedule so as to not get burnt out - to very little going on. especially since christmas, not much has happened all. i've had a few things to do here or there, but its totally opposite to just a few weeks ago.

one of the things that i have been learning over the past couple months is that a sabbath is absolutely necessary. i have been taking one day a week in order to relax, spend time with God and friends, reflect on my past week and also map out what changes i need to make in the next week in order for my time to align with my priorities. this has been one of the best things i could possibly do. one of the things that i've been challenged with lately is my time with God - things have drastically changed since planting this house church. speaking on sundays adds a totally different dimension to my life. it's weird because sermons must come from the heart and are deeply personal, but my study time for sermons, if it makes up the majority of my time with God, is absolutely detrimental to my personal relationship with God. this is what C.H. Spurgeon calls "ministerialism" - devoting all of your time with the Lord to studying the Bible for the sake of preparing a sermon, praying for the church - doing ministry rather than being a man of God.

i have felt my fall into ministerialism, and God has really been reviving me this past month or two...he's reminded me of things before we planted the church - my desires, my personal prayers, my affections and old habits that have faded due to pressures from the house church. it has been so, so good to spend time with Jesus, especially this break. lots of time for reflection and growth in him. my affections have been stirred for him, and my desires are fully set on him...which is awesome. so good...

at the same time, though i've had time by myself with God, i haven't had time with my friends as much as i would like. this has meant too much thinking, too much alone time...and this has been frustrating and annoying. both my roommates have been gone, and i've been pretty much living alone, and that is such a struggle...on top of this, i feel like i'm in a weird spot with all my friends. old friends that don't live here have come back, and yet i've made new friends that are living here in salem...so my desires are split between wanting to be with both sets of friends...especially since addie falls into one category and not both...


there's really no point to this other than to let you all know where i'm at. life is a journey. there's always breathtaking sites as you walk along the trail, but sometimes that trail can be pretty strenuous. and these can both happen at the same time. deeper than all of this, God is using circumstances to continue to refine me into the man of God that he wants me to be, and i'm very eager for that...i want him, and i want to be his servant.

moses wasn't quite as cool as i thought...

this morning, i've been reading in exodus and thinking about this idea:

God always seems to call us to things that we cannot do on our own strength.

we tend to idealize the life of moses...spoke to God face to face, led Israel out of egypt...etc. but, as i've been reading this morning, i've seen a bit of a different picture.

we see moses encounter God at the burning bush, and God calls moses to do something that he's never done before and is not able to do. God says, "Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt." (3:10). Moses replies by saying, "Who am I that I should go..?" God doesn't say that Moses is anything special in his response. He simply says, "I will be with you..." (3:12)

so...after a long conversation with God where Moses brings up more and more excuses and worries about what God wants him to do, Moses finally agrees. On his way from the wilderness back to Egypt, God gets so angry with Moses that he "sought to put him to death" (Ex. 4:5). Moses doesn't seem like the perfect leader if God already wants to kill Moses and he hasn't even made it to his first task...

then, Moses gets to Egypt and talks with the elders of Israel. everything goes great! it couldn't have gone any better...Aaron and Moses speak, do some cool miracles, and "the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped" (4:31). things couldn't be any better. i'm sure Moses was so blown away by God's provision and the cool things that God allowed him to do. i'm sure he was filled with confidence as he went to talk with Pharaoh, expecting Pharaoh to agree and then the Israelites would be out of slavery and everything would be awesome...

but that's not what happens.

after things go so well, everything seems to completely fail. not only does Pharaoh not listen to Moses, he mocks him and steps up his oppression of the Israelites. the Israelites begin to complain, and they actually call down judgment from God upon Moses for putting them in this situation (5:21).

discouraged, Moses cries out to God, "O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all" (5:22-23).

i can see why Moses would have this reaction. everything was going so well! and then it all got so, so much worse.

