Tag: Christianity

Trying to Make the Good News Better

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Recently I was asked by some members of our church to listen to a sermon from a church their friends attended, who had been alarmed by some things the pastor had been saying, and they wanted my 2 cents.

I listened to the message and agreed with them that the things they had been concerned about were indeed alarming – but aside from that particular issue, which I won’t go into detail about here, there was something else I heard in the message which caused me to pause.

The pastor was talking about a trip he had taken and how, as he was preaching, people were live-tweeting his message, and the most tweeted phrase was: “I am a good person, I just forgot.” The idea being, that you really are a good person, you just haven’t been acting like one. You just forgot to be good.

He then went on to say this: “When people come to church, they don’t want to be told about their shortcomings, they come to church because they want to hear some good news, and this is the good news: you really are a good person! You just forgot.”

On the surface, that might seem nice, but here’s the thing: is this really the “good news” that Christianity has to share with people? That ‘I am a good person’ – even though people innately have a deep-rooted sense of their own inadequacy? Isn’t the “good news” of the Gospel not that I am a good person, but that God loves me even when I’m not a good person?

The “good news” of the Gospel is not that I’m a good person, but that God loves me even in spite of the fact that he has seen me at my worst and even knows the darkest thoughts of my heart that, although I didn’t act upon them, I wished to do them?

Isn’t the “good news” of the Gospel rather that I am more flawed than I can even imagine, yet at the same time I am more loved by God than I ever dared dream possible – which He proved by giving Himself over to death in my place to rescue me, because I was so lost and so far-gone that I couldn’t save myself? Isn’t the good news of the Gospel that I am so broken that GOD HIMSELF had to die for me, yet against all odds or reason, I am so loved by God – undeservedly – that in some cosmic miracle of grace, he was GLAD to die for me?

It would seem to me that in an attempt to make the Good News better, they have lost the heart of the Good News! But in my opinion, when you really understand the weight of the predicament of human fallenness, and then you see the amazing grace and love of God in light of it, that is what sets your heart on fire, and stirs up hope and gratitude in your heart that a lifetime is not enough to express.

What we need is not to make the Good News better – as if that were even possible. It is already the best news in the world. We just need to let it sink deep down into our hearts and reflect on all the wonderful implications of it.

Significant Things and Mundane Actions

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Early Saturday morning I got home from the mission trip to Eastern Europe, and one of the things that has been on my mind since has been how many of the things which have the most glorious end result, are the result of actions which seem very inglorious, mundane, and even boring in the moment.

This is true of marriage, work, ministry, fitness, creating or making things, etc.

Last night I was making something for a friend, which he was excited to watch me make – but I had to tell him: the process is very boring and tedious – but the end result is great. I think that’s the case with many things in life.

During the trip to Hungary and Romania, the actual carrying out of the English classes, administration, etc. was not all that thrilling. But the end result was glorious. We saw 10 young people turn to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

I have known a lot of people who have tons of good ideas, but do not have the ability to carry out the mundane actions which are required in order for those ideas to become reality. And as a result, there is a lot of smoke but no fire. They’ve had grandiose ideas for years – but yet they have nothing to show for it, because it has never moved past the idea stage.

Some of the best things in life are accomplished through actions which in the moment are very mundane. May we have the resolve to do unexciting things which lead to glorious results by keeping our focus on the end goals.

Pastors’ Conference

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I just spent the past week at the Calvary Chapel Pastor’s Conference in Costa Mesa, CA. 

Even though the church I lead is called White Fields, I was ordained in Calvary Chapel and have many good relationships there, and very much respect for the core values and aspirations of the movement.

One of the best things about these conferences is the fellowship with other pastors – having so many people together who are doing the same work, facing the same issues and working for the same things for the same reasons is rare, and very refreshing.

I remember one leader I worked with who used to discribe these kinds of meetings as being like Gilgal: the place in the book of Joshua that was the home base of the people of Israel during the time they were moving out to take conquest of the land which God had promised to give them, but which they had to go out and take by faith, but with much work.

