Does Love Prevail Over Hardship?

By / Sep 19

One of my first childhood memories is playing house. From a young age, I was the girl putting honeysuckle in my hair, donning my prettiest thrift store dress, and “marrying” the little boy across the street. I would often convince friends to participate in the pretend worlds I created for us; worlds filled with hardships over which love would always prevail.

Time eventually caused me to outgrow these worlds and the dresses that went with them. But adolescence brought new (and terrifying) reality to the dream that still rested in my heart. Getting older was exhilarating—attraction intensified and real dating was within reach. Wrestling with feelings of rejection and insecurity were a low price to pay knowing I could meet my real-life Prince Charming at any moment.

When the Lord saved me at the age of seventeen, my understanding of marriage fundamentally changed. It was no longer about having a Pinterest-perfect wedding or fairytale meet-cute with Prince Charming. God’s Word brought my vague understanding of companionship into perfect focus: love is sacrificial, selfless, sanctifying. Marriage is a means by which we can walk in love, just as Christ loved and gave himself up for his Bride (Eph. 5:25).

The truth that marriage exists to display this profound mystery stirred my soul. As I took every internship, job, and opportunity available to me during university, I definitely did not have a “ring by spring” mentality. Yet as my adventures and challenges increased, so did my desire to share them with another.

I got that chance for a season.

The taste of what life could look like alongside someone I loved was sweet. He placed honeysuckles in my hair and spun me around in beautiful dresses like I always dreamed. But after years of dating, something was missing. An article published by For The Church last year titled “The One Life Dream That Makes a Girl Blush” by Andrea Burke communicates what I desperately yearned for: to create and care for a home.

In what seemed a cruel twist, the release of Burke’s piece coincided with the less-than-graceful conclusion of the relationship I thought would last a lifetime. As I read her words on the value of marriage and motherhood, it was as if smoke from the questions burning in my heart drew endless streams of tears from my eyes.

Why would God take the responsibility of displaying the gospel through marriage from someone who recognized its purpose? What was the point of all those wasted years? Was I not strong enough for that calling?

Even if your dreams are not the same as mine, I am sure you’ve pondered similar questions about God’s plans and your purpose or worth. Everyone has experienced some sort of loss or change to what they thought their life would look like (repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example). Not even the follower of Christ is exempt from these effects of sin.

As we sojourn in this broken world we face calamities (Acts 28:1-4) and we cry out in affliction (Job 30). We are perplexed, persecuted, and struck down (2 Cor. 4:8-9). We feel the weariness of life ache in our bodies and minds (Ecc. 12). Did Christ not experience this suffering?

Jesus was pushed face-down in a garden. Stripped, spat on, beaten, mocked. Given wine with gall to gag upon. Punished as a criminal, crying out in agony before death by crucifixion. In light of such events, it seemed foolish to declare this man the anticipated Messiah who would reign on the eternal throne of the Lord (2 Sam. 7:16, Matt. 27:18).

In such a world, it seems love does not prevail over hardship.

Yet those of us who know Christ know this is not true. Evil looked as though it conquered at the cross, but in reality, God enacted His sovereign plan. For it was at the cross Christ claimed victory over the domain of darkness and established his kingship. It is the slain Lamb’s selfless sacrifice that necessitates this song of worship from the heavenly beings in the throne room:

Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 5:9-10

Just as the suffering of Christ was real and immense, it was purposeful and glory-filled. The Son of God bowed in obedience to the will of the Father to fulfill God’s plan of redemption of humanity and restoration of our fallen world. As followers of this Christ, we can take heart, for Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).

So take heart, believer. There is nothing lost that cannot be redeemed; nothing broken that cannot be mended (Rev. 21). No matter what expectations are not met or what dreams die, we must call to mind the truth that “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17, ESV).

Beloved, let us pick up our crosses together—proclaiming Christ even with thorns in our flesh.  For one day we will stand beside a sea of glass adorned in pure and bright fine linen. On that day, lesser dreams will be forgotten and our deepest desires will be fulfilled at the sight of our nail-pierced Groom. And finally, blessedly, we will eternally enjoy unhindered fellowship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.



The Rural Church Dilemma

By / Sep 19

Some time ago I drove to several small towns in rural Arkansas with my 89 year old father and my siblings, tracking the steps of the ministry of both my dad and his father. The experience was memorable. We visited small towns that even Arkansans might not recognize today: Cotter, Caledonia, Hagersville, Greenwood, LaVaca—twelve in all. These were the places where my father, and his father, labored for Christ eighty and ninety years ago.

Much has changed in the landscape of rural America in those eighty plus years. For one thing, most farms have been eaten up by large conglomerates, dramatically reducing population. The size of families has dropped and the area Walmart has made ghost towns of the typical downtown areas. Families long ago moved out of these rural places for the big cities in order to find work, and what young people you may find will almost certainly not stay where there is no action. With these demographic alterations, the country church has been reduced to only a shadow of what it once was.

