What Went Wrong?

Christ, the Church, and the Gospel (Pt. 2)

Let’s continue to explore the message of Jesus Christ and the church he has commissioned to share this good news in order to change the world. When we look at the anemic expression of the church today, one has to ask, “What went wrong with our interpretation?” In order to find out, we have to go back to the message itself. What went wrong with the gospel?

The Domestication of the Gospel
I believe what’s taken place has been a domestication of the Gospel. The modern mindset, with it's value of individualism, has reduced the gospel and conversion to the experience of the individual. The reality of it being “man-centered” is revealed with such common ideas like “receiving Jesus as your personal savior” and “doing your personal devotions”. The apostle John clearly makes the gospel a communal experience…

"What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands" (I John 1: 1).

The gospel story has also been reduced to the experience of death and eternity (thought of in spatial or chronological terms). For example, "Say this prayer so that when you die, you can go to heaven." This all leads to a certain way of doing church. The church essentially becomes a warehouse of people waiting until they die. Eternal life is not now, but future and over there.

This domesticated approach is devastating to our churches and doesn't compel people to become serious followers of Jesus. Discipleship is optional and for the committed few or ultra-committed core. Something has to change from what has become the large crowd of Sunday morning pew warmers to those in the “minority core” (those who attend prayer meetings).
The Church has been devastated by this “discipleship as optional” situation.

Dallas Willard, in his book The Divine Conspiracy, asks three questions:

a.) Does the Gospel we teach and preach have a natural tendency to cause the people who hear it to become full-time disciples of Jesus?

b.) Would those who believe it become his apprentices as a natural next step?

c.) What can we reasonable expect would result from people actually believing the substance of our message?

We must examine whether the gospel we teach has been domesticated and therefore not reflective of the radical message Jesus taught and represents. This effects how people live out the implications of the gospel in real life. We can not and should not live out the Gospel of the Kingdom from the "receive Jesus and when you die…" gospel.

Christians are clear about how sins are taken care of by justification through faith by the grace of God. Lest you fear a works approach or legalism here, we live as a disciple of Christ through the same grace by the power of the Spirit. There are things for us to do, but it is not through merit but rather by simple cooperation with the Spirit’s active work.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove in vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me" (I Corinthians 15:10, see also Philippians 3: 4b-17).

People will not move from zeroed accounts of forgiveness into discipleship. A "forgiveness only" message doesn't move us toward discipleship. A rule-bound, propositional approach to the gospel does not have the ability to be compelling or winning in contemporary society.

This domesticated gospel today has easily become linked to the American marketing machine. Remember the slogans, catch phrases and bumper stickers: "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven"? Is this really all there is? JUST forgiven and nothing more?

In reality, the gospel of Jesus is a large, all-encompassing story. But more on this in my following posts…

Bob Stricker: A Friend and Father of Many

In Memory of Bob Stricker

It is with a mixture of sadness and deep gratitude when I learned that Bob Stricker had died after his battle with cancer. Sadness, because I will miss his wisdom, wit and counsel in my life, but having gratitude that I have been privileged to know Bob for 25 years. His influence continues as a result of his investment in so many people and this influence is a mark of a life well lived. Bob was instrumental in starting three different Bible colleges and served churches and leaders in the Midwest and west coast of the United States, as well as in Canada.

Bob served on my apostolic team in Newfrontiers USA for several years. His willingness to move and reside in various cities in order to assist us in developing Newfrontiers churches and leaders has had profound impact on so many leaders. He extensively served several of our churches in the Midwest for protracted periods of time. Many of our leaders were developed under Bob's wise and fatherly hands. Without question our Newfrontiers family of churches would not be where we are today without Bob's patient investment in so many.

I cannot possibly overvalue what Bob has meant to me personally as I planted churches and led our family of churches. Bob was a mentor, a dear friend and a father to me. It was a joy to be with him and share memories this past summer on my trip to the Pacific northwest. His faith and calm demeanor throughout his years of service to us was clearly evident as he faced death. He never wavered, remaining constant in faith and having great courage in the face of suffering. He continued to teach me not only how to live but how to die. I spoke with Bob a few days before his death and, although very weak, his steady voice and words displayed his great faith. As we concluded our conversation, it was a joy to say "I'll see you in heaven, Bob." I am grateful for that opportunity to say goodbye to a true hero who was an example to our family of churches and to me.

Bob Stricker Memorial Mission Fund
Bob Stricker was a dear friend and key member of the Newfrontiers USA leadership team for many years. His mature leadership was a vital resource for the Newfrontiers family of churches. The Stricker family has established a memorial fund to support the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ and this fund will provide support to Newfrontiers USA missional efforts in Zimbabwe and other parts of the world.

Details:

Checks may be made out to Newfrontiers USA.

Please write "Stricker Memorial Fund" on the memo line.

Donations can be mailed to:

Newfrontiers USA

PO Box 2626

St. Louis, MO. 63116

An Identity Crisis?