This leader would say: This is our Gilgal. We go out into the fight, steping out in faith, obeying God, fighting to take hold of territory – and we come back here, after our defeats, after our victories, to worship, to encourage each other, to share stories from the field of what we experienced: to celebrate victories, to lick each others wounds – and then we go out again.

I’ve always considered that a great analogy of these kinds of gatherings, and that is certainly what this conference was like for me. I’m feeling blessed and refreshed and excited to get back to the work that God has called me to in Colorado.

Tomorrow we will begin the drive back to Colorado from Southern California… Pray for us… 18 hours, to make it there for church on Sunday… 

Farewell to Elisabeth Elliot

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One of the first books I read as a missionary was the diary of Jim Elliot – missionary to Ecuador who was martyred by the people he went to tell about Jesus.

The diary of Jim Elliot details his thoughts and dreams, his hopes and prayers, as he went to Wheaton college,  went as a missionary to Ecuador, met and married his wife, Elisabeth, and then embarked on a journey to share the Gospel with the unreached Auca indians – an endeavor which ended in both tragedy and glory: tragedy because Jim and his missionary companions were murdered, but glory because after their deaths, the wives of the slain men continued to reach out to the Auca’s, forgave them for what they had done, and ultimately did lead them to Christ.

The reason Jim Elliot’s diary was available for me to read was because of the work of his wife: Elisabeth Elliot, who made it available to the world. Additionally, Elisabeth Elliot wrote two books about their missionary work in Ecuador – one titled Through Gates of Splendor, which has been called one of the most influential books of the Twentieth Century.

Elisabeth Elliot went on to write many other books and became a prominent advocate for world missions.

Yesterday she entered through those Gates of Splendor herself at the age of 88 and was reunited with Jim in the presence of the God she loved and served her whole life.

Here’s more about Elisabeth Elliot from Christianity Today. Oh that God would give us more people like her! Oh that God would give us the kind of hearts for Him that she and Jim had.

Jim Elliot’s famous quote – brought to the world through the work and advocacy of Elisabeth Elliot:

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

Here’s a photo of that quote in Jim Elliot’s own handwriting:

Jim Elliot’s diary

What is Baptism with Fire?

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This past Sunday I was out of town, officiating the wedding of some friends in Minnesota. It was my first time in Minnesota, and it was really nice! I can see the appeal of the lakes.

So this past Sunday I was out of town, but the week before that I preached a message titled “Baptism by Fire” in which I taught about the events of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the church in fulfillment of the promises of not only Jesus, but also of God from even the Old Testament. I made reference to the words of John the Baptist, who said that he baptized with water unto repentance, but that one (Jesus) was coming after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, and I talked about how the fulfillment of that is found in Pentecost, when the believers were baptized with the Holy Spirit, and as a sign of them each individually receiving this baptism, tongues of fire rested on each of their heads.

Afterwards, someone asked me a great question: Whether the baptism with fire that John the Baptist was talking about was a description of the baptism with the Holy Spirit (like I had taught), or if John was speaking of the fire of judgment – because in the very next verse, John the Baptist says: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:12)

Here was my response:

I am familiar with that interpretation you mention, and I think it’s entirely possible given the context of what John was talking about — which is promise of the Messiah and a warning of judgement. In this interpretation, the assumption is that Jesus is saying: he will baptize some people with the Holy Spirit and other people he will baptize with fire — i.e. the same fire of judgment that he refers to in the following verse (vs 12).

Is that what John meant by those words? I agree with you (and many Bible interpreters) that it is quite possible that this is what he meant.

