Living Sent

 This past week, I was able to preach at our online and live weekend services centered on the command of Jesus in Matthew 28: 18-20, "The Great Commission." I focused on the command to "Go" and the implications of that in the current climate of Covid Lockdowns. Rather than write a long blog, I am embedding the Facebook link. You can skip to minute 10 to begin the worship part of the service. You can skip to minute 33 to begin the message. I hope you both enjoy and are challenged by the message.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=721584698458933

Blessings,

Mark

A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On

In the book of Hebrews, the writer quotes from Haggai 2:6 to issue one of the many warnings in the book. "At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, 'Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens'" (Heb. 12:26).

The writer is comparing two mountain experiences. The first is the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai in the wilderness, the act of which created Israel, the people of God. The second is the consummation of God's new redemptive order through Jesus, and the mountain is Zion.

The first mountain experience was terrifying to the Israelites. Fire, darkness, gloom and storm--and an earthquake. It was the formation of a new people who needed to respect the holiness of God and to learn to respect the Law. 

But the writer says that Haggai prophesied a time when not only would the earth shake, but the heavens as well. The formation of the new people of God is also a dreadful experience for those who want to approach God and His exalted presence. "For our 'God is a consuming fire'" (Heb. 12:29 quoting Deut. 4:24).

Why all this shaking? The writer says that it is for "the removing of what can be shaken--that is created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain" (Heb. 12:27).

I believe God spoke this word to me recently about the state of the church. The closing of businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus has resulted in a shaking of all the churches that I know. Online meetings and live-streaming services are not the same thing as gathering together. After all, the Greek word ekklesia means "those who are called out into the public square to assemble together." The children of Israel in the Old Testament are called the church, called out of Egypt to assemble before God.

The Church is being shaken by God right now. Both because of the pandemic and because of the civil unrest over perceived systemic racism and leftist/anarchist activities. God's purpose for shaking us must be seen in light of this passage. He is removing the things that are impermanent and not desirable so that the permanent and desirable things can remain.

Threshing is the process of beating the heads of wheat to separate the grain from the chaff. Then, on a windy day, the whole thing is tossed repeatedly in the air so that the chaff is blown away but the actual grains of wheat remain. 

As John the Baptist says about the soon-coming Messiah: "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matt. 3:12).

And in John 15, we hear a similar metaphor. The Father is the vinedresser who prunes the branches that are not producing fruit in order to increase the harvest. 

I believe that the Church needs to wake up to God's judgment and submit to His correction through our obedience to Him. No longer will it be good enough to go to good meetings and act like going to church is the same thing as being the Church.

In the 80's, we were all wondering whether there were any Christians left in China. The Cultural Revolution of the 60's destroyed the existing churches and the church hierarchy. Yet, the first smuggled films showed us a vital and growing underground church, alive with the Gospel. The same thing is currently happening in Iran where, if reports are true, under intense persecution, the Church is growing more rapidly than anywhere else in the world.

I don't know about you, but I want to be with the desirable things that remain after the shaking is done. How about you?

Doin' the Stuff

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (Jas. 1:22).

I believe the North American Evangelical church has been afflicted with a particular malaise. We seem to be obsessed with knowing the Word, but deficient in doing it. 

One of the most common questions I hear from people new to a church is "Do you have a Bible Study I can join?"

Don't get me wrong. I believe in learning more and more about the Bible. It is our only infallible guide for faith and practice. It is the authority upon which the church must build. Neither tradition, nor church hierarchy nor charismatic leadership can substitute for the Word of God. I personally have a regular reading and study routine and I participate in Bible Studies. When I preach, I try to expound God's Word so that people can grasp it and conform their lives to it.

However, with that said, I recall a story of John Wimber's (founder of the Vineyard Movement). When he started attending church, he asked one of the elders, "Where do we go to do the stuff?"

"What stuff?"

"You know, the stuff in the Bible. Healing the sick, raising the dead, preaching the Gospel to the poor."

"Oh, we don't actually do that stuff. We study about it, we hear sermons about it, but we don't actually do it."

"You mean I gave up drugs for this?" (Of course this was said tongue-in-cheek.)

This led to one of John Wimber's most famous pithy Wimberisms, "Doin' the stuff." That is, God wants us to actually go out, just like Jesus and His disciples did, and demonstrate the presence of the Kingdom of God by doing the same stuff that they did.

Are you satisfied with a Christian life that merely listens to the Word but does not actually do it? I must admit that this has been a constant struggle for me. It takes a major effort for me to take what I have received within the safe confines of the church and go into the streets where I might encounter resistance, rejection and failure. But when I do, God meets me there, and I think He is smiling.

It would be nice to hear someone at church ask, "Where do we go to do the stuff?" And it would be even better for us to be able to answer, "Come with me."

Gardening in the Kingdom

When I was a kid growing up in Santa Clara, California, I would plant a vegetable garden every year. It was a habit I probably picked up from my Italian immigrant extended family. I still have memories of my grandmother picking squash in her own backyard garden in San Jose.

The first step was to turn the soil and break up the clods, maybe adding in some old grass clippings as mulch. Then I would make rows and mounds with furrows and moats for planting and watering. Then I would plant the seeds (no seedlings from the nursery back then). Zucchini squash, Italian cucumbers, Indian corn, string beans, tomatoes, carrots and maybe a watermelon. I would always plant radishes because they were the fastest growing and gave me a sense of hope early on.

All through the summer, I would water, weed, thin and pick off the amazingly plump tomato worms.

