7 Gospel Resolutions

On Sunday at The Journey Church, we laid out 7 Gospel Resolutions for the Christian life. These are resolutions that should not only be adopted for 2012, but for a lifetime. They aim should be to read and reflect on them once a week. Many people wanted to know where they could get a copy, so here they are:

Gospel Resolutions:


I. Resolved, to do all things, whether eating, drinking, or whatever else it may be, all to the glory of God; recognizing all things come from Him and are to be received with gladness and thankfulness in our hearts.

II. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same faults or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

III. Resolved, to extend to others the same forgiveness which Christ extended to me when he shed his blood to offer reconciliation to the Father; committed to not only forgiving sins committed against me, but intent on restoring relationships that sin has attempted to ruin.

IV. Resolved, to spend scheduled, focused, time in the reading, meditating, and memorization of God’s Word and, to persevere in scheduled and spontaneous and fervent prayer.

V. Resolved, that the gospel of Jesus Christ would be spoken daily from my lips; first, to my own heart for its edification, and second, to others, for God’s glory and their good.

VI. Resolved, as an individual and with my church, to live as if I really believed that the gospel is the only hope for a world lost in their sin, heading to destruction and ruin; letting that fuel the urgency to share the gospel, live as salt and light, and welcome the outsider.

VII. Resolved, to commit myself to a local church by consistent attendance at worship gatherings, discipline to grow in faith through relationship with others, faithfulness in stewarding the finances God has provided, and sacrifice to others in the body with my spiritual gifts, time, and service, all for the purpose of God’s glory, my growth, and the church’s good.

Sharing the Gospel With One Another

There is a misconception among many Christians these days that the gospel is for unbelievers and that believers move on to more "profound" things. It is absolutely true that the gospel is for unbelievers. We are to preach the message of Christ's life that brings us righteousness and his death that brings us forgiveness. We should urge unbelievers to heed the gospel's message and repent of their sin and turn to Christ. However, we are to preach the gospel to one another as believers as well. We never graduate from the gospel, but continue forward in our education and strive to become "doctors" of the message of grace - experts.

Biblical evidence for this is found in Romans 1:15 as Paul is beginning his letter to the church in Rome. He tells these believers, "So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Paul had not been to see the Roman Chrisitians. They had been evangelized and formed as churches by Paul's understudies, Paul had not been there to evangelize or meet the believers. Paul longed to go see the believers and share in the fellowship of Jesus Christ with them. Part of that fellowship was to preach the gospel to them, not because they didn't have it or know it, but because it is a message, the message, that must be repeated over and over again. The gospel must be shared by believers, to believers.

What does that mean for us today? It means that as believers we should be preaching the gospel to ourselves daily. It means we should be sharing it with our brothers and sisters in Christ in our homes, churches, and other places. The reason we keep preaching the gospel is that it continues to ground us in the reality of God in His holiness, justice, and power. It grounds us in the reality of the sinfulness that marks our lives and our complete unworthiness. It grounds us in the life-giving sacrifice of Jesus Christ who atoned for our sin by his death and it is the basis of our hope in his resurrection. We are grounded in the reality that he who predestined us, called us, he who called us justified us, and he who justified us will glorify us (Rom. 8:29).

This is good news worth repeating every day, even with believers.

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FORWARD

Journey family,

We are in the midst of exciting times. 2011 has been the most fruitful year of ministry in our church’s 5 year history. We have seen incredible numbers of professions of faith, baptisms, and numerical growth in the church. You guys are a big reason for why these things are happening. You invite people to experience what is happening. You give faithfully to see our ministries continue to thrive. You serve unselfishly to see kids ministered to, people welcomed, and the worship gathering to glorify God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

With all that is going good, we are also in a dangerous place. The danger we are in is that we could easily grow complacent with where we are. We have buildings. We have decent tithe dollars. We could just mail it in and call it good. However, you know that is not how we roll. The Journey Church is not interested in playing it safe. We are not interested in growing comfortable or complacent. We believe there is a lost and dying world in need of the gospel, which demands our comfort zones be shattered. There are too many people in our neighborhoods, schools, families, and workplaces who have yet to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we have the mandate and privilege to go after them.
With all of that being said, the elders of the Journey want to introduce some language to the congregation that we want to start using, to remind ourselves of our mandate and the great need around us. We want to use this in our conversations at church, in small group, and when we are with our church family sharing in fellowship. We want to see this language used on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking places. We want this to become a part of the very DNA and fabric of our church. What is the language:

#FORWARD. FORWARD as a church, FORWARD with the gospel!

Our church can’t sit and grow complacent, we must move FORWARD. The gospel is not just for us to sit around and talk about, it must go FORWARD. There are cities around us to be reached, we must go FORWARD. This also includes our personal lives. We have to learn obedience to God in all things, we must move FORWARD. We need to be immersed in His Word and in prayer, that’s how we move FORWARD. We must give our time, dollars, and energy to see this reality accomplished among us, we have to step FORWARD.

On Sunday, October 9th, at our Sunday morning services, we will be announcing more details about how we are going to move FORWARD. Until then, be praying and asking God about what you and your family will need to begin doing in order for you to move FORWARD. FORWARD in your faith and FORWARD in your service to your church family.

Great things are coming Journey Church. Let’s believe that God has greater things in store for us than we have already experienced. It’s time to move FORWARD!

Journey Church: if you are ready to move forward and want to let others know about it, share this post on your Facebook and/or Twitter. Let's get the word out!

