Necessary preaching…

This one is for our students (and adults) who attend Sunday worship at Trace. The last few Sundays, Kevin Wood has been preaching through passages that deal with Elder Leadership. He has outlined the purpose of elders, function of elders, qualifications of elders, and process of choosing elders. Personally, I love hearing anyone talk about this kind of stuff. I realize, however, that I am definitely in the minority there. Most of you probably feel that it is a “waste of time” or “boring”… Either because you just don’t care, or because you feel that Kevin should be preaching those passionate, gospel driven sermons with all the tear-filled responses that we are accustomed to. I will admit that those sermons are wonderful, and they have lead to some great life-changing moments in our church. But there is a reason K Wood has been preaching on elders…

For those who think it is a waste of time – or at least an irresponsible use of time – here are three things to consider.

#1 – general argument from the Bible:
2 Timothy 3:16 says that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” In other words, every single part of your bible was inspired by God and is useful to all of us. Useful to teach us, warn us, discipline us, and train us to be more like God. Useful in teaching both individuals AND the church as a whole.

If you read Acts 14-21, you cannot help but notice the importance of elders in the early church. They are mentioned numerous times, all dealing with important decisions involving early churches. Apparently, God saw it fit to include elders in the book of Acts. If all scripture is useful, and “elders” are talked about over and over in scripture, we should probably consider preaching on it in our church.

So argument one looks like this:
all scripture is useful for teaching, training, etc
Elders are mentioned numerous times in scripture
THEREFORE…scripture on elders should be used for teaching, training, etc.

#2 – specific argument from the Bible
Read Acts 14:23, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1:5, 1 & 2 Peter…
Elders are appointed in all churches and written about to leaders of churches in the New Testament. If God saw it fit to build his church this way, shouldn’t we follow the New Testament example for our own? And if we are going to appoint elders, do we need to talk about the process… so that people understand? I think you know the answers.

Argument 2-
The early churches appointed elders and talked about elders
We should follow the example of the early church
THEREFORE… we should appoint and talk about elders

#3 From practical examples..
The church is called a body. We all have bodies. Some of my favorite things to do are sleep, eat fried food, drink mountain dew, lay on the couch, etc. At times, these can be good things for me to do (with the exception of maybe the MD). But, if these were the only things I did…well I think you know what would happen. Our church body is put together by God to perform a certain way. Every part is matched together for different reasons. If all we did on Sunday mornings was preach the passionate sermons and talk about grace and acceptance from God… it would feel wonderful on Sunday mornings. We should certainly grow quickly, people would love it. Down the road a year or two, we would have total chaos! We would have no leadership… no discipline… no group of people to seek God and give direction to the church. We would have a few hundred people, all with ideas of what our church should be doing, pulling in all different directions.

The point is, you need structure to be healthy. God obviously knew this, even before creation. He created the earth according to his structure, he created our bodies so that they need structure and discipline to survive, and he created His bride – the church body – so that it would also need structure. To neglect this might feel great, but you will always wind up with a very unhealthy body.

Argument 3:
Bodies need structure and discipline to be healthy
elders provide Godly structure and discipline to the church body
THEREFORE… the church body needs elders to be healthy.

So what are you seeking, to leave every Sunday in tears or jumping with excitement about God’s grace… or to leave every Sunday with a better grasp of God’s word and how it teaches us… so that we can be healthy and effective in reaching people for Christ?

-B

Finding the Middle

Recently I sat down with our Staff (Kevin and Kevin) and a staff member from the Salvation Army of Tupelo. He came to ask us several questions about church leadership and function, trying to get ideas for getting the people of Salvation Army to serve Tupelo with a zeal similar to what he has seen @ Trace.

The conversation was very positive. He asked out of 200-300 people at Trace, how many desire to do more than just show up on Sunday. My answer – pretty much all of them. The next bit of our conversation centered around why this is the case, and why it is not the case with so many other churches. After thinking about it a while – I came up with all sorts of answers. Everything from Kevin Wood to following God’s Spirit. There was one key answer, however, that seems to change the dynamics of a church. A subject that has made many appearances on this blog – LifeGroups.