But this does not mean the country church is not there. There are yellow brick buildings with mud stains around their base that still exist as the gathering place for those few faithful (and often reserved) older citizens and, in several cases, a family or two or even more containing younger people.

The “county seat” town churches are doing better, but even they feel the changes. Some have become regional churches for the surrounding areas. In fact, there are some notable exceptions to the general rule that rural churches are failing. In one Arkansas town that you have likely never heard of, there were 900 attending the largest church on Sunday mornings. The more remote rural churches have yielded their younger families over to these active centers which often carry on vibrant ministries. Regionalization is definitely a trend. We could call it the “Walmartization” of the rural church.

I’ve been there in my own ministry, pastoring in historic Washington, Arkansas as my first assignment. Thirty-five years ago, this town consisted of about 400 occupants, half black and half white. It has now lost much of that population and has turned into a state park (it was the old Civil War capitol of Arkansas). I never knew what quiet was until I pastored in that town. I used a “privy” behind the café and I waited out the lonely nights in a “Jim Walter” home provided by the church. It grew up to about 60 in attendance while I was there, but stayed mostly around 40. The grade school moved to Hope just after I was there, and things went down further. There is not as much going on now as far as church life is concerned, since the town has become a state park site. We said, even at that time, that the church was “just past Hope.” In more recent days, I’ve been back to that town and have reminisced about the good days of early ministry there, learning from kind people.

In addition to that, I’ve preached in so many rural churches that I could not even begin to recount them all. My ministry of 40 years of preaching has landed me in both city and rural churches, some huge, others in towns so sleepy that the grass grows unmolested on the two-lane highway—and deacons wear overalls. Though I’ve loved all of the experiences I’ve been privileged to have, I have to admit that it is often easier to visit than to stay in such a church. And I’ve scratched my head with the pastor wondering how the church could find vitality.

What happens when the young seminarian or college ministerial student takes his first churches in these areas? And what should the committed rural pastor think about his church’s future?

Some Thoughts for Rural Pastors

Here are some thoughts for rural pastors. You are the experts, not me. But these thoughts might stimulate something in a church that is not going to be known, outside of a miracle, for its numerical growth. In fact, you may wonder sometimes if God knows you are there.

Remember that you are entirely unaware of the impact of your ministry. For instance, you may teach older adults without much visible impact. But one of them, perhaps a grandparent of an unconverted child, may receive stimulus from your ministry that makes her a true witness to her grandchild. Her witness, prompted by your stimulus and instruction, may be the very thing God uses to bring that child to Him. She may not even be aware of her impact. In fact, it may not come to bear until after she has passed on. The grandchild, in time, may one day marry a believer and raise up children who also become believers in another part of America. Do you really know what that will mean in terms of eternity? Do you know what it means in terms of generations of believers? What if, three generations down the line, one of the Christians in this line is instrumental in the evangelization of an unreached tribal group? Did you see that when you taught that grandparent on a sleepy Sunday morning? Likely not.

Don’t forget that Jesus said, “I will build my church.” The time you taught that grandparent might be far more instrumental in the building of the universal church than ten years of ministry in some large city church with all its innovations and activities. You cannot know how God will work for sure, yet you can be confident that it would be a total surprise to you how significant your labors are. Therefore, “sow in hope.”

Be happy to know that you may not be able to change much but lives. I mean by this that the structure of things, the hackneyed songs, the unrefined style of your meetings, the organizational plan, the leadership set, may not be within your power to alter. I don’t say you should not try. But, at the end of the day, the real purpose of your being there is to change lives, not to make things look good.

I found, through years of ministry, that you will often not know your impact until you are gone. I recently received a letter from someone at that Old Washington, Arkansas church who was affected by my novice ministry in ways I did not dream. She was then a child visiting without her parents, and I had paid real attention to her. She continued to come, though almost always hidden in the shadows. My attention to her resulted in her eventual conversion and a life of serving God for which she was extremely thankful. Her brother, who died as a youth, had also been converted. She had been seen as not just a visiting girl, but as a soul important to God. The importance of that attempt at caring was completely unknown to me until I received that letter.

The focus, then, should be on people. So, keep your aim right. For instance, you may start a book club with any of your people who care to participate. Let’s say that you provide readable, accessible books, that have marvelous truths to be understood. You set reachable goals and meet every week, or every other week in your home, just to chat informally about what is learned. You drink coffee and just enjoy learning something. No pressure. Over time, this one idea may build some mighty believers. It’s not a great program that somebody will write up, but it focuses on people and the changes that God can bring.

Be energized by the concept that your church could become the most loving church in the world. I find this compelling. There will be many things your church may not be. It may not be the most educated church or the most innovative church, or the most evangelistic church,  but it can be the most loving church. There is nothing to stop that from happening except your lack of determination and/or the will of the people. Love, after all, is the sign of maturity as a church. Now, if you are seeing this, you will find ways to encourage love.