Union & Communion With God

I have always had questions concerning how we can never be snatched from the hands of God, but at the same time experience seasons where He feels distant from us. The issue here is about the ebbs and flows of our relationship with God. If we are forever secured in relationship with God through Christ, do our sins committed after our conversion have any effect on us? This has often puzzled me.

Recently while reading John Owen's book Communion with God this issue was brought up. The way Owen described this issue was that in Christ, we have union with God. This union is forged by our faith in his death and resurrection. At our conversion we were joined in union with God, justified before Him. This union is forever and irreversible. Once we have experienced this union with God through Christ, we can then participate in communion with God. This communion is a relationship that we can experience with the Lord Almighty as a result of our union through Christ. However, our communion with God, unlike our union, can have seasons of great delights and seasons of great sorrow. Our communion with God can fluctuate depending on our willingness to pursue God, be in His Word, seek Him in prayer, repent of our sin, and other things like this. Communion with God is forged as we seek Him and come to Him. Communion is disrupted and slowed when we do not seek Him and have sins that have gone unchecked.

It is important for us as believers to understand this dynamic. In Christ, we have union with God Almighty, and that can never be taken. However, our communion with God, the feeling of being close to Him and sensing His presence in our lives, is dependent on our seeking of Him. Communion with God will have some seasons that are better than others.

We should all desire to draw nearer to God in closer communion and fellowship with Him. If we do not feel close to Him, it does not mean that we have no union with Him, but could point out to us that our communion with God is struggling due to some area of neglect in our lives. This serves to encourage the believer that even when we have failures in our lives, our union with God is never shaken. But this also rips away the deception from people who believe they can experience closeness with God, yet live in unrepentant sin.

What are your thoughts? Does the distinctions help you to understand the dynamic at work in our relationship with God? What insights does this give you concerning this subject? 

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Suffering Shame and Hatred from the World for Christ

Yesterday we taught through Matthew 10:16-25 where Jesus speaks about the persecution that will come to his followers. The premise that we ultimately set forward was this: Followers of Jesus will be persecuted for their allegiance to him; therefore, if you do not experience persecution, you either 1. do not belong to him or 2. are living a sinfully quite life about your faith in Christ. There is really no in between. Jesus promises that suffering will come. 

We need to begin living much louder lives about our faith. The world will grow increasingly intolerant of followers of Jesus, but true believers will endure to the end (Matt. 10:22). Instead of dreading this persecution, why don't we consider it a privilege? It is a great privilege to suffer for the sake of Jesus' name and fame. Let these words from Peter resonate in your mind and heart today and throughout the week:

1 Peter 4:12-14 (ESV) - 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and God rests upon you.

Why do you believe we are so quick to run from persecution when Scripture calls us "blessed?"

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Let This Define Our Church & Lives

Ray Ortlund, a pastor in Nashville, TN of a church named Immanuel Church, posted on his blog this morning about the five marks of revived churches. Ray blogs regularly at The Gospel Coalition. May this 5 marks go beyond defining our church, but also our lives! Enjoy.

1.  Awareness of God’s presence: “The first and fundamental feature in renewal is the sense that God has drawn awesomely near in his holiness, mercy and might.”

2.  Responsiveness to God’s Word: “The message of Scripture which previously was making only a superficial impact, if that, now searches its hearers and readers to the depth of their being.”

3.  Sensitiveness to sin: “Consciences become tender and a profound humbling takes place.”

4.  Liveliness in community: “Love and generosity, unity and joy, assurance and boldness, a spirit of praise and prayer, and a passion to reach out to win others, are recurring marks of renewed communities.”

5. Fruitfulness in testimony: “Christians proclaim by word and deed the power of the new life, souls are won, and a community conscience informed by Christian values emerges.”

My Growing Skepticism of the Modern-Day Role of the Pastor

Yesterday at church was a great day. We dedicated over 16 children. We baptized 6 people (almost 80 for the year) who were making public professions of faith in Christ. We had one service and the building was jammed packed! It was an incredible day. 

However, my day continued on into the afternoon. I had three meetings that afternoon with people from the church. One meeting was with a new couple who attends the church and the Lord is working on their hearts in phenomenal ways. They are wanting to honor the Lord with their relationship and were asking for accountability. The second meeting was with a man in his fifties who for the first time in his life, the gospel is making sense to him. He wanted to know how to draw closer to the Lord and truly give his life to Christ. We talked about seeking the Lord fervently and with desperation. The third meeting I had was with a lady who had tremendous trials and tribulations in her life over the last few years. She was inquiring as to how she could walk through those things in faith and know that the Lord is with her. We had such a good time of searching the truths of Scriptures and seeing how God can turn trials into blessings. I left these three meetings feeling truly used by God to help people apply the gospel to their lives.

Why do I mention these meetings? What is the point I am aiming for in this post? The answer is this: I see the meetings that I had in the afternoon equally as important as the services that happened in the morning. 

In the world of pastoral leadership and church discussions, one of the major questions asked and raised is whether the pastor can be hands on with the congregation he leads and the church still grow. In others words, can a church keep growing and reaching people if the pastor is still assessable to the congregants?   Most involved in this conversation say "no." Most do not think that a pastor can remain involved in the meetings about salvation, premarital counseling, and other type meetings and the church still grow to reach a lot of people. I am not saying that this is a false assertion, but I do have my doubts and points of skepticism. Where does my skepticism come from?

