Jeans On Wednesday

Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing

Something has always not quite sat right with me about issues-driven churches. I know that statement needs a bit of an unpacking, so lemme do it with an example.

A few months back, I was talking with a friend who had recently moved, and we were talking about the new church he and his family were going to.

The thing that stuck out to me was he said (paraphrase), “They’re really into social justice and that’s something we like about them.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for social justice. The Old Testament is full of it. It’s a dominant theme throughout the entire book of Jeremiah. And you can certainly look at how Jesus held up the marginalized members of society during his time (women, Samaritans, etc) for examples of social “justice”.

But there’s just something about when a church starts to define its character (or brand, if you will) by something other than the gospel that I start to squirm a bit. But I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I wiggled until I read a passage in C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters the other night.

If you’re not familiar with the book, it’s a series of letters to “Wormwood” (a young demon) from “Screwtape” (his “affectionate uncle”) on how to best go about the business of leading Wormwood’s “patient” into Hell as opposed to Heaven.

The timeframe is WWII, the patient has just become a Christian, and leading up to the relevant quote Screwtape says:

I had not forgotten my promise to consider whether we should make the patient an extreme patriot or an extreme pacifist. All extremes, except extreme devotion to the Enemy, are to be encouraged.

He goes on to discuss the merits of either approach, and then concludes the letter with this:

Whichever he adopts, your main task will be the same. Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely part of the "cause", in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments it can produce in favour of the British war-effort or of Pacifism. The attitude which you want to guard against is that in which temporal affairs are treated primarily as material for obedience. Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing. Provided that meetings, pamphlets, policies, movements, causes, and crusades matter more to him than prayers and sacraments and charity, he is ours—and the more "religious" (on those terms) the more securely ours. I could show you a pretty cageful down here.

—from Letter VII (emphasis mine)

It clicked.

(And if you already knew what my issue was after reading the first sentence of this post, then you’re just a more astute person than I am. Congrats!)

The last thing Jesus told his boys to do was to make disciples of all nations and teach believers to obey everything Jesus had taught. That’s the core of the church’s purpose: preach the gospel to save people, and then teach the gospel so people can grow and live abundant lives that bring God glory.

Everything the church does—and it is called to do quite a few things—should support and sustain those two purposes. Nothing is more important than making disciples and teaching them. And no small part of the gospel is more important than the whole gospel.

In fact, you could possibly make a case that the teaching part is more central than evangelism. That evangelism will naturally flow out of preaching the word of God and from people living godly lives, but that’s another post.

There’s nothing wrong with a church being concerned about social justice or any other “godly” issue. The problem is when these issues become the driving focus, the defining characteristic. Because then it changes from being a healthy part of gospel living into a distraction from the real task at hand.

ADDENDUM: Ha! I was more prescient than I thought. Read Letter #23 the other night. This was the final paragraph. Reminder: "Enemy" = "God".

About the general connection between Christianity and politics, our position is more delicate. Certainly we do not want men to allow their Christianity to flow over into their political life, for the establishment of anything like a really just society would be a major disaster. On the other hand we do want, and want very much, to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement, but, failing that, as a means to anything—even to social justice. The thing to do is to get a man at first to value social justice as a thing which the Enemy demands, and then work him on to the stage at which he values Christianity because it may produce social justice. For the Enemy will not be used as a convenience. Men or nations who think they can revive the Faith in order to make a good society might just as well think they can use the stairs of Heaven as a short cut to the nearest chemist's shop. Fortunately it is quite easy to coax humans round this little corner. Only today I have found a passage in a Christian writer where he recommends his own version of Christianity on the ground that "only such a faith can outlast the death of old cultures and the birth of new civilisations". You see the little rift? "Believe this, not because it is true, but for some other reason." That's the game.

Movin' On Up

A couple of Sundays ago, our latest communicant's class of middle schoolers joined the church. Basically, these are students whose Sunday School has been taught by our pastor since September with the goal of teaching them the foundations of Christian belief, history, and philosophy. And this recent Sunday was the culmination of all that—they became members of the church.

For me, the joy was two-fold. First, it was the first incoming members I got to "receive" as an elder. I met with the students beforehand, had a chance to hear from them about what they had learned, and to offer what little advice I had as they moved forward in their faith.

Then during the service, all the elders came forward and laid our hands on their shoulders as the whole congregation prayed for them. It reminded me of our children's baptisms, in a way. Hearing the whole church pledge to support and care for them was incredibly moving.

