Walking with God is like a song

One topic I'm really interested in is preaching.  I want to know, how can we best communicate the truth about Jesus and who He is?  How can the words we use in a church service best be used to increase people's faith in God or encourage them in their walk with Him?   At this point, I don't preach often. I only get the opportunity to share in front of a group occasionally.   Recently, I uploaded all the sermons I have recorded copies of.  It's funny as I re-listened to them how encouraged (and how convicted) I was. It's interesting how the lessons of years past are so applicable to me here again at a new place in my own life.

Walking with God is like learning a song with many verses but the same tune repeats over and over again.  Although you're singing different words the second or third time through, you quickly realize the tune is the same.  At the end of the song, you probably don't remember any of the words except the first phrase, but that tune--well, that tune really sticks.  You learn the tune.

Walking with God is like that. The lessons God teaches you at one point in time He will often come back and teach you again. And again.  And again.

Some probably would say it is because we are "slow learners".  Yes, that is true.  But it goes deeper than that. I think God is very interested in a few core themes (things like His glory, His loving nature, Our need for Him, His desire for communion with us, His desire to redeem our world).  These things are the music.  In each verse, though, we experience the core truths of God in new (and deeper) ways.  New situations or new challenges in life bring different words to the same tune.  They add depth to the meaning of the tune.

That is how I feel when I listened to some of my old sermons.  If you care to listen, the sermons I uploaded are here: http://lifetothefull.sermondrop.com

Awed afresh by the Incarnation

Once again this Christmas I am amazed by the incarnation.  More than any other doctrine or event in history, I find this one event to be the greatest.   Jesus' death and resurrection (Easter) are up there, too, for sure. But just think about this event we are celebrating.  The incarnation is like the ultimate plot twist in an already enthralling super-novel.  God becoming a man? The Son of God embracing human form? That is something in my psyche and intellect that is so unexpected and paradigm shifting.   

The complete awe of this event is not associated with its show of power.  Indeed, the awe is produced by the incredible yielding of power.  Infinite God willingly assumed a form that was finite.  The Creator--the Word of God Himself through whom the earth was spoken into existence--inhabited human form and experienced His very own creation in like manner as the creation!  There is no comparison.  There was never an event like this and there will never be an event comparable.

In this one act, Jesus also demonstrated the inestimable worth of humandkind.  We humans, we share traits with other animals, yes.  Yet the Son of God, pure Spirit, esteemed human form as as worthy of Himself.   The Bible says He "became flesh".   He assumed, not temporarily, but for all time a human form.  How mind boggling!  We truly are made "in the image of God" if the divine Son of God Himself could become one of us.  He thinks that much of our race, wow!   

The incarnation is logically unexpected and in some ways intellectually incomprehensible. Yet its implications are philosophically astounding, emotionally overwhelming, and full of spiritual mystery.  In the wake of the incarnation's paradoxical demonstration of power comes a deeper revelation and understanding of both the divine nature and human nature. Unbelievable!


Truly we stand in awe of you: Jesus, the God-man.   You have demonstrated to us that the greatest power is shown through meekness and humility.  You have show us in your action of incarnation how valuable all people actually are in your sight.  Guide our worship of you this Christmas to be full of the reverent awe you deserve. Amen.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John 1:1-3,14 ESV)

3 ways to be a legalist

A lot of accusations of "legalism" fly around from time to time.  It refers to a negative phenomenon and implies that a follower of Jesus is not in touch with what the Good News is really all about. I think all Christians struggle with legalism at different points in their journey.  I find it helpful to think of the term in a few categories. Legalism is... 

1. Legalism is trying to earn salvation (justification) by keeping the Law of the Bible or by following a specific set of rules.  The Bible teaches that we can only be saved by faith in God through His gift to us!
2. Legalism is trying to make oneself holy (sanctified) by following the law or a set of rules rather than believing your holiness before God comes because of your new identity as a child of God..  (This does not say that God does not have a certain standard, but it does call us to examine our method of and motives for becoming holy.  Holiness must also come by faith, not by simply my own striving.)
3. Legalism is requiring a set of rules that are more restrictive than God's rules and holding others to this standard as if God did in fact did require it.. Like the Pharisees, we Christians sometimes interpret and apply the Bible's teaching "by the letter of the law" and/or add extra requirements rather than focusing on the "spirit of the law". 

For the record, #2 is the one I struggle with the most.

