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• Read Revelation 21:1-8 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.
• You can watch the video here.

Whenever I talk about grace, or unconditional love, I always hear a “Yes but…” in the back of my head.  In fact, sometimes it’s so strong it’s almost like I hear someone saying it.

• Yes, but… someone else will relate to that person better… they’re more her age… they have similar interests…
• Yes, but… what message will that send other people?
• Yes, but… how’s that going to impact the church?   We’ve attracted a few people like that recently…
• Yes, but… what’s to stop them doing it again?
• Yes, but… we don’t want the church to be corrupted by the world…
• Yes, but… they still have to accept the consequences for their sins…

I can’t avoid it, the “Yes, but…” is always there.

The sad truth is that although these concerns may be valid, when they’re expressed in the presence of grace, they turn the speaker into the bitter brother at the prodigal son’s celebration. (Luke 15:11-32)  When we witness grace and see only the dangers instead of the joy, that’s bitterness.

Grace involves risk.  When a church allows a teen caught smoking dope to serve on the communion table, is it glossing over sin and telling teens that it’s okay to take drugs? Or does the church demonstrate forgiveness, and grace? Of course, we don’t want anyone thinking it’s okay to use illicit drugs, but we also don’t want them thinking that unconditional love only exists in theory!

When a church says, “Come as your are”, the church echoes the invitation of God. (See my previous post here.) That’s a risky invitation because it exposes the church to a world in a way that may make us uncomfortable at times.  We’ll see and experience things that better fit the fruit of the flesh than the fruit of the spirit, and we have to say, “that’s okay – come anyway”.  That’s grace, that’s acceptance, that’s unconditional love… that’s God.

But there is a 2nd half to this invitation. “Don’t stay that way.“  To accept people captured by sin, by hurt, by anxiety, without offering them relief would be cruelty, not grace or love.  In his book No Perfect People Allowed, John Burke completes the sentence by saying, “But we love you too much to let you stay that way.“  Love is our motivation for encouraging people to make life changes.  Not an inflated sense of self-righteousness.

Christians attempt to get through life without sinning. Not because we want to win a prize for attaining perfection but because we understand that God is holy and values our holiness. We avoid sin not because God has labeled it as such, but because we believe that God’s way is a better way.  We don’t impose our standards upon others because we know best, but we share God’s way of living to share God’s love because we believe it works.

If I was just to hear the instruction, “You need to change” I would probably initially hear criticism.  My defenses would go up.  I might not hear anything else the other person said. This is a crucial part of the message of Christ.  It’s another way of saying “Repent”.  But Christ’s message contains mercy not criticism.  Change can be good.  Change can bring relief.  Change can be therapeutic.  We need to make every effort to convey this message in a context of grace and acceptance, not criticism.

The video I linked to at the top contains Cardboard Testimonies from the Southwest Church of Christ in Jonesboro, Arkansas.  A quick search on YouTube will bring up lots of these testimonies.  They all tell the story that change in a context of grace is a wonderful thing. Let’s make the message loud and clear in our lives.  Let’s not get caught up in cycle of “yest, but…”.

• Does giving grace scare you?  What risks do you see?
• I believe that over time Christians lose sight of who they were without God.  How do you remind yourself that you had an urgent need to receive God’s forgiveness?
• What thoughts does the phrase “unconditional love” prompt in your mind?
  

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• Read Romans 15:1-9 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not really someone who’s up on all the latest church trends, so this idea may have been around for a while.  Even if my thoughts are not original, I hope they’re encouraging.

I first came across the church motto “Come As You Are” in the excellent 2005 book No Perfect People Allowed  by John Burke. He makes an astute distinction between tolerance and acceptance that I expanded upon in my sermon.

Tolerance has become one of the battle cries of our postmodern generation. Postmoderns insist that we allow each person to determine their own path through life without imposing our, or God’s, expectations upon them. Tolerance provides individuals with the freedom they need to move forward on their unique path.  However, as Burke says (p91), “Tolerance does not value people but simply puts up with their behavior or beliefs.” Tolerance gives every individual space, but that space can also lead to isolation.

God provides an alternative to tolerance that adds depth and relationship: Acceptance. Acceptance embodies grace.  From a Christian perspective, tolerance simply overlooks sin, ignores it, pretends it didn’t happen.  In contrast, acceptance recognises the sin, identifies with it, and embraces the individual anyway.  Acceptance gives grace and forgiveness.  If tolerance provides space, acceptance pulls people closer.

