Why Every Church Member Matters

By / Jul 10

Most people don’t know who you are. In fact, most church members are unknown. They aren’t speaking at conferences, writing books, on a website, or being paid. I’ve been at conferences with thousands and thousands of people and less than a dozen on stage. Most Christians are the people in the pew, not the pulpit. But it’s easy to miss this. Even when we read the Bible, it is easy to think of it as a succession of tales of the important: Abraham, Moses, David, Ruth, Esther, Jesus, the disciples. But where does that leave us? What does God say to the average person in the chair? What does God say to the unknown church member or the unknown pastor for that matter?

One way to consider this is to look at all the names listed in Paul’s letters. Why are they there? Why did these otherwise unnamed people get a mention in the Bible? Why did the Holy Spirit in his infinite wisdom believe that these lists of names were useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness? What might God be trying to show us?

1. It takes many people to do God’s work.

Name some famous Christians who are known for their great work. Let’s make it easy; just narrow it down to those named John: John the Baptist, John Chrysostom, John Wycliffe, John Huss, John Calvin, John Knox, John Bunyan, John Owen, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, John MacArthur, John Piper.  That’s a lot of famous Johns!

But how many millions of people helped these ministries? There had to be untold amounts of editors, organizers, administrative assistants, people setting up chairs, watching kids, serving meals, cleaning up, managing the money, and so much more. The same is true in our churches. It takes many people to do God’s work.

When we look at Paul’s letters, we see him name around 100 different people. There are deacons, coworkers, ministry partners, friends, and church hosts. God’s work is too big for Paul, too big even for a Bible-writing apostle. There is no way to experience all that God intends for us as his church with only celebrity leaders, senior pastors, and paid staff. It takes many people to do God’s work.

Most of us won’t be the famous ones who speak on the stage or write the epistle, but we should strive to have our name on the list. We should show up, be involved, and be among the many co-laborers that work to build God’s church. We are not owners of our time, abilities, education, experiences, capacity, or gifting. We are stewards. It all belongs to God, and he wants us to use it to serve others in the church. We all have our part to play. God has decided that all of us are important for what he is doing in the church. Your ministry is needed. You are needed.

2. God values your work.

True, it takes many people; but are you just a cog in the machine? If we don’t have the prominent place or position, does what we do really matter? Is our role in the church valuable?

Often we recognize the value of the work being done by the titles given: Majesty, Excellency, Your Honor, Esteemed, Chief, Reverend, Doctor, even Pastor or Director. But what about those who don’t have a title? How does God view their work?

Paul gives many different titles to the normal people in his letters: dear friend, brother, saint, minister, faithful servant, coworker, partner, soldier, dearly loved, etc. These titles help us see the part we play. They help us see how what we do fits into what God is doing. When we do the ministry God has assigned to us, we are doing more than just the task. We are doing more than setting up pipe and drape, printing a bulletin, greeting, changing diapers, running sound, leading a small group, or playing the drums. We are fighting battles, creating family, strengthening relationships, meeting needs, shouldering burdens, fulfilling the mission, and working in the harvest. Ultimately, we are glorifying God by reflecting his character.

You may not have an official title that could be recorded on a resumé, but through Paul’s eyes you see how God feels about the work you do. God sees your contribution. God values your work. Your ministry is valued. You are valued.

3. It takes many unknown people to do God’s work.

Most of us would fail at trying to recall half the names Paul lists. When’s the last time you met a kid named Tryphena or Tryphosa? Or Philogus? Or take another example: who wrote the book of Romans? Most would say Paul, right? But, it was actually Tertius! He was the one who physically wrote down the text (Romans 1:1, 16:22). I know a Tertius. Even he didn’t know his name came from the Bible!

It takes many unknown people to do God’s work. This means it’s okay to be forgotten. We don’t have to leave a legacy. We don’t have to change the world. We don’t have to be remembered. We can serve faithfully and be forgotten.

We know this even with our favorite movies. How many people did it take to make Lord of the Rings? I know the names of the main characters and the director, but I’ve never sat through the credits and watched each name go by. I’m sure it took thousands of people over several years. Likewise, it took thousands of unknown people to build the great cathedrals of the world. It took millions of unnamed soldiers to win the great wars against evil in our world. And it takes millions of unknown volunteers, deacons, staff, and elders across our world every Sunday to love and serve God’s church. It takes countless unknown staff and volunteers for all the ministries serving in prisons, pregnancy centers, orphan care, youth ministries, camps, and every other imaginable good work.

You can play a huge part in history and no one even know it. You can write down the book of Romans and everyone forgets it. You can charge the hill that changes the war and no one knows your name. And you can faithfully serve God week in and week out and never make it on the website. That’s okay. It’s okay that much of our work goes unseen, unnoticed, and unrecognized. Faithfulness is better than fame. It takes many unknown people to do God’s work. Your ministry matters. You matter.

4. God knows each one doing his work.

“…help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.” Philippians 4:2–3

Reading this, I imagine a scene where Paul’s letter is being publicly read. You may know the feeling of having your name publicly acknowledged or thanked. It’s a great honor, even in something small. It feels good when we are seen and our name is said. Paul does this for some. The public acknowledgment must have felt good. And, if we were hearing the letter read, perhaps we would be wondering if our name was next. Would all the time we had put into working on that project, or showing up when others were having fun, or serving after hours finally be noticed? Would we be thanked and appreciated? But then after naming two women and Clement, Paul finishes with, “and the rest.” The list stops.