Many churches try to go from one weekly worship service to missions. Their congregation meets, all together, to worship and hear from God’s word. They see this as a time to “re-fuel” for the week ahead. Then they hope that their members will live missional lifestyles in the following week, and come back for more teaching next week. The problem with viewing Sunday Morning worship this way is that it lacks so much of what the New Testament church should provide (when I say church, I mean people redeemed by Christ gathered together). This includes aspects such as bearing one anothers’ burdens, confessing sins to one another, laying on hands (its in the Bible you Baptists), breaking bread, etc.

What happens on Sunday, essentially, is that we gather for an hour or two, sing songs as an expression of worship to God, pray for needs, open a Biblical passages to be taught, exhorted, rebuked, or reproved, give a tithe so that we can continue our endeavour of reaching people for Christ. There is an evangelical element in that we do preach the gospel, in hopes that any non-believers would hear and be gripped by the Spirit toward repentance and salvation. While these are expressions of how a church functions, it is not a complete expression. A lot (as listed earlier) is missing. The church, a body made up of different parts with Christ as head, cannot expect to fulfill its commission of making disciples when it is not experiencing all that God meant for it to experience.

So many churches take out the middle, focus hard on Sunday mornings and Missions… but never on life. At Trace we do not seek to send more people on the mission field than any church around. We don’t seek to break attendance records on Sunday mornings. Instead, we seek to change hearts. We chase after maturity in Christ, and we strive to build environments in which people can grow through confession, prayer, repentance, accountability, edification, etc. These environments are called LifeGroups.

All of this to say, if you feel like you just aren’t getting this Christianity thing, what does church look like for you? Maybe you come on Sundays and worship… maybe you even come Wednesday night to go deeper in the Word. You could even attend mission trips and help in local outreach efforts. But both of these do not sum up Christianity. Rather, these are expressions of the changes and growth that occurs in us as we live out Christianity as the “church.”

If you want to see what makes Trace Crossing different, join a LifeGroup. I will warn you, don’t expect to remain the same. When we come to Christ we offer ourselves fully. Expect Him to use the church to sharpen you, teach you, and sometimes expose the things in you that need to be surrendered. The process is tough, it requires just a few more hours a week… vulnerability with others… trust in leadership…. openness in conversation – but the results are great… they include heartfelt worship, humility, joy, and growth.

Don’t try to do church without the middle, after all – its the best part.

LifeGroup Party

Last Sunday, our student LifeGroups met together at the Witt’s (awesome) house. We have around 40 students and 25 adults (my LifeGroup, the 20 somethings joined in the party). More pictures will be posted on Facebook soon, but I wanted to share a few from Margaret Stanzell’s page.

we had an awesome time, and I would like to personally thank Leonard and Shelia for not only opening up their house, but for dressing up and having fun!

The Kingdom debate in less than 4000 words

This is a copy-and-paste post. I wanted to preserve the conversation… 99.9% will not want to read beyond this point. But if you want to go deep into Kingdom theology, here is a facebook conversation that actually happened over comments between friends!

Andrew Hebert’s status:
kingdom of God = the inbreaking of God’s sovereignty on creation – inaugurated at Jesus’ 1st coming and consummated at His 2nd coming

Randy White:
I’m so going to have to correct you on that one, son:)

God’s sovereignty didn’t break into creation, but was the source of creation. The big mistake most make is mixing the doctrine of God’s Sovereignty with the Doctrine of the Kingdom. The Kingdom grows out of Sovereignty, but Sovereignty is not the Kingdom. God’s rule and reign is … Read Moresovereignty. The reign of the Son of Man on David’s throne is the Kingdom.

Since God’s sovereignty was not inaugurated at Jesus’ 1st coming, and since the Davidic throne was not established at His first coming (and has not been since), the Kingdom is yet future.

Andrew Hebert:
haha, thx for the input. i was hoping you’d respond. of course, there is a general reign of God over creation which is eternal. However, Jesus did inaugurate a specific reign in the line of the Davidic kingly-Messiah hope of 2 Sam. 7, Dan. 7, etc. When Matthew identifies JEsus as the “son of David” he sees Him as being the descandant through … Read Morewhom the Davidic-kingly reign would commence. Jesus Himself understood His role this way and declared that the Kingdom was “at hand.” An already/not yet tension is clearly present in the New Testament and is the most comprehensive way of explaining how Jesus reigns now, evidenced in His life and ministry, and how He will reign over all the earth (fulfillment of Psalm 110) in the future. Two events that need to be discussed more in depth are Jesus’ baptism and ascension and how they bear on the conversation.