CHRIST, THE CHURCH AND THE GOSPEL (Pt. 1)

We are living in a time of significant change with a major shift in the way we process information. Ongoing change in communication and the arts reflect the changing values of our society. Structures that housed the modern era for the past five hundred years are crumbling. Some view this as a crisis in our culture. The Chinese character signifying the idea of "crisis" combines two characters, one for "danger" and the other for "opportunity." Crisis is made of both, and so is the current situation for the Church and its message.

As Christ followers, we must examine our roots and assess the true DNA of the Church. Many have attempted to define the Church and its practice biblically. The search for the true New Testament Church is ongoing, yet the process of changing is slow and even nonexistent at times. Many are unwilling to pay the costs required to take us outside the box.

Let’s examine the Church, Jesus and His gospel. We must be committed to a continual re-examining and restoration of the Church as it is revealed in scripture. In my next few blogs, I want to examine the missional nature of the Church and the message we are to carry to the nations.

Issues

In times of change, we face some key questions:

• Is the Church a hindrance to overcoming and, therefore part of, the problem?
• Is the Church neutral and therefore, not relevant to this emerging generation?
• Are the message we bring and our method of sharing it relative to this new context?
• How do we articulate within and to our context? Will our remedy fit?
• How much has our past cultural framework domesticated the Church and our understanding of the gospel?
• Is the Church in a crisis?
  

The Church has been influenced by culture and tradition. Church leadership is a “professional class” and the current American view of Evangelical leadership is often negative. Bob Roberts, Jr. recently tweeted that he has often been told, “You’re evangelical? You’re not like what I thought!" One said, "I thought all evangelicals were mean!"

The Church does what it believes itself to be.

We must re-examine what the essence or nature of the Church is. Craig Van Gelder does a fine job with this in his book The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit. He makes the stirring point that the Church does what it believes itself to be. Consider his view of the Church’s true identity and the activity coming from this identity:

"The Church ‘is’ (a unique community of God's people created by the Spirit to fulfill the mandate of the Kingdom of God) before it ‘does.’"

"The Church is God’s personal presence in the world through the Spirit. It is to live as a missionary community under the rule and reign of God."

"The 'Kingdom of God' (God's rule and reign) sent the Spirit; the Spirit created (Acts 2: 1) and leads (John 14-16) the Church; the Church consciously takes up God's agenda in the world in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus ‘mission’ is an inherent aspect of the nature of the Church."

"The Kingdom of God anticipates and calls into existence a people of God, the Church. The Church comes into existence and is shaped by the reality of God's redemptive reign. The Church is possessed by the Kingdom of God. This makes the Church an agent of the Kingdom."

Biblical Metaphors for the Church

Scripture also reveals several pictures of the Church.

• The people of God (Romans 9:25-26; I Peter 2:9; Revelation 5: 9-10)
• The Body of Christ (Romans 12: 4-5; I Corinthians 10: 16-17; Ephesians 1: 22-23)
• The Communion of the Saints (I John 1: 3,6; I Cor 10:6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 1:5)
• The Creation of the Spirit (I Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 2:19; I Peter 2:5)
  

So we understand that the Church is the presence of God in the midst of a community. It is the representative of Christ in the midst of people. "If you've see us, then you've seen Christ."

The life of God in Trinity is lived out in the midst of community. God indwells the community and the Church is the place where God is manifested on earth. His people are His dwelling place. His presence is accessible among His people.

The Church is God moving into the neighborhood. "The word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14 The Message Bible). Therefore, mission is an inherent aspect of the nature of the Church. This is not to be understood in terms as something it does, but something it is and thus cannot but do.

Fear of Religions?

We live in a remarkable time in which the world has become global as the nations are now living in our cities and next door to us. I believe the hand of God is providing an amazing opportunity to demonstrate the love and life of Christ to the nations. We need not fear nations or religions, as we are a people that should have the utmost confidence in the compelling nature of the gospel. My concern is we miss this opportunity as a result of fear and prejudice. I want to share with you a provoking blog from a friend of mine, Bob Roberts Jr., that addresses this issue.

The Fear of Religions in the U.S.?
Guest Blog by Bob Roberts, Jr. (www.glocal.net)

It frustrates me - Burn a Qur’an - Build a Mosque - everyone gets all over that and up in arms - try to build a bridge and do something - some people just don’t care. Inactivity in this scenario will lead to more tension and desperate acts that continue to polarize us.

Does it make any sense that we are so ready to bow our backs, express rage, and even take up arms - without first extending a hand? Both can hurt - but only one has a shot at averting a crisis - the one who extends their hand.