That may be you for your whole life. You name may not even make the list of unknown people. You may be just “the rest.” This may feel disappointing, discouraging, or unfair. We may be jealous, bitter, or unmotivated if our work isn’t seen.

But Paul doesn’t leave it there. It is the rest, “whose names are in the book of life.” That means even though they didn’t get the public accolades, God knows who they are. You may not have statues built of you or museums honoring your life or a biography telling your mighty works for the Lord. Your great-grandchildren may not even know much more about you than a photo in a dusty album. Though history may not remember your name, the one who wrote history does. The church may not see all you do, but the head of the church does. God knows all the overlooked, all the unseen, all the forgotten, all the unrecognized. God knows your name. He wrote your name as belonging to him. Your name is recorded forever in his book. Live for that book. God knows each one doing his work. Your ministry is known. You are known.



Thomas Jefferson, The Baptists, and A Giant Block of Cheese

By / Jul 4

Despite having a widespread reputation for irreligious beliefs, President Thomas Jefferson was a hero to many Baptists in America because he was arguably the nation’s greatest champion of religious liberty. Baptists wanted to convey how delighted they were with his election as president in 1800. A big block of cheese played a major role in the effort. The cheese was four feet wide and 1,200 pounds, made by the Baptist “Ladies” of Cheshire, Massachusetts. They made it, a Republican newspaper noted, “as a mark of the exalted esteem they had of [Jefferson] as a man of virtue, benevolence, and a real sincere friend to all Christian denominations.” Written on the rind was the Jeffersonian motto, “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.”[1]

The cheese’s escort from Cheshire to Washington was the Baptist preacher John Leland, one of the era’s most influential evangelical leaders and a Jeffersonian zealot. Leland was eleven years younger than Jefferson and a native of Massachusetts. He had experienced conversion and became a Baptist in the early 1770s. Thereafter he began preaching and relocated to Virginia, where he served Baptist churches and the cause of religious liberty. In Virginia he became an ally of James Madison and Jefferson. Madison and Leland reportedly met in 1788, with Leland urging Madison to support a religious liberty amendment to the Constitution. (The original Constitution in 1787 did not include a Bill of Rights.) Leland agreed to back ratification of the Constitution if Madison would promote the amendment in the First Congress. When Leland returned to New England in 1791, he directed his political energies against the established, tax-supported Congregationalist churches of Connecticut and Massachusetts while pastoring in Cheshire.

Critics lambasted the “MAMMOTH CHEESE,” while newspapers punned incessantly about all things mammoth and cheese. This moniker was an allusion to Jefferson’s fascination with mastodon bones recently discovered in New York and his assumption that wooly mammoths still lived in the American interior. One Federalist watched as Jefferson’s supporters paraded with the cheese in a “ludicrous procession, in honor of a cheesen God.” The cheese moved down the Hudson River to New York, then by sea to Baltimore, and finally to Washington, where it arrived at the end of 1801. Jefferson himself had adopted the “mammoth cheese” label when he noted its arrival, saying it was “an ebullition of the passion of republicanism in a state where it has been under heavy persecution.”

We would know less about that religious liberty weekend in Washington were it not for a letter by a hostile Federalist representative, Manasseh Cutler, who disliked both Jefferson and Leland. The congressman reported that Leland delivered a sermon before Jefferson and members of Congress on January 3, 1802. Cutler had reluctantly visited the President’s House on New Year’s Day, where the staff treated members of Congress with “cake and wine” and allowed them to view the mammoth cheese. The Yale-educated Cutler, who was also a Congregationalist minister, thought that the “cheesemonger” Leland’s sermon two days later was a travesty. Leland, a “poor, ignorant, illiterate, clownish preacher,” spoke on Matthew 12:42: “behold, a greater [one] than Solomon is here.” To Cutler, the oration was a “farrago, bawled with stunning voice, horrid tone, frightful grimaces, and extravagant gestures.” No “decent auditory” had ever heard anything like it, Cutler scoffed.

Until the cheese became too maggot-ridden to keep, Jefferson made a viewing of it a standard experience for visitors to his home. He even had a special frame built to hold the cheese together as it aged. But the memory of it reminds us how important religious liberty was to the often-persecuted Baptists of the American founding era.

__________

[1] This essay is adapted from Thomas S. Kidd, Thomas Jefferson: A Biography of Spirit and Flesh (Yale University Press, 2022).



Packer’s Dusty Puritan Discovery Still Guides and Helps

By / Jul 2

Editor’s Note: To celebrate the ministry of good books, Midwestern Seminary is giving away the entire Puritan Paperbacks series to one lucky winner during the month of July. Enter to win today and discover what made J.I. Packer and so many others love the Puritan writers.

During J. I. Packer’s second year of undergraduate studies at Oxford, he was invited to serve as the junior librarian at the Christian Union student organization. Having been converted only a year earlier, Packer was new to the Union but, as he would soon discover, so were a recent donation of books. An octogenarian clergyman had recently concluded that he could no longer make use of his library and thus gave them to the Union who, upon receipt, proceeded to pile them in the basement of their meeting space in North Gate Hall for an unknown future.[1] Thereafter, as is now famously told and retold, Packer discovered, as a nineteen year-old, the works of the Puritan John Owen—and the evangelical world has not been the same since.