Secondly, it was particularly special to me because about half of the students I know personally from when Laura and I were the youth leaders. We had just taught some of these kids last year in Jr. High Sunday School! To see them now, professing their faith and desire to be a part of their local church, was very heartwarming. These weren't just some kids, these were Rachel and Carolyn and Savannah and Brett.

People sometimes wonder, "Why join a church? What's the difference between that and just going regularly?" I guess, to some degree, it's the same idea behind why you get "legally" married or why you get publically baptized, although I freely admit the biblical command for those is much clearer.

But the idea is one of public commitment, a bonding display of unity. Of pledging yourself to something bigger than you, and saying to the other people in the church, "Hey, we're in this together."

Is it required to worship and serve and grow? Nope. But is it meaningful? I think it really is.

Further reading:
A Biblical Understanding of Membership by 9Marks
Why People Join A Church by Joyful Heart Renewal Minsitries
Why Join A Church? by Frank Turk @ Pyromaniacs

Confession: It's Not Just For Catholics

There are many sins in my life, and I expect to keep sinning until the day I die. But not so long ago, God helped me shake free of one that haunted me for several weeks. It was one of those enjoyable, seemingly innocuous sins that you hate to let go of because you think it only affects you... but then something happens, and you realize that it's time to act before things get out of hand.

I'm not sure where in James's "sequence" I was at, but I knew I didn't want it to get to the "giving birth to death" part. :-)

What was intriguing to me is that I found my experience captured quite vividly by the writings of David, oh those thousands of years ago. And they say the Bible isn't timely and relevant...

Psalm 32:1-5 (NIV)
Blessed is he
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
    whose sin the LORD does not count against him
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
    your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.
    Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
    I said, "I will confess
    my transgressions to the LORD"
    and you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.
    Selah

My guilt hung over me like a cloud. I forced happiness though my haze, especially to my wife, who knows when something is wrong often before I do. I felt like I was living a double life at times. Knowing that what I was doing was probably wrong, but not wanting to step up and do the right thing to change course.

Satan kept whispering the whole time in my ear, "You don't need to talk to anybody. You can handle it yourself. Just stay quiet and fix it on your own. You don't need to rock the boat."

Nothing could have been further from the truth. That's one of the slippery parts of sin. It wants us to separate ourselves from those that can help us most. It tries to make us think we're on our own.

Confession was hard. Painful. Pride-killing. Repentance was even harder. Facing those I'd hurt and affected, admitting my guilt, and seeking reconciliation—none of it fun. The whole time, from when I first sought counsel until I finished the last bit of "setting things straight" with all parties, was tough. Even though everyone involved was understanding, supportive, and kind, I wanted to stop every step of the way.

But an amazing thing shortly happened—relief. I felt like a massive weight had been lifted off my chest. I had a clean conscience. I could look at my wife and friends with confidence again. I had nothing to hide. And their love flowed over me like a wave.

I know I'll sin again. Many times over on a wide variety of topics. But as confused as I was in the midst of my sin, the clarity from being released from it is even greater. In fact, I would say I had no idea how much it was hanging over me until I "acknowledged my sin" and "did not cover up my iniquity". I hope I don't forget that sense of lightness of being.

Afterwards, I was chatting with a friend, sharing how I felt stupid for even starting down the path to begin with. He offered me some very encouraging words, taken from his reflections on a book on discipleship he was reading, Choose the Life by Bill Hull.

Early on, [Hull] talks about "faith" as defined by modern evangelical Christianity, which would be that faith is action based on confident belief—his emphasis being that what we believe about God is all that is needed for saving, biblical faith.

Then he contrasts that by his thesis that we have wrongly defined faith. Faith is not as defined above, but needs to be defined as Jesus defines it, and that is: faith is following the leadership of Jesus, or simply following Jesus.

If there is sin in your life you need to be free from, I pray you find the strength to "simply" follow Jesus, seeking confession and repentance, knowing He waits with open, loving arms. And be encouraged that by choosing to do so, you show deep, abiding faith in the one who offers us all his overwhelming forgiveness.

May God's grace and mercy fill your life today.

Further reading:
Sermon on Psalm 32:1–5 by Rev. Adrian Dieleman
How Not To Be A Mule by John Piper
Daily Encounter: Confession As A Game by Dick Innes
Nothing "Safe" About Secret Sin by John MacArthur

Servant Or Son

Monday found us having lunch with some friends at Bucca di Beppo. If you’ve never eaten there, imagine an Italian restaurant colliding with an Italian grandmother’s attic full of photos and memorabilia. There isn't a bare spot on the walls. Or ceilings.