Randy White:

Andrew: Matthew really does not identify Jesus as the “Son of David” (though he would not disagree). Matthew simply quotes others who used the designation. These others clearly saw in Jesus the fulfillment of the Promised Son of David.

Recognizing Jesus as such, however, is not recognition that any kind of Davidic Kingdom has begun. David would not have understood the reign of Christ today to be the fulfillment of the promise…. Read More

Jesus declared that the Kingdom was “at hand”, not that it had arrived. The word is used 55 times in the New Testament and never means “It is here”. In fact, such a translation wouldn’t make sense in almost all of its usages. To make “at hand” mean “in hand” can only be done with theological persuasion, not grammatical persuasion. And theology built on bad grammar is bad theology!

Interestingly, after the nation rejects the “repent” requirement of the “at hand” kingdom, Jesus begins to teach that the Kingdom is far off rather than “at hand”. Several times Jesus corrects his followers concerning the nearness of the Kingdom. He never corrects them concerning their understanding of a physical Kingdom (they had no concept of a spiritual kingdom–that one wasn’t dreamed up until theologians got creative well into the first millennium!). The only time Jesus ever corrects any understanding of the Kingdom is in relation to its nearness. Once near, it was now far due to the rejection of the offer by the nation.

Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and earth, but He is now at the right hand of the throne. Someday (soon!) He will be given the throne of David and the Son of Man will fulfill the original intent of man as it relates to creation–to have dominion over that creation. Until then, we pray “Thy Kingdom Come”.

So, “already/not yet” is only 1/2 true!

This in no manner takes away from the “already” rule and reign of Christ over creation, but the “already” as it relates to the Kingdom takes away from the clear promises of scripture and spiritualizes those promises.

I now win the award for the world’s longest facebook comment…or the world’s shortest theological textbook!

Jamin Roller:
Kingdom of God = the redemptive rule of God, in Christ, conquering His enemies (sin and death) and extending to His citizens the benefit of His reign. In Matt 11 when John sends his messengers to inquire from Jesus about His ministry, Jesus appeals to the miraculous works done by His hand as evidence that He indeed is the one through whom God will … Read Moreinaugurate His kingdom as prophesied in Isaiah 29, 61 and Psalm 22. This is one of many instances (Matt 12:28!) presented in scripture that reveal the emergence of the kingdom in Jesus as foretold in the OT. It is both realized and yet fulfilled, present and future, already and not yet.

p.s. If I’m wrong, I am so with Dr. Metts and I think that is a safe place to be

Randy White:
From which passage(s) do you get this definition of the Kingdom of God? If this is the definition, then the Kingdom has been fulfilled. And, if this is the definition, King David and the prophets were no doubt surprised at their misunderstanding of the Kingdom!

Barton Ramsey:
Randy – Finding scripture that specifically defines “kingdom of God” would give us an array of answers. There are such scriptures that give an exact def. (Rom 14:17), but they would obliterate the idea of the Kingdom being “only not yet” and not “already” and take the fun out of this conversation. The word that is being defined wrongly is simply “kingdom.” As Andrew pointed out, kingdom = reign. Some scriptures that use “malkuth” this way are Ezra 8:1, II Chron. 12:1, and Daniel 8:23. Actually, even David seems to understand the “Kingdom of God” as His reign and power – “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:19. … Read More

I will concede that, as Andrew agreed, that aspect of the Kingdom (God’s sovereign reign over creation) is eternal. There must be some difference in this constant truth and the “kingdom of God” announced as “on hand” by Jesus, otherwise why announce its coming? But to say that it is still only “at hand” and not already here in some form is to miss, well… half of what its all about.

There is no reason to present a case for the “not yet” aspect, since everyone agrees that the Parousia will institute the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God in its entirety with Jesus on his throne ruling over his Kingly “realm” (which is necessary for there to be a kingdom, or reign). This second coming is a definite separation of this age (ruled by Satan) and the age to come (ruled by Christ).