At the time of this discovery, Packer would later relate his life “was all over the place” emotionally and thus “God used [Owen] to save my sanity.” More than just sorting out Packer, his literal “recovery” of the Puritans would start a movement that not only would bring great and good revived interest in these evangelical forebears, but also would help provide an anchor to the Word of God during the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s in the United Kingdom and abroad.

From this discovery, Packer would later help recover a more faithful understanding of Puritanism. He summarizes “the Puritanism of history” well in A Grief Sanctified (2002), “It was, rather, a holistic renewal movement within English-speaking Protestantism, which aimed to bring all life—personal, ecclesiastical, political, social, commercial; family life, business life, professional life—under the didactic authority and the purging and regenerating power of God in the gospel to the fullest extent possible.”[2]

Even more, Packer would spend a lifetime underscoring how the Puritans of the past can help Evangelicals of the present. As one example, Packer explains how reading the Puritans can correct the hyper-individualism and anti-thinking perspective that pervades Evangelicalism. In A Quest for Godliness (1990), Packer offers that the Puritans have these seven points of wisdom for present day Evangelicals:

1. The stress on God-centeredness as a divine requirement that is central to the discipline of self-denial.
2. The insistence on the primacy of the mind, and on the impossibility of obeying biblical truth that one has not yet understood.
3. The demand for humility, patience, and steadiness at all times, and for an acknowledgment that the Holy Spirit’s main ministry is not to give thrills but to create in us Christlike character.
4. The recognition that feelings go up and down, and that God frequently tries us by leading us through wastes of emotional flatness.
5. The singling out of worship as life’s primary activity.
6. The stress on our need of regular self-examination by Scripture, in terms set by Psalm 139:23-24.
7. The realisation that sanctified suffering bulks large in God’s plan for his children’s growth in grace.[3]

One could argue, that had not Packer discovered that box of books, his tremendously influential and life altering works, Fundamentalism and the Word of God (1958) and Knowing God (1973), may never have appeared—not to mention the republishing of the Works of John Owen themselves as well as many other volumes in the Puritan canon readily available today.[4]

Even more, Packer’s discovery in Oxford proved vital for helping Evangelicals strengthen their theological foundation, and still is helping. May a new generation continue to follow Packer to make new discoveries like his of their own.

At Midwestern Seminary, we currently have several PhD students reading and writing on the Puritans and Puritan influence. From John Owen, Richard Baxter, and Jeremiah Burroughs, to the Puritan influence on the English Baptists, Jonathan Edwards and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and then also, of course, the influence of the Puritans on Charles Spurgeon, explored uniquely through his Puritan collection in The Spurgeon Library. 

In brief, if you are interested in the Puritans and their legacy, continue the discovery work of J. I. Packer by coming to study them with us at Midwestern.

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared at JGDuesing.com and is used with permission.

Notes

  1. ^ The location where this took place is North Gate Hall, St Michael’s St, Oxford OX1 2DU, UK.
  2. ^ J. I. Packer, A Grief Sanctified (Crossway, 2002), 19.
  3. ^ J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness (Crossway, 1990, 2010), 31.
  4. ^ Leland Ryken, J.I. Packer: An Evangelical Life (Crossway, 2015), 265-267. This key event in Packer’s life is also told in Alister McGrath, J. I. Packer: A Biography (Baker, 1998).


The Biblical Language of Missions

By / Jun 28

As you have read through your Bible, maybe you have wondered, “Why is no one called a missionary in the New Testament?” There are pastors and elders, apostles and evangelists, prophets and priests, but where are the missionaries? Indeed, you may have noticed that the word “mission” does not even appear in your English Bible. But if you were to conclude that the Bible has nothing to say about missions because the English word is nowhere to be found, you would be greatly mistaken.

The word “mission” comes from the Latin word translated “to send.” Theologians use the phrase missio Dei primarily in reference to God’s sending of the Son and the Spirit. As God the Son and God the Holy Spirit fulfill their mission to glorify God the Father in history, they reveal God’s Triune nature. While mission (singular) usually refers to God’s plan to make Himself known among the nations, missions (plural) generally refers to human participation in God’s plan (in a limited way and with respect to only some aspects of God’s broader mission). At Midwestern Seminary, we believe the Bible theologically grounds missions in God’s own mission, His eternal purpose to manifest His glory.

Mission is a major theme that unites the entire biblical storyline. Many biblical doctrines are true, even when the Bible does not use the exact term. While some may argue that mission is a case in point, the word mission does appear in the New Testament, although it is sometimes obscured in English translations. Eckhard Schnabel points out, “The Latin verb mittere corresponds to the Greek verb apostellein, which occurs 136 times in the New Testament (97 times in the Gospels, used both for Jesus having been ‘sent’ by God and for the Twelve being ‘sent’ by Jesus).”[1]

The concept of mission permeates the Scripture. Biblical missiology emerges from five interlocking themes. Attention to these themes can sensitize readers to the prevalence of mission in the Bible.