One of the things I enjoy doing is reading. I read a lot of books. Most of the books I read are theology books and things concerning the Christian life. My favorite books are the one's that have been written by dead people. I love old books, particularly the Puritans, and those who are Puritan-influenced. One of the things that I have noticed when I read these old pastors is that they frequently visited with and met with their congregants. They met with them over all sorts of issues. They met with them despite how big their congregation was. Richard Baxter visited every one of his thousand plus congregants in a year's time. Ichabod Spencer had Sunday night inquiry meetings where people would flood his home and he would meet with and answer questions for hours. In addition to Sunday night inquiry meetings, he made weekly house calls to congregants and those seeking the way of salvation. 

When I read things like, this and then I think about what popular wisdom and opinion in our church culture today has become, I question whether they were ignorant of the ways to really grow their church or whether we are ignorant of what it means to be pastors. 

I desire to be available to the congregation I lead. I know that it cannot be completely dependent upon me and that there will be limitations to my availability to every person. However, I wrestle over the popular opinion that pastors have to limit their involvement with only a select few in order for the church to grow. I cannot escape the thought that as a pastor, I am called to walk with anxious souls concerning the way of salvation, and that goes beyond preaching to them on Sunday mornings. 

These are just some things on my heart and mind right now. What are your thoughts on this? What do you make of the popular opinion today of the role of pastors? Do you believe the Puritan-model is more biblical? Do you believe there is a middle ground? 

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Away with the Traditional "Sinner's Prayer"

How does someone come to faith in Christ? Is there a magic prayer which changes our status as hell-bound sinner to heaven-bound saint? Are our words alone enough to change our heart of stone to a heart of flesh that feels and beats for the Savior King?

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the "Sinner's Prayer" has gained mass popularity by television evangelist, revival preachers, and now, most mainstream churches. It typically goes something like this, "Just admit to God that you are a sinner, tell him that you believe in His Son Jesus, and commit your life tonight/this morning that you want to be a Christian. Friend, if you prayed that prayer then you are now saved. Your sins are forgiven and you will one day spend eternity with God when you die." Other things are often added or expounded upon, but for the most part, this is something we have grown accustomed to hearing from others. The question we should ask is: is this right?

Before this became the "popular" and "acceptable" way of leading someone to the Lord how did pastors, laypeople, and others instruct sinners on finding grace? This is a terribly important question! A friend of mine, pastor and blogger Tim Brister, recently posted a "Sinner's Prayer" on his blog from 19th century bishop J.C. Ryle (whom I thoroughly enjoy reading). I have posted this prayer below, see if you can notice the difference in how one should seek grace. See which of the prayers best models a biblical picture.

Ryle's Prayer:

When does the building of the Spirit really begin to appear in a man’s heart? It begins, so far as we can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer. 

If you desire salvation, and want to know what to do, I advise you to go this very day to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the first private place you can find, and earnestly and heartily entreat him in prayer to save your soul. 

Tell him that you have heard that he receives sinners, and has said, “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” Tell him that you are a poor vile sinner, and that you come to him on the faith of his own invitation. Tell him you put yourself wholly and entirely in his hands; that you feel vile and helpless, and hopeless in yourself: and that except he saves you, you have no hope of being saved at all. Beseech him to deliver you from the guilt, the power, and the consequences of sin. Beseech him to pardon you, and wash you in his own blood. Beseech him to give you a new heart, and plant the Holy Spirit in Your Soul. Beseech him to give you grace and faith and will and power to be his disciple and servant from this day forever. Oh, reader, go this very day, and tell these things to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you really are in earnest about your soul. 

Tell him in your own way, and your own words. If a doctor came to see you when sick you could tell him where you felt pain. If your soul feels its disease indeed, you can surely find something to tell Christ. 

Doubt not his willingness to save you, because you are a sinner. It is Christ’s office to save sinners. He says himself, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). 

Wait not because you feel unworthy. Wait for nothing. Wait for nobody. Waiting comes from the devil. just as you are, go to Christ. The worse you are, the more need you have to apply to him. You will never mend yourself by staying away. 

Fear not because your prayer is stammering, your words feeble, and your language poor. Jesus can understand you. Just as a mother understands the first lispings of her infant, so does the blessed Saviour understand sinners. He can read a sigh, and see a meaning in a groan. 

Despair not because you do not get an answer immediately. While you are speaking, Jesus is listening. If he delays an answer, it is only for wise reasons, and to try if you are in earnest. The answer will surely come. Though it tarry, wait for it. It will surely come.
Oh, reader, if you have any desire to, be saved, remember the advice I have given you this day. Act upon it honestly and heartily, and you shall be saved.

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Exciting Days Ahead of Us

Yesterday's message at The Journey Church was an important one. It was a jolting reminder of the necessity of staying focused on the mission of the gospel. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. As we scan our cities and we behold the vast number of lost people who have not made Christ the treasure of their lives, we should be filled with compassion and determination to about our Father's business. We are also called to pray that God, the Lord of this great harvest, would send laborers to reach His people, chosen from the foundations of the earth.

There are exciting days ahead of us as a church. The excitement is centered on envisioning hundreds, if not thousands, of people coming to Christ, being baptized, and joining the mission of reaching the harvest. However, excitement around these things is not enough, we need commitment. We will need sacrifice. In the coming days these commitments and sacrifices will become more defined and more clear, but for now, the challenge is for us to pray and ask God to prepare our church for the task He is calling us to.

Please pray for me church, that I would lead as He has called me to. Pray that I would be submitted fully to Him to say, do, and act upon the things He is revealing to me. Pray for all of our elders (James Ulmer, Tim Davis, Kim Working, Kyle Heckman, Shawn Allen, me) as we huddle to pray, plan, and prepare our church for where God is leading us in the months ahead.

Greater things are yet to come!

