thinking about the year ahead…

"What do you think of the Messiah?  (Matthew 22.42)

This is the crucial question, as William Haslan discovered on October 19th, 1851, when he stepped up to the pulpit and started to preach. Suddenly, he realized for the first time who Jesus really was and “felt a wonderful light and joy coming into my soul.” A moment later, a man in the congregation leaped up and shouted, “The parson’s converted! The parson’s converted! Hallelujah!” The whole congregation and the pastor joined in an outburst of praise.

Today, people are hungry for Jesus, even when they are disillusioned about Christians. Yet secular media markets indicate that there continues to be an enormous interest in Jesus. When people turn their eyes on Jesus, they can be amazed, challenged, and/or enthralled.

The history of Western civilization reflects this hunger and fascination with the person and work of Jesus Christ. Dostoevsky wrote: “I believe that there is no one lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, and more perfect than Jesus. I tell myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him, but there could never be anyone else like Him.” Tennyson noted: “His character was more wonderful than the greatest miracle.” Napoleon stated: “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have found great empires.  But upon what did these creations of our genius depend?  Force.  Jesus alone founded an Empire upon love, and to this day, millions follow Him… I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ was no mere man:  Between Him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible comparison.”

As you embark on a new year with its challenges, opportunities, decisions, and relationships, would you take a moment to honestly ask yourself, “What do I, INSERTYOURNAMEHERE, think of Jesus?” Be honest, who is He? How would you describe Him to others? Let us start the year honestly before Him. If we answer that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord God in the flesh— then let us make a commitment to give this year to Him so that our lives might honor Him. If we truly believe, then may it never be said of us: “for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.” (Romans 1.21) 

In the event that you are reading this and not sure what to make of Jesus, then let me urge you to use 2024 to come to terms with His identity, His claims, and His work. If you are reading this and you are confident in the person, power, and promise of Jesus, then let me challenge you to embrace an intentional mindset that will endeavor to use this year to be co-workers with Christ in his wondrous labor of redemption.

Be a peacemaker, not a polarizer;
Be a reconciler, not a divider;
Be redemptive, not condemning;
Be a healer, a person of prayer, a witness, and a community builder.
Let there be no confusion about Who we live for;
Let there be no misunderstanding about Who we belong to;
Let there be no confusion concerning to Whom our allegiance lies;
In this election year – Let us not be distracted, double-minded, or frightened.
Redemption comes from heaven, not Washington;
Souls are transformed by revelation, not legislation;
We are ambassadors for Christ;
We are heralds of His Kingdom;
We will not put our hope in a donkey or an elephant;
The Lion Who is the Lamb needs no assistance;
Looks for no allies;
His power is undiminished;
His grace remains relentless, and
His truth is everlasting.

As we begin 2024, let me invite you to echo the Apostle Paul with these words: “I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I am willing to suffer the loss of all things and regard them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death…” (see Philippians 3.8-11)

Dear ones, we live life in the shape of a cross…

Carnegie Simpson, of all people, observed: “Instinctively, we do not class him with others.  When we read His name in a list beginning with Confucious and ending with Goethe, we feel it is an offense... Jesus is not one of the world's great.  Talk about Alexander the Great, Charles, Napoleon, if you will.  Jesus is not Jesus the Great.  He is the only.  He is simply Jesus.  Nothing could add to that.” 

So I conclude with the opening question: What do you think of the Messiah? How you answer that question will determine the trajectory of your lives in 2024.

the subterranean method

you also joining in helping us through your prayers… For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.  (2 Corinthians 1.11; 10.4)

I do not know a devoted Jesus follower who does not want their whole life to count for Christ. Each of us wants to be used by God to influence people and participate in the eternal legacy of Jesus Christ. We, who have been embraced and empowered by His love and grace, naturally want to express His love and grace to others. Let me suggest one method that is tried and true— it has changed individuals, transformed whole families, demolished walls of racism and ethnic strife, and it has even toppled civilizations. I shall call it the “subterranean method”— you know it more simply as prayer.

There is a fascinating verse in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians where he invites their prayerful support for his evangelistic work. In 2 Corinthians 1.11, the word translated as “helping together” is a compound word that contains the word, “underneath.” In context the beginning of the verse literally says: “You also helping underneath together in prayer.” Why would he choose to employ this word only here instead of the other words for help he draws upon more commonly? What could such a phrase mean to Paul? Could it be he was thinking of the fortresses that were such common structures in the ancient world? Evangelism involves storming strongholds in people’s lives, but frequently a frontal personal assault is often ineffective just like storming the fortresses of the ancient world. Instead, what is needed is a tunnel. This will require a common and sustained effort. Such work is unseen and unsung. But it is crucial if the fortress is to be taken. Prayer is like that. It assails the inner recesses of a person’s will in a way that all our talking cannot.

J. I. Packer writes:

“However clear and cogent we may be in our presentation of the gospel, we have no hope of convincing and converting anyone.  Can you or I, by earnest talking break the power of Satan over a person’s life?  No!  Can you or I give life to the spiritually dead? No! Can we hope to convince sinners of the truth of the gospel by patient explanation? No! Can we hope to move people to believe the gospel by any words of entreaty that we may utter? No! Our approach to evangelism is not realistic until we have faced this shattering fact, and let it make its proper impact upon us.”

Now, let me confess to you at once that all of this is counter-intuitive for me. By temperament, I would much rather storm walls than tunnel away in prayer. But time and experience continue to confront me with the reality that it is the tunneling that counts and prevails.

Foolish is the Christian— and I have frequently been the fool— who does not remember that reality exceeds the yardstick of the scientist. There are natural laws for the realities of nature, and there spiritual laws that are natural to the realities of the Kingdom of God. In the natural realms, gravity can exert a force that causes things to fall. In spiritual realms prayer can exert a force that, while unseen in the natural, has the capacity to cause “things” to fall.

The fall of Jericho (Joshua 6) testifies to the power of God’s ways. God instructed the Israelites to march around Jericho for six days in a huge worship procession. Then, on the seventh day, they marched again, gave a shout unto the Lord, and the city walls collapsed. Israel’s victory was not the fruit of their prodigious vocal strength! Victory came because something “subterranean” was happening in the spiritual realm that would breach the structural integrity of the walls in the natural realm.

The movement of God always begins in “spiritual places.” The call to Abraham, the Exodus, the selection of David, the prophet’s vision, the coming of Jesus, the day of Pentecost— from where did these come? From the realms of nature of the realm of the Spirit? Prayer is the one tool that God has given us to impact the fallen spiritual realm, which buttresses the bastions of evil, sin, and brokenness in and around us.

So, if you feel like you are banging your head against a wall that will not budge, perhaps it’s time to start tunneling…

for a purpose… the Mordecai question

Please indulge me as I tell you a true story… It was a golden age. The nation had triumphed at war; the economy was prosperous, and the people enjoyed their newfound affluence. The nation enjoyed her emerging status as a world superpower. Women of wealth enjoyed elaborate cosmetic makeovers (a combination of diet, exercise, and beauty treatments), while other notable women contested for respect and their rights. Nevertheless, it was still a very conservative era when every man was encouraged to be king of his own castle.

The country is Persia. The place is Susa, the nation’s capital. The time is 486-465 BC. The king is Ahasuerus, in the third year of his reign, and his queen is Esther. Her ascent to the throne came by way of her beauty, not her bloodline. She was truly the Cinderella, the Princess Kate Middleton of her day. Her life as a royal was a far cry from the life she had known as a child.

Esther, born Hadassah, was orphaned as a child when her parents were taken captive in Jerusalem and carried away to Persia. She was adopted and raised by her older cousin, Mordecai, under whose tutelage imparted a love for her Jewish heritage and faith. And so it was that Hadassah, the spoil of war, trafficked for her beauty, became the young woman Esther– a woman whose beauty and grace would ultimately capture the king’s gaze and later his affection. Twelve months after their first meeting, she would be made queen. By all accounts, she was loved and popular– her husband even established a national holiday in her honor. But there is a storm on the horizon, and Esther is on a collision course with her destiny…

Ahasuerus appoints a new Prime Minister who conspires to settle the Jewish question once and for all. He capitalizes upon the pride and prejudice of his day as he promises the king a great multiplication of wealth once the Jews are disposed of –– some arguments never change. Genocide is now the order of the day.