And of course, the most amazing of all experiences came at harvest--the reward for all the hard work.

"This is what the kingdom of God is like. A person scatters seed on the ground..." (Mark 4: 26).

Jesus ministered in an agrarian culture. So it is not odd at all that he so often uses farming to illustrate kingdom principles. The Sower and the Seed, The Wheat and the Tares, and here, the Patient Farmer.

This parable, however, makes it seem like the farmer hardly works at all. "Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, although he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head" (Mark 4: 27-28).

The kingdom principle is this: the life of the kingdom is in the seed itself. The farmer's job is merely to sow the seed. God's job is to then cause the life inherent in the seed to do its thing. In Jesus' time, there was no irrigation or fertilization. The farmer could not make the seed grow any faster by brooding over it, or holding his breath, or gritting his teeth.

Then, when the proper time came, and the life of the kingdom inherent in the seed produced what it was designed to produce--harvest time had come. And now the farmer goes to work again.

"As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come" (Mark 4: 29).

Kinda makes me want to become a farmer. Except that we all know that farming is not that easy.

The kingdom principle that Jesus is teaching is this: the Gospel that we are sowing has the life of the kingdom within itself and will produce fruit if we will trust it. As Paul says in Romans, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Rom. 1: 16a).

God has called us all to become farmers in His field. Our job is to sow, water, weed, fertilize and tend in that garden. His job is to cause the life of the kingdom to work as a result.

And when that life begins to produce fruit, we get the joyous chance to put in the sickle and feel the joy of the harvest.

How's your crop doing?

Seeing Zacchaeus

I have been "vertically challenged" for my whole life. I was 4-foot-10 when I started High School and never really had that hoped-for growth spurt. I was 5-foot-5-and-a-half when I graduated and I've been there ever since.

And I've heard a lot of "short people" jokes in my life. "Just how short is he?" "He's so short, he can do chin-ups on the chalk tray." "He's so short, he can play hand ball against the curb."

Perhaps that's why I love the story of Zacchaeus so much. "He wanted to get a look at Jesus, but he couldn't see over the crowds because he was a pip-squeak, so he ran up ahead, anticipating the route, and climbed a sycamore-fig tree so he could get a look at Jesus when he passed by" (Luke 19: 3-4: my paraphrase). (If someone is casting another Jesus movie, how about Danny DeVito in this role?)

And of course, we know that Zacchaeus was a "chief tax collector." That is, he was not just a lowly tax collector, but someone at the top of the tax collector pyramid scheme. He bought tax lots from the Romans and then brokered them to other tax collectors. Kind of like a mob boss controlling territories. The tax lots imparted the right to collect taxes on a commercial route or a region. The position was rife with corruption. It was common practice to extort more money from tax payers to make even more money. Kind of like paying a gang "protection money." And Zaccaeus was at the top of the pyramid.

The Jewish tax collectors were completely ostracized from Jewish society since they were collaborating with the enemy, the hated Romans who were occupying their homeland. Since they had to interact with these unclean Gentiles, the tax collectors were labeled as "unclean sinners." Perhaps more hated than the Romans themselves.

So, Zaccaeus, although wealthy through his profession, was cut off from any access to salvation because of the Pharisees and scribes. The Pharisees had a fixation on holiness, due in part to the reforms instituted by Ezra after the exile, and then formalized after the Maccabean revolt. In their world, salvation was obtained through rigid adherence to the holiness codes taught by the Torah and interpreted in the Oral Torah and later resulting in Mishnah and Talmudic writings.

And the common person agreed with their leaders. The tax collectors were unredeemable sinners.

But Jesus had a "kingdom" focus. And everyone was a potential citizen of the Kingdom of God if they had faith. So, while the Pharisees were erecting more and more barriers to people, represented to the extreme by Zacchaeus, Jesus refused to treat anyone as exempt from the Good News that the Kingdom of God was now available.

And that is why Jesus "saw" something when he looked at Zacchaeus: faith. Maybe just a mustard seed, but faith nonetheless. He saw that the Father was at work and that this man was close to the Kingdom of God.

No one else in that very religious society had the eyes to see Zacchaeus in the same way. If Jesus had not arrived on the scene, Zacchaeus would remain lost.

But Zacchaeus' transformation can be seen as the fruit of the faith that Jesus called forth. And he compares that faith to the Father of faith, Abraham.

This brings us to us. A religious spirit, maybe also described as pharisaism or legalism, tends to think of people as in or out of our holy club. But Jesus calls us to let go of the glasses of religious sectarianism and see the world through Kingdom lenses.

"My Father is always at his work to this very day; and I, too, am working" (John 5: 17).

Is the Father working in the heart of the pot-smoker, the atheist, the porn-star, the militant gay activist, the [you fill in the blank] that sits in the cubicle next to you at work, or occupies the desk next to you in class, or is on the treadmill machine next to you at the gym? Are you willing to open your eyes to what the Father is doing in their lives? Are you willing to eat dinner at their house or invite them over to yours? This is where the rubber of the Gospel meets the road.

The Gospel of Paul

In my last entry, I wrote about the Good News of the Kingdom announced by Jesus and passed on to his disciples. The question in this blog-entry is, "What is the content of the Good News that was preached by the disciples? Did the message change from the one that Jesus announced?"

Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church about 30 years after the resurrection of Christ. In it, as  he defends the importance of the resurrection in the preaching of the Gospel, he makes this statement:

"Now brothers [and sisters], I want to remind you of the gospel that I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." (1 Cor. 15: 1-4).