Putting love first will mean that you will work out ways for people to be in your home, and in the home of the other church members. You will think of ways to get people to really know the insides of each other. Sheep need help to overcome their reserved nature. They will need to be commended for acts of love, just as Paul often did. You will need to set the pace and demonstrate a passionate love for the people. Dream about this. And, my experience is (and the Bible’s teaching is) that this is a powerful way to witness. The love of the people of God for each other is, as Francis Schaeffer said, “the final apologetic.”

Well, there is more, but these three should serve to encourage you. I know you need it. When it is all said and done, we are going to be thrilled at the way God has used the out-of-the-way places, the forgotten places, to do some of His most significant things.

I love the rural church and hope you do. Some of you will serve all your life in them. God bless you for your perseverance and courage.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at ccwtoday.org. 



Keeping a Close Watch: On Cultivating and Maintaining Godliness in Pastoral Ministry

By / Sep 16

In March 2020, the world was rocked by COVID, its physiological consequences, and the compounded political upheaval that was already present in the country. At the time, I was not yet voted in as an elder at Emmaus but was in the applicant stage. So, I was in conversation with the elders on a few matters, let alone the natural friendships that were already present. The pastoral burdens were looming large.

At the time, the elders were praying, and encouraged the church to pray, that the Lord would use the time of isolation and uncertainty so sins that have been swept under the rug or self-justified would be brought out to the open and dealt with. The Lord not only answered that prayer swiftly in our own congregation, but also throughout sister churches. And now two years later, we’re pleading with the Lord to grant peace and holiness.

The falling of public figures has been happening since our father Adam. However, it seems more pronounced in the last two decades or so. It had always felt like an “out there” sort of thing for me until the last five years. Some local leaders that I had some sort of friendship with had fallen; it had even come within my own family. Now, the potency of sin and its effects were all the more real. I was sobered to the core.

This caused a lot of uncertainty and self-analysis in my own life. I know firsthand that the problems aren’t merely leadership failures or personal disagreements. Rather, it’s the assaults of hell coming after Christ’s church through her under-shepherds and through division and discord within her members. Part of which has birthed this short reflection and even a Sunday morning class at Emmaus on the Christian virtues. These are some reflections that I’ve been pondering on lately and pray they stir us on to keep a close watch on our life and doctrine.

Practice and Immerse Yourself in the Mystery of Godliness

Paul’s exhortation to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:6-16 should be a passage that pastors return to often as a check on their life and doctrine. The imagery in verses 7-8 of training and repeated in verse 15 is clear that the mystery of godliness is definitively true of us but there still remains flesh to be killed and assaults of hell to subvert. In fact, Paul tells Timothy that in practicing and immersing himself in the mystery of godliness, other will see his progress.

When the Spirit applies the work of Christ to us and unites us to him, we begin to see how immersed in sinful patterns we are. The Spirit is the Gift of God that empowers us to turn from those patterns of the flesh and establish patterns of the new creation that God has made us to be. Peter picks up on this in his first epistle where he exhorts us to practice what we are.

Further, Paul tells Timothy that he is the one to set an example to the believers in godliness. Despite his age, he is to demonstrate godliness in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, or in purity. Acting in godliness isn’t legalism; it’s being who we are. This should be even more sobering for the pastor as he is the under-shepherd demonstrating the way of the Chief Shepherd. The groaning and toiling of killing sin and subverting the assaults of hell is valuable and worthwhile “because we have our hope set on the living God.”

For pastors, it means that we are held to a higher standard and will be judged accordingly. Not only should we pastors be cultivating and maintaining godliness in a personal manner, but this should be the basis for how we shepherd the flock of God. Am I habituating myself in godly speech and not coarse joking? Am I immersing myself in godly conduct and not the passions of the flesh? Am I practicing godly love and not self-regard? Am I imitating godly faith and not self-justification? Am I occupying myself with godly purity and not secret immorality? The Hillbilly Thomists’ song Good Tree begins aptly:

You can’t gather grapes
From a bramble bush
Or pick a fig from thorns
Oh, would I like to be
Oh, to be a good tree

Way of Wisdom and Way of Folly

I was reminded recently of the fox metaphor on the Life and Books and Everything podcast. There, DeYoung asks questions like: Where have we allowed the metaphorical foxes to creep into our lives that erode our holiness and sanctified common sense? Where have we habituated ourselves to the point of danger? In the Matt Chandler situation, it was noted that the actions weren’t seen as unhelpful and stupid. This is a crucial question to ask ourselves, our wives, friends, and fellow pastors. Are there areas in our life that are being eroded by foxes? Are there areas in our life that we are blind to sinful patterns growing? Are there areas in our life where we are justifying our thoughts or actions, not calling sinful indulgences for what they are?