Mordecai enjoins Esther to use her position of influence to stay the king’s hand but he is abruptly rebuffed. Esther professes helplessness and protests that she, too, will be killed if she walks into the king’s inner court uninvited. But Mordecai will not be dissuaded and exhorts her with words that ring out across the centuries: “Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for such a time as this.”

****************

Mordecai's question exhorts us to rediscover our sense of purpose. Like Esther, it is not by accident that you are where you are. Even if this is a season of transition, you have a God-given purpose for being where you are. If not you, then who is God calling to exercise the watchful care of others where you are? If not you, then who is God calling to show forth energy, fidelity, tenacity, generosity, and grace where you are? If not you, then who is God calling to sacrificially serve and illuminate the presence of Jesus and His kingdom where you are? If not you, then who?

It is from within this context that I have been reflecting on my own statement:

• I have a purpose.

• My purpose is to multiply God's Kingdom presence anywhere I have the opportunity.

• I won't be happy until and unless I am living out my purpose.

• I can best fulfill my purpose as part of a Kingdom community

• Since I have no guarantee of mortal life tomorrow, I must pursue my purpose today.

Dear ones, I believe you are where you are for such a time as this…

for a purpose… continued

The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the evil one. (1John 3.8)

God is purposeful.

Before your parents conceived you
   He conceived you.
You are not an accident,
nor are you the fruit of a moment’s passion.
You were deliberately fashioned.
   and richly endowed.
You were born of God’s purpose
   and you were born for God’s purpose.

Several years ago, as part of a Strengthfinders exercise, I was encouraged to write a purpose statement… I believe that God has used it to give me a “true north” that I can daily calibrate my life to:

• I have a purpose.
• My purpose is to multiply God's Kingdom presence anywhere I have the opportunity.
• I won't be happy until and unless I am living out my purpose.
• I can best fulfill my purpose as part of a Kingdom community
• Since I have no guarantee of mortal life tomorrow I must pursue my purpose today.

I have a purpose.
Everyone who has been twice born through Jesus Christ has been lovingly and strategically created for a purpose. There is nothing more tragic than aimless Christians who have lost their grasp of this simple reality. Purposelessness is surely a barometric reading of the true condition of our soul. The plethora of Christian self-help titles suggest that we have exchanged the great ends of the Church for trifling illusions that personal fulfillment is merely reflected in emotional well-being and daily convenience. This is narcissism, not discipleship.

God’s purpose for us, and through us, is robust, life-affirming, and fruitful. It will add dimension and meaning to every facet of our lives and will endow every relationship, every opportunity, and all our time with significance.

My purpose is to multiply God’s Kingdom presence anywhere I have the opportunity. I am called to live in a perpetual state of rebellion. G. K. Chesterton once noted that the devil rebelled against heaven and fell to earth, holding creation captive but the Christian rebels against the devil that we might liberate creation to rise to heaven.

Spiritual warfare is not an option for followers of Jesus Christ. Evil is real. The devil will not go away unless he is put to flight. The Scriptures testify that Jesus came to destroy the works of the evil one. This is our purpose too.

I concede that it is difficult to look in the mirror and recite: “My purpose is to destroy the works of the evil one.” I know because I tried it on several occasions and felt foolish! I found that the moment I declared aloud, “My purpose is to destroy the works of the evil one,” I was defeated by thoughts of my own powerlessness- not even my dog comes when I call!

I was liberated when the Holy Spirit led me to a study of 1John 3.8. I discovered that the Greek word translated, “destroy” is more frequently translated as “loose” or “untie” in the New Testament.  There, I remembered one of my favorite sweaters being destroyed by my oldest daughter when she was three. She merely found a dangling strand that she continued to pull until an entire sleeve was gone! Every day, I have the possibility of meeting people or facing situations with dangling strands that I can pull with the person and power of Jesus Christ.

 I will not be satisfied with my life until I am fulfilling my purpose.
You are created and called by God for a purpose. Therefore, embedded deep within you are yearnings whose origins lie in the eternal heart of God. Living for the trophies of this world will never satiate these longings. Their home is the kingdom of God. Seek first the kingdom of God, and you will gain the personal satisfaction you long for.

I can best fulfill my purpose by being part of a Kingdom community — a team!
We cannot fulfill our purpose alone. Tony Gwinn (5 time National League batting champion) may be called to play right field and hit .366, but he never did win a game unless he participated on a team. There is nothing Satan appreciates more than unplugged Christians who are adrift from the Body of Christ, distracted by the world’s allure, and preoccupied with their own happiness.

I have no promise of mortal life tomorrow, so I must fulfill my purpose today!
Even though I have the promise of eternal life forever. We have no way of knowing when illness, accident, or violence may end our mortal lives. Live the life you are called to today. Look around you… your life is full of opportunities to untie and loose the works of the devil in the lives of others. Go on… pull those strings…

So let me ask you again, will you rejoice, reflect and recommit yourself to God’s purposes for you and through you in 2024?

for a purpose…

I have shared the following before, but I share it here in hopes that it might encourage you as you stand at the nexus between 2023 and 2024.

“My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention…” (Isaiah 46.10)

God is purposeful… 
            No exercise of His might,
                        no declaration of His wisdom,
                                    and no expression of His love
                                                is trivial, capricious, or random.

God is purposeful…

He does not say one thing and do another.
            He does not undermine His own advance
                        through indecision or retraction.
                                    He does not take three steps forward
                                                and two steps back.  

God is purposeful…

He is undeterred, unhindered, and undistracted.
            His love is resolute and
                        His tenderness is relentless.
                                    Therefore He will never turn away
                        until He has accomplished everything
            that He has purposed
within the counsel of His will.  

God is purposeful…

In Jesus dwelled the fullness of God
            and the fullness of God’s purpose.
In Jesus God purposed to become man
            in order to take up our case.
In Jesus God closes the breach, gulf, and abyss
            between God and us for which we are responsible. 

God is purposeful… 

At the very point where we
            refuse and fail
                        offend and provoke
         miss our destiny
            tread underfoot our dignity,
               and lose our salvation…
                     God purposed to intervene as a man
                     in the person and work of Jesus. 

God is purposeful.

He makes no mistakes.
   He has no regrets.
      He faces our future with
         unrestricted liberty
            uncompromising devotion
               unlimited resources
                  unbounded wisdom
                     and unconditional love. 

God is purposeful.

Before your parents conceived you
   He conceived you.
You are not an accident nor
   are you the fruit of a moment’s passion.
You were deliberately fashioned
   and richly endowed.
You were born of God’s purpose
   and you were born for God’s purpose.     

God is purposeful.

Will you rejoice, reflect and recommit yourself to God’s purposes for you and through you in 2024?

the blessed hope…

Luke 2.25-32: And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 A Light of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”

His heart was beating fast; quickened by an awakening of the Holy Spirit that echoed back to an earlier day… an earlier promise that was seared into his soul by God: “Simeon you will not see the darkness of your death until you see the Light of the world. Look and keep looking! Behold He is coming…”

The whole world changed for Simeon that day…

All things final
   now looked temporary…
Everything substantial
   now seemed as a shadow of things to come…
The grip of tyranny
   now appeared to be slipping…
The monopoly of sin, death, and demonic evil
   now appeared usurped…
The promises of God once distant
   now pressed in upon his soul with imminent urgency.

The world changed for Simeon that day…

Each new dawn might be the world’s last…
   Every man’s face might be His face…
Any incident might be a sign for his coming…
   Simeon was now a seeker…
      his nights would be an occasion for disappointment…
         his mornings an opportunity for new hope…

The world changed for Simeon that day… and his daily, hourly, and minute-by-minute challenge would be that his world would not change back to what it was before...a life without expectation.