If you go through the book of Acts and analyze the preaching of Peter and Paul, you will realize that they indeed still announce the Good News of the Kingdom of God, but their emphasis is on the person of Jesus Himself. It is the essential ingredients of Jesus' life that proves that He is indeed the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lord, and the Savior. He walked a sinless life full of miracles, signs and wonders. He voluntarily suffered as the Servant of God. He truly died and was buried. He rose again from the dead on the third day. He ascended into heaven, took his position at the right hand of God, the Father, and will stage a glorious return to reign on earth in the future. Thus, in His very person God is brought present to us and thus, the Kingdom of God has come near and has been made available.

The Good News requires a response: repent (turn the direction of your life from being self-directed like the rest of the world, to being Jesus-directed), and believe (place your trust and confidence in Jesus; or in another sense, make Him the Master of your life as you assume the apprentice/follower/disciple role).

The earliest confession of the church was "Jesus is Lord" (see 1 Cor. 12: 3).

A subtle change in emphasis has led to a kind of watered-down understanding of the Gospel in much of the West. The typical appeal goes something like this: "Is your life a mess? Accept Jesus into your heart and he will forgive you of your sins and make a way for you to live an abundant life and you will go to heaven when you die." This message appeals to a kind of consumer mindset. "What is in it for me?" Jesus as Savior is the main emphasis, rather than Jesus as Lord. Although it is true that a benefit of believing in Jesus is that your sins are forgiven and that you now have a destiny with God in heaven, it is not the emphasis of the Good News that we read in the New Testament, especially in Acts.

The Jesus People Movement of the 60's and 70's in Southern California introduced an interesting twist on this Gospel. "Look at the headlines! The end-times are around the corner. You better accept Jesus so you can be raptured (taken into heaven directly) and you don't have to go through the 7-year period of distress that is coming on the earth called "The Tribulation." Thus, the motivation here was even more self-centered. "I'm afraid of the consequences of not becoming a Christian, or, I don't want to miss out on the benefits."

A sign that we are soft-selling the Gospel message is the way we try to soften the decision itself. "With all heads bowed and all eyes closed..." We wouldn't want to embarrass anyone by having them respond publicly. When I got married, I did it publicly. I don't think my wife would have been thrilled if I just quietly bowed my head in the audience and then caught the eye of the minister to let him know I had said 'I do' in my heart. Perhaps it should be a little difficult to say "I do" to Jesus as well.

I think all of this has implications for those of us who think we have Good News to share with the world. Jesus Himself is the Good News. He lived, He died, He rose again. Thus He is the promised Messiah, the Son of God. Our call is to turn away from a worldly life and turn to Him, making Him our Lord. He is the Master who demands our allegiance. Oh yeah, and the benefits are incredible as well.

Pretty Good News, huh?

What Is the Gospel?

The word "gospel" comes from the Greek word euangelion which literally means "good news."

We call the first four books of the New Testament "The Gospels." That is, they are the Good News that  Jesus announced and that his followers have sought to continue to announce to the rest of the world ever since he passed the baton to his disciples.

Just what is the content of the Good News?

In Mark's account, Jesus begins his public ministry this way:
"After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 'The time has come,' he said. 'The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!'" (Mark 1: 14-15).

Many theologians agree that the crux of Jesus' message is that something he called "The Kingdom of God" (or "Kingdom of Heaven" in Matthew's Gospel) had somehow arrived and was now present and available to anyone who would respond to it. 

Jesus communicated the in-breaking of the Kingdom through both his words and his actions. When he performed miracles like healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers and casting out demons, he was demonstrating and illustrating the reality of his message.

"But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you" (Luke 11:20).

The term "Kingdom of God" needs to be understood in order to grasp just what Jesus was saying. We tend to think of a kingdom as a geographical location. But the New Testament uses the term to describe a condition more than a location. The Kingdom of God is the condition where God's rulership is acknowledged, where His dominion holds sway. Thus, when we pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." we are asking God's dominion to come and be made manifest on earth where we live in the same way and to the same degree that it is manifested in heaven, the place where God's Kingdom rule is fully manifested.

Jesus Himself is the One who brought the Kingdom to earth. His favorite term for himself was "Son of Man." This is probably an allusion to Daniel's prophecy:
"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed" (Dan. 7: 13-14).

So, Jesus is the One who brings the Kingdom to us, the One who is to receive our worship. His message ends with, "Repent and believe the Good News!"

To repent literally means "turn around." That is, the only response to the Good News is to turn away from whatever direction you are going and turn towards the Son of Man himself. Jesus brings the very presence of God and God's rulership to us. In order to enter into the Kingdom of God, we turn to Jesus and place our trust in him. 

Jesus, himself, is the content of the Good News. In him the Kingdom of God has arrived. Have you turned the direction of your life towards him and placed your trust in him? 

I'll write more on the Good News in my next blog.

Missional Churches

I heard the other day that churches tend to fall into four models: 1) The Refuge; 2) Attractional; 3) In Transition, and; 4) Missional.

The Refuge church is like a family that I can go to for safety, healing and where everyone believes the same things I do. "Maybe if we all just hang in there, we'll make it until Jesus rescues us." I think of Charles Laughton in the 1939 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Playing Quasimodo, the hunchback, he swings in to rescue Esmeralda from being burned at the stake, carries her high up above the square to the top of the cathedral and, holding her above his head to the roar of the crowd in the square below, cries out, "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!"