I Love Pastoring

I had such an incredible experience this summer preaching to over 3000+ students and adults leaders. I have preached sermons which the Lord has used to bring conviction, salvation, restoration in relationships, and other types of visible fruit. These experiences have been great, and the people I have met and worked beside have been fantastic. But at the end of the day, while preaching to these large groups of people, my heart finds more joy in pastoring and shepherding the congregation in which God has made me an overseer.

I do not say this to minimize the opportunities to preach to others, but I say it to express how blessed I am that God has given me such a love for the people I pastor. I want to see them discover the riches of Christ more and more each day. The difference between being a pastor and an itinerant, is that I get to continue to walk with those and shepherd those I preach to. I enjoy this part of it more than the hour (sometimes more LOL) I am standing and exhorting them from God's Word.

We need itinerants, so this is not a knock against them, but we need more men who love their congregations, not use their congregations as stepping stones to something greater. I never want to prostitute the congregation I shepherd so that I can have more "opportunities" or a bigger platform to speak to others. I want to walk with a group of people who know me, warts in all, and still love me, and still love for me to use my gifts and calling to lead them.

I am first and foremost a pastor. I love shepherding people. I love discipling new Christians. I love sitting down with families who's marriages are struggling and pointing them to Christ and to the gospel. I love marrying people and doing their premarital counseling. As our church has grown, I have not been able to do these things for every single person, but these things still matter to me. This summer, and the opportunities I have experienced, have served to make me grateful for the Lord's favor and opening of doors to preach the gospel, but it has also served to show me that the Lord has called me to be, above any other ministry role or opportunity, a pastor. I never want to abandon the local church and her ministry for some larger platform. Regardless of what doors the Lord does or does not open for a larger platform to teach others, my heart is always to be a shepherd of a local church, who are learning together what it means to live out the gospel together.

I thank God for this. I love you Journey Church.

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Spurgeon's Heartfelt Cry & Our Evangelistic Zeal

"When I think of the thousands of souls in this great city that have never heard of Jesus, that have never listened to him; when I think of how much ignorance exists, and how little gospel preaching there is, how few souls are saved, I think - O God! what little grace I must have, that I do not strive more for souls." - Charles H. Spurgeon

The above statement, spoken by Charles Spurgeon in a sermon to his congregation in London on October 14, 1855, is still ringing with truth; it is dripping with humility and sincerity. He made the statement concerning his own heart. As he surveyed the condition of his city and the people inhabiting it, he wondered why his soul did not year more vehemently for those without Christ. This was a man who pastored what could be considered one of the first mega-churches in history (thousands of people). If you have ever read a Spurgeon sermon, you would quickly see that his zeal for the Lord and the lost is much greater than many of us would attribute to ourselves. Yet, he yearned that his soul would care more.

As we begin our week, where would we rate our zeal to see those who are lost find Christ? Do we truly see the spiritual implications of what it means for them to be ignorant of Christ? Do we truly understand the magnitude of why we were sent by Jesus to go (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)? Would we cry out and pray as Spurgeon did above?

This coming Sunday at The Journey Church, we are going to be studying Matthew 9:35-38. In this passage, Jesus states that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The land is ripe for a harvest of the gospel, but there are not many laborers willing to go. May we do as Jesus commands, "pray to the Lord of the harvest for laborers for the field," but may we also be willing to be the answer to that prayer.

Would love to hear your thoughts: Why do you think our hearts are so easily hardened and shut off from caring about the lost? What do you think needs to happen for this to change? 

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Who's The Boss?

Everyone has authority over their lives. It does not matter what environment you are in, there is usually someone in authority over you. We have bosses, coaches, teachers, parents, elders, husbands, and all sorts of different authority figures in our lives, everywhere we go. But a great question to ask yourself is this: who is the true and ultimate authority over my life?

All of us have to answer that question. The Sunday school is answer is: Jesus. The true answer is "Jesus," but many only say that because we are supposed to. While saying Jesus is our ultimate authority, many of us live as if we were. We make our decisions, doing what we want, with who we want, when we want, and how we want. "This is my life" is the mantra for someone who believes they are the ruling and reigning authority over their lives.

Others have a different authority over them. For some, their friends are their ultimate authority. This may sound strange, but when you look at how they make decisions in life, it is based off of how they believe their friends will accept or approve their decisions. What they wear. Who they hang out with. What they do with their free time. The way they talk. The activities they engage in. All of these things, and more, mark the life of someone who's friends serve as their ultimate authority.

Some of us have let the opinions of our culture and society, which changes like the weather, to be our ultimate authority. If our culture says it's okay to sleep together before marriage, then we do it. If our culture say's homosexual relationships are okay, then we approve it. If our culture says it's okay to pursue vain and lustful desires, then we engage in it. We must stand apart from a world that seeks to live according to its own desires. We must stand firm in the authority of Christ and His Word, even if the entire world were to go against what God's makes clear about His ways and what He wants His people to do.

We need to take a hard look in the mirror and evaluate whether we are truly living under the authority of Christ. Many who say they live under God's authority are only saying it, their lives and actions say something very different. To live under the authority of Christ means that we care more about what God thinks than what we or any other person thinks. We let God's Word serve as our guide, not our own opinions. This is why every word of Scripture should be taken seriously, not only the parts we have highlighted and underlined.

Pray and ask God to reveal to you how you are doing in submitting to His ultimate authority.

Questions for reflection: What things in your life need to be aligned today to better surrender to Christ. What attitudes and actions need to be repented of so that you can serve Christ as your ultimate authority, instead of someone else?