  1. When the Bible speaks of God’s purposeful action in history, He is fulfilling His mission.
  2. When God reveals or communicates His glory, He is accomplishing the goal of His mission.
  3. When the Bible uses the language of sending, it is usually talking about God sending agents of His mission. Whether God the Father is sending prophets, the Son and the Spirit, or members of His Church, God is fulfilling His mission.
  4. When the Bible speaks of the nations or the Gentiles, as it does throughout the Old and New Testaments, it is speaking about the scope and sphere of God’s mission.
  5. The plan of salvation occupies a central place in God’s mission. First John 4:14 says, “The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” In this one, simple, gospel verse, three major poles of theology converge: Trinitarianism, soteriology, and missiology. This short verse is Trinitarian because it speaks of the Father and Son (and the preceding verse mentions the Holy Spirit). It is soteriological because it refers to Jesus as the Savior. It is also missiological because it mentions the Father sending the Son, and because it talks about the world.

To summarize, the themes of purpose, communication, sending, nations, and salvation all point to God’s mission. As someone said, “If you take mission out of the Bible, all you’re left with is a front cover and back cover.” Truly, the whole Bible is a missionary document.[2]

__________

[1] Echkard J. Schnabel, Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategy and Method (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008), 27–28.

[2] “The Bible is a narrative record of God’s mission in and through his people for the sake of the world. It tells a story in which mission is a central thread—God’s mission, Israel’s mission, Christ’s mission, the Spirit’s mission, the Church’s mission.” Michael Goheen, Introducing Christian Mission Today: Scripture, History, and Issues (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014), 37.



Motherhood: An Unassuming Currency

By / Jun 21

Motherhood is often the sipping of lukewarm coffee. It’s the crunch of Cheerios underfoot. It’s washing dishes and waking to wash dishes…again. Mothering leaves us exhausted. We work around the clock, and the laundry is still half-folded. When we’ve left careers, trade promotions, and external achievements for more time at home, this discouragement is compounded by the fear of not keeping up. In a productivity-driven society, the work of the home lacks the same prestige and influence we gain in our careers. To the world, an emphasis on home is a waste of education and talent.

We can find great comfort in remembering that God invited Adam and Eve to join him in his care and cultivation of the world.[1] Part of that work of stewardship included building a family: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”[2] This is astounding. In God’s design, our work is a partnership with God. Not only are we to tend to what already exists, but the Creator of all life asks us to be part of creating life.

Our unique role as mothers is one only we can provide—a role in which we were hand-selected by God. This calling is our greatest gift, our greatest currency toward the flourishing of our families. 

Generational Influence

God continues this partnership he began in Eden, choosing us—ordinary women—as conduits for his grace and purposes. We see this truth repeated throughout Scripture. Even in Eve’s rebellion, he chose to make her “the mother of all living.”[3] God’s promise of a Savior is fulfilled as Mary gives birth to Jesus. To this day, God calls us and positions us to make disciples. My heart soars when I read Paul’s words to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”[4]  We should marvel at the profound influence our role might have on our children and grandchildren. God used Lois and Eunice to cultivate Timothy’s faith, whose ministry has had eternal significance throughout the ages.

Just as Genesis depicts God’s intimate hand in the beginning, so we see the intimacy in which God forms each of us in Psalms: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb…Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”[5]

This remarkable depiction of motherhood echoes the creation mandate and shows that God selects us to mother our children. It emphasizes that children are known by God and paired uniquely with us. We see God’s sovereignty, knowing our children’s days before they existed. In his wisdom and omnipotence, God wonderfully orchestrates the ages to determine our lives to meet those of our children. He guides our experiences, directs our relationships, and uses our trials to equip us for the work he asks, to prepare us for those he entrusts to our care.

Can we think of a lovelier calling than to be chosen to steward life, to have a position of influence and mentorship like Lois and Eunice? We point our children to God when confronted with defiance and guide their minds as they engage with the world. We create a home of beauty and culture, one of rest and life that displays the one who gives it. We have the privilege to show the girls and boys entrusted to us that their value is so great it demands the best of our time, intelligence, attention, skills, and affection. As God calls us to pass on our own “sincere faith” to our children, how can that be done without making them one of our highest priorities, by being the person most present in their lives?

Vocational Stewardship

My desire for career advancement pales when I remember God’s calling to steward my children’s lives and souls. He renews my vision for home when I remember Christ “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[6] He didn’t come with the glory he deserved; instead, he overturned the expectations of the world. He set aside his rights to love his children. He endured the cross “for the joy set before him.”[7] His death displayed the greatness of his love and the riches of his mercy.[8] These treasures propel us forward through our everyday.

Our motherhood might look like spit-up-stained shirts and a toy-splattered house. It might be 1,000 dirty diapers and toddler tantrums. These aren’t tasks to complete or phases to endure; they are precious moments that teach us to depend on Christ, to serve another in every need, to calm a little sinful heart, and to say Jesus made a way to God.

Our lives must give our children the best of us so that we may disciple their hearts and display God’s love. We must remember this calling demands our physical presence. God’s pairing of us with our children doesn’t end after the newborn stage or the arrival of kindergarten. Mothers are called to a place of primary influence. God’s path to significance is often counterintuitive. He calls us to a life in his upside-down kingdom—a kingdom where the judge sits in place of the guilty, where the last shall be first, and where perhaps the overlooked, unpaid work carries the greatest currency of all.