I hope that the image I’ve described of acceptance and grace seems warm and fuzzy.  I believe that these values differentiate Christianity from any other religion.  Who isn’t attracted to grace? Who doesn’t desire acceptance?

However, the feelings change dramatically when we’re called upon to give grace to others.  In these moments we find ourselves at, or beyond, the extremities of our comfort zone.  We like that we can “Come as we are”, but allowing all those weirdos to “Come as they are” is another thing altogether! Accepting people we disagree with, or who have hurt us or others, who look or live differently, often challenges our entrenched view of how the world should operate. Grace rejects our comfortable, instinctual reactions and calls us to a higher response.

Receiving grace and acceptance provides comfort and peace. Giving grace and acceptance often creates discomfort and turmoil. Jesus did not call us to be comfortable, but to a life of discipleship.  I’ll let Burke have the last word in this post (p91), “God far exceeds the requirements of mere tolerance; he restrains his judgment and even showers unworthy people with grace. If we are to represent God through the church, we must not just occasionally tolerate people we don’t like; we too must show grace.“

You can check out the website of Burke’s Gateway Church in Austin here.  You’ll notice that the motto, “Come as You Are” prominently displayed on the home page and throughout the site.

• If your church adopted a motto that described its relationship to the unchurched, what would it say?
• Do you think that Christians can give acceptance to others if we don’t have a strong sense of God’s grace toward ourselves?
• Do you struggle with how we can invite people to “Come as they are” without compromising God’s standards?  I suspect this is a common challenge and I’d love your feedback.
  

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I heard on the radio this week that there’s a new resolution in the Top-10 of New Year’s Resolutions this year: Read more.  Perhaps the new Kindles and e-readers everyone received for Christmas inspired this, but it’s a great goal.

Reading more is a particularly great goal for Christians if it refers to the Bible. I guess it is possible to read too much, particularly if we’re not living our lives for Christ.  But I suspect that most of us steer well clear of that danger.  I want to encourage you to develop a habit of spending time with God.  There are lots of ways of doing this, but time spent reading the Bible and praying is a very good starting point.

So, how should we choose a Bible reading plan?

I know that reading the Bible through in a year is a very popular approach.  But that’s a big challenge.  It’s easy to fall behind early and give up because there’s too much to make up.  Also, while there’s value to reading the WHOLE Bible, speed reading isn’t the most effective form of learning.  So if you’ve never attempted this I encourage you to give it a go, but don’t feel like a wimp if you choose a different plan.

If you’ve never attempted a regular time for talking with God, or if you’ve struggled to maintain the habit, I recommend finding a Bible reading plan that runs for less days, or requires less time each day.  This allows you to ease yourself into the habit and grow it. No one climbs Mt Everest as their very first mountain climb.  Some simple plans include:

• Read a chapter of the NT a day (it has 260 chapters so even if you take weekends off you’ll be done in about a year.)
• Choose a Gospel to read at your own pace between Christmas and Easter. (It would be OK to read half a chapter a day or less if you want to make it last all the way to Easter.)
• Read the Gospel of Mark in January. (Half a chapter a day will take you 32 days.)
• Read Proverbs in a month. (31 chapters)

There are lots of combinations you can create on your own.

As I looked around the internet the best resource I found for locating reading plans was YouVersion.com. The site is a bit techy, but I think most people should be able to navigate it just fine.  They have several nice features in addition to a huge choice of reading plans:

1. Every day they’ll email you that day’s reading for the plan you selected.
2. You can let your friends know your goals and the website will allow them to check up on your progress.  Great if you struggle with accountability.
3. If you have a smart phone, home computer, work computer, i-this or i-that it will sync between all the devices and keep you on track.
4. If you fall behind, you can go to the website and adjust the settings so they’ll start sending the emails again from where you’re at.

May God bless the reading of His Word.

If you start a reading plan this year, please share with readers which one you chose and how you liked it.  Did you complete it?  (It’s fine to brag here…or encourage others. )

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,500 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 58 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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• Read Galatians 5:13-26 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

The death of Elisha is recorded in 2 Kings 13:20.  His final days still find Elisha in conflict with the king of Israel reprimanding him for his lack of faith. Yet no one doubts Elisha’s personal relationship with God even though in some respects his ministry ends in failure as Israel continues their worship of idols.  This got me to thinking, how can we measure our relationship with God?  Is there a way to “score” our spiritual growth?