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Who Are You Trusting Today?

How aware are you of your need of Christ today? If you are a believer, at some point in your life, you came to recognize how deep your need for a Savior was. However, this is not suppose to lessen once we become a Christian. Even as a believer, we should recognize daily our deep need for the grace and mercy of Christ Jesus in our lives. We should see how utterly helpless we are without his strength and power. If you are not a believer, then you certainly need to recognize your deep need for Christ. You are only one breath away from coming face-to-face with Almighty God, who will judge you with righteousness, and you will be found guilty of law-breaking. Guilty law-breakers are sentenced to eternal death. Condemnation awaits those who have labored and toiled for their own selfish ends, rebelling against God and His ways.

Everyone, believer and unbeliever, has desperate need for Christ today. 

Our recognition of this reality will make all the difference between a person who lives self-reliant and fully surrendered. When we view our need for Christ as only a one-time event, then we miss the truth. The truth is this: we are helpless and in need of everything; we have nothing in ourselves that is sufficient or suitable for navigating the daily obstacles and challenges that we face. We need Christ. We need him more today than yesterday. As believers, we are not called to be growing in our independence from him, but in our dependence on him. We are to be fully surrendered to Christ. Each day the challenge is to lay down our lives. We are commanded to pick our cross, embrace our daily deaths, and let him live in us.

So who are you trusting today? Yourself? Or the One who said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28)

I'd love to hear your thoughts: why do we seem to lean on ourselves (even as believers) instead of daily trusting Christ and leaning on him?

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Forgiveness in the Midst of Tragedy

I am speaking about forgiveness today at Fuge Camps to over 1000 students. The subject is important to me because I have had to learn some tough lessons about it. I wrote today on Consuming Grace about my journey of learning to forgive the doctor who removed Kaleb's kidneys by accident. This was a difficult road, but one that was worth all the pain.

My story is not the only remarkable story of forgiveness. I watched a video today of another remarkable story. It is the story of young woman who was raped and had to learn how to forgive the one who did it. Take a look at her story, and the let God work on your heart about those in your life that need forgiveness.

Let God speak to you today on the issue of forgiving those who hurt you. There is freedom in Christ from all the bondage we experience, including the bondage of our past hurts.

Measure Your Love For God

We have been taught from the time we were young that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. This teaching has been repeated so often that we are almost numb to its shocking and radical nature. The truth of the matter is this: if you want to measure your love for God, test and evaluate your love for others. Then you will get an idea of the answer. There are some mind-blowing implications from the teaching "love your neighbor as yourselves," here are a few:

1. It comes on the heels of another command, the first great commandment, to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). They are connected together and inseparable. You cannot divide these two commandments from one another because they hinge on one another. Love God and love others.

2. The love we are expected and commanded to love others with is outside of our natural capacity to produce. The love we give others, that God commands and is satisfied with, comes from Him, not ourselves. This is why we must start with loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind, because it is then that we can love others. This is why the two commands are connected together. It begins with God, then moves to others.

3. We cannot say "I love God," but fail to love others. Because the two commandments are tied together, it does not allow for you to say you love God but not love others. It also means you cannot say "I love others" but fail to love God. You will not love others as you have been commanded because it will be all self-driven and self-willed. If you have no relationship with God, you will be very selfish in your love with others because love is from God (1 John 4:7).

4. A failure to love our neighbor as ourselves is not a problem with our relationship with our neighbor, but with God. At the end of the day, our love for our neighbor is a reflection of our love for God. In Christian circles we love to say, "I love them, I just don't like them." That is our "Christian" way of saying, "I don't love them." We feel like it excuses us of sin, and that's what being unloving to our neighbor is - sin. 

If we say we love God, then we must love our neighbor. If we truly love God, then we WILL love our neighbor as ourselves. It will be a natural overflow. 

Pray this prayer: Father, I recognize today that I am incapable of loving others as you have commanded me to. I am sinful, selfish, prideful, and often love conditionally. Forgive me Lord. I turn from this wickedness today and cast myself upon the mercy of Christ. I need you Lord. Strengthen me, help me, and shape me into the person who is able to love because I have been loved by You. Thank you for not casting me aside when I sin. Thank you for the love you demonstrated for me when you gave Jesus for me, even when I was still a sinner. Open my eyes today to see ways in which I can love as you have loved me. I pray for the Holy Spirit to empower me with a love that can only be supplied by You. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen. 

Offer a thought: When you look at how you love others, what does it reveal about your love for God? In what ways do you think the definition of love in our society differs from the Bible's definition to love?

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Gospel-Centered Parenting

I am reading a book right now on parenting. I usually do not read books like this, not because I dislike learning about parenting, but because most of the books I have seen are flesh-driven, rule-driven books that fall short of sharing how to parent with a gospel-centered approach. My interest was captured recently when I learned about a book from Timmy Brister on how to parent with grace and the gospel driving your philosophy and approach. The name of the book is Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids With the Love of Jesus. It is a fast and easy read. This is a book that goes beyond giving parenting tips, it teaches you the gospel. Not only does it teach you the gospel, it shows you how to contextualize the gospel in different parenting situations.