It is important, though, to note that the separation of this age and the age to come is not only the return of Christ, but also the resurrection of the dead. This “eternal life… Read More” belongs to the age to come. When Paul speaks of the delivering of the Kingdom of God in I Cor 15, he says that there is a specific order in which this resurrection will take place – the first step being Christ (the firstfruits). This step has already occurred (the resurrection). This is what gives us so much hope in eternal life – Christ already accomplished this and we share in this power with him (Eph 2:5). The next two steps will be the resurrection of those who belong to Him (at His coming) and the destruction of death (both of which are described in this order in Revelation). These are the two things that you seem to focus on being the “set up” of God’s Kingdom on earth… These last steps before Christ “delivers the Kingdom to God the Father.”

But there is a strangeness about this last step of “conquering death” – Hebrews 2:14 says that this has already happened. Jesus has already destroyed (rendered useless) him who has power of death BY HIS OWN DEATH. Therefore, the cross is an initial defeat of Satan, the one who rules over “this age”, rendering those who belong to Him no longer under the rule of Satan (although still living in the age ruled by Satan), but under the reign of God (God’s Kingdom). Death is already defeated for them. It is not only a future hope (resurrection), but a present reality (a living hope, evidenced by the Holy Spirit living in us). This is why in Hebrews 6 it is possible for some to have “tasted… the powers of the age to come.” Galatians 1:6 He “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age” – It is the act of Christ on the Cross that delivers from this age.

Therefore, the only clear conclusion can be that, through His ministry, death and resurrection, Christ has inaugurated the Kingdom. Those of us who participate in Christ do experience benefits and blessings of the Kingdom even while living in this present evil age. We have more than just hope that Christ will come and conquer death, but we have confidence that he has already defeated death – establishing His Kingdom on earth… and we await the fulfillment (consummation) of this Kingdom when he Returns to cast out Satan and establish His Reign fully over all creation.

It is important, Randy, to see just how you are missing it. The same way the Jews missed it when Jesus came to proclaim it. The idea that the Kingdom has not been inaugurated misses the very concept of Jesus’ healings and miracles which are surrounded by proclamations of the Kingdom…

To say it is like the girl who can’t take the bicycle out of the square is to misunderstand the “mystery of the Kingdom” as described in Mark 4. It’s an easy mistake, John made the same mistake even after Baptizing Jesus (“shall we look for another??”).

The mustard seed is planted, the leaven is hidden, Jesus displays his Reign over creation by telling her storms to cease, her demons to come out, her sick to be healed – as one with authority. … Read More… Read More

The mystery of the Kingdom, I think the beauty of the Kingdom, is that it has come in a way that it can be resisted – something no one expected…. But, something that displays the mercy of God, until the time comes in which it must be accepted by all – displaying the power of Christ.

Randy White:
Hi Barton…I look forward to meeting you someday. You’re well read and well spoken.

For the moment, let me just comment on your last post…that John was mistaken about the Kingdom, and that such a mistake is easy because the Kingdom is “something no one expected.”

Consider these factors–… Read More
1) John was the forerunner of the Messiah, filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb, coming in the spirit and power of Elijah, and his only recorded sermon was about the Kingdom of God…but he got it wrong. Hmmm??
2) The apostles and prophets also got it wrong, all looking for a physical reign, not a spiritual reign. And the church is built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles. Hmmm??
3) After the inspired writings of the prophets and apostles, many modern men have received a word of knowledge that has given them advanced understanding of the real definition of the Kingdom. Hmmm??
4) Without exception every prophetic word about the coming of the Messiah was filled literally in the common grammatical usage of language–but (according to the spiritual Kingdom view) the Kingdom aspects of the Messiah are fulfilled (at least partially) even though the literal common grammatical usage of language is violated by such an interpretation. Hmmm??

I do not at all doubt God’s reign over creation today. And today Christ is at the right hand of the throne. But someday He will receive the throne of His father David–and that is the Kingdom of God!

To align with the understanding of the prophets and apostles (and scripture!) one must take this view. Why define the current reign as Kingdom when they didn’t? Why not just acknowledge God’s sovereignty and pray “Thy Kingdom Come?”