Here’s a basic methodology I came up with to help us develop personal “Spiritual Score Cards”.  The process would involve finding a significant date each year to devote to some prayer and self-examination.  You should keep a note book or journal to record your “scores” and reflections.  You will then be able to compare your notes year after year and chart your spiritual growth.

1. Are there sins you’re still struggling to give up? (Galatians 5:19-21)

Before listing the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, Paul reminds his readers that sin is real. A lifestyle of sin will prevent us from inheriting the kingdom of God.  All Christians should have a goal of eliminating sin.  This is not an attempt to gain salvation through our own personal purity. Rather, we recognise that true transformation into the image of Christ must involve the pursuit of holiness.

The difficulty with this step is that many Christians don’t have specific sins we struggle with.  We might claim to be imperfect sinners, but when asked what sin we’re working to eliminate from our lives we don’t have an answer.  The more we spiritually mature, the more aware we grow of our shortcomings. Awareness is the first step to overcoming these struggles and temptations.  Hopefully, our score card would show different struggles over the years reflecting victories over sin.

2. On a positive note, “Is your life characterized by the fruit of the Spirit described in Gal. 5:22-26?”

It’s not as though Galatians 5:22-23 contain the only list of virtues in the New Testament.  (We could just as well compare our lives to the catalogue of virtues in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 or 1 Peter 1:5-9, amongst others.) But it’s as good a starting point as any. This is a fairly simple step that involves listing the fruits in a column and then grading yourself on a scale of 1-10 how prominent each fruit is in your life.  Again, our scores will hopefully rise over time.

3. How are you doing with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20?

Although the items listed in the previous two steps have a lot to do with our interactions with others, they can still give the impression that our “score” is all about introspection and a conversation between God and myself.  But God never intended for his people to be navel gazing hermits.  Not even praying navel gazing hermits.  God wants his people to be interacting with those around them sharing his love and his Gospel, making disciples.

Sharing our faith needs to be an important part of our Christian journey.  There are various elements to this Commission and we won’t necessarily be doing all of them at once.  The first step is Go.  Some of us will go further than others, but we all need to leave our comfort zone for the benefit of others.  The second step is declaring the Good News of forgiveness, leading to baptism.  The third step is the ongoing sharing of Christ’s teachings with the new convert.

Which of these three stages is your strength?  How active are you in this area?  What do you need to do in the next 12 months to improve your fulfillment of the Great Commission?

I hope you find these suggestions helpful!

• What is a time of self examination like for you?  Is it something that takes a week of recurring thoughts, or do you need a quite room for a couple of hours?
• Can you think of additional areas of the Christian walk that could or should be evaluated regularly?
• Which of the 3 steps I listed above do you find the most challenging?
  

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• Read 2 Kings 6:8-23 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

In the above passage the king of Aram sends a large band of soldiers, horses and chariots to capture the prophet Elisha.  Elisha’s servant notices the surrounding army first and cries out in fear.  In response to the servant’s fear Elisha prays in v17, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.“  God opens his eyes, and the servant sees the hillsides covered with”horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”  He had no reason to fear.

I challenged the church this week to daily pray the prayer, “Lord, Open my eyes so that I may see.”  I have a simple blog post this week.  If God answered this prayer for you, what might you see?

• I might see myself as God sees me.
• I might see others the way God view them.
• I might see more people for who they can become, rather than for who they are right now.
• I might see more of God’s presence and activity in my life.
• I might see chariots of fire all around me.
• I might see forces of darkness around me.
• I might notice more people who need to experience God’s love today.
• I might better understand God’s will for my life… and for my family.
• I might confess my sins more readily.
• I might see opportunities to speak for God that I currently overlook.
• I might see eternity with God more clearly.
• I might see the barriers that prevent me growing closer to Christ.

That’s certainly not an exhaustive list.  What might you see?

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• Read 2 Kings 3 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

My sermon this week focused on 2 Kings 3:16.  The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom came to Elisha asking God to provide water for their armies that were fatigued and needing to drink.  Elisha replies that God will answer their request without even using wind or rain.  But v16 is interesting as it can apparently be translated two ways.