In my office, I have one of my favorite John Wooden quotes written on my dry-erase board: “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” This may seem like too basic of a fact, but therein lies the irony. It’s the basics or the fundamentals that stabilize and empower as one moves forward. Christ’s conquering of sin and death applied to your account, pastor, is what stabilizes and empowers you. Christ’s ascension to God’s right hand is our pleasure forevermore. You can’t move forward or see progress unless the fundamentals remain the fundamentals. Which, as a silly example, is why the Duncan-Ginobili-Parker-Popovich Spurs were so dominant. Many jokes still make their rounds today about Tim Duncan being the “Big Fundamental” but there’s a reason why that crew won so many championships.

Though there are doubtless more, there are two areas of concern I want to briefly reflect on: use of the tongue and self-sabotage. The dangers of the tongue, which are really manifestations of the inner man, are prevalent throughout the Scriptures. James interestingly begins chapter 4 with a warning that not every brother should be a teacher because the tongue can bridle the wild horse or set a forest ablaze. Paul also has strong words against the unrighteous use of the tongue in Ephesians 4:29; 5:4. This is the more elusive of the foxes that erode our foundation. Sarcasm, crude joking, or gossip are far too pervasive in the life of the church, let alone those who teach. May the Lord have mercy on us and grant us a thankful heart.

The second area of concern is what I want to call self-sabotage. To be fair, this is a bit more subjective. However, more and more pastors are experiencing burn out, over work, and they are even potentially being called to another vocation. All of which are not necessarily bad or wrong. And not all burnout is self-sabotage. However, there is an overwhelming pressure, and possibly an unhealthy expectation, to remain committed and faithful to Christ’s church, no exceptions. And as such, they are looking for a way out without shame or scrutiny. Thus, a brother may self-sabotage in a variety of ways to get out.

Now hear me clearly that the pastoral office is a high and demanding one, and rightfully so. There should be a holy pressure and expectation. All of which is why there are particular guardrails such as a Chief Shepherd, plurality of elders, strict qualifications, and not every brother should be a teacher. Of course burnout still happens with these guardrails. But the way of folly leads to destruction when the ‘little things’ and the guardrails are set aside and neglected. LaPine recently wrote a helpful reflection on pastoral self-destruction. Now, this reflection is on the connection between pastoral abuse and the lack of relational reciprocity. LaPine asks some helpful diagnostic questions at the end that are worth considering. However, the lack of the relational habits of vulnerability and trust, or even the faux presentation thereof, can lead to destruction.

Pray for your pastors and leaders

The tone of this reflection seems a bit dim. And while I don’t necessarily prefer that, I’m not sure we can avoid it either. When close friends or family members are on the way of folly toward destruction, it should cause us to be sorrowful and sobered. The habitual foxes are elusive and erosive. However, we bring our sorrow and sobriety before the Lord, pleading with him to restore those on the path of folly back to the path of wisdom, and to keep us on the path of wisdom.
So, please, pray for your pastors, encourage them in the faith, love their families, and be an easy sheep. Then, go listen to the masterful Hillbilly Thomists’ Good Tree, whose next to last verse is a fitting conclusion.

Even when I’m old
I will still be
Still full of sap
Still green
That’s what I want to be
Oh, to be a good tree



Episode 177: Brant Hansen on The Men We Need

By / Sep 14

On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson talks with radio host and author Brant Hansen about Christian manhood — its problems and promise — about godly ambition, toxic masculinity, and the like, as well as Asperger’s, mission, and more.



Lead Where You Are

By / Sep 13

Editor’s Note: This post is excerpted with permission from Turnaround by Jason K. Allen. Copyright 2022, B&H Publishing. The book is available wherever Christian books are sold.

The most important leadership role you will ever have is the one you’re in right now. Or, to put it more succinctly, lead where you are.

By most any definition, I was a young man in a hurry. There is just something about being in your twenties that predestines restlessness. My mentor, Pastor Steve Lawson, sensed my restlessness and counseled me: “Jason, the most important job you will ever have is the one you have right now.” His words registered on my heart before they landed in my ear. I still remember where we stood, by his administrative assistant’s desk, when he spoke those words to me.

His instinct was right. I needed to hear his admonition. Not only did I need it, but in some ways I wanted it. I sensed that my unsettledness was unhealthy. I purposed that day, due to both the apparent spiritual principle and the obvious practical benefits, to live by those words. I encourage you to do the same.

Leadership isn’t just in your future. It’s in your present. Scripture teaches that we are not guaranteed tomorrow, and even the most assured plans should come with a deo volente—if the Lord wills.

Along those lines, do not romanticize your future or daydream about how to seize it. Give your best energies to the position you currently hold. In leadership you are called to a stewardship of the present. And, in a very real sense, you will never have a greater stewardship than the one you have right now. We must work to maintain this mentality. Our self-help, self-improvement generation teaches us to strive for, to even connive for, our own betterment. But that is not the way of the faithful leader.

As an example, some have noted my father’s generation viewed work like an escalator. You get on at a lower floor, remain faithful in your position and to your employer over the long haul, and, as the decades pass, you will ride the escalator up to higher floors.