And so it was that his aging heart was beating fast as he scanned the Temple court for a man of stature… a command- ing presence … a self-authenticating bearing and authority that betrayed a messianic identity. Instead his soul leapt within him when his gaze fell upon a nondescript couple that cradled a 6-week-old child in their arms. Unbelievably, it was not the father but the baby who commanded his attention. He took the child into his arms and looked through the veil of his flesh into the face of God.

My heart is quickened this Advent season by the opportunity to look into the face of the Child Messiah as the Holy Spirit challenges me to confess aloud what I see…

I see in Jesus the Promised One of God who is
   the Son of Abraham
      in Whom all nations on Earth can be blessed;
   the Son of David
      Who establishes & reigns over a Kingdom that has no end;
   the Messiah
      Who comes to deliver His people from bondage;
   the Suffering Servant
      Who bears the punishment my sins deserve;
   the Son of Man
      Who came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.

I see in Jesus the Lamb of God
   Who makes atonement and takes away the sin of the world;
      Who overcomes the reproach of my sin;
   Who covers over my shame;
      Who forgives me of my guilt;
   Who reconciles me to God and others.

I see in Jesus the Son of God
   the Creator who has become a Creature;
      the One in whom all things hold together;
   the One by Whom and for Whom I was made;
      the One whose face is the face of the invisible God;
   the One who exemplifies all we were meant to be; and
      the One who is like what we, by His grace, shall be.

I see in Jesus the Love of God
   that reaches out to the outcast;
      that invites the overlooked;
   that befriends without prejudice;
      that satisfies the hungry and satiates the thirsty;
   that will never leave, forsake, or abandon me.

I see in Jesus the Power of God
   that stills the wind and calms the waves;
      that heals the sick;
   that breaks the strongholds of evil;
      that delivers the afflicted;
   that liberates the oppressed and harassed;
      and that baptizes us with the Holy Spirit.

I see in Jesus the Blessed Hope of God.
   When He returns it will be:
      the end of death, decay, and evil;
   the finish of injustice, corruption, prejudice, and greed;
      the termination of sin’s despair, depravity, and defilement;
   the close of insignificance, estrangement;
      abandonment, and futility;
   the end of now and the beginning of forever;
      the fulfillment of our unfulfillment;
   and the final joy in Whom I shall take pleasure.

I see in Jesus the Once and Future Lamb of God
   Who will wipe every tear from the mourning;
      Who will overcome every advocacy of evil;
   Who will vanquish the ravages of sin;
      Who covers all shame with the robes of his righteousness;
   Who will welcome the poor and broken;
      Who will light all eternity and dispel night forever.

I see in Jesus our Coming-King:
   Resplendent is His majesty;
      Triumphant is His victory;
   Magnificent is His authority;
      Jubilant is His shout;
   Death-defeating is His roar; and
      “It is Done” will be His song!

I confess along with Martin Luther, “I have no other God than the one who once rested on Mary’s lap.”

This Christmas, who do you see as you look into the face of the baby Jesus? Is He your blessed hope? Do you have assurance that He can be your consolation, too? If you are uncertain, why not take a moment to pray, “Jesus, come into my life and be my blessed hope and consolation.” This is not simply a first-time surrender prayer; it is the prayer of every soul who realizes that Jesus can fill the breach created by a fallen world, sinful choices, and unfulfilled yearnings.

With expectation for the Coming-King…

ecclesiology 101

For we are God's building... like living stones being built into a house. (1 Corinthians 3:9; 1 Peter 1.5)

The New Testament teaches us three radical truths about the nature of the Church.

God's building is not a holy place;
God's building is a holy people...
God’s building is not inanimate;
God’s building is alive…
God's building is not complete;
it is still under construction…

God’s building is a holy people. Followers of Jesus Christ do not go to church for the simple reason that followers of Jesus Christ are the Church. We do not go to church each week; we go to worship each week. Christians in our culture have to fight against an Edifice Complex that tempts us to place our identity in buildings rather than in relationships. A building has never preached the gospel, housed the homeless, fed the hungry, healed the sick, loved the lonely, or delivered the afflicted. Together, we are God’s building—He promises to dwell among us. Individually, we are not the building, we are the brick!

Individual followers of Jesus Christ may not echo the proclamation of Henry David Thoreau, "I am my own church." Time and again, Scripture exhorts us not to neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some (Hebrews 10.25). Nothing guts the momentum of a Christian fellowship faster than sporadic participation and attendance. How will the bricks be built together if they remain scattered and distant? Scripture is very clear: God expects our faith to be lived out in the community. He intends us to be contributors, not merely consumers—to be otherwise is to deprive and weaken God's house.   He calls us to be a vital part of a people movement that is much greater than we can ever imagine or implement alone.

God’s building is alive. The Church is made up of living stones, not cold, inanimate ones. The building God is constructing is alive to Christ and responsive to His call. It is neither ostentatious nor pretentious. It is not constructed for the privileged few or for other bricks that look just like us. The building of the Lord is a multipurpose structure designed to be a living reference point for the arrival of God's kingdom. The bricks are not fixed or inflexible. While this analogy may be an architectural impossibility, it reflects God's design for His Church today. He is building one Church—united, interdependent, and alive. Yet our impact upon the world shall be contingent upon our—the bricks’—willingness to be built together by the Lord into the house of His choosing.

God’s building is still under construction. It may be helpful to remember that most buildings under construction look like a terrible mess, at least to our untrained eye, until the last stage is reached. The same is true with the Church. The dust and dirt, chaos and confusion may make it hard to believe that this could really be the temple of God. Yet, if we have faith and patience, we will see that the Architect and Builder is hard at work and knows very well what He is doing. He has established our foundation and set our cornerstone—Jesus Christ. His personal oversight ensures that the house will be radiant, responsive, and resilient. It is the life of Jesus among us that will sustain the whole and give shape to what is built. In Him, the whole building is joined together and will arise to become a holy temple in the Lord (see Ephesians 2:21).

Every generation that fails to grasp and implement these simple truths is destined to create a church that will be little more than an irrelevant religious icon on the cultural landscape and not the transforming presence that God has intended her to be. She will be visionless, passionless, exclusive, and mired in institutional self-preservation. Membership will displace discipleship. Conformity will eclipse creativity. Political agendas (whether on the right or the left) will replace God’s Kingdom mandates. Quid-pro-quo will consume agape.

The apostle Peter observed, "You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house." This raises two immediate questions for every follower of Jesus Christ— including pastors (!):

1. Does your commitment to Jesus Christ reflect His high priority and design for the Church?

2. Does your lifestyle reflect a priority for worship and community in your local congregation?

   Don't deprive the Temple of the “brick” God made you to be!

what would Len say or do?

15 For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Indeed, in Christ Jesus I fathered you through the gospel. 16 I appeal to you, then, be imitators of me. (1 Corinthians 4.15-16)

I have had 2 "gospel fathers." Last Tuesday, while driving from San Diego to Los Angeles, I learned that one had died. I knew Len was sick: he was diagnosed, almost 5 weeks ago to the day, with stage 4 brain cancer, but doctors assured us there was plenty of time to plan a visit after Christmas. Alas, mortality has a way of disrupting our planning...

So what did this gospel father impart to me that I endeavor to imitate?

First, Len took a risk on the unqualified. When we first met, it was for a job interview at Mount Hermon Association. The position required us to create a "church community" for the 220 staff they hired for 3 months each summer. Carol and I had applied for this position, but I fell short of all the required benchmarks. I was too young, I did not have enough of the desired education, and I had no previous Christian camp/conference center experience. It was a high-profile role with little margin to fail. My failures would reflect poorly on him, but he took a risk. My youth did not deter him; my lack of education did not disqualify me, and my inexperience did not exclude me from his consideration.

Second, Len taught me sacred disciplines. Hospitality, generosity, incarnational engagement, prayer, sabbath, reflective bible reading, and reading as a spiritual discipline. Each of these he would develop in me. How? Simply living in an organic manner that displayed, without arrogance or pretense, the tangible benefit these brought to his soul. If this was true for him, it could be true for me.