several more incidents of failure occur - moses is obedient to God and no one listens...and then...as everyone knows...God demonstrates his glory through the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, and the children of Israel are freed from slavery to the Egyptians.
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i can relate to this story right now with things with the church. at the beginning of this past summer, we were obedient to God, and things went better than we could have ever imagined. we learned the gospel together and had all sorts of opportunities to demonstrate the love of God to our neighbors and friends. things were going so well! we felt the blessing of God as we were obedient to him.

more recently, however, i've felt like Moses coming to Pharaoh for the first time. i've tried to do what God has called me to do, but it has been met with more opposition than i could have anticipated. there's been more "failure" over the last couple months than i'd like to admit (it's not like God hasn't been moving - i've learned lots and there's been little signs of God's grace everywhere, but i've also been very frustrated with some stuff that i thought God was calling us to do).

like Moses, i've cried "Why did you ever send me?...you have not delivered your people at all."


why did God allow Moses to go through such stinging opposition, failure and discouragement? why not have the Israelites released the first time Moses goes to talk with Pharaoh? i think we all can see it in the story of Moses, because we know the ending. we know that if Pharaoh would have let the Israelites go the first time, there would have been no plagues, no parting of the Red Sea, no brilliant display of God's glory.

we can see that in this Bible story, but can we see that in our own story? it's hard, because we don't know the ending...or do we?

God wants to take our lives and transform them into a display case for his glory. he desires to demonstrate his glory in his people - in you and me, individually and corporately. without opposition, that would be impossible. without struggle, without a fight, without discouragement...well that just wouldn't make a very good story, would it?

so, i have two points:

first, have faith. look to the example of Moses. if you're in a season of opposition, you're not alone. God is doing something bigger than what you can imagine, and he wants to display his glory in your life, in your community. take hope, have faith.

second, this doesn't mean that all of us will experience this grand, awesome victory. we shouldn't hold out for that. instead, we should hold out for the glory of God in our lives. if that comes through suffering and "failure," but your heart is changed to become more like Jesus, then so be it. if it means that you lead hundreds of people to Christ and all of that crazy awesome stuff that we have dreams about happens, so be it. either way, let God be glorified. for that's the point. no matter what the outcome.

What is a Missional Church? paper

i found this a few days ago, and i figured i'd post it....a pretty basic paper defining the missional church. hope its of some benefit to you.

Statistics show that the church in America is in serious decline these days. Although still looked at by the world as a “Christian nation,” the American people are drifting further and further away from the faith that this country was founded upon. In fact, President Obama said to reporters in Turkey earlier this month that America is no longer a Christian nation. “I’ve said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is, although as I mentioned we have a very large Christian population, we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation or a Jewish nation or a Muslim nation.”[1]

In 1954, 71% of Americans identified themselves as Protestant Christians. Today, only 55% say that they are Christian.[2] More shocking is that, as of 2003, actual attendance of evangelical churches in the United States accounts for 9% of the population.[3] The church in the West is struggling and becoming irrelevant to a society that does not see any use for Christianity. Thousands of churches close their doors every year, and instead of multiplying, many churches are turning into museums.

Faced with the secularization of society and the shutting of church doors, what should the church’s next move be? How can things turn around for Christianity in the West today? Is there any hope? Alan Hirsch, a leading missiologist and church planter says, “What is becoming increasingly clear is that if we are going to meaningfully reach this majority of people, we are not going to be able to do it by simply doing more of the same.”[4] The philosophy and ministry of the church in the West is proving to be ineffective in reaching people today. Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle writes:

Leaders…[began to see] that many contemporary evangelical churches had slipped into an attritional ministry philosophy focused almost solely on bringing people into church buildings and events. Such churches lacked a missional philosophy focused on sending Christians out of the church into the world to evangelize and disciple people. Subsequently, the Western church had, sadly, become overly attached to and defined by buildings, programs, staff, services, and institutions that only strategize ways to do “attractional” ministry.[5]

What is needed is a change in philosophy – from attritional to missional. In order for the church in the West to survive and flourish, churches need to become missional. In this paper, we will cover three concepts. First, what does it mean to have a “missional” church? Secondly, we will give the reasons why every church should be a missional church. And, lastly, we will cover the practices of a missional church.