Ladd has great stuff…but if he is one’s only source of Kingdom understanding, one has not fully studied the topic. Try George H.N. Peter’s “The Theocratic Kingdom” for an exhaustive opposing view.

Andrew Hebert:
I think I officially take the cake for having the longest responses to any post on Facebook.

For those who are interested, see Dr. White’s recent chapel sermon at Southwestern Seminary where he does a good job of articulating his position in more detail. http://www.swbts.edu/dashboard.cfm?dateString=20091014&dateToLoad=October 14, 2009

Since David and Barton have basically articulated my view, there’s not much more for me to say. Nevertheless, I’ll add a couple of things…. Read More
First, I can’t let this one go – Matthew did attribute “Son of David” to Jesus (Mt. 1:1 the geneaology of Jesus, son of David.).
Second, the disciples did get it wrong about the kingdom. Jesus WAS constantly correcting them, but less about the timing of the kingdom and more about the nature of the kingdom. For instance, in Mark 8 where Peter correctly identifies Jesus as the Messiah, he incorrectly rebuked Jesus when Jesus said that Messiah (the one who is the David-king) would suffer, be rejected, die, and be raised. The disciples constantly missed it. The nature of the kingdom at this stage is not YET what the disciples and all of Israel was looking for – earthly political irresistable. It was the kind of kingdom where the king dies for the rebels and ultimately defeats the evil powers behind the rebels by the resurrection. The king then offers His eschatalogical benefits to those who are willing to submit to Him.

Maybe it would clear up a couple of things if I nuanced a couple of words. First, “kingdom.” By kingdom, I mean “rulership,” or “reign.” Perhaps a better way of speaking about it is the “kingship” of God.
Second, by “sovereignty,” I don’t mean God’s “in-controlness” or omniscience, or something like that. I mean God’s eschatological reign and the benefits derived therefrom.

I understand kingdom language, according to Jesus, to be a modified historical-eschatological dualism. The historical-eschatological dualism would be the understanding of a 1st century Jew. This Age and the Age to Come are seperated by the Day of the Lord. All of the eschatological benefits promised in the Old Testament – redemption, the Spirit, resurrection, etc. – would be considered future, to be ushered in at the time of the Day of the Lord (presumably when the Son of David would take His throne for eternity – 2 Sam. 7). What I mean by modified historical-eschatological dualism is that Jesus essentially changed the timing of those eschatological benefits, so that we can experience the Spirit, redemption, etc. right now. That which belonged to the future is now experienced in the present, though the ultimate fulfillment will be fully realized in the future when Jesus returns.

I understand this to be what is expressed in Col. 1:13 when Paul says that we have been transferred (aorist active indicative – this would be the Ecbatic Aorist (Wallace, Basics of NT Syntax, pg. 241)) to the kingdom of the Son. Being in the kingdom (the eschatological reign with the benefits being enjoyed, yet not yet in full) is taking place now.

This is what Jesus means when he says that “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk. 1:15). The time is fulfilled refers to all of the eschatological hope of Israel now being realized in the person of Jesus and extended to all of creation. This was central to the preaching of Jesus and the kerygma of the apostles (see Acts 17:7, 28:31). The good news (euangellion) is that Jesus is now Lord and King (expressed by His sitting down at God’s right hand in the ascension) and the benefits of His kingship (victory over death, redemption, the Spirit, etc.) are now to be enjoyed by all who claim Him as king. It will then be forcibly accepted by the world when He returns. At that point every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus as kurios. All of the eschatological benefits of God’s reign will then be fully realized.
4 hours ago

By the way, I think the apostle’s got the kingdom right, but only after the resurrection. additionally, the prophets did not by necessity have to understand what the davidic kingdom would look like to acknowledge that it would indeed come. My position is that Jesus gave meaning to what kingdom looks like.
4 hours ago

Randy White

I’ll have to respond more later to give this some detail, but I’ll take Andrew on and go the opposite direction…only because I love him!

The disciples never changed their position or understanding of the Kingdom…even after the resurrection when Jesus spent the time teaching about the Kingdom (Acts 1:3) and their concluding words were “is now the time to restore the Kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). So, they completely saw the Kingdom as yet to be. This was at the ascension.