Third, Len taught me how to teach the Word of God. He taught me the value of expository Bible teaching/preaching. I learned, through him, that Jesus pastors His people through the expositional preaching of the Scriptures. Expositional preaching will be the gateway to the transformation people long and yearn for. It was never about the authority of Scripture in its own right. It was always about the authority of Scripture-- and the power that authority possessed-- to change and transform lives. We can improve our preaching delivery, but the power remains in the Word preached, not in the person preaching.

Fourth, Len invested in me. He spent time in conversation, invited me to join him in meetings I had no business being in, took me places, and suggested Scripture and books, which we would discuss together. He was artful with his capacity to guide, discipline, course-correct, and encourage without being heavy-handed or condescending. Once, when he observed how out-of-balance and out-of-shape my life and body were, he said to me:

"Mark, everyone wants you to be healthy and live a long life. Carol wants you to be healthy, your children want you to be healthy, the congregation you lead wants you to be healthy, and your team wants you to be healthy. Everyone around you wants you to be healthy. But no one around you wants you to be healthy if it takes away from their time!

I have returned to that observation/admonition many times since he first said that to me in my late 30s.

Fifth, Len modeled a healthy relational work environment for me. It is possible to have a genuine friendship without compromising positional authority, vocational responsibility, or employment accountability. In my second year working under him, he called me into his office. He acknowledged, "Mark, I recognize that we are developing a meaningful friendship, but this friendship cannot be healthy or continue if it compromises my responsibilities as your supervisor or your accountability for your responsibilities as an employee who reports to me. You must be willing to take your lumps and own your decisions; otherwise, we cannot continue." A healthier admonition has never been spoken!

In fact, a few weeks later, the Executive Director asked me to come to his office. As I walked by Len's office, he got up from his chair, winked at me and said, "It's time to take your lumps." ... did I ever!

Finally, Len embraced me with a soul-filling friendship. I learned from him that friendship requires tenacity, time, grace, depth, patience, and remembrance. Friendship does not need to diminish the joy that arises from the many acquaintances we are gifted with... However, most acquaintances are sustained solely by affinity involving some combination of geography, vocation, hobby, and humor. Friendship involves all of these, yet it will ultimately rely on none of these because friendship will, in time, rely on nothing more than love. Once this is recognized, this is the genesis of a life-long friendship.

I don't think Len ever purposed to be a "gospel father, " I don't think anyone does... However, I think I realized Len was a "gospel father" and I, his "gospel son," when I found myself asking, "What would Len do or say?"

He is gone now, but, by the gift and grace of God, I will gratefully still get to ask that question until the day I am where he is...

a thanksgiving epistle

Each year I send out what has now been dubbed, “Slomka’s Thanksgiving epistle” by family and friends…here was this year’s edition… BTW it’s still the season to say, “happy Thanksgiving,” until Sunday when you can joyfully proclaim, “happy Advent!”

Dear family and friends -- domestic and international, 

Give thanks in all circumstances... 

(just a little phrase from the apostle Paul's first letter to believers living in Thessalonica, Greece --  Chapter 5, verse 18)

We rarely share our personal reflections around loss, regret, fear, or anxiety-- especially around Thanksgiving! Yet this Thanksgiving, my gratitude flourishes amidst these realities, which, I suppose, may initially threaten to smother the holiday mood we work so hard to nourish and protect. For me, it magnifies the gratitude I feel. 

At the time I'm writing this draft (17 November), 

•  there are at least 34 global conflicts -- 2 of which impact my world personally, 

•  I have attended 2 memorial gatherings in the last 2 weeks; just learned on Sunday, 19 November another dear friend just died,

•  I have received news that my 2 fathers and life-long mentors in my life have received fatal diagnoses,

•  I have spoken with many leaders who are contending for their own, or family members, mental health,

•  I find myself reflecting on my own apprehension concerning my mortality, capacity, and yearnings... will I have the health, vitality, and clarity to accomplish what I believe God has given me vision for? I am deeply aware that most leaders -- including Jesus-- died with yearnings unfulfilled and Kingdom vision incomplete!

and this is only a small sample of what I could list...

So this year, if you permit me, I would like to share some thoughts regarding the activity of "thanksgiving" so you can understand why Thanksgiving remains my favorite annual holiday.

First, let’s consider for a moment what thanksgiving is not…

Thanksgiving is not synonymous with "relief." -- This can be the reassurance or relaxation we feel when we pass a test, hear the news we have been anxious to receive, or complete something that has preoccupied the commitment of our mind, time, and/or resources.

Thanksgiving is not an exercise in comparative awareness. I suppose this is a  variation of "relief." This would be the expression that usually arises when we try to minimize our disappointment and loss by the thoughtful recognition of someone else's greater misfortune. Phrases like: "At least my children are healthy" or "At least I don't have bombs falling on my house" express our relief, but they also invalidate the loss, concerns, or feelings we are presently navigating.

Thanksgiving cannot be the prisoner of circumstance, ultimately making thanksgiving transactional. Thanksgiving which can only be expressed when opportunity, health, and fortune are going "our way,” is bound to render our thanksgiving shallow and ultimately deprive us of the opportunity to express and experience thanksgiving when we might need it the most. 

Thanksgiving cannot be self-centered.  By its very nature, Thanksgiving is externally focused—  it sees the source of our blessing outside of ourselves. Thanksgiving, which is self-centered, is nothing more than the vain and prideful self-congratulation of a deluded soul. Far from being an act of thanksgiving, it becomes a prideful self-assertion of accomplishment, superiority, and/or rewards and privileges one feels entitled to. I am thinking, here of Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector— “Thank you, God, that I am not like others!“

Thanksgiving is not individualistic. While the occasion for our thanksgiving may be personal, it is not intended to remain private. Thanksgiving is meant to be shared. This does not require full transparency of sensitive details, but a simple narrative of shared praise will strengthen our community.

So, what is the activity of thanksgiving?

First, the activity of thanksgiving is prayerful reflection. I cannot envision an expression of thanksgiving that does not begin with God.  He fashioned me in love, redeemed me by His grace, and He sustains me by his presence. In my darkness, He abides with me, and in my joys, He delights my soul. How can thanksgiving be anything but a conversation of gratitude with our Heavenly Father?

Second, the activity of thanksgiving is the spiritual remembrance of God‘s faithfulness. The activity of thanksgiving is a reflective inventory of God‘s presence amidst the gains we have enjoyed and the losses we have suffered.  It is not merely the recitation of a list. It is the story of His divinity abiding with my broken humanity -- transforming a merely mundane and frail life into a life so filled with meaning that I can exclaim, “Even my losses have become gains.“

Third, the activity of thanksgiving is communal. We contribute to and share in the portfolio of gratitude expressed within the communities we are members of. Another's thanksgiving becomes my opportunity to give thanks regardless of my circumstances. How many times has one person's shared thanksgiving brought hope to the hopeless or stirred me to give thanks? Most significantly, community thanksgiving expresses God's presence in our midst-- can there be a greater cause for giving thanks? 

Fourth, the activity of thanksgiving is missional.  The activity of thanksgiving is ultimately a testimony that brings women, men, youth, and children closer to God. Thanksgiving punctures smothering darkness with the Light, futility with promise, and despair with hope. No wonder Scripture extolls "the feet of the one who brings Good News!" Our personal and community thanksgiving narratives are incarnate expressions of the Good News of God's presence. He is neither silent, aloof, or absent. Thanksgiving testifies that He is present in our darkness, and this present darkness cannot quench His faithful light.

Finally (I promise!), the activity of thanksgiving is pastoral. There are seasons in our lives when our soul is constricted by despair or grief, and we become isolated in our darkness. Something powerful occurs when the community around us extends its welcoming embrace and draws us into a wider context that allows for thanksgiving and grief to exist side by side. Thanksgiving, sensitively expressed, with the sorrowful, reminds us that "weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning." 

When we think about the first Thanksgiving, we focus on the meal and forget the context. Remember this: on November 10, 1620, 102 passengers stepped ashore, but only 50 would survive their first winter to assemble 12 months later for the meal we, from history's distance, celebrate as Thanksgiving. They gathered as a community, on a land saturated with their tears, to give thanks and share a common meal.