Darrell Bock said it well in his commentary on Acts: “The church exists, in major part, to extend the apostolic witness to Jesus everywhere. In fact, the church does not have a mission; it is to be missional and is a mission.”[6] In order for the church to be effective once again in the West, we must recover our identity as missionaries.

Defining Missional

Lesslie Newbigin is the father of the missional movement. After returning to England from a lifetime of missions work in India, he came back to Western culture and was shocked to observe its radical secularization and departure from Christianity. Seeing this problem, Newbigin began to articulate the view that we need to see the Western world as a mission field and that we need to adopt a missionary stance in relation to our culture – just as we would in overseas missions.[7] From this, the idea of the missional church was born.

Darrell Guder coined the term “missional” in some of his research work. He said, “We chose the term because it was not defined, and we wanted to find a way to convey with an adjective the fundamentally missionary nature of the church.”[8] So, key to the idea of the missional church is the concept of a missionary. Ask anyone in evangelicalism what comes to their mind when they hear the word “missionary,” and immediately images of white men and women sent to tribal people groups abroad will pop into their head. Instead of limiting the idea of missionary to contexts overseas, the missional church sees its all of its members as missionaries to their own context, their own city. Therefore, members of a missional church ask the question, “What would a missionary do to reach my co-workers, my neighbors, and my peers with the gospel?” When we begin to look at ourselves as missionaries sent to proclaim a message rather than members an organization, things begin to change.

Alan Hirsch defines a missional church as “a community of God’s people that defines itself, and organizes its life around, its real purpose of being an agent of God’s mission to the world.”[9] Just as each member of a missional church sees itself as a missionary, a missional church orients itself around mission. So often we see the church as “the house of God” and a place where we come to worship. Everything in church seems to be oriented around buildings, services, and events. A missional church, however, sees the mission of God as the organizing principle for ministry. Therefore, everything that the church does should be passed through the filter of mission.

What is the Mission of the Missional Church?

If the missional church orients all of its practices around mission, then what is that mission? Our mission is the very mission of God, the Missio Dei. As seen in the Scriptures, God’s mission has been from the beginning of time the restoration and healing of the world. Only through Jesus Christ can this restoration be achieved. God’s mission climaxed with Christ, who was sent into the world. Jesus, the greatest missionary, left the context of heaven and came into earth, speaking our language, wearing our clothes, and eating our food. He did this to preach the good news of the kingdom of God – the gospel – to a lost people. In the same way, we as Christians (little Christs) are to be like Christ and be a sent people, bringing the gospel to lost people. The missional church has its roots in the mission of God to humanity.

Mark Driscoll says, “the mission of the church is nothing less than bringing the entire world to Christian faith and maturity.”[10] This is seen in the Great Commission that Jesus gives just before his ascension. He says, “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.”[11] Jesus gives the command to his disciples to make disciples by going into the world and preaching the gospel. The missional church embraces this commission by God and organizes all of its practices around it.

Therefore, the church itself is not an end. It isn’t God’s mission to plant or grow churches. God’s mission is to redeem lost people and restore them to right relationship with Him. The church is a vehicle for this – a means of making disciples, fulfilling God’s mission for this world.

The Biblical Basis for the Missional Church

Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution, describes his experience growing up in evangelicalism. “A lot of us were hearing ‘don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t sleep around’ and naturally started asking, ‘Okay, well, that was pretty much my life, so what do I do now?’ Where were the do’s? And nobody seemed to have much to offer us…[it] just didn’t seem like the fullness of Christian discipleship.”[12]

It seems like there are a lot of “don’ts” in the Bible, but what are we to do as Christians? Answer: participate in the mission of God!