While waiting for the food, I took Ali for a walk around the place to burn off some energy. We stumbled upon a high-backed wooden chair with red velvet cushions. It looked kind of royal (in a Middle Ages sorta way), so I sat down and said something about being the king of all the land of Bucca.

Ali takes a step back, does the best curtsy a 5 year old (who has never been taught how to curtsy) can muster, and says, “Would you like me to be your servant?”

Without really thinking, I replied, “How about you be my daughter princess?”

And as those words were dying in the air, I thought, “Wow. Isn’t that the story of what God does for us?”

The only thing we deserve is death (Rom. 6:23). Sin has tainted us through and through, and the just reward for that, frankly, is hell. We don’t deserve heaven because we certainly haven’t earned the perfection required to stand in God’s presence. We all deserve to stay slaves to our sin and suffer the consequences.

Yet God steps in and says, “How about you be my heir? Prince or princess is a lot better than servant or slave.” Or as Paul wrote it, “[When redeemed by Christ] you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Gal. 4:7)

And this theme isn’t a one shot deal. When writing to new believers in Rome, Paul talks about it again, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Rom. 8:17)

When instructing Titus, he writes, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)

I look at my sin—daily, intentional, wicked sin—and I want to run away. I want to hide from God, like Adam and Eve did. I think I’m not worthy to be anything but a poorly treated servant.

But God says, “Come. Be my child.”

Further reading: "Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel" by John Piper

Why I'm Still Saved

Quick update, in case you didn't know: Laura and I are no longer the "youth directors", but now are "directors of young adult ministries". We've graduated to the college kids!

Over Thanksgiving, all the college students were back in town, and Laura and I were sitting behind a bunch of them in church. During a pause in the service, one of them leans over to us and asks, "Do we believe that you have to repent to be saved?"

Now that's not the type of questions you can really unpack in the middle of a church service! I mean, the quick answer is, "Yes" but I was very curious as to why she was asking it. And in that way. After some more talking later, we found out that it had more to do with a friend at college who is a member of the Church of Christ. They had been talking about the differences between what "they" believe and what "we" believe. And an important discussion it is.

I had to bail in the middle of the discussion, which was just starting to scratch the surface, so I wrote the student the next day with a more detailed response. Figured I'd post it here, too.

-----

I was asking Laura last night what else you two had talked about after I'd left during service yesterday. While she and I were talking, I remembered something from my reading on the Church of Christ that I think will shed a lot of light onto your friend's comments/questions. Namely, they believe that you can lose your salvation. This is, in fact, in stark contrast to what "we" (as orthodox, Reformed Christians, including historical Presbyterianism) believe. This explains to me a bit more what your friend might have been getting at when she asked you "Do you need to repent to be saved?"

First, a little foundation.

Do we need to repent to be saved? Yes. We must confess that we are sinners in need of a savior and that only Christ has made a sacrifice sufficient for our salvation. But here's the key part—the whole process of salvation is directed by God. That is, the faith we have is from God. The grace that saves us is from God (Eph. 2:8-10). The sacrifice was made by God. The forgiveness if God's to offer. What I'm getting at is that our salvation is enacted and only made possible by God.

This is key because there are those, like the Church of Christ (your friend's church) and the Catholic church, who say that you can lose your salvation. Most notably by committing an egregious enough of a sin that you will be out of God's favor. The Catholic church terms these "mortal" sins (as opposed to "venial" sins). I'm not sure how the Church of Christ determines it.

The reason we believe that you can NOT lose your salvation is because our saving faith is empowered and made possible by God himself. And if we could lose it, that would say that somehow God's work was insufficient to fully and eternally save us.

With that in mind, what I assume your friend was getting at was "What happens to people who repent, are 'saved', but then keep sinning? Are they still 'saved' or do they need to repent again?" Assuming she believes that you can lose your salvation, she would probably answer, "Yes, they need to repent (and be re-baptized, perhaps) again." But I'm just guessing based on reading about the faith. She may very well answer differently

I think that, perhaps, if you continue to sin and grow to a point of no repentance of your sin (in fact, not even seeing it as sin), then perhaps you have not lost your salvation—rather, you have shown that you never had it to begin with.