I don’t know enough Hebrew to determine the correct translation.    Here are the choices:

1. “This is what the Lord says: I will fill this valley with pools of water.” (tNIV, CEB, CEV, ESV, NIV, NLT)
2. “This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches.” (NIV84, NASB, HCSB, MSG, KJV)

According to some notes I found apparently the Vulgate and Septuagint go with option 2.  I opted for #2 simply because I heard another preacher use this translation, and because my only verse-by-verse commentary also went with “digging ditches”, however it didn’t explain the choice.

This is a good example of how academics and Bible translation directly influence our teaching and even our faith. The two translations present quite different messages.  In option #1 God will do everything and the kings can just sleep soundly and wait for God’s water to arrive in the morning.  In option #2 the kings have to at in faith.  They must mobilize their thirsty armies to dig ditches all over the valley.  If and when they finish this task God will send water for them to drink.

As we apply this verse to our lives, #1 says “Pray, then stand back and trust God to act.”  #2 says, “Pray, listen to God, do all you can to accomplish his purposes, and God will bless your efforts with water only he can provide.”  #1 is passive.  #2 is active.

I believe there are moments in our lives where both messages are true.  When we reach the end of our rope and nowhere to turn but to God, all we can do is stand back and trust him to act.  At other times God answers our prayers by blessing our efforts.  I guess a third application is that when we live our lives (dig ditches) consistent with God’s will he sometimes delivers our needs even when there’s no direct connection between our actions and our needs.

• Does it make you uncomfortable not knowing what God really says in this verse?
• Which of the two applications do you think is MORE consistent with God’s character?
• How do you usually resolve translation issues like this?
  

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• Read 2 Kings 4 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

The ministry styles of Elijah and Elisha contrast dramatically.  Elijah generally comes across as bold, confrontational, alone, and spectacular.  In contrast, we can characterise Elisha as bold, compassionate, private, and ministering in the context of community.  Leithart (Brazos Commentary 1 & 2 Kings, p187) summarises and compares their messages.

“Elijah’s ministry focuses on calling Ahab to repentance, but once the fate of Ahab’s house is sealed (1 Kgs. 21:17-24), Elisha concentrates on building a living community of faith withing Israel, a living community within the corpse of Omride Israel.”

While Elijah challenged the head of the kingdom, Elisha started a grassroots movement.  I’m sure exceptions exist to these general overviews, but this perspective provides valuable insight into ministry and Christian expectations today.

Elisha asked for, and presumably received, “a double-portion of [Elijah's] spirit”.  So he was certainly no less spiritual, or less blessed by God, but he was less spectacular and confrontational.  He didn’t challenge the throne, although the throne felt threatened by him.

This leads me to a fairly simple observation.  There is a time for confrontation, and a time for healing.  There is a time for tearing down and a time for building up.  It’s our task to observe the times.

At times Christians need to stand up against ungodliness and injustice around us.  We need to confront compromise of God’s standards in the church.  We need to oppose hidden idols in the lives of God’s people.  We need to call people to repentance and point them toward God.

However, at other times God needs us to wage a stealth battle, simply setting the example of “overcoming evil with good” (Rom 12:21).  Elisha touched lives of those around him with the healing only God could provide. In 2 Kgs. 2:19-22 he healed a city’s water supply. In chapter 4 he restored a widow’s sons to her when they faced slavery.  He healed a woman of infertility and later raised her son from the dead.  At the end of chapter 4 Elisha heals a pot of poisonous stew and then miraculously feeds 100 men with just 20 loaves of bread.  Elisha brought God’s healing with him.  What message from God accompanies you?

• Is the confront vs heal just a personality difference between Elijah and Elisha, or do you think it’s a deliberate ministry approach?
• What guidelines would you suggest to help us decide when to imitate Elijah, or when to follow the example of Elisha?
  

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• Read 2 Kings 2:1:18 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

Who is/are your spiritual successor/s?

In 1 Kings 19 Elijah recruits Elisha as his servant.  Evidently, Elisha already knew Elijah and was a follower of Yahweh as he immediately offers the oxen he was working with as a sacrifice and follows Elijah.  But servant.  That’s a pretty humble position to accept as a career change.

By 2 Kings 2 the relationship between Elijah and Elisha has obviously blossomed.  Elisha is clearly more than a servant.  In v9 as Elijah prepares for his death he asks Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”  Elisha requests a double portion of the spirit of Elijah.