There is no one single passage that instructs churches to be “missional.” However, mission is seen as an integral piece of God’s character. Ed Stetzer says, “God is a missionary God in this culture and in every culture. His nature does not change with location.”[13]As mentioned above, Jesus is our example, and he was the greatest missionary that ever lived. In John 20:21 he passes that identity onto us as his followers. Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Inherent in our identity as Christians is the idea of being sent. We are to be like Christ, sent into the world to preach the good news. “There is no participation in Christ without participation in His mission to the world. That by which the Church receives its existence is that by which it is also given its world mission.”[14] The biblical basis for the missional church is inherent in the gospel itself.

Alan Hirsch identifies a helpful formula for the basis for missional churches. The formula is this: our Christology determines our missiology, and our missiology determines our ecclesiology. He writes, “Christian mission always starts by Jesus and is defined by him.”[15] We see the basis for missional churches in the founder of Christianity. When we view Jesus in the Bible, this affects how we approach mission. And how we look at missions affects how we organize our church. “Start with the Church and the mission will probably get lost. Start with mission and it is likely that the church will be found.”[16]

So, the missional church is biblical because it is inherently linked to the identity of Jesus Christ. As his followers, we must imitate his practices and let his Bride function in line with his will.

The Need for Missional Churches

Mark Driscoll writes, “To understand the missional church one must first understand the cultural shift from a thousand years of Christendom and the way that culture is created in the post-Christian world.”[17] Since the reign of Constantine in AD 300, Western culture has operated within Christendom. During this time, nearly all people that lived were both influenced by and familiar with Christianity. This made preaching the gospel much easier because one did not have to leave his or her own culture in order to communicate the message of Jesus. However, this all but eliminated the missionary impulse so critical to the Missio Dei. Mission was associated with geography rather than daily life. Stetzer says, “The Church of Western European Christendom was a church without mission.”[18]

Now, Christendom is mostly dead in all of Europe and most of the United States. Instead of having a common worldview and understanding things like sin, righteousness, and Jesus, the world has become fragmented. People no longer identify themselves with “grand stories” or ideologies. Instead, they form small pockets of affinities. This is what sociologists are calling the “tribalization of Western culture.”[19]

The problem the church is facing today is staggering. Our methods for doing church are still based on Christendom. Hirsch says, “The problem we face is that while as a sociopolitical-cultural force Christendom is dead, and we now live in what has been aptly called the post-Christendom era, the church still operates in exactly the same mode.”[20] What mode is this? It is an attractional method. This was perfectly effective when everyone thought the same, acted the same, and lived the same. However, with the tribalization of culture, the attractional method is not working nearly as effective. Thus comes the need for a missional church. Since people are not coming to church, we as the church must bring the church to them. Just as Jesus came into our culture as the Incarnation – God in flesh – so we also must adopt an incarnational approach as the church.

How do we have a missional church?

There is no one easy answer for how to become a missional church. More than anything it is a shift in thinking that transforms the way the church operates. This shift in thinking starts with Jesus.

As said previously, in order to become a missional church, we must first look to Jesus. This will affect the way we view mission, and the mission will affect the way our church looks. Ed Stetzer and David Putman lay out several key shifts that must take place in order to have a missional church. They say we must make the transition:

· from programs to processes,

· from demographics to discernment,

· from models to missions,

· from attritional to incarnational,

· from uniformity to diversity,

· from professional to passionate,

· from seating to sending,

· from decisions to disciples,

· from additional to exponential, and

· from monuments to movements.[21]

Instead of being isolated in its own Christian subculture, the missional church realizes its identity, goes into culture, and contextualizes the gospel to the people that they come in contact with. They are intentionally engaging culture and bringing the gospel into society rather than waiting for society to come to them.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.” Inherent in the identity of the church is the mission of God, and nonmissional churches are neglecting their identity and misrepresenting the church. The American church must become missional in today’s post-Christian society. We must return to the DNA that defines the church and rediscover the missional impulse that God has written on our hearts. Tim Keller said it best: “Evangelical churches…will have to learn how to become ‘missional.’ If it does not do that it will decline or die. We don’t simply need evangelistic churches, but rather ‘missional’ churches.”[22]

Bibliography

Bock, Darrell L. Acts. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.

Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistible Revolution. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

Driscoll, Mark and Gerry Breshears. Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008.

Edwards, David. “Obama to Turkey: We are not a Christian or Jewish or Muslim nation.” http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_to_Turkey_We_are_not_0406.html. (accessed April 14, 2009).

Garrison, David. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Bangalore: WIGTake Resources, 2004.

Hirsch, Alan. The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006.

Keller, Tim. “The Missional Church,” June 2001. http://www.redeemer2.com/resources/papers/missional.pdf

Newport, Frank. “This Easter, Smaller Percentage of Americans Are Christian.” http://www.gallup.com/poll/117409/Easter-Smaller-Percentage-Americans-Christian.aspx (accessed April 14, 2009).

Stetzer, Ed. Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church That’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006.

Ed Stetzer, “Meanings of Missional – Part 1” http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2007/08/meanings-of-missional-part-1-1.html (accessed April 14, 2009).

Stetzer, Ed and David Putnam. Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006.

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[1] David Edwards, “Obama to Turkey: We are not a Christian or Jewish or Muslim nation,” http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_to_Turkey_We_are_not_0406.html.

[2] Frank Newport, “This Easter, Smaller Percentage of Americans Are Christian,” http://www.gallup.com/poll/117409/Easter-Smaller-Percentage-Americans-Christian.aspx.

[3] Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church, (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006), 35.

[4] Hirsch, 37.

[5] Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods, (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008), 217-218.

[6] Darrell Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), 66.

[7] Hirsch, 81.

[8] Ed Stetzer, “Meanings of Missional – Part 1” http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2007/08/meanings-of-missional-part-1-1.html

[9] Ibid., 82.

[10] Driscoll and Breshears, 217.

[11] Matthew 28:18-20

[12] Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 38.

[13] Ed Stetzer, Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church That’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture, (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006), 27.

[14] Ibid., 28.

[15] Hirsch, 142.

[16] Ibid., 143.

[17] Driscoll and Breshears, 220.

[18] Stetzer, 28.

[19] Hirsch, 61.

[20] Hirsch, 61.

[21] Ed Stetzer and David Putnam, Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community, (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006), 48.

[22] Tim Keller, “The Missional Church,” June 2001, http://www.redeemer2.com/resources/papers/missional.pdf

the gospel in the midst of tough times

this has been a tough couple months for me and many of my brothers and sisters. it seems like its all been coming to the surface the past couple weeks. with the house getting broken into and the turmoil that has followed, things have been stressful and burdensome there. for me, i haven't had a chance to rest until God answered my prayers and forced me to rest by making me sick. for others its relationships, doubts, lack of purpose, busyness, dryness, loneliness, and silence.

i'm very blessed by matt chandler. i know he's just a human being, but God has used him a whole lot in my life through his podcast. this morning i was praying and then a couple things happened. first (and i know that i will probably get made fun of for this reference to twitter), i saw matt chandler's twitter update: "Working on a series of blogs for pastors...My heart is heavy for them...isolated, lonely, frustrated, overwhelmed...you don't have to be!" those four words - isolated, lonely, frustrated, overwhelmed - really describe me as well as several of my friends at this moment. his comment, (you don't have to be), exposed the idolatry that was in my heart.

i then listened to his podcast from the week - a short, 20 minute reminder of the gospel.

see, i've always seem to operate under this fallacy. i think that if i am lonely, tired, frustrated, overwhelmed, busy, etc....then i'm pleasing God. i'm working hard. i'm being obedient to God. this is a lie that i continue to fall into. i think that if i spend myself for God, he will be more pleased with me. this isn't true because God is already pleased with me! he loves me so much that when i was at my worst he died for me. I don't need to earn his love! he's already given it all to me in Christ. all these things that i get to do now are blessings, not burdens.

ministry is not a burden that i must carry but a blessing that i get to steward.