This is why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday... it invites any and all to a feast where the community gathered can offer thanksgiving while recognizing the personal losses of those gathered. On this day, prayerful reflection, remembrance, community, mission, and the pastoral presence of God are welcome. On this day, the community gathered can have a voice that individuals scattered cannot. We are "better together," and that alone is sufficient reason to lift our voices with gratitude on this Thanksgiving day as we share this meal together.

... with gratitude for you and much love for you,

Happy Thanksgiving!

remember the puritans… why?!

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. (Matthew 5.14)

Thanksgiving is the only national holiday unique to our country whose roots are distinctly Christian. For followers of Jesus, It is an opportunity to give thanks for a people more than a remberance of a distinctly Christian table fellowship that occurred 402 years ago. It can be an opportunity to remember a sincere, yet imperfect, Christian community, their way of life and the vision they dreamed of fulfilling—to build and be the city on the hill that Jesus spoke about. Thanksgiving, therefore, seems an appropriate time to briefly reflect on the larger Christian community called “the Puritans”… a vibrant and prophetic Christian movement that began the 16th century England.

Puritans… mention their name and most minds concoct imagery of the Salem Witch Trials; men in tall black hats with a large belt buckle above the brim; cold, overbearing, and subservient women; and intolerant, narrow-minded, prudish people afraid of the world and embarrassed by their own sexuality. J. I. Packer reminds us that “Puritan” as a name “was, in fact, mud from the start. Coined in the early 1560’s, it was always a satirical smear word implying peevishness, censoriousness, conceit, and a measure of hypocrisy… an odd, furious, and ugly form of Protestant religion.” Most perceive the Puritans as as equal parts comic and pathetic, naïve and superstitious, primitive and gullible, superserious, overscrupulous, majoring in minors, and unable or unwilling to relax. In today’s world they are (wrongfully from my perspective) seen as the the seed and root of the great sins of our nation.

What could these zealots give us that we might possibly need today?

I think the answers can be found in a book written several years ago by the British evangelical scholar and pastor, J. I. Packer (see link below). Let me summarize with you some of his thoughts.

The answer, in one word, is maturity. Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity. The Puritans exemplified maturity; we don’t. We are spiritual dwarfs. The Puritans, by contrast, as a body, were giants. They were great souls serving a great God. In them, clear-headed passion and warm-hearted compassion combined. Visionary and practical, idealistic and realistic too, goal-oriented and methodical, they were great believers, great hopers, great doers, and great sufferers. Through the legacy of their literature, the Puritans can help us today towards the maturity that they knew and that we need.

First there are lessons for us in the integration of their daily lives. There was for them no disjunction between sacred and secular; all creation, so far as they were concerned, was sacred, and all activities, of whatever kind, must be sanctified—done to the glory of God…

Second, there are lessons for us in the quality of their spiritual experiences. Their faith was an experiential yet rational faith, resolute, passionate piety that was conscientious without becoming obsessive, law-oriented without lapsing into legalism, and expressive of Christian liberty without any shameful lurches into license.

Third, there are lessons for us in their passion for effective action. They had no time for the idleness of the lazy or passive person who leaves it to others to change the world. They were people of action in the pure Reformed mould—crusading activists without a jot of self-reliance; workers for God who depended utterly on God to work in and through them, and who always gave God the praise for anything they did that, in retrospect, seemed to them to have been right.

Fourth, there are lessons for us in their program for family stability. It is hardly too much to say that the Puritans created the Christian family in the English-speaking world. The Puritan ethic of marriage was to look not for a partner whom you do love passionately at this moment, but rather one whom you can love steadily as your best friend for life, and then with God’s help proceed to do just that. Goodwill, patience, consistency, and an encouraging attitude were seen as the essential domestic virtues.

Fifth, there are lessons to be learned from their sense of human worth. Through believing in a great God, they gained a vivid awareness of the greatness of moral issues, of eternity, and of the human soul. All life was valued and received as a gift from God—no matter how brief.

Sixth, there are lessons to be learned form the Puritans’ ideal of church renewal. The essence of this Puritan renewal was the enrichment of understanding of God’s truth, arousal of affections Godward, increase of ardor in one’s devotions, and more love, joy, and firmness of Christian purpose in one’s calling and personal life. The ideal for the church was that the congregation would be brought, by God’s grace, into a state of revival in order to be:

• truly and thoroughly converted,

• theologically orthodox and sound,

• spiritually alert and expectant,

• of wise and steady character,

• ethically enterprising and obedient, and

• humbly but joyously sure of their salvation.

This year when you give thanks, give thanks for the Puritans for they have profoundly shaped our world and our own sense of destiny. Without them

• you would not think about the Scriptures as you do,

• you would not think about the person and work of Jesus as you do,

• you would not think about the power of the Holy Spirit nor the strategic plan of the Father to save us as you do,

• you would not think about education as you do

• you would not think about going to university as you do (did!),

• you would not think about the family as you do,

• you would not think about marriage as you do,

• you would not think about the worth of human life as you do,

• you would not think about money and charity as you do,

• you would not think about heaven as you do,

• you would not think about changing the world as you do…

Dear ones, I don’t have to embrace the entirety of their Reformed theology to be grateful for their contribution to a comprehensive Christian worldview rooted in the redemptive presence of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom come today. This Thanksgiving season, let us give thanks for their legacy…

see you in 2 weeks and please have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving…

A Quest for Godliness: the Puritan vision of the Christian Life by J.I. Packer

See also this article regarding C. S. Lewis’ observations about the Pilgrims.

what does God require from our faith?

Last week we asked the question, "How do we exercise faith?" This week, I want to suggest 3 answers to the question, "What does God require from our faith?"

I think we need to recognize three things God require from us: 

God asks for our trust not understanding. God's ways are not always palatable to reason and logic. This, in fact, is Paul's argument in the opening two chapters of I Corinthians. Abraham did not know where he was going yet God was calling him to trust (Gen 12.1; Heb. 11.8f).

God asks for our obedience not our ability or control. We are not simply called to faith in the areas where we are able. Although this is what we frequently do, it represents little or no exercise of faith. Abraham could not control Lot's choice of real estate (Gen 12.8ff) nor did he have the ability to protect Sarah from the Egyptians (Gen 12.10ff). Yet faith was required in both circumstances.

God asks for our weaknesses not merely our strength. It is easy to have faith in God when we are operating out of a context of competence and ability. The danger is that we retreat to our human ingenuity and resourcefulness when the going gets tough rather than confess mg our weakness, inabilities, and fear to God We also tend to disparage options that appear 'weak" and opt to consider only those alternatives that we perceive match our strengths Paul's reminder to the Corinthians is a sober reflection for us: 'For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength" (I Corinthians 1.25).

A. W. Tozer writes,

Many of us Christians have become extremely skillful in arranging our lives so as to admit the truth of Christianity without being embarrassed by its implications. We arrange things so that we can get on well enough without divine aid, while at the same time ostensibly seeking it. We boast in the Lord but watch carefully that we never get caught depending on Him... Pseudo faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse. 'And not since Adam first stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted Him. The man of pseudo-faith will fight for his verbal creed but refuse flatly to allow himself to get into a predicament where his future must depend on that creed being true. He always provides himself with secondary ways of escape so he will have a way out if the roof caves in.

Summary observation…

According to the Scriptures, faith is vital.

We are justified by faith
We have access into God's presence through faith
We receive the Holy Spirit by faith
We are adopted as sons and daughters of God through faith
We have victory over temptation by faith
We are healed by faith
We saved by faith
We discover that all things are possible through faith.

As we prepare to enter the upcoming Thanksgiving/Advent/Christmas season, may we step forward with a renewed commitment to live by faith as we willingly obey, trust, and surrender our weaknesses to Him.

How do we exercise faith?

NOTE: This week is longer and will be broken up in 2 parts… courtesy of time to reflect at 30k feet and a long transatlantic flight! I hope you find this helpful…

 HEBREWS 11.1, 6: What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see... So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. (New Living Translation)

This week I want to ask the simple question: "How do we exercise faith?" 