My generation views employment more like a jungle gym, hopping from place to place, always scouring the horizon for self-advancement and never missing an opportunity for self-promotion. The leader’s strategy for career advancement ought not resemble American Ninja Warrior.

Thus, to lead in the future, make sure you lead in the present. Do not spend your time refining your personal leadership philosophy; go with what you know now. Pursue faithfulness in leadership, not success. The world does not need more hypothetical leaders; it needs more actual ones.

In fact, Jesus commended such faithfulness, promising, “The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much” (Luke 16:10). Vocationally, your today is more important than your tomorrow. The fastest way to a higher office is to excel in the one you occupy now.

Generally, those who serve most faithfully—who prove themselves indispensable to their organization’s health—will not be overlooked. Such faithfulness is a rare trait, and employers work to retain such individuals. Indispensable employees usually do not have to fear pink slips and rarely must ask for pay raises.

I can assure you, if you faithfully lead where you are, it is unlikely you will be overlooked by man. And I can promise you, with the words of Christ in mind, you will not be overlooked by God.



The Need for Confession in a “Copy” and “Edit” Age

By / Sep 13

These days, there’s a filter for almost anything. People can “edit” and “crop” their entire lives. Simply click the image, select from the endless options of filters that enhance the desired effect, and presto—the world is given the snapshot version of “me” that I want it to have. Unfortunately, the Christian life does not work that way. It was never intended to. God, in His infinite wisdom, has made transparency and confession a necessary component of spiritual health. If we are to grow in Christ, then we must allow someone, or a few someones, to see beyond the cropped and edited version of ourselves.

Given how much confusion surrounds the practice of confession, it’s essential to clarify what is meant by confessing sin. In hearing the term, those who come from a Roman Catholic background may think of the formal sacrament of penance (or the sacrament of reconciliation), in which a person regularly seeks out a priest so that their sins will be absolved. While protestants rightly protest the need to confess sins to or receive absolution from a formal priest, we must not be too hasty in dismissing the sacredness of confession. In confessing sins to one another, we engage in a spiritual endeavor, a holy campaign, against our insurrection. We are declaring war on our own rebellion. We need not go to any priest. Any Christian brother or sister who loves and speaks the gospel will do. And while we need not treat it like a sacramental ritual, we should let it become a sacred lifestyle. By confession, I mean a holy habitus in which a Christian deliberately exposes and confronts their own sin whenever it manifests itself so that others may restore them in the joy of the gospel.

One of the primary dangers of sin is not simply that it exists but that by its existence, it seeks to cripple a joyful relationship with the triune God. According to the Puritans, redemption not only seeks the eradication of evil (ademptio mali) but also the enjoyment of good (adeptio boni).[1] Sin rebuilds the malice that God has broken down and breaks down the good that God built. Sin is, in its very essence, a joy thief that is opposed to God’s good purposes.

Sin’s antithetical nature toward our good God is why confession is so important. Confession is much more than an embarrassing admission of failure, as people have often treated it. Quite the contrary, it is a desperate pursuit of restored joy in the Lord. Without confession, such restoration is impossible.

 Confession means coming out of hiding. Augustine once wrote, “In failing to confess, Lord, I would only hide you from myself, not myself from You.” As it did with Adam, our hidden sin leaves us feeling afraid and shamefully exposed. A mere whisper of God’s approach sends us running for the trees. We hide. We deny and we even blame others. But redemption cannot happen until we come out of our hiding place. When God asked Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9), it was not for God’s benefit but Adam’s. Being the omniscient being He is, God knew where Adam was. With His question, God “drew Adam from hiding rather than drove him from it.”[2] Confession answers the question, “Where am I?” It draws me out from behind the tree to acknowledge my sin and receive the good news of a serpent-crushing Savior who has and will overturn the evil I have committed.

Confession means leaving the dirty mudhole and coming back to the clean, refreshing waters of grace. In Jeremiah 2:13, God summarizes his people’s sins. They have (1) “forsaken me, the fountain of living waters” and (2) “hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Sin tempts us to believe that there is better, fresher water outside God. It, then, tells us to start digging. In the end, all we have is a leaky mudhole. In confession, we see the dirty, leaky mudhole for what it is and return to the only stream that can satiate our thirst.

Confession means celebrating the gospel. 1 John 1:8-9—perhaps the most often quoted text when it comes to confession—gives both a warning and a promise. First comes the warning, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” For John, whether or not a person has the truth indicates the state of a person’s relationship with the triune God (for example, see 1 John 2:4).[3] As seen throughout the biblical storyline, proximity to a holy God unveils a person’s sin and guilt. The classic example is Isaiah 6. When Isaiah faces a holy God, he confesses that he is a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5). Recognizing sin is an outcome of knowing God. A person might be absolutely sincere when he says, “I have no sins that I can see…no seriously, I can’t think of any weaknesses or vices.” Either this man is proof positive that perfection can be reached in this lifetime, or—more likely—he is looking at himself as man might look into a mirror in a dark room. It is only when the Lord comes in and turns on the light that the man can say, “Oh…now I see it.” Grace brings gracious exposure. Confession is a celebration that God is in our midst and, consequently, our sins have come into the light.