this reminder of the gospel frees me. it gives me new joy and a new energy. though things in this world may not be ideal, the God who created this world loves me so much that he's called me his friend and has made me a co-heir with his son Jesus.

in the sermon i listened to, chandler ended it like this:

"we're celebrating that while we were at our worst Christ died for us, and that something happened when we became aware of that. Something happened in our minds and our hearts when we became aware of that that changed how we live day to day - not perfect, still busted, still fail, still are drawn to the flesh, but God slowly but surely making us more and more and more like him, and less and less and less like the distorted-viewing person we were - all the while letting us keep a little of our individuality...its the greatest story ever. "

this is the greatest story ever...and what a blessing it is to be a part of it.

need your prayers for myself and for the house church. pray that we'd be reminded of the gospel and that in the midst of these tests that God would saturate our hearts even more with this good news.

being robbed for jesus

last night the guys' house got broken into. nearly $3000 worth of stuff was taken from my brothers...none of my stuff was taken (most of my stuff was moved out just one week ago). i found this out early this morning from a phone call from jesse. his heart amazes me. he asked for prayer for wisdom on how to respond in the gospel. that is evidence of a heart changed by Christ's love...

i've had a little time to reflect and pray through things, and i've come to a few conclusions:

first, God knew that this was going to happen. we all knew this was going to happen when we moved into the neighborhood that we're in. so...he's in control, and i really do think that this happened for a purpose. God wants to bring some sort of good from this.

second, what an honor to be stolen from for the sake of the gospel! what an amazing opportunity to show our neighbors and the world that our treasure is not in the things of this world but is in Christ. how awesome is it to be able to be reminded that all of these things are temporary...

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal." mt. 6:19-20.

third, i think of what we went over in 1 corinthians 9 just a few days ago....paul says that he's become a servant to all. we are servants of this world, ministers of reconciliation. how can we serve the people who stole from us and show them the gospel? do we now have a connection with the gang scene in Salem and an opportunity to take the gospel into this dark place?

maybe i'm too optimistic or hopeful, but i do think that God could do some sweet stuff in this situation...lets be reminded of Jesus together as we bear each other's burdens in this.

this video seems to fit with what just happened:

having Jesus as your mentor

all my life i have had a lot of interaction with pastors...i think it probably has to do with the fact that i want to be one.

through my interaction, i have been "mentored" by several different people. today, i had an experience that reminded me of my interaction with doug over the past couple of years.

many times, i'll meet up with a pastor and be eager to talk about ministry because i like ministry. i don't meet many people who actually enjoy talking about what commentaries are good for studying the book of first corinthians, biblical church government, contextualization, dispensationalism...or any other -ation's or -ism's. i realize that i am a huge nerd when it comes to that. so when i get a chance to talk with another pastor nerd guy, that's usually what i have questions about and what he wants to talk about as well.

i have had many experiences with pastors that are all about going through a book together or working through a series of questions or accomplishing something during our meeting...but i have met few that will share their life with me.

many of you know the impact that Doug Murphy has had on me. i remember being so excited to go to credo my freshman year of college, wanting to get involved in a deeper way. i asked doug if i could start helping him with some stuff with credo. he agreed and told me to come into the office every monday afternoon for a couple hours.

i was so excited at first - getting to help doug with ministry at credo and get more ministry experience. i remember very distinctly the first time that we got together. doug had his feet up on one of the several chairs in his office...i walked in...he pounded my fist...and he says, "how's it going? what's going on? what's new and exciting?" i told him some of the things that were going on with me and asked the same question of him. he replied with some of the things he was wrestling with with ministry and in his relationship with God.

after doug finished this, i expected for him to have something for me to do or for us to talk about some sort of cool new ministry strategy...but we never did. we just talked about life, about the things that we were both wrestling with. and that was it. i went back to school after that.

the next week, the same thing happened...doug there sending friend requests to random people on facebook and with his feet up on one of the chairs in his office...another fist pound...and the same question - "anything new and exciting?" i told him what had been going on, and then he went into how he'd been wrestling with a similar thing...and once again. no talk about cool ministry strategies or things that he wanted me to do for credo.