FIRST, WE MUST BE IN TOUCH WITH GOD'S PROMISES TO US. God's call always carries His promises. In Genesis 12.1ff, we see this very clearly. In the opening verse, God's call is clear.

The lord had said to Abram, "leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land i will show you."

The promises immediately follow in verses 2-4:

I will make you into a great nation and i will bless you; i will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you i will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." so abram left as the lord had told him.

We must have a sure awareness of God's call and therefore we must be in touch with God's promises. This is absolutely critical. For there lies a prophetic side to God's promises that make vision and ministry come alive when they are personally grasped and appropriated. There are many promises captured in the Scriptures. But what has God promised us; individually, and collectively as a community? What do we specifically believe Him for? God has given birth to our Church and called her to ministry and I believe He promises to fulfill the needs that His call creates.

SECOND, LIKE ANY 'LIVING" EXERCISE, FAITH MUST BE NURTURED AND ENCOURAGED. H. F. Bosworth once said, 'Most Christians feed their bodies three square meals each day but only feed their spirits one cold snack each week. Then they wonder why they are so weak in faith." I am convinced that faith needs to be fed by the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, prayer, and Christian fellowship. The Holy Spirit will make our hearts receptive to God's Word and make His Word clear and relevant to us. The Scriptures will bring us a growing understanding of God's promises and His surprising enterprises. Through prayer our hearts can cry out to the Lord of promise and be sweetened by His faithfulness. When we pray, God's faithfulness calls forth our faith and strengthens it to maintain expectancy until the day of fulfillment. And faith will grow infectiously as we gather with other believers.

THIRD, WE MUST LEARN THE VOCABULARY OF FAITH THAT CAN BE EXPRESSED IN TWO WORDS: “though” AND “yet”. Job was able to say, 'Though he slay me, yet will I hope in Him (Job 13.15). Can we learn to say, 'Though his may happen, yet will I hope in Him?" "Though my prayer seems unanswered, yet I will trust Him?” “Though I face huge disappointments, yet will I trust Him?” Faith is not anxious living between the “though” and the “yet.”

CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE VOCABULARY OF FAITH IS THE HABIT OF PRAISE. Once we have received God's promise, we begin taking Him at His word and begin praising Him. Our praise indicates the faith we embrace and express comes before sight. This is not a denial of reality. It is our expression of faith through the shadows which life often confronts us with.

FIFTH, OUR DECISIONS MUST BE MADE OUT OF THE PRIORITY OF GOD'S CALL AS WE TRUST IN HIS PROMISES AMIDST AN AWARENESS OF HIS PRESENCE. What God proclaims He will provide for. The challenge is not IF He will fulfill His promise — it is a matter of WHEN. It is God’s calendar, not His commitment that challenges our faith. 'All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on his being with them. They counted on God's faithfulness" (Hudson Taylor)

SIXTH, WE MUST LEARN TO MAINTAIN A LIFE STYLE OF FAITH THAT IS NOT HARASSED OR HURRIED BY THE TYRANNY OF THE URGENT BUT PACED BY OUR PERSEVERING AND PATIENT EXPECTATION OF GOD'S FAITHFULNESS. True faith is never alone. It is always accompanied with expectation. The person who believes the promises of God also expects to see them fulfilled. Where there is no expectation, there is no faith. As someone once observed: “Blessed are those who expect nothing, for they shall not be disappointed!”

Faith and expectation secure the Christian life from being continually plundered by fear, fad, or fancy. Yet, the challenge with our expectation is it frequently creates- with the best of intentions— timetables and vision tied to our own yearning, urgency, and/or planning… While each of these are catalyzed by our sincere faith, they may create disappointment when God doesn’t act in the manner we anticipated within the timetable we envisioned.

I think expectancy is rooted in simplicity. We simply (not simplistically) expect. This expectancy will lead us to surrender, live, love, serve, and lead in alignment with what we expect. Consider Abraham! God said that he would show him a land, therefore he could no longer stay home. God promised a son so Abraham and Sarah, therefore had to get “busy” at the ripe old age of 90! There was no timetable — just promises. But those promises defined their lives and established the context for exercising their faith.

Dear ones, the exercise of our faith is never merely invisible. It is the outward expression of an invisible reality. Therefore, it will be sacramentally present in everything we pray and everything we give thanks for, do, imagine, say, and esteem. It will be in alignment with the One we confess; the One whose return we anticipate, and the One who promises to be present with us in the valleys of shadows and the mountaintops of delight.

In light of this let me suggest a definition of “faith:”

Faith is the personal trust in God that

   is truly satisfied with His Person,

fully embraces God’s promises,

      exclusively relies on God’s power and

   is completely assured of God’s presence & provision,

and wholly surrenders to God’s purpose.

If God intends our faith to be exercised, then we must ask, “Does God require anything from the faith we exercise?”

… to be continued!

an open door…

NOTE: this week’s entry is a letter I wrote in anticipation of our denomination’s pastors gathering 2 week’s ago… However, I think it might contain a word for any leader — pastoral or marketplace— who senses this moment as an opportunity to multiply God’s Kingdom presence wherever we are… to that end, I hope you might allow this entry to encourage you…

These are the words of the Holy One, the True One,
who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will shut,
who shuts and no one opens... 

I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door that no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. (Revelation 3.7-8)

While I was praying for our gathering here in Carlsbad, this passage came to my mind and has captured my imagination. This prophetic imagery concerning the "open door" speaks to me of a momentous Gospel opportunity being set before us.

This opportunity is

not based on our own power...

not secured by our own resources...

not compromised by the adversities and challenges around us.

God opens this door of opportunity to a people who

have stewarded his mission through good works of grace

have been resilient in the face of adversity

and have been faithful to confess the Name which is above every name -- Jesus!

Western District [1], the open door before us cannot be closed -- the world can't close it, and the devil can't close it... but it is up to us to choose to walk through it.

100 years ago, a widowed single mom from Canada chose to walk through that "door," and thousands followed in her footsteps to birth a Gospel movement.[2] I am praying that during these few days, here in Carlsbad, we will embrace this Spirit-created moment, choose to walk through the door Christ is setting before us and create a new missional pathway for future generations to follow that our 4 states and the world might experience the presence, power, and promise of Jesus Christ.

... in your community and throughout the Western District as it is in heaven,

Mark

#WeAreWesternDistrict


#WeBringTheKingdom

____________________

[1] The Western District is the area I serve. It is comprised of 4 states: Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.

[2] This is a reference to Aimee Semple McPherson, the founder of an interdenominational movement that eventually became the Foursquare Church. If you are interested in reading more about her, here is a great read that was actually written by a Jewish biographer!

all giants start small

But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." (Exodus 3.11-12).

Hudson Taylor wrote: “All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on his being with them. They counted on God’s faithfulness.” The whole history of God working through his people illustrates this.

Moses was a most reluctant missionary. David seemed pathetically young and inexperienced to be God’s champion against Goliath. Nehemiah and friends were dubbed “those feeble Jews” by their enemies. Jeremiah was frightened and overawed by God’s call. The disciples were a motley band of ordinary folk— nervous and fearful. Even Jesus was “despised and rejected by men.” All these, with the exception of Jesus, were men with rather obvious weaknesses who sometimes fell into serious sin of one sort or another.

Yet God used Moses to rescue two million people from Egypt, David to slay a giant, Nehemiah to rebuild a city, Jeremiah to prophesy to a nation, the disciples to bring about the greatest revolution the world has ever known, and Jesus to procure the world’s salvation.

J. B. Phillips wrote a book a number of years ago whose title is still apt for many of us— Your God Is Too Small! Because our vision of God’s greatness and faithfulness is so infinitesimally small, we see only a little of his power and glory.

Would you take a moment to join me in praying, “Lord, I am available for you today. I understand that I am never too weak, ill-equipped, or impoverished in resources or talents because You are with me. Please use me in the way you want and give me a gift of faith to believe that you want to use me to make a difference in the lives of people around me.”