Paul does say that we have been transfered into the Kingdom (Col. 1:13) (aaorist indicative). He also said we have been predestined, called,justified AND GLORIFIED (aaroist indicative). None of you look glorified. But, spiritually it has been accomplished. In this same light, the Kingdom is accomplished. But that is not the light in which we are talking, any more than we would say we are currently glorified…. Read More

Later…I’ll give some examples to show that Jesus corrected the apostles and others many times about the Kingdom, but the corrections were always on the timing of the kingdom, not the nature of the kingdom. In fact, he never corrected the disciples on the nature of the kingdom…because He didn’t need to:)

1) further supports what I said. He expected the physical Kingdom reign to come through Christ at that moment – when it did not then he had to ask if Jesus was the Christ or if he should wait for another. This is not a case for the Kingdom not yet coming, it is a case for the Kingdom coming much differently than expected.

2) That the prophets got it wrong is exactly right. They misunderstood the Kingdom. This is why Jesus uses parables to explain the mystery of the Kingdom. mystery is simply something that has been kept secret but is now exposed. The idea of the Kingdom being a mystery includes the idea that it was not understood fully by anyone before the mystery was revealed. The apostles did not understand this fully, I believe, until the day of Pentecost. But then, Peter fully understood… “In these LAST DAYS..” This is why Peter says “Let all the house of Isreal therefore know for certaint hat God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you have crucified.” Not “will make him” – has made him. So the apostles, although still confused at the ascension (is this the time?)… understood clearly by Pentecost. What power do you think we receive?

3) I don’t think anyone has used a “word of knowledge.”… everyone seems to be using the Word here. As far as a better understanding, I am just going with the understanding that comes naturally out of Jesus’ actions and teaching. The understanding that doesn’t force one to ignore so much of what Jesus said and did. It is fallacious to separate the idea that Jesus corrected his disciples on the timing but not on the essence or nature. This division is not necessary, as a change in timing is not mutually exclusive to a change in essence. In fact, the two go hand-in-hand. Many parables on the Kingdom are obviously about the nature of the Kingdom, not the timing (the pearl, the leaven, the mustard seed, the seed growing, the four seeds, etc). Also, there are parables that explain the timing and essence of the Kingdom directly related to the misunderstanding of the disciples. (the draw net, the wheat and the weeds) The Kingdom is here – the seed is planted, the leaven is put in, the seeds are scattered, but it is not yet in its fullness – the weeds still grow, all fish are still in the net. … Read More

The “thy Kingdom come” is a great point here as well. The “thy will be done” shows that the “coming Kingdom” is the “reign” (or will) of God exercised over creation, on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus exercised this reign over creation in all that He did, and He gives this power to all who believe.

Football de’ Jesus?

“Jesus’ representatives in sports aren’t just practicing faith. They are also leveraging sports’ popularity to promote a message and doctrine that are out of sync with the diverse communities that support franchises, and with the unifying civic role that we expect of our teams.”

That is a quote from Tom Krattenmaker’s article last week in USA Today.  Although Tom does commend Tebow’s strong morals and even his work on the mission field with his parents, he states that  “he should be seen, too, as one who promotes a form of belief that makes unwelcome judgments about everyone else’s religion. Let’s not forget the twinge that is felt by sports-loving Jewish kids and parents, for example, or by champions for interfaith cooperation, when adored sports figures like Tebow use their fame to push a Jesus-or-else message.”

The idea is that Christianity, though it leads to good behavior, should not be preached in sports.  Why?  Because Christianity says that it is the only way to gain right standing before God, and that all other ways lead to eternal separation.  And its not just Tim Tebow who proclaims this “gospel of exclusivity” on the field.  Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, both champion college quarterbacks, also claim Christ as Lord.  So what should we say about Christianity’s “take over” in football, and the response of those who believe it to be “too exclusive and judgmental” toward other religious?

- see Colt and Sam here -

First – the argument does not make sense.  It is a logical fallacy – a self defeating argument.  You cannot say, “You’re religion is bad, because it says other religions are bad.”  Do you catch that?  Maybe if you see it in proper syllogistic form.

It is wrong to say that other religions are wrong

Christianity says that other religions are wrong

(therefore)

Christianity is wrong

By saying this, you are doing they very thing you just said that someone should not do?