The Attractional church model tends to focus on building great buildings and programs. "We've got something great for you--so come and join us." In the U.S., we have some wonderful mega-churches that can compete with Disneyland and the Mall as a must-see destination. This is American competition as applied to religion. And, in general, smaller churches have a hard time competing, like a local hardware store compared to Home Depot.

The Transitional church is the one that may be fed up with its former model, may be in decline. It is at the end of one model and trying to figure out where to go next. Or, it may even be the new church-plant that is seeking to become established.

There is a new and exciting trend these days. A new model of church that many are calling the Missional church. It seeks to move out of merely existing as a refuge for its members (although there are always elements of refuge in healthy churches). And, although it may have elements that attract seekers to come--it is not focused on in-house programs as a way of reaching others. Instead, it is a model of engagement with the surrounding community in a meaningful and loving way. It is primarily a "go-ye" rather than a "come-ye" approach.

Check out an old Ingrid Bergman film sometime, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. The missionary, Gladys Aylward, lives out a life service in a northern province of China until the invasion of the Japanese empire through Manchuria. She serves the local Manchu lord as the "Chief Foot Inspector." And even though she has a thankless job, she becomes known as Jennai, "the one who loves," by everyone in the province. That is the Missional church model. The scene of her local feudal lord coming to faith is powerful.

Now don't get me wrong, I think that we can benefit from all of these models of church. But in my current journey with Jesus, I feel Him drawing me towards this new (old?) approach. Karl Barth, early 20th century German theologian, once defined the church as "community for the sake of the world." I like to modify this slightly to "Christ-centered community for the sake of the world." That means that church itself exists primarily for the sake of others.

So, even though Jesus said that He would "build his church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it" (Matt. 16: 18)--His instructions to the church were "go into all the world and make Jesus-followers out of every ethnicity and culture, baptizing them in the name of the Tri-une God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and teaching them to obey everything I have taught you..." (Matt. 28: 18-20).

The downside of the Missional model is that it is much scarier. As Jesus says to the 72 disciples in Luke 10: 3, "Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves." That is not a pleasant thought. It is not a very attractive model. "Hey! Come to our church. We promise you will feel as secure as a lamb thrown into the middle of a pack of wolves!"

And yet this is the call. Who wants to join me on this wild new adventure?

To None of the Above

On December 28, 2012, there was an interesting op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times that caught my attention, "Spiritual but not Religious" by Corinna Nicolaou. It was a nice companion piece to the lead story that ran on CBS Sunday Morning on December 16th, "None of the Above,' a reaction to a recent Pew Study. Both of these stories share one thing in common, they are describing a growing segment of society who choose "none of the above" when asked their religious affiliation.

This does not mean that Nones do not believe in God or some kind of higher power. In fact, the percentage of Nones who are Atheists is very low. Majorities of Nones pray, may attend church and claim to have deeply spiritual experiences. What they have in common is a disconnection from traditional organized religion.

One very interesting and important phenomenon happened in the 1990's. In the 70's and 80's, the Nones were around 7-8%. Then in the 90's, they jumped up to 14-15%. Although the Pew Study is a different one, it says the number has risen to 19.6%.

Bradley R. E. Wright, in Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites...and Other Lies You've Been Told, points out that the 90's saw the rise of conservative political activism among Evangelicals, led by groups like "Moral Majority." The conjecture is that some Christians who were not as conservative as these organizations moved away from their church affiliation during this time and have left formal association.

Nicolaou, in her article, refers to American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, by Robert Putnam and David Campbell. "Putnam and Campbell say the rise in Nones appears to be tied to the perception, particularly among young people, that religion and conservative politics go hand in hand. I can't wrap my head around a God who is more concerned with our private parts than with the content of our hearts."

As someone who believes in the Gospel, my heart is saddened to think that there is a significant group who may not hear the good news because the church cannot push through cultural barriers to reach them. In 1 Cor. 9: 20-22, Paul discusses how he "incarnated" the Gospel to whatever cultural group he was trying to reach for a higher goal. "To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews...To those not under [Torah] I became like one under [Torah]... so as to win those not under [Torah]...to the weak I became weak, to win the weak..." (1 Cor. 9: 20-22).

"I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings" (1 Cor. 9: 23).

It seems that, if we are going to reach this growing segment of our population with the Gospel, we are going to have to be careful not to mix our religious identity with our political identity. It is not wrong as members of the church to be good citizens and participate in the political process. But when our politics become part of the church "brand", then we begin shutting the door to a potential soul whose politics may differ from us. (See my blog, The Church and Politics, 6/14/12).

If I am sent to preach the Gospel to the Nones, how can I "become a None, so as to reach the Nones?"

Living in Exile

Dave Kinnaman, in his excellent book, You Lost Me, explains three categories of Young Adults (18-29 year-olds) who are leaving the church in higher numbers than previous generations. One of the categories he describes is "exiles." And his description resonates with a lot of my experience, not just with young people, but with people of all ages.

Kinnaman defines exiles as "those who grew up in the church and are now physically or emotionally disconnected in some way, but who also remain energized to pursue God-honoring lives...They feel lost, yet hopeful" (p. 75).

There are many examples of exiles in the scriptures. Daniel stands out.