Remember, all giants start off small…

look 4 ways before entering in…

(On October 12-14, our denomination's pastors will be gathering for our annual Fall Leaders Conference. This week's entry is written with this in mind.)

In anticipation of our Fall Leaders Conference in Carlsbad, I thought I would share a few words that may help us prepare for our time together around the Lord's Table.

A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. (1Corinthians 11.28)*

As we come to Communion, we need to use our spiritual eyes to look in four directions.

First, we look back to the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Jesus commanded us to have Communion in remembrance of Him (Luke 22.19). Forgiveness is full and final through the cross of Christ. There is absolutely nothing we have done or suffered which cannot be carried by the suffering of Christ on the cross. As we look back, we can be assured of our complete forgiveness through Christ.

Next, we need to look in. On the night that he was betrayed, Jesus knew that “the hand of him who is going to betray Me is with mine on the table.” (Luke 22.21) We must examine our lives to see if they are right with God and others. It would be better not to participate in Communion than to do so consciously harboring unforgiveness towards another — relationships must be sorted out first.

Third, we need to look around. After taking the cup, Jesus gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. (Luke 22.17) Communion speaks dramatically and vividly of our oneness in Christ. We have more in common through the death of Jesus Christ than vocations, hobbies, nationality, or ethnicity could ever achieve. Blood is thicker than water— and when that blood is Christ’s, we have grounds for a unity that will ultimately overcome every threat and human division ( Ephesians 2.11-22).

Finally, we need to look forward. Jesus said, “I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." (Luke 22.16) All our blessings here and now are only a foretaste of what is to come when we shall stand before Him face to face. Most of us do not live with the urgency or the freedom the second coming of Christ is intended to impart to us. While we do not know the date of His return, this is certain: He shall either come to meet us, or we shall go to meet Him! There is no other alternative!

As we head to Carlsbad, I need to ask Jesus to show me what I am not seeing— not simply my failures, but also my opportunities, not simply my sin, but also His mercy. I look forward to worshiping with you next Thursday...

“that they may be one…”

I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one... as We are one.
– John 17.20-22

"As We are one." Simple, profound, and world-changing. At the heart of the Gospel is a unity that is organic, relational, and life-changing. Without Their oneness -- Their "unity"-- we would never personally experience the love of God in and through the person of Jesus Christ. Without Their unity, there would be no cross, no outpouring of the Holy Spirit, no Pentecostal explosion in the upper room, and no compelling witness in the Book of Acts that transcends culture and time, and catalyzes our aspirations today.

Local churches and denominations struggle with unity because we have reduced it to a transactional understanding of doctrine -- if we believe the same things, we are united. As essential as it may be, Orthodoxy has yet to secure the unity Jesus prayed for and died for. I live in San Diego, where if you go on the websites of most churches, you will find very little to distinguish one evangelical/charismatic community from another. Nevertheless, each stands "alone" in her identity as an independent or denominational congregation. Furthermore, COVID-19 and recent elections have proven that doctrinal agreement is insufficient to secure the unity that Jesus intercedes for.

Neither can unity be secured by programs, curriculum, or just gathering people together in the same room. In my denomination, we are having ongoing face-to-face conversations to secure an organic and relational unity that might prepare and propel us into a fresh season of Kingdom ministries as a Church. These conversations have caused me to reflect on this theme.

Let me suggest a simple framework for what might secure the unity in Christ and the Father Jesus prayed for, and for which I hope we all long and live.

First, Unity already exists in and through the person of Jesus. In Christ, we already share in it. It is not a goal it is a present reality. You cannot be in Christ yet separate from the unity They already live in. We can, however, choose to live out of alignment with this fundamental reality. This can only compromise our lives in Christ personally, communally, and missionally.

Second, unity is cruciform -- cross-shaped. The Cross shapes our perceptions towards one another. The Cross makes equals of all of us. Who is present whose sins have not been forgiven? Who is present who is not looking to Jesus to cover their shame or address their duplicity? There is no seniority, favorites, experts, or prodigies at the Cross. The fellowship around the Cross is marked by a single reality -- a desire to die so that in doing so, we might live sacrificially, joyfully, missionally, and triumphantly in and through the One who died for us.

Third, unity is prayerful. In Acts, it is recorded: "They raised their voices together in prayer to God." We need to take united prayer far more seriously than we do. Prayer brings us together in the presence of God, not to do the "business of intercession" but to be formed and shaped in His presence. In prayer, we experience the Holy Spirit shaping, directing, and focusing our prayers together. In prayer, our common relationship with God is celebrated, and our fundamental unity is consecrated afresh by the Holy Spirit, Who is the conductor of our gathering. Even while we are absent from one another, we can be "present in the Spirit" as we pray in common.

Fourth, unity is missional. We all share a common call -- follow Jesus. This call is not simply to follow, it is to work together with Him in revealing His redemptive Kingdom presence, making disciples, and inviting women, men, youth, and children into a life-giving community. There, together, we will discover salvation, healing, deliverance, and a shared calling to be the Good News in the life of our world.

Finally, unity is messy. It is inevitable because it involves us -- it involves me. As C. K. Chesterton observed years ago: "Dear sirs, I have met the problem, and it is me." As Oswald J. Smith observed, The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. Friends, there is no silver bullet to living in the unity that already exists in Christ. I know I must be willing to stop ascribing motives amidst disagreement. I must engage in conversations as a listener and learner first. I must learn to relate to others as a servant who comes under rather than standing over. I must repent of my need to be right, heard, in control, respected, and/or agreed with. I must recognize that different may just be different and nothing more. I must let go of my cynicism, speaking negatively of fellow believers and my inherent need for others to do things my way. Yes! Unity is messy, and I have and continue to contribute my fair share to the mess.

Nevertheless, I believe that unity is within our grasp if we align ourselves with the unity that already exists in Jesus, humble ourselves together at the Cross, pray together, share mission together, and recognize that we can all labor to foster unity despite the mess we have made of it...

Can we do that? Do you want to do that?

Crucified…

I have been crucified with Christ, 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me... (Galatians 2.19-20)

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5.24)

What does the way of the cross mean for us today when the majority of us will probably not be faced with crucifixion or any other form of martyrdom? What does it mean for us to be “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2.20) in 2023?

First, the women and men crucified with Christ are facing only one direction; they are not looking back. The call of Jesus is to follow Him— this means forward, out, away from the lifestyle, patterns, and pursuits that do not have the honor of God as their goal. The way of the cross is the way towards the Father. It liberates us from the tyranny of our sinful past and present and brings us into the wide-open places of God’s kingdom. We can no more follow Jesus while looking back than you can drive a car (for long) while looking in the rearview mirror! (I’ve tried it!)

Second, the women and men crucified with Christ have said goodbye to the world: they are not going back. Jesus commands us to live as resident aliens who live not to serve our self-interests nor the interests of our resident nation. We live to serve God’s kingdom interests. What does this look like? It looks like Jesus. He was not enmeshed in the ways of the world, legalistic, or aloof to the needs and joys of life. His citizenship gave Him the freedom to love, befriend, laugh, weep, serve, take action, have courage — and die because He knew where He was from and where He was going.

Third, the women and men crucified with Christ have no further plans: they are not taking back control of their own lives. We recognize that we are not little sovereigns; we are servants. Like Jesus, our sense of fulfillment and gratification will come from praying, “Not our will but Yours…” God has a plan for our lives — to abide in His love, live for His honor and multiply His Kingdom presence. The crucified soul endeavors to embrace a "single love" that leads to personal freedom rather than an enslaving "double love" -- a divided love for God and love for money, sex, and/or power.

A. W. Tozer observed:

Many of us Christians have become extremely skillful in arranging our lives so as to admit the truth of Christianity without being embarrassed by its implications... We boast in the Lord yet carefully watch out that we never get caught depending solely upon Him. The man who is crucified with Christ makes daily decisions to affirm the reality of God’s leadership by denying his right to live like the “rest of the world.”