Check out a few quotes from the book to get an idea:

In talking about the need for God to do a work in and through our children, instead of trusting that our "good parenting" can fix/change/save our kids: "There are no promises in the Bible that even our best parenting will produce good children. None." (59)

"We have far too high a view of our ability to shape our children and far too low a view of God's love and trustworthiness." (57)

"Raising good kids is utterly impossible unless they are drawn by the Holy Spirit to put their faith in the goodness of another. You cannot raise good kids, because you're not a good parent." (50)

On the encouragement and accolades we give our kids for "obeying the rules" or "being nice" they say, "Our encouragement should aways stimulate praise for God's grace rather than our goodness." (43)

"If a Mormon can parent the same way you do, then your parenting isn't Christian." (37)

On the issue of teaching our kids to flesh and fear-driven obedience, "Every way we try to make our kids good that isn't rooted in the good news of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ is damnable, crushing, despair-breeding, Pharisee-producing law." (36)

"Instead of the gospel of grace, we've given them daily baths in a "sea of narcissistic moralism."" (20)

You can tell from these quotes the tone and nature of the book. It gives lots of practice helps and examples to accompany the biblically-centered truths. At the end of the day, I want to be a parent that teaches my kids the gospel, through my parenting. I do not want to preach the gospel to them, only to then teach moralism and flesh-driven obedience. This book has sparked in me a desire for other parents to evaluate their parenting through the lenses of the gospel. This fall, I am considering doing a parenting seminar around this book. Let me know if this would interest you.

I would love to hear from you: Is your parenting grace-centered or law-centered? Are you teaching your children the gospel through your parenting or are you encouraging and celebrating the idea of their own efforts to "obey rules" and act like "good little boys and girls."

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Affection-Driven Devotion

I am hitting the road this morning to preach two more weeks of Fuge Camps in Greenville, S. Carolina. I was called to fill in for a guy who had an emergency situation with his family. I have already preached three weeks and it has been an amazing experience. I blogged about it here recently.

The message I open camp with each week is the difference between the Affection-Driven life vs the Obligation-Driven life. As Christians we are often taught about our need to read the Bible, pray, serve others, attend church, give, love one another, submit to authority, relate to the lost, and the list goes on. These things are not wrong or bad, but they can become stumbling blocks if not taught properly. The motivation behind "why" we do them is equally as important as doing them. 

Many of us have been taught throughout our lives and our Christian experience the do's and don'ts, the right's and wrong's. The issue we need to wrestle over is not "do I do these things" but "why do I do these things?" Is my obedience the fruit of my relationship with Christ or am I attempting to make them the root of my salvation. In other words, do I do a lot of things in an effort to make God happy with me or do I do these things because they are a naturally outpouring of my affections for Christ? We are called to do the right things and live the Christian life in obedience, but these things stem from a heart filled with a love for God that has been created by the grace of God, through the faith provided as a gift by God. 

In Psalm 42:1-2 David speaks about how his soul thirsts for God, the Living God. He talks about how a deer pants for water, and that likewise, his soul pants for God. This is the writing and expressions of a person who's affections for the Lord are stoked white-hot. When is the last time you could say David's prayer and heart expression has been your own? His heart is a great example and model of one that exhibits great affections for the Lord.

When it comes to evangelism, we don't need new strategies, we need new hearts. Hearts driven by affections for the Lord. When it comes to relating to authority, we don't need to try harder to submit to imperfect leaders, we begin by submitting to the Lord who has placed those leaders over us. When it comes to loving others, we don't wait until people are more lovable, we begin by loving the One who fuels our capacity to love. When it comes to forgiving others, we don't wait until people deserve forgiveness, we begin by praising the God who forgave us through the precious blood of His Son. This drives us to forgive others. It all begins with our relationship with God. 

This is what it means to live an affection-driven life as opposed to the obligation-driven life. We cannot and will not live the Christian life with any joy or fulfillment if it is done as a duty or obligation. We must be driven by our affections for Christ Jesus, who is altogether lovely, who is altogether beautiful. Fix your gaze upon him and find your affections stirred and raised to fervent pitch! Hallelujah, what a Savior! How could we not want to live for him and his glory!?!

What are some things you have found that help to stir your affections for the Lord? For me it is reciting the gospel to myself and reflecting on the unique aspects of Christ's roles as Redeemer, Bridegroom, Advocate, and Friend to me. These always serve to fan my devotions for Christ into flame.

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Big Day in the Life of The Journey

Today was a HUGE day in the life of The Journey Church. For years now we have had no membership in our church. It has taken a lot of study and a lot of listening from leaders far smarter than me to realize that it is biblical and necessary. The elders and I engaged in a lengthy process of studying this subject and walking through what a healthy membership would look like in our church. We begin offering membership classes next week and will continue to offer them quarterly. I am excited about what this means for us as a church.

What benefits are there in membership? Why should we do this?

1. It allows for the elders and staff to more effectively shepherd the flock God has brought to The Journey. 

2. It sets out clear expectations as to how leaders in the church will serve and pastor the flock, while also providing clear expectations as to what it means to be a member of a church. 

3. It allows for people to know what we are about as a church, as we have the opportunity to teach and talk about it in the membership format. 

4. It creates a definable group at The Journey that we can call "the church." 

Some time early this week the message from Sunday will be on the website under the "Stand Alone" messages category. You can listen to the sermon I gave about why church membership is a biblical expectation. In the message, I lay out why this subject is so important.

If you do not go through the membership process at the church, we are not going to ask you to leave or treat you like a second-class citizen. That is not the aim of installing membership. But I must add to that promise, a second promise, which is we will not stop pushing you and challenging you as to what it means to be a Christian, to be connected and committed to a local body of believers.

This was a BIG day in the life of The Journey. We have a long ways to go before we are able to say we have arrived, but I can honestly say that I have never been more excited about where we are as a church. The things I see our church growing in go far beyond numbers of people in the seats. I see us growing in our desire to be biblically faithful. I see us growing in our desire to live out what it means to be the church. I pray this continues. May we continue to remain connected and committed to one another, under the banner of Christ, as we the bride follow him in covenant together.