Elisha had apparently been so impressed by God’s work in the life of Elijah that he ambitiously asks for a double blessing.  In that culture, the first born son received a double portion of the estate.  At a minimum, it seems that Elisha asks that he  become a spiritual son of Elijah.  Elijah responds that only God can distribute his Spirit.  Over in v15 the sons of the prophets confirm that God did grant Elisha’s request to receive the spirit of Elijah.

When Elijah chose an apprentice, he understood that the battle against idols would not conclude in his lifetime.  He needed to ensure that his mission and God’s message continue for years to come.  Which brings us back to the intial question, “Who is your spiritual legacy?“

Who are you investing in to equip them to carry on the torch for God when you’re not able?  In my spiritual heritage it seems that we mostly attempt to equip people through large events.  I’m thinking of Bible Classes, youth group, sermons, worship service training, etc.  I’ve often heard of the need for one-on-one Bible studies, but usually with those seeking Christ and these studies seldom continue much beyond baptism.  I don’t think I have ever seen two long-term Christians meet in a mentoring relationship, eg. an elder meet regularly with a deacon to help him study the Bible and grow spiritually.  Or I don’t think I have seen a deacon meet regularly with a young adult to prompt spiritual growth and train him in service.  Or I don’t think I have seen women do this either.

While churches would never say this, our actions send the message that “12 months after you give your life to Christ, you’re on your own, you’re now a number in the church’s system and as long as you keep attending you’ll be find and we’ll leave you alone (unless you have a major crisis) … until we need a volunteer or money.“  I believe churches can do better than that.

I have recently been giving some attention to the concept of discipleship.  (Here‘s a really good book I’ve found.)  Of course, it’s best demonstrated in the life of Christ with The Twelve, and his inner circle of James, John & Peter.  But we also see it in the ministries of Barnabas and Paul, and of course here in 2 Kings with Elijah.  Each of these leaders took time to invest in the spiritual growth of other devout followers of God.  For their part, Elisha, Peter, James, John, Paul, Silas, Timothy, Titus were already eagerly following God when their “mentor” called them into a relationship that would prompt their growth even more.

Before asking the question, “Can I share my faith with someone outside of Christ?” We need to answer the question, “Can I have spiritual conversations and encourage growth with other Christians?”  Surely it’s more challenging to have spiritual conversations with outsiders than partners?  If we can’t grow faith in people already committed to Christ, how do we hope to stimulate spiritual consciousness in pre-Christians?

Elijah didn’t get to the end of his life and reminisce about the spectacular miracles God had empowered him to perform.  Rather, at the end of his life he was investing in a disciple who would continue his mission and spread God’s message.  He was more concerned with WHO his legacy was, that WHAT he had accomplished.  Who is your spiritual legacy?

• Have you been part of a church that promoted an intentional pathway of spiritual growth for Christians of all ages?  Does this idea sound attractive to you?
  
• Have you ever received spiritual mentoring?  Did you find it faith-building?
• Have you ever discipled someone else?  What was your biggest challenge?
  

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• Read my full article in Intersections August 2011 here.
• Access the Intersections catalogue here.  (An excellent journal originating within Australian Churches of Christ.  It provides a great snapshot of daily life in the Restoration Movement there.)

A couple of months ago I wrote an article for an Australian Church of Christ journal.  In it I discussed a possible church planting strategy for growing God’s kingdom in Australia.  The spread of Churches of Christ in Australia will require the planting of more churches: either by existing churches or from US sponsored church planting teams.  Since very few Australian Churches of Christ make it past the 100 barrier, it seems futile for those churches to plan to plant churches when they reach attendance of 150.

Instead, I proposed a need for churches to consider planting new congregations when they reach about 50 regular attenders.  I know that this small size can be discouraging, but if the new congregation is geographically close then the goal is to establish a network of congregations, not just send 20 people away and never hear from them again.  The two churches would continue to find ways to cooperate and encourage each other through joint ministries and events.

The big benefit of this approach is that it encourages each congregation to connect with its local community.  Rather than have members drive 30 minutes to attend church worship and other events, the members would ideally live within 10-15 minutes of the meeting place.  This allows the members to invite local friends to a local church that addresses local needs.

DISCLAIMER: I last lived in Australia in 2003, so I respect that my views may be dated.  But from my church experience there and in the US, I believe something must happen to change the mindset of the existing Australian churches.  Of course, many congregations already struggle to reach 50, so this overview is grandiose and irrelevant to them.  I also believe that a similar approach is relevant to areas in parts of the USA where Churches of Christ are sparse.