"The king...brought in young men...to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service" (Dan. 1: 3-5)

Here was a pious Jewish boy, plucked out of his sheltered religious world and plopped down in Babylon. In fact, he is selected for an upwardly-mobile career in the courts of King Nebuchadnezzar. Sounds like so many sheltered Christian kids, home-schooled, or raised in Christian schools, or living in families whose lives revolve around the weekly church calendar (Sunday School, Youth Group, outreaches, missions trips, etc).  Then they are sent off to college, never to darken the door of the church again, perhaps visiting only when they are on holiday with their family--but somehow emotionally distant from church.

Yet, Daniel remains devoted to the worship of Yahweh even in his new pagan surroundings.

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine...To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning" (Dan. 1: 8, 17).

Not only that, but Daniel is highly talented and full of favor. So much so that he and his friends rise to the top of their new profession.

"Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds...The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom" (Dan. 1: 17, 19-20).

But I wonder what the Jewish separatists thought of them working alongside magicians and enchanters? What message does the church send to artists, academics, scientists and musicians as they seek to live out their giftedness in the world? Do we encourage them or cast aspersions on their profession? At least we know that Daniel had three other friends who shared his calling and they could encourage one another.

I remember how important it was to have the support of my fellow Christian students as I attended UCLA (many years ago). How was I to integrate the professional but secular teaching I was receiving with my growing faith? The problem for many young people is that they may be given the subtle message that only a Christianized profession is acceptable. Anything else is suspect.

With that in mind, it is interesting to watch Daniel walk the line of maintaining the integrity of his faith while living out his calling as a "magus" in the Babylonian court.

In John 17, Jesus prayed for his disciples who were being sent into the world, just like He had been sent by the Father. But not so that they would come out of the world or hunker down in a Christian ghetto trying to survive this life, waiting for the rapture. Instead, Jesus prayed that they would be "sanctified" or set apart as holy while they walked out their call IN the world.

Young people need our encouragement as they seek to live as a Christian IN but not OF the world. Rather than hiding their talent in the ground of Christian culture, they want to invest it in the world so that it bears the kind of interest that God intends.

In the world but not of the world. That is the line we all must walk. Daniel did it. Jesus did it. And we are called to do the same.

Is the church helping young people to live out their calling in the world like good disciples of Jesus Christ?

Character Matters

In the midst of discussing how the Christian should endure suffering, Peter says, "But in your hearts revere (set apart) Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander" (1 Pet. 3: 15-16).

For the last two blogs I've discussed the importance of God's manifest Presence as central to our identity as the People of God. God's Spirit, poured out upon the church, makes us who we are.

But the Spirit of God is not just poured out to empower us in ministry or to enliven our worship--the Spirit is also poured out to make us holy, that is, to transform us into godly people whose very nature is Christ-like. That's why it is called the fruit of the SPIRIT.

Character matters. When we, as a people, are transformed in our character so that we begin to behave like our Lord Jesus, it will mark us as the People of God.

Notice in this text from Peter's letter how important our character as the suffering servant is in helping us to share the message.

First, our hearts must be consecrated and dedicated to the Lordship of Christ. Campus Crusade for Christ's classic tract, "The Four Spiritual Laws" got this right. Becoming a Christian means stepping down from the throne of my own life (heart) and bowing to Christ as Lord--kneeling to Him as He takes the throne of my heart.

And this bowing to Christ's lordship is not just a one-time event that brings me to salvation. It is a life-long, daily process of laying down my will to serve the will of my Master. This is Paul's exhortation in Romans 12--to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. I think this is a great thing to do daily.

Second, we must spend time allowing our minds to be transformed. That means we learn the true story of God and how every other story is subsumed into His Story. As we grow in our understanding of the truth, we will be prepared to "give an answer to everyone who asks [us] to give the reason for the hope that [we] have."

This means we not only read the Bible, but study it. And it means submitting ourselves to good teachers. Too many people get stuck in a mind-set that is unteachable. A true disciple of Jesus is a life-long learner.

Third, we must change in our character, taking on the very nature of Christ. Becoming gentle and respectful. So much so that we are known for our good behavior. The real disciple of Jesus is going to be "yoked" to Him and learn from Him--gentleness and humility. (Matt. 11: 29-30).

And it is impossible to grow in character without being committed to gathering regularly with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Like rocks in a tumbler, the slow friction between one another wears our imperfections and sharp edges away until we are shiny and the beauty of what was hidden is now exposed for all to see.

Is Christ truly "enthroned" in your heart? Why not bow before Him again today?

The Church and Politics

The political season is well under way here in the good ole U. S. of A.

And I must admit that I am kind of a political junkie. I majored in Poli-Sci as an undergraduate at UCLA and I try to stay current on political issues.

But when it comes to my role as Pastor, I try to keep my political leanings out of the pulpit. I am concerned that I might abuse my authority. I'm also concerned with communicating to anyone that they must share my political philosophy in order to be saved. My job is to teach the Word and to preach the Gospel, not politics.

And one of the distressing "branding" problems for Christians and especially Evangelicals in the US today is related to politics. In the 80's, Evangelicals discovered that they could grab the levers of political power and exert their influence through such groups as Moral Majority and Christian Coalition. Pastors are frequently lured by their relationships to political leaders into becoming political advocates. And the message that the world gets is that Christians are just interested in power and that they are just too political.

Yet I can't tell you how many hours I've spent in pastors' prayer meetings praying for governmental agencies to approve some facility for a church. The same politicians who are courting the friendship of churches become the biggest enemies of churches when their tax-base is threatened.