It is my joy to be your pastor.

Why do you think it is becoming harder in our culture to have people covenant with the church in membership? What can be done to help with this?

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The Short Life-Span of Suffering

One day suffering will be swallowed up. It will be engulfed. The things that often torment and haunt us now will eventually be defeated and we will triumph with joy abounding forever. Eternity offers us the hope that our present sufferings are only temporary.

Paul says in Romans 8:18 (ESV) "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

These things we face, and everyone faces them, will eventually be history. God has promised victory. One day those in Christ will experience this victory. Dostoevsky, the 19th century Russian novelists, understood this. In his book The Brothers Karamazov he makes this amazing statement:

"I have a childlike conviction that the sufferings will be healed and smoothed over, that the whole offensive comedy of human contradictions will disappear like a pitiful mirage, a vile concoction of man's Euclidean mind, feeble and puny as an atom, and that ultimately, at the world's finale, in the moment of eternal harmony, there will occur and be revealed something so precious that it will suffice for all hearts, to allay all indignation, to redeem all human villainy, all bloodshed; it will suffice not only to make forgiveness possible, but also to justify everything that has happened with men."*

Many are going through different trials and tribulations today. Would you pray for them today and ask the Lord to strengthen and encourage them? Would you also pray for the Lord to bring forth the day in which all things will be restored, and the above description comes to pass? Suffering does have a short life-span. We must remember that. It is partly how we are able to carry on in the midst of it.

How can remembering suffering has a short life-span serve to better endure it?

Related posts: A Prayer for the Overwhelmed

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*Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002), 235-236

The Guardian - Releases September 1st

Robbie Cheuvront, the worship leader at The Journey Church, and one of my best friends, and I have been in Atlanta the last few days doing interviews with television and radio programs. We have been here to talk with people about The Guardian. The Guardian is a book that Robbie and I wrote that is a fast-paced thrill-ride where a young girl is trying to unlock the secret of an ancient scroll passed down to her through her family from the disciple John. It has the feel of a National Treasure type goose-chase.

The book is a fiction book, but it is not just entertainment. The beauty of the book is that it is communicating spiritual principles and the gospel through story. It is a great book for someone who is not a big reader of non-fiction. It is a great book for someone you may want to have a conversation with about faith. It is a great book for believers to be forced to wrestle with their own willingness to do what God calls them to do.

We are incredibly excited about it and we are getting phenomenal feedback from everyone who has read it. We would love for you to purchase a copy. Take a look at the video trailer for it below.



You can pre-order the The Guardian now from Amazon or pick it up at your local book retailer on September 1st.

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The Gospel Still Works

I have been behind on blogging for the last week. I was speaking for Fuge Camps at Belmont and could not find the time needed to do it. This summer I had the opportunity to speak for three weeks at Fuge Camps, two in Missouri and one here in Nashville. I had insecurities going into this experience because I questioned whether the 31 year old pastor, who preaches for almost an hour, would be accepted. I had heard how some camp pastors approached their messages at these camps and I did not feel that is what God was calling me to do. I made the decision to approach camp like I approach preaching at church: being faithful to the Scriptures and preaching Jesus.

To my amazement, though I should not have been amazed - THE GOSPEL STILL WORKS.

The way God moved in the three weeks I had the opportunity to preach at Fuge just grounded me further in the fact that the preaching and teaching of God's Word is the key to seeing lives changed. Humor does not change lives. Sappy emotional stories do not change lives. These things are not bad things, but if they replace the gospel, they are. The good ole' fashion gospel message is still enough to change people; in fact, it is THE THING that changes people.

Instead of feeling like we need to make God more likable or Christianity more palatable, we should lay before people the unadjusted gospel message. We should be quick to communicate the truths of Scripture and call them to believe. I do not know the full impact of the three weeks I preached camp, but I do know that many students came to believe, an adult chaperone became a believer, and many youth pastors and leaders encouraged me that it was such a great week for them.

I praise God that He would use me to be a part of His great redemptive work. I am amazed that He would, but I should not be, because it is the gospel that holds the power, no matter who shares it, or how old they are.

What things do you feel we try to replace the gospel with in order to make God more likable to sinners or Christianity more palatable?

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What is the Gospel?

So many people talk about "the gospel" but so few define it the same way. There are many versions of the gospel that are not the gospel at all. There are distortions of the gospel which only set forward part of the truth, while neglecting other parts. An example of this would be a gospel that proclaims that God is love, which He certainly is, but neglects to speak about the wrath of God poured out on unrepentant sinners, which He absolutely will. If this is the gospel message shared, then it is not the gospel.

I cannot cover every aspect of the gospel, nor will I try, in one blog post. But what I do want to attempt to do is give you a skeleton for understanding and explaining the gospel. I did not create this; in fact, there have been great books written on the subject which go into incredible detail about this gospel skeleton and other facets (two of these would be What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert and Counterfeit Gospels by Trevin Wax). Here is one way to help remember and explain the gospel.

The Gospel:

1. God - the gospel message begins with God. The Bible tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God was here first. God is eternal. He is Creator of all things. God is Sovereign King over all things. The Bible describes Him as ruling and reigning the world. It is His sovereign plan that governs everything. In addition to being creator, God is holy. He is holy, more holy than any of us can fathom. He is perfect in all His ways. He cannot sin, nor can He put up with sin. Because of sin, God will also be Just Judge of the world. In His perfect righteousness He will judge the world according to His perfect standard. God created humanity to experience close and loving fellowship, to be His image-bearers in the world.