The other main interpretation about this, is that the “fire” is a reference to the Holy Spirit and the purpose of the tongues of fire on Pentecost was that they were a sign that these words of John were now being fulfilled. This is the line of thinking that I took in my sermon. Here’s more on that from the Holman Bible Dictionary:

Fire is one of the physical manifestations of God’s presence. This is illustrated several times in the Bible: the making of the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:17 ), the appearance in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), God leading the Israelites by a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22; Exodus 14:24; Numbers 9:15-16; Numbers 14:14; etc.), His appearance on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:18; Exodus 24:17; Deuteronomy 4:11-36; Deuteronomy 5:4-26; etc.), and others (1Kings 18:24,1 Kings 18:38; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2Chronicles 7:1,2 Chronicles 7:3 ).

Fire was used symbolically in Israel’s worship to represent God’s constant presence with Israel (Leviticus 6:12-13 ). God’s presence as fire represented both judgment and purification (the words purify and purge come from the Greek word for fire). To be in God’s presence is to be in the presence of absolute holiness where no sin or unrighteousness can stand. To be in the presence of God is to have the overwhelming sense of one’s uncleanness and the overwhelming desire to be clean (see Isaiah 6:1-6 ). God is able to judge and destroy the sin and purify the repentant sinner.

To be baptized with the Holy Spirit has a wider application than this; but when the Holy Spirit is coupled with fire, the particular aspect of the Holy Spirit’s work as described here is in view.

One thing I would add to this excerpt is that fire is a cleansing agent, and one of the roles of the Holy Spirit as he indwells us is sanctification, e.g. Rom 8:13.

This is one of the difficulties of Bible interpretation — to figure out what exactly was meant by a particular word or phrase in its context. In this case, both options are theologically sound and contextually possible, so it’s kind of a win-win. I’m glad to have the chance to explain a little more about the fire aspect and what the significance of it might be.

Did Judas Go To Hell?

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In teaching through the Book of Acts on Sunday mornings at White Fields I recently taught the section in Acts 1 where it talks about how Judas committed suicide after betraying Jesus.

Afterwards someone wrote a question:

Did Judas go to hell?  Is suicide a deal breaker? Judas knew that what he did was wrong, so is it possible that he will go to heaven?

It is hard for us to say with certainty about anyone’s eternal destiny; that is something which ultimately is only known by God. However, we do have good reason to assume that Judas did go to hell based on two things that Jesus said:

Matthew 26:20-25. At the Last Supper Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him, and then he says: “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born”. The implication is that it would be better for a person not to have been born than to go to hell.In John 17, Jesus prays to the Father about and for the disciples and he says in Vs 12: “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction”

Based on these 2 verses I think we can assume that Judas did go to hell.

However, did he go to hell because he committed suicide? No, that wasn’t why. The reason Judas went to hell is because, rather than repenting of his sin and seeking and receiving forgiveness and restoration from Jesus, he chose to end his life. This reminds us that feeling bad about your sin is not the same as repenting of your sin and receiving forgiveness.

Interestingly, Judas is not the only one of Jesus’ disciples who betrayed him. Peter also betrayed him, and several other disciples “scattered” when Jesus was arrested. Peter and Judas are an interesting contrast: Peter returns and is restored, whereas Judas goes off and kills himself. Peter betrayed Jesus but then was forgiven and restored; Judas did not return to Jesus, and therefore missed the opportunity for grace and forgiveness and restoration.

Jesus’ words about the lostness of Judas should be seen in regard to his foreknowledge that Judas would not return to repent and receive forgiveness and restoration.

To the point about suicide: It has been taught in certain Christian groups that suicide is an unforgivable sin. This has been based 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 which says: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.”   This is one of those instances where it helps to know other languages, if not even the original language. Because when you read this in the original (or in other languages which differentiate between you (singular) and you (plural), it becomes immediately clear from the context as well, that this is not talking about suicide at all, but what Paul is talking about is the church!  In other words:  You all are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  — the context of 1 Corinthians chapter 3 is that Paul is talking about people who cause division in the church!   He says that the Church — the Christ-ordained gathering of the people of God — is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and whoever destroys the church, through division, will be judged by God!