Perhaps this is a sermon series and not a blog post, but one root thing that all three of these "types of legalism" have in common is emphasizing our faithfulness/responsibility to God in a way that supersedes or overshadows His faithfulness and love to us.  God's faithfulness to us is the centerpiece of the Gospel, not our faithfulness to Him.  Of the two, His faithfulness to us must always come across louder and clearer.  We must learn to find our identity in His faithfulness, not our own.  This puts the focus and glory back on God, not us.  This is the only way to experience abundant life! 

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes--the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith.  As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."  (Romans 1:16-17, NLT) 

Longing to Belong

What is your niche? Have you found your niche in the Kingdom?  A niche is that place, group, or activity that feels right, where you know you belong.  I think everyone has this yearning for a sense of "belonging."   Do you feel like you belong in your church or family or other circles you might be part of?

There are perhaps different types of niches.  There is the type of belonging that says "I am accepted here, I am known here, these people know me fully (warts and all) and (yet) fully accept me! These people would give their life for me and I for them!"  This is real friendship, this is real community, real fellowship.  Paul used the Greek word koinonia in Philippians to describe this kind of bond he had with the Phillippian church.  Unfortunately, I think it is rare in many churches. It takes time and vulnerability to achieve.  People who live out this type of community live in an environment of real grace. I have experienced this at times in small group settings and in family.  People are really "family" in this group.  The words "brother" and "sister" take on real and deep meaning.  This is a beautiful thing.  Really it is a taste of heaven as the Holy Spirit invades and transforms our relationships here on earth.  

The second type of niche finding is that fruit-bearing niche.  Most of us also yearn to be able to say "I am being used!  I understand my gifts and they are being utilized! I see God doing things through me!"  Productivity-driven American culture often  elevates the importance of this niche over the previous one.  I often fall into "task-mode" or "vision-mode" and begin to rate myself based on this niche.  (Bad idea.)   This is an important niche, but it is not primary.  Fruit is important.  Reaching out to others (even reaching the whole world is important), but be cautious of how it becomes your focus. Measuring yourself by how well you perform will suck the life out of you and leave you feeling defeated.  This is not the New Covenant way. Also, you may go many years and not feel like you've found this niche.  It often takes time to understand how God has wired You and your fruit-bearing niche may not become clear for sometime.

There is another aspect to finding your Kingdom niche.  This is really the first and primary aspect.  I dare say that this niche is a precondition to any real sense of belonging in the Kingdom.  Sobering, too, is that I even forgot this most important niche when I began this entry.   Our primary place of belonging in the Kingdom is to belong to Jesus.  We have to understand and experience a continuing relationship to the King of the Kingdom. You and me: sons and daughters. We are seated with Jesus in heavenly realms. We are forgiven and covered by Jesus' own righteousness.  When the Holy Father looks at us, he sees the perfectness of His Son; he doesn't regard us in our sin or shortcomings. He yearns to walk with us.  He desires communion with us as a friend or even a lover.  

This is the primary niche that we as believers need to really understand.  Let it wash you again.  Fight to abide here in this place. This is life itself.   The Eternal God loves you and has opened up a place for you at his table and next to His throne.  If that's not a niche, if that's not a place to feel a sense of belonging, I'm not sure what is.

Remind of this, Lord, we know you have made a niche for us in Your family. We long to belong.  Help us as we seek out communion with you and help us to trust you with our other needs for feeling a place of belonging. 

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
    (Psalm 27:4)

How many dimensions does preaching have?

I recently watched a video of Tim Keller sharing his views on biblical preaching. It really resonated with my soul. I don't believe Keller has written a book on this subject (at least not yet), but this video may be one of the best teachings I have heard to date on preaching. Other study I have done recently on preaching method has seemed rather one-dimensional and left me frustrated. (One-dimensional preaching = focusing almost exclusively on behavior change as the goal of preaching.) Keller is refreshingly multi-dimensional.

Keller suggests that biblical preaching needs to be: 1) Gospel-centered, 2) Christ-centered, 3) life changing on the spot, and 4) culturally transforming. Each one of these really hits a vibe with me. Preaching needs to proclaim the true Gospel (not moralism/behavior change), show how Christ is the theme of all of Scripture and exalt Him above all, aim for supernatural heart change on the spot, and aim to effect cultural change by truly understanding and engaging the cultural viewpoints of the listeners. I like his thoughts, I like the order they are put in, and I like the depth with which he elaborates!

Have a listen if you're interested:

Tim Keller Feb'09: Preaching the Gospel from Newfrontiers on Vimeo.