__________

[1] Genesis 1:26-31

[2] Genesis 1:28

[3] Genesis 3:20

[4] 2 Timothy 1:5

[5] Psalm 139:13-16

[6] Mark 10:45

[7] Hebrews 12:2

[8] Ephesians 2:4-6



The Green Glass Door and The Gospel

By / Jun 19

When I played college baseball, we used to play games on the road to make the time go by faster. My games of choice were either Spades or riddle word games. My favorite riddle was “The Green Glass Door.”

If you haven’t heard, it goes like this:

There is a Green Glass Door. A goose can fit through the Green Glass Door, but not a duck. A deer can fit through, but not a doe. What else can fit through the Green Glass Door? Any guesses?

You might be rattling off guesses right now, or you could be sitting there, like several of my teammates, with more questions than answers.

Here’s the thing—some people would get it, but most wouldn’t.

I would give hints, or maybe dance around the answer, but they still wouldn’t get it.

It didn’t matter how hard they tried to think or come up with different ideas; they couldn’t get it.

Ultimately, they would need someone who knew to help them by clearly speaking the trick to the riddle.

I think this is very similar to how we share our faith in Jesus with others. I hear people talk about sharing Jesus, and I certainly don’t think any follower would disagree with the Great Commission. However, there seems to be a tendency for many believers today to separate showing Jesus in actions from speaking Jesus to the lost.

Don’t misunderstand me; we absolutely must show the love of Christ in our actions and be the ones out front leading the charge to serve our neighbors and community.

However, we should be just as concerned for the Lord to give us opportunities to speak about Jesus, and then have the courage to step into those moments. This is what Paul is speaking of in Colossians 4:2-4:

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”

We should be praying that God would open a door for us and then pray that we would have the conviction to step through that door and speak the gospel clearly.

So, how can we speak it clearly? Thankfully, Paul gives us further insight in the letter to the Colossians:

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Colossians 4:5-6

Make it important.

Paul, in verse 5, is praying that we would walk in God’s wisdom to be aware when it is a moment He wants us to speak. God is drawing all men to Himself, so we want to be looking for those moments and then jump on them.

Make it beautiful.

We live in a culture that is starving for beauty and transcendence. Paul, in verse 6, says our speech should be appealing. It should draw others in. We have the greatest story ever and the answer to dried-up, weary souls. Share it with confidence knowing you aren’t talking about some product but the very thing we all were made for.

Make it personal.

Paul says if we do these things, we will then be able to answer anyone whenever they have questions about the gospel. The major reason we don’t share Jesus is that we are afraid of not knowing how to respond if someone asks us a question we don’t know.

I understand that fear, but can I ask you to reflect on a question?

How often in your daily life are you interacting with theoretical astrophysicists asking you questions about string theory and superfluidity?

I would bet that’s pretty rare. However, even if you do, just because you don’t know it doesn’t mean that there isn’t an answer.

Tell the person, “I don’t know,” and ask if you can do some research and then meet up again in a week. There are amazing saints who can speak to these questions.

Additionally, yes, the gospel speaks to the cosmic reconciliation of all things through the person and work of Jesus, and God wrote you into the story.

If you don’t know what to say, share your story. Share how Jesus took you from death to life. Share how He delivered you from darkness into light. Our testimony is the most powerful witness we have, so if the conversation gets too “in the clouds,” bring it back down and ask the person, “Can I share with you how Jesus changed my life?”

From there, connect Jesus to their story. Alvin Reid, in his book Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out, put it beautifully, saying, “Sharing Jesus is as simple as connecting with others around their passion or their pain.”[1] Make it personal because Jesus is personal.

Conclusion

So, did you figure out the riddle yet? I could give you more hints, like: What do Apple and Rooster have in common? I could tell you to focus on how Green Glass and Door are spelled, and you might get the trick. However, it isn’t until I tell you that the key to the riddle is the double letters back-to-back that you finally see it clearly. Green Glass Door.

Just like this riddle, we need to make the gospel clear to those who don’t know Jesus, and the only way to make it abundantly clear is by speaking it.

__________

[1] Alvin Reid, Sharing Jesus Without Freaking Out: Evangelism the Way You Were Born to Do It (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2017), 2.



A New Birth

By / Jun 17

Everyone is born dead. Signs of life are evident—the ability to breathe, the pulse felt on our wrists, and an ever-increasing ability to understand the things of this world. Yet signs of death are lurking in the background. Death is seen in the disobedient child, in the small lies we tell each other, and in the secret thoughts of our minds. Life is lived, but not only will death tarnish every moment, it will bring life to an end. We call this death sin! Not one person is born without sin infecting them. If mankind is to truly live, then we must be born again into a new life, one where death has no hold or power. Without rebirth, we can never experience regeneration.

Death

In Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, he explains how sin has brought death to us all. Romans 5:12 states, “Sin came into the world through one man.” It was Adam’s breaking of God’s covenant in the Garden of Eden that brought sin into the world. Adam disobeyed God’s strictest command not to eat from a certain tree (Genesis 2:17); when tempted, he disregarded the Word of God and ate (Genesis 3:6). Paul continues in his letter, “…and death [came] through sin, and so death spread to all men.” The sin of Adam meant that mankind could no longer enjoy perfect relationship with God. Punishment was due, and death was the price to be paid. Paul notes, “One trespass led to condemnation for all men” (Romans 5:18) and “By one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19). Even to this day, we are born into the wickedness of Adam and must suffer the fate that every person has had to face—the punishment of death. Everyone is born dead! Dead in their sin.