Second – The problem that Tom Krattenmaker and others have with Tebow’s eye-black (which broke a record for the most google searches at one time – John 3:16) or Colt McCoy’s pointing toward heaven after throwing a TD is actually a problem with the Christian gospel.  These guys have not just “made up” a new Christianity that excludes other religions.  The problem is many (65%) of American Christians have lost the true Gospel, and believe that “many religions can lead people to heaven.”  God’s word says of Jesus – “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Jesus himself said “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:5.

When Christians are not strong in their faith and stop believing that the Bible is truth, they embrace the relativism that engulfs our nation.  When truth becomes subjective (whats true for you is true for you, whats true for me is true for me) rather than objective (whats true is simply true, for anyone and everyone) then the gospel becomes watered down.  I hope and pray that guys like Tim Tebow will continue to use their influence over many in our culture to promote the True gospel – in a way that shows love and grace for those who do not know The (only) Way.

many people… one what?

Many of you have seen Trace Crossing flyers, worship guides, and handouts with the phrase – “many people, one passion.”  So what does it mean?  Two things:

Many People – in Revelation 7:9-10 it says “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and people and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits onthe throne, and to the Lamb!”  The picture of many people from every nation, people who spoke different languages, had different cultures and worldviews, is a picture we want to create here at Trace.  The act of Christ on the Cross has broken down all barriers, and we are to be united under Him.  Many people does not mean we have a big crowd, it means we accept everyone from everywhere.  The picture of “many people” in heaven is clear, so why not pursue that here and now?

One Passion – the end of that passage from Revelation 7 says that all of these people were crying with a loud voice.  They were different in every way except one – they praised the One who is worthy of Praise.  The thing that brings us together is our worship.  We worship by singing to Him, teaching His word, honoring one another, serving others, and offering our resources to Him.  Without this one passion, we are just a group of mixed up people wasting time in a shopping center.

So what does this look like for our student ministry? The same as it does for the entire church.  If we want to continue being many people with one passion, it has to be lived out in our student ministry.  Students are the future of our church, not just Trace Crossing – but the church global.  So many student ministries are full of only one type of people.  If we want to look like the Kingdom of God, we have to reach out to many people -people who are like us and people who are not like us, people who are easy to love and people who frustrate us – and the reason we can all come together and be united is our burning Passion to lift up the Savior.

-B

Trace Crossing Student Retreat

Last weekend was our fall retreat.  We took around 25 students to Camp Lake Stephens in Oxford, Mississippi.  The goal was to get away from all destractions and spent some time worshipping the only One who deserves our attention.

Before getting into the Bible studies, I’ll let you in on the other activities.  First, we ate some great food cooked by Brian of CLS staff.  We played Sardines in the dark woods, and stayed up way too late talking (9th grade boys, at least!)  Saturday we played Bug-Out, the best game ever… as well as ultimate Frisbee.  The songs in our worship services (Fri night, Sat morn, Sat night) were led by Cody Hickman, who did an excellent job focusing our attention on Christ.

The “theme” of the weekend was ‘Living Intentionally’.  In each worship service, we studied through the end of the first chapter of James.  Our student LifeGroups have been going through James, and have made it to James 1:19.  This weekend picked up there.  Here are a few things we learned from the passage:

• Our first action in any situation needs to be listening to God.  As Christians, we too often REact, instead of ACT. James says we should be quick to listen, and slow to speak, slow to anger.
• If we are going to live a life that glorifies God, we have to get rid of the junk in our hearts.  Jesus did not only die to save us from hell, he died for our sins.  When we hold on to our sins, and keep wickedness in our heart, we fail to understand what the Cross actually means.
• To live intentionally, you must be receiving God’s word in humility and meekness.  In other words, you must receive it with an attitude of learning, allowing your life to be formed into His image
• The true sign of receiving God’s word with meekness is actually doing what the Word says.  To be intentionally, we have to do more than hear – we have to act.
• A fake religious system will get us nowhere.  If we want to glorify God with our lives, we need to live like Jesus lived.  We need to show compassion for those who have nowhere else to turn.  We need to lift those who are at the bottom.
• If we accept Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins, and realize our sins are nailed to the cross and we have been made clean and pure through His blood – we have no business picking up those same sins.  We can’t glorify God if we are constantly staining our clean robes.