Following the warning comes a promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (v. 9). The word faithful (pistos) can mean reliable or trustworthy. In some cases, the word can describe someone who keeps a promise (Heb. 10:23). According to John, confession reveals God as both faithful and just. This claim is consistent with how God has revealed Himself throughout redemptive history. In Exodus 34:6-9, God declares that He is both just (by no means clearing the guilty) and gracious (forgiving iniquities).[4] It is a bit of paradox. How can God be at the same time both just in judging our sin and gracious in forgiving it? The cross solves the conundrum. There, God’s justice against sin is poured out on Jesus and the consequent result is forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Confession celebrates the gospel by declaring God’s justice and gracious faithfulness.

On the one hand, confession leads us to freely acknowledge that even in grace, God is still just. Sin is still sin and, therefore, it must be repented. On the other hand, by confessing, a person throws himself or herself upon the reliable mercy of God—a mercy given because Jesus has already paid for our sin on the cross (Colossian 2:14). In this way, confession makes us “living monuments and examples of His goodness and patience.”[5] By God’s own design, confession transforms a community into a gospel-centered community.

 

[1] Ralph Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1965), 71.

[2] R. Kent Hughes, Genesis: Beginning and Blessing, Preaching the Word (Wheaton: Crossway, 2004), 78.

[3] Colin G. Kruse, The Letters of John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 68.

[4] See Exodus 34:6-9.

[5] Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin, 190.



Experience Kansas City During FTC 22

By / Sep 12

In two weeks, we’ll welcome pastors, ministers, and missionaries from across the country to our annual FTC National Conference, “For The Nations.”

We know you’ll probably have some free time, so we want to offer you our best suggestions for barbecue, food, coffee, and things to do while you’re in our wonderful city.

BBQ

– Q39 (Midtown)

– Joe’s Kansas City (State Line)

– Jack Stacks (Country Club Plaza)

– Gates (3 locations)

– Hawg Jaw Que (North Kansas City)

– Arthur Bryant’s (Near 18th & Vine)

– Slap’s BBQ (Kansas City, KS)

– Pigwich (River Market)

Food

– KC Taco Company (located in the River Market with excellent tacos)

– Summit Grill (just up the road from campus with great American food)

– Brown & Loe (high-quality comfort food)

– Il Lazzerone (Neopolitan style pizza in the River Market)

– Frank’s Italian (Parkville’s best Italian restaurant)

– LuLu’s Noodles (Thai food great for lunch or dinner in the Crossroads)

– Queen Sweets & Bakery (Middle Eastern cuisine in the Northland)

– Happy Gillis (a quaint restaurant serving local breakfast and lunch in Columbus Park)

– The Westside Local (great range of American style food in the Westside district)

– Piropos (this Argentinian restaurant is located in Briarcliff, a neighborhood close to campus)

– Bella Napoli (Italian food with a great porch located in Brookside)

– Taco Republic (street tacos with indoor and outdoor seating at the state line)

– Jerusalem Cafe (located in Westport, this Middle Eastern food is sure to satisfy)

– BRGR (classic burgers located in the Power & Light District)

– Nara Sushi (the Crossroad’s best sushi)

– Longboards (the Pacific coast comes to the Midwest in this Northland wrap restaurant)

– Vietnam Cafe (great Vietnamese food near the River Market)

– Wings Cafe (located close to campus, this place will serve you the best wings in the Northland)

– Betty Rae’s Ice Cream (you can find this in the River Market, this makes a great late-night treat)

– KC Soda Company (every flavor of soda you can imagine in the River Market district)

– The Distrikt Biskuit House (amazing breakfast sandwiches and biscuits located near Kauffman Stadium)

Coffee

– The Tomlinson Cafe

– Thou Mayest – River Quay (Industrial-chic, exposed-brick shop in the River Market)

– Post Coffee (Located in North Kansas City)

– Oddly Correct (one of the best roasters in town – excellent coffee in Midtown)

– Messenger Coffee (three-story building including a rooftop view of the city)

– Monarch Coffee (great espresso and aesthetic in Midtown)

– PT’s Coffee (located in the Crossroads Art District, a top-tier roaster in the metro)

– Second Best Coffee (South Kansas City’s humblest shop with nitro coffee)

– Vested Coffee (two locations in the Garment District and Beacon Hill)

– Goat Hill Coffee (smooth espresso in the Westside)

– Splitlog Coffee Co. (all-around good coffee with a location in Pendleton Heights and Strawberry Hill)

Things to Do

– Nelson Atkins Museum

– WW1 Museum

– Chicken N’ Pickle

– Prospero’s Book Store

– Union Station

– The Green Lady Lounge

– Country Club Plaza

– The Kansas City Public Library: Central Library

– City Market

– Loose Park

– Made in KC Stores

– The Blue Room

– American Jazz Museum

– Negro Leagues Baseball Museum



Jesus is the Older Brother Who Does His Job

By / Sep 12

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
— Colossians 1:15

Paul articulately asserts the truth of the incarnation in Colossians 1, but his use of “firstborn” does not mean that there was a time when the Son of God was not (any more than John 3:16’s use of “begotten” does — as the Nicene Creed insists, Jesus is “eternally begotten”). But Paul’s use of “firstborn” here holds such a wealth of meaning: namely, as it applies to Christ’s sovereign authority and to his redemptive activity.