"I have been crucified with Christ" is the startling and graphic language of a soul whose prior life has been ruined by grace and radically transformed by Jesus. I am challenged by the recognition that it is one thing to be "born again," but it is quite another to be "crucified."

I wonder what impact a generation of disciples with cruciform souls might have upon our communities, nation and world? But before I can reflect on this question, I must answer a far more personal one: what needs to die in my life that I might testify: "I have been crucified with Christ?"

What do YOU think?

"What do you think of the Messiah? (Matthew 22.42)

This is the crucial question, as William Haslan discovered on October 19, 1851, when he went into his pulpit and started to preach. Suddenly he realized for the first time who Jesus really was and “felt a wonderful light and joy coming into my soul.” A moment later, a man in the congregation leaped up and shouted, “The parson’s converted! The parson’s converted! Hallelujah!” The whole congregation and the pastor joined in an outburst of praise.

Today people are hungry for Jesus, even when they are disillusioned about Christians. Yet secular book markets, video rentals, TV and movie ratings all indicate that there continues to be an enormous interest in Jesus. When people turn their eyes on Jesus, they are amazed, challenged, and/or enthralled.

The history of Western civilization reflects this hunger and fascination with the person and work of Jesus Christ. Dostoevsky wrote: “I believe that there is no one lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, and more perfect than Jesus. I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him but there could never be anyone else like Him.” Tennyson noted: “His character was more wonderful than the greatest miracle.” Napoleon stated: “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have found great empires. But upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Force. Jesus alone founded an Empire upon love, and to this day, millions follow Him… I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ was no mere man: Between Him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible comparison.”

As we step forward into this coming Fall season with its challenges, opportunities, decisions, and relationships, would you take a moment to honestly ask yourself, “What do think of Jesus?” Let me encourage you to write your answer in the form of a reflection… If we answer that He is the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord God in the flesh— then let us make a commitment to give the Fall season to Him that our lives might honor Him. If we truly believe, then may it never be said of us: “For though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.” (Romans 1.21)

Carnegie Simpson observed: “Instinctively, we do not class him with others. When we read His name in a list, we feel it is an offense... Jesus is not one of the world's great. Talk about Alexander the Great, Charles, Napoleon, if you will. Jesus is not Jesus the Great. He is the only. He is simply Jesus. Nothing could add to that.”

Fellow saints, what we think about Jesus will define how we think about others. A high Christology will always inspire and drive the Kingdom mission we were made to embrace -- on earth as it is in heaven.

What do you think when you think of Jesus?

Do you have a “Hall of Fame” faith?

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. (Hebrews 11.4)

Baseball fans must travel to Cooperstown, New York to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. Enthusiasts of Rock music make their way to Cleveland in order to tour the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, you will not have to travel to Israel to visit the Bible’s Old Testament Hall of Fame. You will find it located in Hebrews 11. There you can revisit the exploits of: Abraham, Sarah, Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rehab Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, and Abel.

At first sight, the “first entry” into Faith’s Hall of Fame is a curious choice. Abel is mentioned in only three Old Testament verses and he is the victim of the first murder recorded in Scripture. His name means “vanity” or “mere breath.” He led no armies, wrote no books, left no wisdom, and had no disciples. He is a “nobody” when compared to other giants of Scripture—but then God delights to make nobodies into “somebodies” in His sight where there is even a kernel of authentic faith.

There are three important things to notice about Abel.

First by faith he worshiped— he “offered God... a sacrifice.” Worship is more important than work, ministry, family, or our witness for Christ. Workers can devote themselves to their labor for numerous reasons— money, success, power, prestige, influence, love, or pleasing others— yet rarely is worship at the top of their motivational list. A worshiper works to exalt God— her labors are a response to God’s call. People sometimes say, “I went to such and such a church but I didn’t get anything out of it.” The question is, “What did you put into it?” First, we worship, then we receive; that’s the proper order of things in the Kingdom of God.

Secondly, by faith Abel was accepted by God— “God spoke well of his offerings.” The story of Cain and Abel’s sacrifices (Genesis 4.3-5) seems unfair at first sight. Yet if we study this passage in its context we soon realize that God had previously shown Cain and Abel what offerings would be acceptable to Him. Faith’s “hall of fame” in Hebrews 11, is comprised of men and women who, by faith, obeyed God’s word to them. So it must have been that Abel, by faith, obeyed while Cain gave the sacrifice he, himself, deemed adequate and good enough.

Some women and men struggle in their walk with God because they don’t feel accepted by him. But perhaps it is because what we offer Him through our worship is unacceptable... God unconditional grace will forgive our sin and God will always save sinners. But God’s grace does not obligate God to accept pretense, rationalized sin, and half-hearted devotion even when it is offered, like Cain, as an act of worship. Can God really accept 2% when he has called us to worship with 10%? Can he accept compromise when he has called us to integrity? Will God accept our double-minded lust when he has called us to single-minded purity? This is not an issue of grace by faith alone, it is an issue of indifference, carelessness, and thoughtlessness masquerading as worship. Worship is not a “bone” we throw to satisfy God. King David understood it well when he exclaimed, “I will not offer up to my God sacrifices that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24.24)

Thirdly, by faith Abel still speaks. Whatever is done by faith, in obedience to God’s word, has the stamp of eternity on it. Our legacy will not be our fortunes. Our ultimate legacy will be our faith that will speak to and guide the generations that will follow our own. They may not remember our name, as we do Abel’s, but God promises that our faithfulness will preach to the generations to come.

Our faith will not be in vain…

Guard and grow…

We hope that your faith will grow and that our work among you will be greatly enlarged. (2 Corinthians 10.15)

We must guard and grow the activity and exercise of our faith in God and beware that we do not take it for granted. We must care for and nourish it, or we may discover (already?!) that it will grow stale, stagnant, and second-hand. That is why there is no Biblical or historical evidence of vibrant faith in Christ that is not committed to personal spiritual growth. How does faith grow?

First, faith comes through the Word of God (Romans 10.17). Show me a woman or man who does not consistently, prayerfully, and thoughtfully study the Bible, and I will show you a person whose faith is going through the motions but whose soul is standing still. This “counterfeit soul” may tickle our spiritual ear, but it will lack the power to transform our hearts and minds so that we think God’s thoughts, perceive God’s presence, and fulfill God’s purposes.

Martin Neimoller, a German pastor imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp because of his faith, wrote: “The Bible: what did this book mean to me during the long and weary years of solitary confinement… The Word of God was simply everything to me— comfort and strength, guidance and hope, master of my days and companion of my nights, the Bread that kept me from starvation, and the water of life that refreshed my soul. And even more: ‘solitary confinement’ ceased to be solitary.”

The Word of God is the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6.17). We who want to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit must first give Him something to grasp and brandish. Not even God can wield a soft noodle!


Second, faith comes from the Spirit of God (John 14.16f). It is impossible to be genuine, alive, and growing in Christ without knowing the new birth and new life the Holy Spirit brings. All that we esteem and treasure about the Christian life is cultivated within us by the Holy Spirit as we depend on Him daily for our spiritual life and health. The Holy Spirit brings the tangible manifestation of God the Father and God the Son into our lives as He steadily transforms us into the likeness of Jesus— full of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control” (Galatians 5.22ff).

There is nothing more frightening to me than a “spiritless” Christianity that has denuded itself of the very power, grace, and love of God and for others that He desires to confer upon us through His Holy Spirit. The “Spiritless Christian”— in truth, an oxymoron— exchanges a relationship for a religion, makes the Church an institution rather than a living Body and treats the Bible as a rulebook and doctrinal encyclopedia rather than the Book of Life. May God spare us from this twisted orthodoxy!

It doesn’t take much for the devil to compromise a Christian. He needs to do little more than to sow apathy towards the Holy Spirit. We say we depend on the Holy Spirit, but if there is no sound of a rushing mighty wind in our lives, then I wonder if the furnace of our soul is set to simply blow hot air instead. May God save us from a synthetic Pentecost!

It is the nature of the Christian to be a woman or man whose growth reflects both the light of God’s revelation and the water of His Holy Spirit… a plant needs both to survive and grow—and we do too.