this continued to happen, and i honestly was a little frustrated. this was not my normal experience with pastors. they were supposed to make me busy with things to do for ministry...not actually talk to me and know me and share their life with me! i was legitimately confused as to why this wasn't happening.

but, we continued to just share life experiences week after week. some weeks we would go through a passage that doug was preaching on at credo. other weeks we would listen to a podcast and talk through it...but nothing all that structured, and it wasn't like Doug had this grand idea of all these things that he wanted to teach me. he just shared his life with me - his struggles with God and family, his heart about ministry, his stories of ultimate fighting...



i'm in the middle of networking with some pastors around here, and it makes me sad that it seems like every time we meet we talk about ministry more than real life. i don't know a whole lot of them. they don't know a whole lot of me.

it makes me think - what would it be like if Jesus was your pastor and you were to meet with him? how would those conversations go? would he talk about what he wanted you to do, or would he share stories? would he go through the Bible with you? would he tell you how he was feeling and what he was struggling with?

i think that meeting wtih Jesus would be a lot like meeting with doug...that is, meeting with doug would probably be a lot like meeting with Jesus. and i think that some of us would react in the same way...a little frustrated with him and wondering why we were talking about things.

a little while after doug's been gone, and i appreciate him a whole lot more...but more importantly...i appreciate Jesus a whole lot more.

living in our identity - servants, part 1

"Paul, a servant​ of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God..."
Romans 1:1

when we began studying first corinthians as a church during the summer, we spent several weeks talking about our identity in Christ. we spoke of all the glorious facets of the new identity that God has given to us in Christ Jesus - we've been "enriched in him," "not lacking any spiritual gift," etc. we talked about what our lives would look life if our primary identity, the identity by which we thought of ourselves as, was the identity given to us by Jesus.

i was struck by Paul's primary identity as i started reading Romans yesterday. he refers to himself as, first a servant, then an apostle, and finally as set apart for the gospel. this is not the only time that Paul starts out a letter with these words. just look at the introduction to any of his other letters and these will pop up. therefore, it seems reasonable to think that Paul first thought of himself in these three manners.

these three words are loaded with meaning...

first, Paul refers to himself as a servant. this is the response to the gospel that we must all take on. Jesus came among us as one who serves (John 13). he came off of his glorious throne, and instead of hearing the songs of angels, he chose to endure the taunts of his creation. he came to serve us all in the greatest way by dying for our sins on the cross and giving us new life through his resurrection.

Jesus called Paul to the same life that he lived. he gave Paul a new identity. instead of being a slave of religion and a slave of sin, he became a slave of righteousness. this is the only reasonable response to the one who bought us out of slavery to sin by his blood. we become servants of God.

do you see how that carries over for us? when we repent and submit to God as Lord, we are his servants. this isn't a burdensome affair but instead a great joy.

think of your dream job, whatever it may be. for me, one of the things i have always wanted to do is play soccer professionally. well, that didn't work out, but i now am a coach...and that's my job. i get paid to coach. in one way i am a servant of the club that i work for. i serve the players on my team and the parents of those players. this is no burden. it is an incredible honor to do the thing that i love and get paid for it. i look forward to practices and games, and i enjoy the time that i am working.

in the same way, being a servant of Jesus is way better than anything else we could ever even imagine. think about having a master that literally died in your place so that you may live. and now he wants you to do his work! this is how it worked for Paul.

it wasn't his glory that he was working for - it was the glory of God.

it wasn't his work that he was doing - it was the work of God.

it wasn't even his strength by which he was doing the work - it was the power of God.

what would it look like if the way you thought of yourself most often was as a "servant of Christ Jesus?" how would your motivations change, and what would your attitude be toward prayer, evangelism, service, etc.?

my prayer is that my life would be marked by the identity of servant....that i would be "collin, a servant of Christ Jesus..."