Some deny that they are sinners before God. Just as Peter thought highly of himself (Matthew 26:33-35), we too fall into the trap of thinking of ourselves with high esteem. There are some who claim to be right before God, denying the presence of sin in their lives (1 John 1:8). Scripture makes clear that this denial is deception. Satan has blinded us to our own sin and set us on the path to death. Every man, woman, and child has sinned (Romans 3:23) and deserves the punishment of death (Romans 6:23). It is true that some may indeed be moral people, good people who have done no major wrongs toward others. Yet remember: sin lurks! It exists in our self-exaltation and denial of our need for Jesus. It exists in our willingness to downplay the evil in our hearts and over sell our occasional good deed. Those tempted to deny that death reigns in their mortal body are those who live in arrogance before God. As disobedience entered through Adam, so we are now all wrestling with the arrogance of disobedience. Without rebirth, we will remain languishing in our sin.

Life

In the sovereign will of God, He has provided a way for regeneration. As death entered through one man in creation, so life will be brought through one man and His redemptive power. Paul declares, “One act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men” (Romans 5:18). Jesus, the one who Himself is life, willingly took on death to present us with the free gift of life. Only Jesus holds the power to do so, for only Jesus was born alive without the shadow of death hanging over Him—“so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). Everyone may be born dead, but all can find life. It is not from within themselves that they will find this life, but in the person and work of Jesus Christ. To kill the sin that has infected us, we must be born again (John 3:3).

Still thinking in earthly terms, Nicodemus asks the question that many will consider at this stage—how is one born again? (John 3:4) Jesus responds, “So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Those dead in their sin must look to Christ on the cross and place their faith in Him. Only then will they be born into a new life, one marked by the blood of Jesus, not by the sin that once plagued them. In coming to Christ, we are washed by His blood and made completely new. Paul writes, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Faith in Jesus brings death to the old way. Notice how after the old way is gone, “behold” new life is given. The old life must be destroyed for the new life to begin. Therein lies mystery of the new birth. Paul helpfully writes, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). As we experience new birth, we find that our sin is dead, our sin is buried, and our sin is defeated. Now we can rise into the newness of life in Christ Jesus.

New Creation

Faith in Jesus leads us from death to life through the mystery of a new birth. You are no longer dead, but alive. You are a new creation, free to worship the Lord and to draw close to your Heavenly Father. There was once a time where death had its strangle hold on you, but not now! Now you are lifted high by the very hands of God and seated in the heavenly realms as renewed, refreshed, and regenerated. New birth through Christ Jesus brings a new stunning reality—you are a child of God. You were once born dead, but now you are born alive! So live, oh child of God! Live life to the full! Enjoy your creator and the gifts He bestows upon you. Live in the knowledge that sin is defeated. Live as one born to life!



What the Christian Does

By / Jun 14

Editor’s Note: Excerpted with permission from The Great Commission: A Sermon Collection by Charles H. Spurgeon, edited by Jason K. Allen. Copyright 2024, B&H Publishing. Available now from B&H and wherever Christian books are sold.

What the Christian Does[1]

I will take it for granted that every believer here wants to be useful. If he does not, I take leave to question whether he can be a true believer in Christ. Well, then, if you want to be really useful, here is something for you to do to that end: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

What is the way to become an efficient preacher? “Young man,” says one, “go to college.” “Young man,” says Christ, “follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men.” How is a person to be useful? “Attend a training class,” says one. Quite right, but there is a surer answer than that—Follow Jesus, and he will make you fishers of men. The great training school for Christian workers has Christ at its head, and he is at its head not only as a tutor but as a leader. We are not only to learn of him in study but to follow him in action. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

The direction is very distinct and plain, and I believe that it is exclusive so that no man can become a fisherman by any other process. This process may appear to be very simple, but assuredly it is most efficient. The Lord Jesus Christ, who knew all about fishing for men, was himself the Dictator of the rule, “Follow me, if you want to be fishers of men. If you would be useful, keep in my track.”

I understand this, first, in this sense: he separates unto Christ. These men were to leave their pursuits. They were to leave their companions. They were, in fact, to quit the world, that their one business might be, in their Master’s name, to be fishers of men. We are not all called to leave our daily business or to quit our families. That might be rather running away from the fishery than working at it in God’s name. But we are called most distinctly to come out from among the ungodly, to be separate, and not to touch the unclean thing. We cannot be fishers of men if we remain among men in the same element with them. Fish will not be fishers. The sinner will not convert the sinner. The ungodly man will not convert the ungodly man, and what is more to the point, the worldly Christian will not convert the world. If you are of the world, no doubt the world will love its own, but you cannot save the world. If you are dark and belong to the kingdom of darkness, you cannot remove the darkness. If you march with the armies of the wicked one, you cannot defeat them.

I believe that one reason why the church of God at this present moment has so little influence over the world is because the world has so much influence over the church. Nowadays we hear Nonconformists pleading that they may do this and they may do that— things that their Puritan forefathers would rather have died at the stake than have tolerated. They plead that they may live like worldlings, and my sad answer to them, when they crave for this liberty, is, “Do it if you dare. It may not do you much hurt, for you are so bad already. Your cravings show how rotten your hearts are. If you have a hungering after such dog’s meat, go, dogs, and eat the garbage.