Biblically and culturally speaking, the firstborn son carried the weight of the family inheritance on his shoulders. The family name rested first with him. In the absence of the father, he is the head of the family. The firstborn son receives more honor, more expectation, and more authority.

This is Jesus, of course. The author of Hebrews tells us he is the radiance of God’s glory. Romans 8 tells us that he is the heir of God. Inheritance talk is big in Galatians and Ephesians and Titus and Hebrews.

As our older brother, Jesus is due the authority and the wealth he is owed. But unlike all other older brothers — and I am one, so I know — he walks in a way worthy of his honor. For our sake!

All through the Scriptures, from the murderous Cain to the sniveling tattletale in Jesus’ parable of the Lost Son, the older brother is consistently an utter and absolute failure. (So are most of the younger brothers, actually, but God consistently chooses them to make a point, I think.)

But not Jesus. Where disobedience and disregard ruled the roost of the firstborn, Jesus obeys the Father perfectly, submits to the eternal cause of the glory of the Father completely, and cares for and rescues and sacrifices his own well-being for his younger siblings to the utmost.

Jesus is the older brother who will not trade his birthright for a bowl of soup.
Jesus is the older brother who will not trade his siblings into slavery.
Jesus is the older brother who leaves the comfort of his Father’s estate to seek out his lost brother among the brothels and pigsties and actually rescues him from the degradation of the mud and dresses him in the Father’s robe of his own accord.

Jesus is the “true and better” older brother.

Jesus is the older brother who’s not ashamed of his siblings (Heb. 2:11)

Jesus is the older brother who does his job. Everybody else is the other guy.



More Than You Can Handle

By / Sep 9

One Sunday morning one of my fellow pastors shared in his sermon this lie many Christians believe: “God will never give you more than you can handle.” He argued that God actually consistently gives us more than we can handle to show us and remind us that our faith must be in Jesus, not ourselves.

I couldn’t agree more with him. The idea that God will not give us more than we can handle is a prideful belief if you think about it. The idea is about us and our capacity to bear trials, struggles, pain, or whatever else needs “handled”. It limits God as a distant figure setting up life and then leaving us to our own devices to solve the issues He gives us. Just this idea alone points to the absurdity of this view, but let’s get practical. What happens when you cannot handle what God has given you? What happens when life is too hard and when you’ve had too much? Are you a bad Christian? Is God a bad God? Certainly not.

God often gives more than we can handle, and He moves the most in these seasons of our life. For me, my greatest growth in faith came in a time that was too much to handle. When I was 17, I was nominal in my faith. I wanted to live for God in the future, but in the present, I wanted to play sports and make people like me. I was not headed in a good direction. But thank God, He gave me more than I could handle.

The fall of my senior year my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. It was the most difficult thing I could imagine. I constantly thought, “Why me and my family God?” I didn’t think things could get worse, until they did. The following spring, while my dad’s health was rapidly declining, my grandmother suffered a major heart attack, I had surgery on a broken foot, and my 10-year-old brother was on life support awaiting a heart transplant. Later in the summer, my father passed away and my younger brother, who by God’s grace was given a new heart, had extensive brain damage. I originally thought the cancer diagnosis alone was too much to handle, but it was only the beginning. I can honestly say that God gave me too much to handle. I hit rock bottom. And while it sounds crazy, I am thankful for it and would not change this season of my life if given the chance. In this season, God drew me to Himself more closely than I ever had been before.

In the darkest moment of my life, at rock bottom, when God had given me way more than I could handle, it was not my strength that got me through, but His. He was right there with me. I learned to lean on and depend on him more than ever. I had a peace I could never explain other than God was with me and while everything around me – my life, my family, and my future – were crashing down, He was not going anywhere. One verse I clung to in that season was James 1:2-4:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

This verse meant so much to me because it gave me hope that God was working in the worst moments of my life. It gave meaning to my suffering. It gave purpose to my plight.  It reminded me that God was not abandoning me but strengthening me. I can honestly say that it was because of this season in my life that I am a pastor today. I thank God that He gave me more than I could handle.