Leading is all about following

"Follow me"

A quick search reveals that Jesus uses the phrase 20 times in the gospels. This was Jesus' call to Peter and Andrew the fishermen, to Philip, and also the call to Matthew the tax collector.  The same call to the rich young ruler proved ineffectual because the wealthy lad could not give up what he valued,  "Sell all that you have and follow me."  Follow me--so simple, yet so difficult for those endowed with much of anything. 

Perhaps the greatest quality of any true spiritual leader is this one quality: being a follower.  Not a follower of a specific church leader or of a certain philosophy of life. Not a follower of a particular religion.  Not a follower of a rule of life, a specific group of teachings, or a series of principles.  The call is a call from a Man to follow Him.   "Follow me."

Simple, yes? Yet so difficult.  Jesus knew that His way was the way of a cross. Thus our invitation to follow is paired with cross-bearing.  "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."   The simple follow me is inseparably linked with take up your cross.

This, then, is the way of the Kingdom.  All Kingdom leaders are expert followers.   The greatest is the servant of all.  Jesus turns on its head every worldly paradigm and shatters every humanly normal way of looking at things.  The paradox is shockingly fresh and beautiful.

Do I want to be a follower of Jesus?  Yes! Of course I do!  Yet sometimes--No, no thank you!   There is no greater calling and no greater joy than to be following Him.  Yet sometimes still I want to be like the rich young ruler and cling to the prestige and security which I have inherited or can build in my own strength. But one cannot truly follow Him and avoid the way of the cross.

Thanks be to God for His gift of grace and promise to complete the work He has begun.  Help us, Lord to be faithful in following You.   Plant in our hearts a desire to follow You that is stronger than our desire to lead others. Amen.

Is leadership over-hyped?

Is the concept of leadership over-hyped? Over my past 4 years in a ministry training environment, that's a question I've asked myself and a skepticism I've put to many different of my thinking friends. My question is asked sincerely but also out of a sense of frustration. On the one hand, I know I'm called to follow God in such a way that I will also be leading others. Yet on the other hand, I have trouble identifying with a lot of what spoken of, exemplified, and taught in the name of "leadership."  The corporate world gives us the CEO example, the mega church gives us a super-pastor model, the para-church gives us the disciplined, respected, popular leader. I don't identify with any of them.  Honestly, I wonder how much Jesus or the disciples would have identified with these models.

Some of my friends are specifically and passionately pursing a "leadership" calling on their life and in some cases have done extensive reading on understanding how to be a leader. In my church, we often talk about "leadership gifts". We, the American church, have many different "leadership" conferences, summits, and seminars that are designed to take on "leadership" issues. There are a plethora of both sacred and secular books on how to be an effective leader. In spite of all this the church as a whole seems to have a dearth of good leaders. Many church leaders and well-known Christians say things like "the church needs more leaders!" or "there is a lack of leadership in the church!" I don't necessarily disagree. But I do wonder. Sometimes I wonder things like, "Are church spokespeople missing a bigger and simpler mandate than leadership? Are we elevating a secondary topic to a first place position? Are we over-complicating this?"

Jesus instructed his followers to do many things. Perhaps highest on the list were the verbs believe, love, abide, serve, and feed (i.e. Jn 3, 13, 15, 21:15-19). I propose that these verbs point to a main mandate to become spiritually mature in Jesus. As people of God, we are called to receive His grace and live it out. We are continually called to new and deepening levels of this receiving and living. I further propose that spiritual leadership comes almost naturally as an out flow of this kind of maturity in Christ.

I wonder sometimes if our approach to training leaders is akin to teaching a caterpillar to fly. Caterpillars as caterpillars are not equipped to fly. But, fly they will once their maker transforms them. Growing up and waiting are the key things for the caterpillar to work on, not flutter techniques. Perhaps those who assist the caterpillar should just be satisfied that the caterpillar will one day burst into flight. This is a simplification of course. I do in fact believe that there are learned leadership skills and techniques that are helpful. Yet it seems to me that 95% of spiritual leadership is simply spiritual maturity.  If believers and church leaders would focus primarily on growing deep in Christ, good leadership will emerge with vitality.

Show me someone who's body, mind, emotions, spirit, and relationships have been transformed by the Holy Spirit, and I will show you someone who is a good leader.  I would further wager that the biggest hindrance in my own leadership is not that I don't know what to do or how to do it. Rather, it stems a lack of maturity in several areas where God continues His work.  I need more of His love flowing through me, a deeper understanding of his abiding presence and father-love, a transforming desire from Him to serve, an excitement of being vulnerable in community, and a compassion to feed and shepherd!

Real leadership is excellent and we need it in our churches, yet I can't help but think that maturity in Christ is the platinum commodity.  What do you think?