In Romans 13, Paul gives instructions to the Roman church about their relationship to the governing authorities. What is amazing is that Paul probably wrote this during the reign of one of the most despotic emperors in history, Nero. He tells the Roman churches to "submit" to the authorities, to "do what is right" (be law abiding citizens) and pay whatever taxes are due.

But the church of Paul's time was a small and obscure sect of Judaism in the eyes of Rome. They were not in a place to influence government policies. They were simply trying to live as an exemplary community, maintaining a positive reputation so that the testimony of Christ was enhanced. They wanted to be an aroma, not a stench (to quote Rich Buhler).

It was only after Constantine that Christianity assumed a new relationship to the state in the West. The church was no longer being persecuted, but was now tempted to rely on political power rather than the power of God to grow. And so it has been in the West ever since.

In Europe, church power and state power became inseparable. Thus, the motivation for the framers of the U.S. constitution to put into the first amendment the ban on the establishment of a state religion and a ban on any limitations to the free exercise of religion (commonly called the wall of separation, although that language is from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to the Danville Baptists).

So how then are we to live? I believe we can learn a lesson from Paul. Let us seek to be good citizens whose presence is an enriching and positive one that can be felt and seen by those around us. As a group, let us resist the temptation to grab the levers of power and try to implement a social agenda through politics. But let us take our citizenship seriously by becoming informed on issues and contributing our part, whether that is by voting, serving jury duty or simply attending local council and PTA meetings.

And yes, we can expect and, indeed, should pray for those Christians whose calling is to politics. May they be the moralizing influence in society that gifted and called vocations in all other fields should be.

But let us resist the temptation to try to implement our moralizing influence through politics. When we do that, we become just another competing power and we lose our fragrance in society.

Peace Child

The famous missionary book by Don Richardson, Peace Child, was popular among evangelicals during my college days and it continues to be a powerful illustration of what Richardson calls, "redemptive analogies."

The cannibalistic and head-hunting tribal cultures in what was then Dutch West New Guinea were a challenging mission field. The Richardsons lived among the Sawi. It was an effort just to learn the complex language.

But when he was able to tell them the story of Christ, they laughed at the betrayal of Judas. Because of their cultural values, Judas appeared to be the hero and Jesus the dupe.

But how to communicate the message of Christ in such a different culture? Richardson says that all cultures have some kind of practice or custom that will provide the redemptive analogy if the missionary will prayerfully look for it. The analogy for the Sawi culture was the practice of the "peace child."

In order to negotiate peace between warring tribes, the leaders hand over one of their own children to the other tribe for safe-keeping. This ensures the negotiated peace between the tribes is maintained.

Of course, Richardson could then use this custom to talk about how God sent His Peace Child to us. This resulted in many conversions and the ultimate success of the mission work.

As a church-planting pastor in North America, this example may seem exotic and irrelevant. But it is highly relevant to our evangelistic work in the West.

The culture around us is changing. And the message of the church has often become marginalized and labeled as irrelevant. The Evangelical church in particular is often seen as full of hypocrites (see unChristian, by Kinnaman and Lyons for example).

The apostle Paul tells us that he changed his approach to his mission depending on the cultural context.

"To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Cor. 9: 20-22).

The job of the church remains the same. To incarnate ourselves in the culture to which we are called. And once there, to look for those redemptive analogies that will help us to bring the unchanging message of salvation to the shifting world-views around us. How are you doing with that task?

The Journey: A VIneyard Community

In more ancient times, human societies had larger populations of nomads than today. Hunter-gatherers who followed the changing seasons and migration patterns. Pastoral nomads who tended flocks and moved them from one grazing spot and watering hole to another as the seasons and conditions changed. And, in more modern times, peripatetic nomads, moving among settled populations, doing odd jobs, like the Romani in Europe. Some estimate the modern world to still have about 30-40 million nomads.

My life verse, written about several times in my blogs, has been Heb. 11: 8-10. Abram (later Abraham) is the great "Father of Faith". And faith is exemplified in his leaving the security and comfort of home in Ur of the Chaldees. He is called to go on a journey with God. In leaving the familiar and safe, he becomes a nomad, living in tents and wandering through a land in which he was a foreigner and a sojourner.

John Wimber used to say, "Faith is spelled R-I-S-K."

Significantly for those of us who are called to follow Abraham, his entire life became nomadic. He never received the fulfillment of God's promise here--only tokens of it.

As we held our final services for the Walnut Valley Vineyard Church this last Sunday, it has been a major task to get rid of so much accumulated stuff and resume the nomadic journey, like Abraham, "searching for the city with the kind of permanent and solid foundations, whose architect and builder is God Himself" (Heb. 11: 10, my paraphrase).

And my last entry expressed the human grief involved in letting go of stuff.

But there is also joy that comes in obediently following God. I must say that I am excited and energized by the prospect of new beginnings.

And that is why the name of our new church will be "The Journey: A Vineyard Community."

A Final Note:

Thank you to those who read this blog regularly. I will continue to try to post weekly during this transition, although I will be making some changes to the shell as my time permits. As you can imagine, there are so many things to do and they all seem to need to be done right away. I'm just hanging on to His Hand and letting Him do the leading. If you are interested or know of someone in the Brea area who is interested in going on The Journey with us, contact me.

There Be Waterfalls Ahead

Have you ever been on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disneyland?

The ride begins innocently enough. You are floating quietly through the bayou, listening to someone plucking a banjo, watching the fireflies and waving to the diners in "The Blue Bayou" restaurant. Then, suddenly you plunge down a waterfall once, then twice, and the ride has begun.