Worldly amusements are fit food for mere pretenders and hypocrites. If you were God’s children you would loathe the very thought of the world’s evil joys, and your question would not be, “How far may we be like the world?” but your one cry would be, “How far can we get away from the world? How much can we come out from it?” Your temptation would be rather to become sternly severe and ultra-puritanical in your separation from sin, in such a time as this, than to ask, “How can I make myself like other men, and act as they do?”

Brothers, the use of the church in the world is that it should be like salt in the midst of putrefaction, but if the salt has lost its savor, what is the good of it? If it were possible for salt itself to putrefy, it could but be an increase and a heightening of the general putridity. The worst day the world ever saw was when the sons of God were joined with the daughters of men. Then came the flood, for the only barrier against a flood of vengeance on this world is the separation of the saint from the sinner. Your duty as a Christian is to stand fast in your own place and stand out for God, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh, resolving like one of old that, let others do as they will, as for you and your house, you will serve the Lord.

Come, you children of God, you must stand out with your Lord outside the camp. Jesus calls to you today and says, “Follow me.” Was Jesus found at the theater? Did he frequent the sports of the racecourse? Was Jesus seen, think you, in any of the amusements of the Herodian court? Not he. He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.” In one sense, no one mixed with sinners so completely as he did when, like a physician, he went among them healing his patients. But in another sense there was a gulf fixed between the men of the world and the Savior that he never assayed to cross and that they could not cross to defile him. The first lesson the church has to learn is this: Follow Jesus into the separated state, and he will make you fishers of men. Unless you take up your cross and protest against an ungodly world, you cannot hope that the holy Jesus will make you fishers of men.

__________

[1] Published in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 32 in 1886 by Charles Spurgeon. This is an excerpt from sermon 1906, delivered in 1886, exact date unknown.



The Missing Ingredient In Too Many Marriages: Joy

By / Jun 12

Like cupcakes that are missing sugar, there are too many Christian marriages that are missing a key ingredient. This missing ingredient in too many marriages doesn’t mean it’s not a marriage, just as a cupcake missing sugar doesn’t mean it’s not a cupcake. But neither “tastes” good.

When we realize that what is at stake is not a bad batch of baked goods, but potentially being a poor reflection of the gospel through our marriage relationship, we will do all we can to put the ingredient of joy back into our marriages. Many Christian marriages, including many ministry marriages, would be sweet again if husbands took the lead in loving their wives joyfully.

My wife is usually pretty positive with me, but one evening she looked at me and said, “Did you know you’re pretty grumpy most of the time right now?” I was knocked a little off-kilter. She knew that things had been stressful at church recently. She had been supportive and prayerful with me. But after I stopped defending myself in my mind and started to think about what she had the courage to point out, I asked her more about it and realized that she was right. I was getting so consumed with trying to stay on top of pastoral ministry, while dealing with multiple fronts during a difficult season in our church, that it was negatively affecting my parenting—and our marriage.

I had to ask for forgiveness, and start to make changes. Nothing was immediate, but through choice by choice, joy began to seep back into our marriage and family. As I evaluated what happened, I realized that in trying to be Jesus for my church, I had not loved my wife like Jesus loves the church. Ephesians 5:25 is loud and clear on our calling: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…”

One specific way that Christ loved the church, a way that God calls us to echo his love in our marriages, is that Jesus loved the church joyfully. He loves to love us. Do we love to love our wives?

Jesus doesn’t just put up with the church. He receives joy by giving us joy (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus doesn’t grudgingly love but persistently loves the church. He joyfully and persistently loves us. Jesus’s love doesn’t change based on how we are doing in our relationship with him any given day.

When wives are loved this deeply, knowing that their husbands love to love them, there is a security in marriage that develops and strengthens over years. This security frees a wife to be an even greater blessing to others. Also, when we love our wives so joyfully that it’s obvious to her and others, there is a sweetness that develops. When a pastor and wife exude this sweetness to their church and others through the genuine joy in their marriage, their marriage “smells” like the gospel. A joyful marriage covenant points to the New Covenant.

Here are four ways to cultivate more consistent joy in your marriage as you strive to reflect Christ in the love you have for your wife.

1) Spend intentional time together

Jesus delights to be with his bride. Yet, I am shocked at how quickly I can coast in marriage. The demands of ministry, bills, raising children, home repair, and just making it through each day can mean that I look up and we haven’t had enough intentional time together. We have found that a weekly date night is unrealistic in this season of five kids including toddlers to teenagers. But we can still purposefully set aside one night or more a week to cuddle on the couch together while we watch a movie or talk. And we can still intentionally carve out times that we do go out together without kids, both for a few hours and occasionally for a few days. Are you as intentional to spend time with your wife as you are to follow up on shepherding issues at church?

2) Talk about what God is teaching you

Joy ultimately comes from Jesus (Luke 2:10, Matthew 28:8, 1 Peter 1:8, 1 John 1:4). When you are both investing personally in your relationship with Jesus, true joy will begin to seep into your marriage. I have found that when we talk about what God is teaching us, whether spontaneously or as an intentional question, it not only encourages each other’s walks with the Lord, but it also begins to spill over into our marriage relationship. Pastors, God is teaching you in the Word every week. Share some of that with your wife not as an additional sermon, but out of the joy of knowing Jesus.