With that in mind, there are some presuppositions that need to be addressed. Here are a few quotes that get to the heart of the issues:

Somehow we've come to believe that 'repent' means to stop doing something, and if we don't stop doing it, then we haven't repented and therefore don't qualify for forgiveness. If that's true and the required salvation sequence is to repent and be saved, then none of us is saved, because none of us has stopped sinning. All of us are living in deliberate and open sin because in each human life there is observable behavior that violates God's word, and is knowingly and willfully repeated. It's not that we discover one sin in our behavior and root it out only to be made aware of another. We deliberately repeat the same sinful behavior over and over. If we could progressively root out and eliminate the sins in our lives we could eventually stop sinning and wouldn't need a savior.
Forgiveness, Part 2

And one more:

The most frequent objections to the belief that a Christian cannot lose salvation are: (1) what about those who are Christians and continually live an immoral lifestyle? – and – (2) what about those who are Christians but later reject the faith and deny Christ? The problem with these two objections is the assumption [that they] “are Christians.” (1) The Bible declares that a true Christian will not live a continually immoral lifestyle (1 John 3:6). (2) The Bible declares that anyone who departs the faith is demonstrating that he/she never truly was a Christian (1 John 2:19).
Can A Christian Lose Their Salvation?

That second link (from GotQuestions.org) has a good overview of what occurs at salvation, which is foundational to discussing whether or not what happens at salvation can be revoked or lost. But basically, we believe that our salvation is God's work by His power and grace, and He promises that nothing can separate us from His love. Perhaps the most direct verses on the assurance of our salvation are John 10:28-29:

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand."

That is a great pair of verses to memorize. They are a comfort in times of stress and confusion.

I hope this helps. By all means, shoot us an email or gives us a call if you want to talk some more. We're here to help. I imagine it can be difficult at times having a close friend who you disagree with on stuff as important as faith. We'll be praying for you.

-doug

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Since that email, I came across two great Master's Seminary chapel messages given by John MacArthur titled "All Things Work Together For Good" (MP3s: Part 1 | Part 2). Part 1 deals a lot with assurance of salvation. Good stuff.

Get On The Good Foot

I'm relaunching this blog as a place to write about my thoughts on theology, Christianity, the Church, and all that related stuff. I'm going to get a few posts in the can before I announce it, just to see if I'll stick to it. But, assuming I actually consistently write here, I can't think of a better way to restart it than with this poem/sermon.

Sowing: An Addendum

While searching for a gospel presentations for teens, I came across an incredible story from seven years ago about a kid who wanted to share the gospel with his entire school, never did, but planted the seed that would fully bloom after he left.

I now believe that God controls Google.  :-)

The Impossible Dream by Andy Stanley

I'm Not A Good Gardener

I think I just hit on something. Lately I've been getting so frustrated with my students because they don't care about Bible studies or quiet times or even prayer and talks. My first inclination is to look at myself, which isn't necessarily bad, but I don't think my delivery is so horrible as to turn people off. And as I try more and more to "hide behind the Bible", I can't say the material is to blame.

I think it's just that some of them flat out aren't interested. And there isn't a whole lot I can do. The Great Commission was about preaching the Gospel and making disciples. That's my job. Not entertaining teenagers so they'll think I'm cool and laugh.

My frustrations are coming from the fact that I don't like the idea of just planting seeds. I want immediate results. I want bratty, selfish students to all of a sudden become student leaders and prayer warriors. But that's not the way it happens. At least, that's not the expectation I need to have every time we talk. It's not my job to change their lives. That's the Spirit's job. I can't make them want to be better Christians. I can only sow the seeds of Truth.

Gardening means a lot of time in the sun, kneeling over harsh ground, and watering it regularly. Gardening requires patience and hope and trust that the seed will grow because that's what seeds do when well tended.

Ultimately, it's not about me. Why do I have to keep getting over myself so often?

Big Hit

I'm drawing myself out of posting hibernation to share something that has been a big hit with our students. It's a segment we call "Is This Your Room?"

Basically, one of us leader types gets permission from a student's parent to go in their kid's room. We film it for a few minutes, showing things of interest (like current reading material, how messy the room is, etc). We haven't gotten to the stage of planting humorous stuff in there, but I'm sure we will soon.

Then we dump the video into iMovie, toss some graphics and sound clips into it, burn a DVD, and show it during group. The students laugh—and then are instantly terrorized that you might be in their room next.

Good times.

And There It Is

A quick history note: For years (literally), I have wondered if I should be going into full-time youth ministry. I even spent my freshman year of college thinking I was a Christian Education major. Youth ministry has always appealed to me, for a variety of reason. My youth pastors had some powerfully positive influences on me. I think I build good rapport with students. I’m a decent public speaker. And, most importantly, I always feel fulfilled when I do it. Like I was doing the right thing.