That's kind of like what the month of March has been for me. Suddenly, I have taken the initial plunge of announcing the changes to our church and, in two more Sundays, will be taking the second one as we close down the operations of Walnut Valley Vineyard Church (WVVC). I have had the continual feeling of "butterflies" in my stomach, like I do when I contemplate taking those plunges.

It is a reminder of what the Kingdom of God is often like. It seems like I am waiting and yearning and crying out for God to move. And then, when He does move, it comes suddenly and is outside of my control and I find myself crying out to Him again to stop so I can catch my breath.

I have to remind myself that I can't have it both ways: either I want God to be in control; or I want to be in control myself. And when I am sitting quietly and in my right mind, I know that I want God to be in control.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2: 20).

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it" (Luke 9: 24).

So there's the rub. If I truly want to live the Jesus-life, I must die so that His resurrection life can be lived through me. So much for the illusion of control.

How about you? When you are sitting quietly, in your right mind, are you committed to dying to the self-determined life so that the Kingdom life of Jesus can be lived through you? It is better to make that decision now, while the banjo's are plunking and the fireflies are twinkling than when you go hurtling down the waterfalls that are sure to come.

Joining in God's Mission

When the Jewish leaders questioned Jesus' healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath, Jesus said, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5: 17).

Did you know that God, the Father, is constantly doing HIS work in the lives of people all around us? But just what is the nature of that work?

By looking at the work of Jesus, who came to do the Father's work, we find the answer. "The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19: 10).

He came to bring salvation to those who are lost. Another way of saying this is that he came to reconcile men to God (2 Cor. 5: 19). That is, he came to pay the debt for us so that we no longer are separated from God by our sin. Jesus' sacrificial atonement is the ultimate work of God.

Even though Jesus has paid the debt for all sin, yet men and women remain separated from God. Reconciliation, to be complete, requires that humans do something to receive the benefits of that atoning work. It is as if God writes out a check for the full amount for each one of us--but we must receive and cash that check to enjoy the benefits.

Therefore, God has sent out every believer like an ambassador on his behalf with the message, "Be reconciled to God." Or to follow the analogy, "Take the check and cash it!"

"And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, [it's] as if God were making his appeal through us, 'We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God!'" (2 Cor. 5: 19b-20).

And so I come to the point of this blog entry: We are called to join in God's work, just as Jesus did. That is why the book of Acts begins by telling us that Luke's first book was about what Jesus BEGAN to do and to teach (Acts 1: 1). Now Luke will write about the continuation of God's work through the disciples.

We are all called to join in God's work--what theologians call the Missio Dei--God's mission. Each believer is to take seriously the call to participate in God's work.

And since I am powerless to actually do the work of God, I must be empowered by His Spirit. That is why, at the beginning of Acts, the Spirit is poured out on ALL the people of God, young and old, men and women. Everyone is empowered to do the work of God.

The Father is at work all around you. Have you decided to join Him in His work?

When the Cloud Lifts

We're told at end of Exodus, and then again in Numbers that "Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; whenever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped" (Num. 9: 17-18a).

Then, in Numbers 10, the LORD instructs Moses to make two trumpets that will be used as a signal to the whole camp for various things, one of which was to announce that "The cloud has lifted, time to move." Kind of a biblical version of a robo-call or group text.

Well, in the last months, it was apparent that God was doing something in our church and then, last week, He blew the trumpets and signaled for us to move.

I thought I was too old to plant a church when I did it at age 45. Now that I am approaching 57, I have decided that "He's God; and I'm not." God has called us to wrap up the activities of "Walnut Valley Vineyard Church" at the end of March and begin the preparations to move just 10 minutes away in North Orange County (probably Brea). We will be meeting in small groups during the preparation for a new church plant, hopefully to have a public launch in September.

Immediately after I had decided that this was indeed what God was speaking to me, and I spoke it out loud to my wife, things started to happen to confirm that this was indeed God's will.

First, a seemingly chance encounter with Pastor Kwan of the Vineyard of Harvest (a predominantly Chinese sister congregation about 3 blocks away) led to him telling me that they were looking for space for their new Cantonese congregation. I had been looking for someone to take over the lease--and now we can bless this growing Vineyard church as they reach the increasingly Asian community around us.

Second, a friend of mine who pastors a Vineyard church in Florida called me, seemingly out of the blue, but saying that God had laid me and our church on his heart. He was calling to find out what was going on. Early in his ministry career, I had called him twice at crisis moments. I guess there are people who are somehow linked in the Spirit (like some kind of spiritual Facebook friend) and God used him to confirm that it was indeed Him who was leading me.

And all of a sudden, I have a combination of energy and peace that comes from knowing God is moving and we are moving with Him. But I am also feeling the grief of loss, know that we will not just be leaving a building behind, but people who are not called to join us will begin saying goodbye.

How was it to walk for 40 years with Moses, not really being able to settle down anywhere? Not knowing if the encampment will last one day or ten years? That is what the Kingdom of God is like. We are "strangers and sojourners" here, living in tents and "looking forward to a city whose builder and architect is God" (Heb. 11:-10).

Are you settled in so much that you can't move when the trumpets blow and the cloud lifts? Be ready for His call when it comes.

Learning From the Herdmans

Another favorite novella that I try to read every year is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson. I have even read it aloud to a couple of groups. It was a made-for-TV special with Loretta Swit a couple of decades back and is available on DVD. But to get the full impact, read the book. It should take less than an hour to read--but is well worth it.