2. Man - man, who was created in the image of God, for fellowship and worship of God, has rebelled. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. We have chosen our own ways over God's ways. We are selfish at our core, and we willingly sin against His perfect standard. Our condition is a result of the fall of Adam in Genesis 3, yet all are guilty because sin is done willingly and often. In our fallen condition, man is separated from God and will one day suffer under His righteous and just judgment for sin. We must all stand before God and give an account for our lives. The Bible declares that all are guilty. In this state, man is without hope.

3. Christ - But God, being rich in mercy, showed His love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ Jesus died for us. God made him (Jesus) to be sin, who knew no sin, so that we might become His righteousness. The story of the gospel is the story of God's rescue and redemption of sinners through His one and only Son Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Godhead, has existed from the beginning of time. He willingly stepped out of heaven and into history, so that he could live a perfectly righteous and sinless life, accomplishing the demands of the law, and went to the cross, so that he could take upon himself the sin of his people. At the cross, Jesus Christ drank dry the cup of God's wrath reserved for sinners. He took what he did not deserve, so he could give what humanity did not deserve. He gave his life for sinners and was killed on the cross, but on the third day he rose again. He was raised in victory, conquering Satan, sin, and death, and ascended back to heaven where he sits ruling and reigning the world, awaiting the day he will return to bring judgement and the restoration of all things.

4. Response - the only thing that we as sinful humans can do in response to this good news is reject it or surrender to it. This news requires a response. We cannot simply agree with it, rather belief in it requires a surrender to God. Our response is faith and repentance. We turn our lives over completely to the will of God. We trust Jesus Christ and we follow him. Our lives are made new in response to this message. We are forgiven, saved, redeemed, restored, and made new in Christ. We are then called to live our lives for the glory of God in all things, seeking to love as He has loved, and to share this good news with others.

This is just one tool that can be helpful for remembering, reciting, and reflecting on the gospel. Take time to review this with yourself. Practice sharing it to yourself. Remember God, Man, Christ, Response and learn to take your faith and the gospel everywhere you go.

Have you found other tools that are helpful for sharing the gospel? What things about this method do you think can be helpful for you?


An older post similar to this topic: The Death of Orthodoxy


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Homosexuality and Christianity

Homosexuality and Christianity. Can these two words go together? This issue is a hot-button topic. As Christians, we are being bombarded as to how we are to receive homosexuality as an acceptable choice for people to make. We are told that we should not speak against it. We are made to feel that if we disagree with this view that we are the ones who are weird and from another world. I have preached a sermon on this topic and shared my views on this subject. I will probably do another one in the near future. For now, I want to offer a great read from Al Mohler in the Wall Street Journal about this topic.

Al Mohler Article in the Wall Street Journal

I would love for you to comment here your thoughts on the article and this subject. Please be respectable in your comments, showing Christlike character, regardless of what side of this issue you land on.

Greed is the Enemy of Gratitude

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." - James 1:16-17 (ESV)

Every good and perfect gift is from above. This statement is a reminder of the source of every blessing we have. There is no such thing as something that you have earned or attained for yourself. There are many who work hard, do the right things, and strive to succeed, who do not experience the desired outcome. We should be reminded that "every," not some, of the blessings we have received come from God. This should be cause for gratitude to well up within us as we think about every thing in our lives worth giving thanks for:

* our family

* our home/residence

* the meals we eat

* the air we breath

* the electric bill (because we have air-conditioning)

* our vehicle(s)

* our children

* your job

* the computer you are reading this on

* our health

This list could go on and on; in fact, you should attempt to continue the list for the purpose of seeing just how blessed you are. We have every reason to be people of gratitude as we think about our many blessings. 

The enemy of gratitude is greed. Greed is not just an attitude that says, "I want, I want," but it is an attitude that thinks, "I deserve, I deserve." Greed is the sinful trait in us that wars against gratitude. Instead of being thankful for every blessing we have been given, we feel like we deserve everything, and more. Greed moves us to take for ourselves. Greed says, "take for yourself; get what you deserve; put your own needs first." If we understand that God is the giver of every perfect gift and blessing we have, then it should produce gratitude, which ultimately produces generosity. If we are not people of generosity then we have a problem with gratitude. If we have a problem with gratitude then we can be assured we are battling greed. 

It looks a little something like this:

Your Life - Gratitude = Greed

Your Life + Gratitude = Generosity

Gratitude is the key. If we are people of gratitude we will soon become people of generosity. If we are not people of gratitude we will find ourselves struggling with greed. If you want to help boost your level of gratitude, continue to reflect on James 1:16-17. Take Scripture's advice: do not be deceived, God is the giver of everything you and I have, and for this, we should be eternally grateful. 

Take time today to reflect on the many things you have to be grateful for, and recognize that God is the Author of the blessing. What is your biggest struggle with gratitude vs greed? Does your level of generosity demonstrate your gratitude accurately or does it demonstrate your greed?

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Treasuring the Word of God

I watched this video yesterday and it ROCKED MY WORLD. You do not have to watch the entire thing to walk away changed, just watch the first 5 minutes of it. Notice the enthusiasm these people have as they anticipate receiving the Bible in their language. Listen to the prayer the elder man prays around the 3 minute mark as they receive the Bibles. Watch how grown men weep as their people receive God's Word for the first time in their community.



Question: do we treasure the Word of God in this way? In what ways does this make you grateful for having God's Word and how will it move you to engage it more?