Those are the main points James makes in 1:19-27.  It was great to see students listen and react to God’s word.  I hope that they received it with meekness, and that they are walking intentionally with Christ today at their schools.

Look foward to the next trip,

B

Forgiveness, just how necessary is it?

I originally planned on teaching through the parable of unforgiving servant last Wednesday, but we went to “saw you at the pole” rally instead.  This was a good choice, since we were able to experience awesome worship and hear great teaching with students from all over Lee county.  As I continue to prepare for this parable, even with the swine flu, I have been hit hard with conviction and deep yearning for forgiveness, both in my life and in the lives of my students.

So what does forgiveness look like for you?  Matthew 18 and the surrounding verses are centered on the theme of forgiveness.  Before the parable, verses 21 & 22, Jesus tells Peter the extent of forgiveness – it is boundless.  Then, Jesus tells a parable teaching, not the extent, but the necessity of forgiveness.  Most of you have probably heard the story before, if you have not – go and read Matthew 18:23-35.  When we get to the part in the parable when the servant refuses to show mercy even after his master has shown extreme mercy on him, we are automatically disgusted.  All of you know what sentence comes next, “we do the same thing to God every day.” Its true, but why is it important?  Why should we be concerned? Hasn’t God forgiven us “once and for all” anyway?

Yes, I believe that when we are brought into a covenant relationship with God through Jesus, we have been saved “once, and for all.”  But we have to understand what that really means.  We have to grasp just what God did through Christ.  Scripture tells us that we have basically played the role of a prostitute toward God, and Hosea 3:2 paints a picture that God has “bought us back” even in the midst of our adultery.  If we actually understood the gravity of our sin toward God and His mercy toward us, would we hold on so strongly to such petty differences between one another?

Come Wednesday night for FlipSide @ 6:00pm, and we’ll look at what Jesus says about forgiveness.

LifeGroups, an update.

At Trace Crossing, we strive to be a biblical church.  This means balancing a reflection of the New Testament church found in Acts with a 2009 culture.  Its not always easy.  Basically, our goal is to provide sound biblical teaching, good fellowship, community, authenticity, accountability, and a place for prayer for our members.  We feel, as most of you know, that most of this can be best achieved by small groups.  Until recently, these “LifeGroups” have been for adults only.  This semester, however, we have created LifeGroups for our Senior and Junior high students.

We are excited about the fact that students can now experience the same deep community and fellowship that the adults have grown to love in Trace Crossing. The LifeGroups will both be working through a study on the book of James.  Adults will lead our students, but most of the work will be done by the students.  They will lead the conversations, they will answer tough questions, and they will be challenged to open up and learn to trust one another with life issues.

We have had two LifeGroup meetings last night, here are some of the responses from students when asked about the meeting…

Great! We played chubby buny and the girl small group was very good. We had a lot of fun

AMAZING!!! Lots of fun, can’t wait till next week.

LG was gr8 and the message was just for me!

Twas good. It seems to be getting progressively better.

and from a leader:

Such a good night, wow… i’m feeling a connection and a unity forming.  The girls really opened up with lots of tears and more realness again tonight.  I’m loving it all.  I’m loving these kids

So, post what you think about LifeGroups.  Here are some questions you may think about…

How is LifeGroup different from the traditional Sunday school model?

What do you think we could do better with LifeGroup?

(adults) How do you think LifeGroups would have affected your life as a youth?

-Barton

Baptism?

Alright, this one is just for feedback.  I may leave my opinion (the right one, of course) as a comment after some of you respond.  What is your take on Baptism?  Here are a few options.

• Baptism is necessary for salvation and, therefore, infants should be baptized should they die in their “original sin.”
• Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but it is a step of obedience once one decides to follow Jesus.
• Baptism is a confession of faith for those who believe in Jesus.

• Sins cannot be forgiven until they are “washed away” by baptism

mode:

• Baptism was done by immersion (dipping) in the New Testament, and should be done by immersion now.
• Baptism is best performed by being sprinkled with water
• Baptism can be performed any way, so long as water is used

(note: not every option is mutually exclusive, some go hand in hand)

I’ll give you some time to comment, then I will post what I believe and why.  Feel free to debate, but keep it PG. (pretty Godly)