At the center of the book is another redemption story. The six Herdman children are the unredeemed rat-pack who terrorize any child who has the misfortune of attracting their attention.

Barbara writes the book from a terrorized little girl's perspective. When little brother Charlie is asked at church to share something he is thankful for at the Thanksgiving service, he shares, "There are no Herdmans." Although this is heartfelt, it strikes at the heart of the dilemma of church life. If we build a safe and loving environment where we can escape from the world, does that mean we exclude the Herdmans? Aren't the Herdmans exactly what the church is there for? As Karl Barth, the early 20th century theologian put it, church is "community for the sake of the world."

Of course, the Herdmans show up to church looking for free snacks. And when mom is stuck running the annual Christmas Pageant, put on by the Sunday School, the Herdmans take over all the important roles, including Imogene as Mary. The scandal of it all! A telephone whisper campaign begins, threatening to call off the pageant entirely. But of course, the play is staged with the Herdmans there to do their part.

But the book helps us to look at the Christmas story through the fresh eyes of the uninitiated. And it gives the congregation the same opportunity. And we get to witness the power of the story of God's entrance into our world, like a great tsunami, as it washes over and transforms the Herdman family.

Why not try reading the ancient story from Luke and Matthew as if it was the first time you had ever heard it? A poor young couple, clinging to their belief in God's word to them, in spite of the scorn of a skeptical world, face the desperate journey to Bethlehem. They camp out with the animals as Mary goes through labor and childbirth in very trying circumstances. Yet, God reveals himself via a host of angels to the local shepherds and then brings worshipers from exotic lands with extravagant gifts. The child, who outwardly looks like any other baby, is revealed to be special--in fact the unique Son of God Himself! God's ultimate gift to us.

And hear the shout of little Gladys Herdman, playing the Angel of the Lord, ringing in your head--"Hey! Unto you a child is born!"

Jesus Loves People

Jesus loves people. Everything he did points to this fact.

In Philippians 2: 5-8, Paul tells us that Jesus, although equal to God, rather than using his position to acquire more power for himself, poured himself out for us, becoming a human being. And not just any human, a humble and obedient servant. And not just any servant, but one who made the ultimate sacrifice of himself in the most shameful form of execution ever invented--crucifixion. Jesus' work of salvation was motivated by love.

Another way that Jesus demonstrated his love for people was through his healing ministry. The Gospel writers constantly tell us that Jesus was "moved with compassion" and then performed a miraculous healing. The underlying Greek word for compassion is powerful. It literally means "gut-wrenching." In other words, Jesus felt a deep pang of empathy in his bowels. That's why the KJV translates this as "bowels of mercy." Jesus' healing ministry was motivated by love.

Matthew tells us, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matt: 9. 36). Jesus saw the crowds as disoriented, dejected, dispirited--like a flock of sheep without the guiding, protecting and providing presence of their shepherd. Love for people moved him with compassion.

So, what did Jesus' love motivate him to do this time?

Out of compassion, he authorized and empowered his twelve disciples to take on his own kingdom ministry and then sent them out, two-by-two, into the harvest field to extend his ministry (Matt. 10). And Luke tells us that he sent out 72 others as well, in order to extend his kingdom ministry even more.

Love motivated Jesus to send US into the harvest field as well. The book of Acts describes the sending out of the church to "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth" (Acts 1: 8).

Jesus says in Matthew "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send out workers out into his harvest field (Matt. 9: 37-38).

Do you love people enough to be sent into the harvest field? Let us pray for the compassionate love of God for people to be poured into our hearts--and for God to send us.

Swept Away

I often think of God's Kingdom as a kind of powerful river. When we place our faith in the King, He invites us to get swept away by the current. And one of the ways we often experience that current is when He calls us to send out workers into the harvest.

Jesus sent the 12 out two-by-two (Matt. 10 and Luke 9) to extend His own ministry. And in Luke 10, he sent out "72 others" to do the same. At the end of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus delivers the "Great Commission," essentially commanding the church to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28: 18-20). And at the beginning of Acts, Jesus tells His disciples to "be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1: 8).

The book of Acts is the story of the Gospel being brought "to the ends of the earth" by the Holy Spirit-empowered disciples. A good example is in Acts 13, 1-3:

"In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off."

In two Sundays my church will be laying hands on someone who has been my Youth Pastor for the last four years. He is leaving us to serve a sister congregation as Assistant Pastor. I feel proud and happy for him as he goes, but I am also feeling the pang of loss.

In my years as a member and then a pastor at the Anaheim Vineyard, I got used to building relationships with pastors and leaders, often to see God "send" them somewhere else to serve the Kingdom of God. John Wimber, the founding pastor, often said that God called us to send our best. And when we did, that spirit of generosity would result in increased blessing.

The answer is not to protect myself from the pain of losing relationship, but to embrace it as a part of Kingdom life. Each one of us is called to jump into the stream called the Kingdom. It has a force all its own. And when we jump in, we will be swept away in it's powerful current.

This weekend, a friend of mine who planted a church 16 years ago surprised me when he showed up unannounced at our Sunday service. At lunch, we were able to reminisce about the adventures of Kingdom ministry that have made our lives so exciting. On two sides of the continent, we have impacted the lives of many others.

And we agreed that, as pastors, we can't cling to people as if we own them. They belong to God. He will lead and carry them to their own destinations.

Instead, let us rejoice that the Gospel is being carried "to the ends of the earth." And let us look forward to swapping "Holy Ghost stories" when we meet again.