Do not believe the lie that God will not give you more than you can handle. You will be severely disappointed or worse, miss out on a closer walk with Him because you constantly run from anything difficult. God works in the moments that are too hard for us to handle. It is in these moments that we realize how desperate we are for Him and how helpless we are on our own. God will consistently give you more than you can handle. Here are a few verses to hold onto during those seasons of life:

  • 2 Corinthians 4:17: For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
  • Romans 5:3-4: Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
  • Psalms 119:7: It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
  • Hebrews 2:10: For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
  • Philippians 3:10: that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

When life comes crumbling down, God does not. Run to him. Cling to Him. If you are struggling right now, know that God is working. You are not alone. He is with you. His church is with you. God will give us more than we can handle, but He will also see us through the other side with a stronger faith.



The Bondage of Absolute Self-Autonomy

By / Sep 8

There is no doubt that one of the gold standard virtues of modern society is the pursuit of absolute self-autonomy. The gospel of “be true to yourself” and “look within yourself” attempts to promote and promise true liberty, ultimate purpose and meaning, and societal flourishing with no strings attached or any negative repercussions.

On the surface, it sounds like good news. From a distance, it appears to be pro-humanity in all its nonrestrictive, progressive creeds and confessions, replacing sacred liturgy with its own secular ones. In elevating human emotion and imagination over and above absolute truth, it ascribes more worth to human creativity than to the Creator of humanity. This is the gospel of absolute autonomy. After all, any worldview or religious practice that would minimize the absolute autonomy of the self must be anti-human happiness and goodness, right?

Only if we allow ourselves to be fooled by the fashionable guise of light and liberty (2 Corinthians 11:14). While on the surface absolute autonomy appears as freedom, there is further bondage below. Absolute autonomy is not good news; it is bad news. Not only is it bad news, but false news. Only the true, good news of the gospel can offer freedom. Only in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection can we hope to break free from the bondage, brokenness, and alienation that absolute autonomy promises to deliver us from.

Here are three gospel truths that can dispel the current cultural mirage of absolute autonomy.

CREATED IN HIS IMAGE

First, we are created in God’s image.

“So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).” I can only imagine the expression and the gasps and whispers of the heavenly hosts in this moment of creation. God had created everything else by His word and now he creates man in His very image. What a high privilege to bestow on man. Not even the angels in heaven received this title: Image of God.

And so, from the start, our very being and nature is stamped with God’s being and nature.

One of the most glorious, mysterious doctrines of all of Scripture is the Trinity. One God, three separate persons. Or as Athanasius beautifully articulated: “We worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence.” In other words, God has eternally existed as one – yet not alone. And if we are made in this God’s image, then something of that nature finds itself in us and the pursuit of absolute self-autonomy proves blasphemous at worst and trivial at best. In doing so, we deny the nature of God and the nature of self.

CREATED FOR COMMUNION

Second, we were created for a person.

The Apostle Paul writes, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) In other words, we were created by Jesus for Jesus. Our personhood is so inexplicably bound to the second person of the Trinity that attempting absolute autonomy frustrates our true nature

Deeply woven in the imago Dei is this longing to know and be known by someone. And not just anyone, for we all know the fleeting emotions that come with new relationships, or the inevitable moment when someone lets us down or fails to live up to our expectations. Or when someone does not handle our own frailty or short comings in a manner that they should have. We need not look any further than the woman at the well who seemed to go from husband to husband, seeking to know and be fully known until she came face to face with the man she was truly meant for (John 4:1-26). While we are created for fellowship with other people, no mere person is going to satisfy the deep well of our hearts except the person of Jesus.

This also means we were not made for philosophies, revolutions, or moral shifts, no matter how liberating or plausible they might appear to be. Anything or anyone less than the One who Thomas called his Lord and his God (John 20:28) will not do. Simply put, we were created to be in communion with our Creator. The missing puzzle piece to our human heart is not more of self, but more of the Son, whom God appointed the heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2). The One in whom all the fullness of God dwells bodily (Colossians 1:19; 2:9) and the One who fills and makes whole our fractured humanity (Colossians 2:10).

CREATED FOR FELLOWSHIP

Third, we were created to be a people. Being in communion with our creator also means being in fellowship with one another. I have had the privilege of preaching through the book of Ephesians over the past few months and one of the primary emphases of Paul’s letter is God’s people, the church. “So, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19)

Absolute autonomy not only alienates us from our Creator, but it isolates us from being in fellowship with other image bearers. It robs us of true gospel community. It facilitates a further divide and estrangement that the work of Christ on the cross healed and did away with. If each individual has their own truth; their own path; their own choices, then tragically, they are on their own. Loneliness is their only companion.

But Ephesians has a radically different vision for God’s people. It gives us a picture of a new society comprised of various individuals that can only grow into their true selves in Christ together. And only together, with all the saints, can this kind of self-discovery take place. This is what Paul means when he later writes “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13) The gospel offers us a family that can perpetually remind us of who we are, what our purpose is, and what our final goal is: the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ.

Instead of leaving one another to ourselves to do what is right in our own eyes and figure it all out for ourselves according to the law of self-autonomy, Christ gives us one another according to the gospel of grace.

In the end, absolute self-autonomy is an empty promise that will leave us with an empty heart. Only an empty tomb and a risen Savior can help us find our true selves.