In other words – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 is not talking about suicide but it is speaking to those who cause division in the church. Is suicide an unforgivable sin? I don’t see why we should believe it is. That being said, I would not encourage anyone to test God on this.  The message of the Gospel is new life and restoration in Jesus Christ from any and all forms of despair, and the hope of eternal live and joy for those who persevere.

Narrative Theology in an Animated Video

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One of my favorite approaches to the Bible is that of Narrative Theology: a way of looking at the Bible focused on the grand story that the Bible tells.

These guys doing The Bible Project put together this great video, which uses this approach. Check this video out; I think it’s awesome!

They have a bunch of other videos on their YouTube page which are worth watching too.

Massive Mobile Phones and the Apostle Paul

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Last week I got a gigantic phone – a Samsung Note 4. It’s so big I can barely fit it in my pockets. And it has a stylus, which I wasn’t sure if I would like or not, but which I have actually used a ton – to my own surprise.

I was inspired to switch carriers for several reasons:

  • On my recent trip to Hungary and Ukraine, my colleague had T-Mobile, which allowed him to text internationally for free without any extra fees or plans, and he was able to make international calls for 5x less than I was able to even with my “international package” I had to pay an extra fee for.
  • My wife and I have been working hard for the last 6 months to get out of debt, and switching carriers allowed us to lower our bill by about $50/month.
  • We got all those benefits, and new phones, which we didn’t necessarily NEED – but we certainly didn’t mind. I was able to get my wife the Nexus 5, which was not available on our previous carrier, and I got a phablet. It’s huge – but it’s also awesome, because we don’t have a physical office for our church, so I work off of my laptop and mobile devices all day every day.

I was thinking to myself the other day: “If the Apostle Paul were alive today, what would his attitude to modern technology be?”  How about Martin Luther?  How about John Wesley or George Whitefield?

And here’s what I think:  I think that if any of these men would have lived in our day, they would have owned massive mobile phones, and they would be blowing up the internet all day long. Why? Because it is an amazing vehicle for spreading ideas and starting movements.

I’m convinced the Apostle Paul would have had a Note 4 – or maybe an iPhone 6 plus… He probably would have a blog, a podcast, a YouTube channel and a Twitter account. And he would have worked those things all he could for the Gospel. Imagine if you would have told Paul the Apostle that there is a way that you could spread the Gospel around the world without having to get on ships, get shipwrecked, bitten by snakes and facing crowds of angry people who wanted to beat him up: he would have freaked out! He would have been all over it.

I think that we should be too.

Easter Weekend in Longmont

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This weekend, White Fields church will again be hosting the annual Easter Egg Hunt in Roosevelt Park on Saturday, April 4th at 10:00.

It’s hard at this point to only call this an Easter Egg Hunt, it’s almost like an Easter Family Festival, because of all the activities available to families. If you live in the area, do come and check it out; we’ve ramped it up this year!

Also, we invite you to join us on Sunday morning at 10:00 in the St Vrain Memorial Building for our Easter Celebration!

For more information, click here.

The Rise of Christianity in China

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I read this interesting report from the Financial Times on the rise of Christianity in China.

Here are some highlights:

There are now about 100 million Christians in the world’s most populous nation, eclipsing the 86.7 million-strong membership of the ruling Communist party.

Christianity (particularly the Protestant variety) has been the big winner in the competition for Chinese souls. If it continues to spread at its current pace, the country is very likely to be home to the world’s largest Christian population within the next 15 years.

“By 2030, China will almost certainly have more Christians than any other country and the Communist party is very alarmed,” says Fenggang Yang, director of the centre on religion and Chinese society at Purdue University. “Chinese officials often cite the experience of Poland, where they believe the Catholic Church helped destroy communism and, although the two situations are not really comparable, the party still sees Christianity as a very serious threat that it needs to suppress.”

The truth is that, as this article reports, for all the news of the decline of Christianity in Europe, Christianity is still spreading quickly around the world, particularly in the developing world. These are exciting times!