3) Act like Jesus is King

One of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever heard from another pastor is to talk about church matters as appropriate or needed with your wife for just a little bit when you get home. Then pray together about it before moving on with the evening if there’s a pressing issue, but act like Jesus is king. It is easy to bring things up again and just go around and around about ministry. That is ok to a degree if it is helping you to serve others together, but at some point you need to have discussions that are not ministry related, especially if the issues are stressful. Give it to Jesus, and let it go for the evening (Matthew 6:34).

4) Serve together in some way

Serving as a pastor does not mean that I am automatically serving Jesus together with my wife. It can be okay to serve in different areas of the church or family life depending on season of life and giftedness. After all, she is not a pastor because she is married to you. But I have found that it has been helpful to do some sort of ministry purposefully together. For us it has looked as varied as visitation, foster care, planning an outreach together, or both being on the worship team together. Serving together purposefully can bring joy to your marriage, reminding both of you that God brought you together to glorify him.

Brothers, does your wife not only know that you love her, but know that you love to love her, as your Savior does? The marriage of A.W. Tozer leaves us with a somber warning. In his book I Still Do, Dave Harvey recounts: “Tozer was a spiritual giant—a man of spectacular faith, incredible insight, and compelling godliness. But Tozer neglected his wife, Ada, and their family in some pretty stunning ways…After Tozer’s death, Ada remarried a man named Leonard Odam. Dorsett [Tozer’s biographer] writes of a poignant moment when Ada was asked to describe her life with her new husband. ‘I have never been happier in my life,’ Ada observed. ‘Aiden [Tozer] loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me.’”[1]

Brothers, we can love both Jesus and our wives well. We are called to love both. A marriage that “smells” like the gospel will have one often-overlooked ingredient: joy.

__________

[1] Dave Harvey, I Still Do (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2020), p. 193.



Unstoppable: Fuel for Service from Isaiah 40

By / Jun 10

My wife, Tracy, and I had spent all day on a bus. We had just arrived in a rural town; we stepped off the bus into the pitch black; we weren’t completely sure which way we should be walking. But we could hear it.

We didn’t know which direction the sound was coming from. We didn’t know how far away it was. We didn’t know its precise location. But we could hear it; we knew it was there.

We were visiting Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

The word awesome is overused, but seeing the Falls in person is awesome. Victoria Falls is powerful, majestic, and impressive. It is just over a mile wide, more than 100 meters tall, and at least a million liters of water pour over the falls every second. Victoria Falls is awesome.

Now, imagine standing at the bottom of Vic Falls, looking up at the million liters of water falling 100 meters for a whole mile every second. As you stand there looking up at this, someone whispers in your ear, “Try and stop it. Go ahead—try and stop all that water flowing over the falls.”

It would be impossible.

Likewise, with our God. It is impossible to stop Him. This waterfall in southern Africa is only one of the many things that the One True God spoke into existence. This God is truly awesome.

Isaiah 40

The majesty and power of our God is beautifully presented in Isaiah’s words from Isaiah 40:10–31. Isaiah, mingling comfort and warning, begins with, “Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him” (41:10). This is God’s Word to each of us. His awe and majesty bring reward and recompense. This is why we need to be reminded of our awesome God who is tender in His care.

There’s nothing more important for us to remember than God’s incomparable majesty for the good of His people. Isaiah communicates this in a most compelling fashion in 40:10–31.

Awesome in Power

First, our awesome God is just that, awesome. Nothing is beyond His control. Only God’s purposes and plans will ultimately prevail. He is the One who spread out the skies and brings the princes of earth to nothing (vv. 21–23). He is the One who made, named, and numbered all the stars—keeping them in place by His might (vv. 25–26). If He can do that, He can sustain us in whatever we face. God is unstoppable. Satan cannot stop God. Sin cannot stop God. You cannot stop God. I cannot stop God. He is awesome in His power.

Tender in Care

Second, our awesome God is tender in His care. Despite the unmatched power that God possesses, in 40:11 Isaiah makes it clear that this awesome God is tender in His care. He tends his flock; He gathers, carries, and gently leads His people. At the end of the passage in 40:29–31, it is made clear that this awesome God strengthens those who wait on Him. The One True God could crush us, but instead He comforts us. In all the stresses, strains, and struggles of life, never forget the omnipotent God is tender in His care.

Relentless

Third, our awesome God is relentless. Throughout this chapter, God questions His people. Many of these questions point to God’s unrivaled power: Who else has held the waters of the earth in their hand? (v. 12) Who else has measured the starry skies with the span of their hand? (v. 12) Who else knows all things?  (vv. 13–14; cf. 25, 27, 28). The most pointed question is asked twice: To whom will you compare this God? (vv. 18, 21). These rhetorical questions are intended to back us into a corner. He relentlessly pursues Isaiah’s reader with a series of questions which underscore how unstoppable this awesome God truly is. Of course we know, of course we’ve heard—there is none like our God.

Conclusion

Commenting on this section of Isaiah, Geoffrey Grogan (Isaiah, EBC, p. 723) notes, “The incomparable majesty of God set forth in [here]…will give strength to his frail people.” Considering God’s power and care, we cannot remain unmoved and inactive. Just as Paul urges those who desire to serve as deacons in 1 Timothy 3:10, I urge you—as I urge myself—to prove yourselves blameless. The reality that our God is unstoppable should fuel our service for Him and His glory. We must and we can strive on in service confident that nothing can stop our God—He is relentless, unstoppable.