But I struggled with a full-time calling for one main reason—I never really felt called to go out and be a youth pastor as much as I felt called to the church I was at. I love working with the youth at my church now (as I did in CA), but I never really wanted to move to Georgia or Oregon or wherever to work with youth. I don’t even want to go to a church around the corner. I’ve always only been interested in working with the students I know at the church I’m at. But I’ve always had this lingering feeling that I should be doing more.

Fast forward.

Three hours ago, I talked about being “shaped to serve Christ”, the fourth “answer” to the question “What on earth am I here for?” from SYM’s Welcome to the Planet Super-Series. It’s just a different way at getting at Rick Warren's five purposes (see: Purpose-Driven Life, Church, etc). Planet is a good series and I’ve been enjoying teaching it.

One of the key points I made tonight was about how true joy and satisfaction and right-ness is only experienced when we are living a life of service. That we won’t know the “abundant life” Jesus promised until we start thinking about serving others instead of how we will be served, that we contribute instead of consume. Mainly talked from Mark 8:34-38 and Matthew 20:26-28.

But it wasn’t until I was driving home from dropping off some students and I was reflecting on how the night went that it hit me. Maybe the reason I always feel good about being in youth ministry is simply because I’m serving.

I believe that God has shaped us all differently to complete and complement the body of Christ. I mean, that’s what 1 Corinthians 12 is all about. And there’s certainly a satisfaction that comes from using your gifts and talents in their fullness. But I think a large part of that joy comes from the act of service itself.

One of the lines from this lesson that’s sticking with me is “we are never more like Christ than when we serve”. The totality of Christ’s mission was to, in the old Hard Rock Cafe slogan, “Love All. Serve All.” From those two concepts flowed His entire ministry with the end result “to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I may still be called to full-time ministry. My buddy Chad didn’t hear it until he was in his 30’s. But now he and his family are uprooting and moving all the way across the world. That may be me some day. But to get there, if that’s what God wants of me, I think I had to get past this confliction about what my ministry was supposed to be.

I can feel good about being involved in youth ministry. Even that I’m being used by God and am doing the right thing. But all that doesn’t mean I have to drop everything and go to seminary. There’s a joy that every believer, no matter what role they’re playing in the local church, should have. And it comes from simply serving. Where you are, with what you’ve got. That’s it.

It took me years to realize that being a Christian isn’t being part of some big, grandiose ministry where thousands are reached daily and the heathens are converted en masse. It’s a daily (and sometimes hourly) choice to submit my will to that of Christ. To seek to shape my attitude to His. To seek His voice in the Bible. And to speak to Him in prayer. To die to self.

When I do that, I can be used. Oftentimes in small ways. God didn’t (necessarily) call me out of my sin to be the next Billy Graham. Or even the next Doug Routledge or Jim Roberts (my youth pastors growing up). He called me to serve Him as best I can, wherever I am.

Maybe God has something “bigger” in store for me. We’ll see. I think wiping away these cobwebs will help make anything else that might come along a little clearer. But for now, I can find joy and peace and happiness and satisfaction in what I’m doing as it is. I know that I serve a wonderful, loving God who promises me that when I give it all up, I’ll get back something better that I could have ever gotten on my own. Letting go is my job; what happens after that is God’s.

It seems so simple that I should have realized it years ago. And in some ways I feel stupid for not already having seen it. Maybe I just wasn’t ready yet. Maybe if I’d spent more time reading my Bible it would have hit me sooner. Either way, I’m here now. And I’m glad.

I came across a succinct and inspiring quote while doing some research for tonight:

“In following Christ, we always get more than we give up. What we receive is in a different currency, but it is always more valuable than anything that we yield. We give up our pseudo-self; we find who we really are. We give up fleeting pleasures; we experience true joy, true fellowship, true love.”

Being the part-time youth director at our church can be enough for now. I don’t necessarily have to do more to qualify as serving God. It’s funny, but I’ve been staring the answer in the face for months.

I’ve told my students over and over again that what God wants more than anything is their hearts. That tithing isn’t about your money, it’s about your heart. Worship isn’t about singing, it’s about your heart. Prayer isn’t about asking God for stuff, it’s about your heart.

And here I am. Finally realizing that serving Jesus isn’t about being a youth pastor, it’s about my heart.