You can’t ignore what is going on in the world today - you just can’t. But you can connect and serve others in love and tell them about Jesus and live Jesus out in very real ways. The 8 million Muslims in the US aren’t going away. The 1.5 billion Muslims aren’t leaving planet earth. The 10 million Jews in the US are here to stay - and Israel is not going away as a nation. The 50 million evangelicals in the US aren’t going away - neither are the nearly 2 billion Christians on the planet going away anytime soon. Getting along and building bridges is not an option. The only other option is to be driven by fear. Let’s explore that option . . .

When driven by fear we isolate ourselves from the very people that we are afraid of. It causes us to vilify them, get a wrong image of them, and ultimately it leads to stereotyping. I am happy for the future - that there will never be another generation born in the world that isn’t global. I think that will help bring the tension down a lot. Sometimes I think the biggest thing we have to do is keep everyone 35 and above calm until the younger generation who are more suited for this world can assume leadership. Not saying 35 and above have nothing to offer - I’m in that camp - but we have so allowed ourselves to typecast peoples, cultures, religions, and world - that even if our positions are right we don’t know how to articulate them. It’s like having Witherspoon debate Dawkins on the existence of God. No, we need CS Lewis debating Dawkins.

Fear unaddressed ultimately leads to violence. Our security is in the size of our gun - I’m from Texas - we have some tribal thoughts on things like this. I began to observe a few years back - wars fought repelling tyrants are the only ones that people win. Wars fought out of fear trying to repel ideas and worldviews - never win. Vietnam is a perfect case study. We are becoming so similar in so many ways to Vietnam - but not because of the war but because of economics.

I believe there’s a lot of fear coming and going from every tribe and faith on this planet right now. The only solution is to engage one another. When driven by fear - as followers of Jesus - we cannot love deeply and truly. How can we tell people about Jesus? How we can we show them love? Call me naive - whatever you want - but God forgives us if we don’t do everything we can first to bring down the tension.

We are at a point in history where we fear religion more than God - we are at a point in history where we will either hunker in the bunker and justify our own violence, or reach out and try to first, at least, treat the other person with respect.

How I wish we took Jesus and Paul literally in how they dealt with people of other religions, worldviews, and people caught up in sin. If we did - I believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ would spread and every person would hear, and lives would be changed . . . Naive? Maybe - but here’s the reality - fear or love - you pick it - and you pick your future. Come gather at http://www.globalfaithforum.org with people who want to get along who don’t all agree with one another - but want to shake hands and come out serving a broken world together.

FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD

Faithful to His Promise – Pt. 5

When contemplating the very character of God, the key truth to be embraced is that God is faithful to His word. This was vital for Joshua when God called him to lead God’s people into the Promised Land. God told Joshua three times to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6-7,9). The Hebrew word to “be strong” means to be unbending and resolute. The word “courageous” carries the idea “to have heart”. These terms reveal that God meant for Joshua to be brave and to be established.

God’s presence is found in His precepts, His commands. God expected Joshua to walk in His word and this was to be a priority in his life. Joshua was not to turn from God’s ways, either to the right or to the left. God’s word was to be in his mouth and Joshua was to declare it. He was to meditate upon God’s word day and night. The Hebrew word for “meditate” meant to hear over and over again, a repeated sound. It came to mean to not only hear repetitively, but also to read repetitively. Basically to meditate is to internalize.

Believers are to speak God’s word to themselves, which produces faith and in turn, worship. Embracing God’s truth helps battle our own perspectives at times. Martyn Lloyd-Jones notes, “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?” (Spiritual Depression). Meditating on God’s precepts reminds us of God’s faithfulness and to live by faith rather than by our own feelings, thoughts or even circumstances. David practiced this when he declared in Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul”. David had to tell his soul to worship because of the truth of God’s faithfulness. God’s words need to be continually placed before us and by so doing we are strengthened and led into worship and obedience.

God’s commands were to be the guiding force of Joshua’s life. It is the same with us today. The gospel has power that transforms both individuals and society. God’s commands are to be life shaping and not merely an intellectual assent. Martyn Lloyd-Jones states, “According to the New Testament, faith always includes the element of obedience. There is no value whatsoever in a supposed faith that does not lead inevitably to a changed life” (Romans: The New Man).

God’s own faithfulness is the essential source of our life of faith. His faithfulness releases us to live radically because we know His word brings real transformation. Are you living in a way that clearly reveals that God is faithful?

HIS FAITHFUL PRESENCE

Faithful to his Promise- Part 4

Faithfulness is vital characteristic of God. It is also a key component in any deep and meaningful relationship. Knowing God’s presence is an essential part of His faithfulness.

The book of Joshua begins in a context where Israel knew that God had been with Moses. Moses’ face had literally shone with the glory of God when he came down from the presence of God on Mt. Sinai. Upon Moses’ death, Joshua knew God’s presence was critical to his leadership as well as to the success of God’s plan for Israel. Joshua was in danger of trying to take upon his own shoulders the responsibility that belonged to God. Joshua had already witnessed the people’s response to Moses. Joshua needed to know that God was with him.

We can feel like Joshua. We know difficulty both from the outside as well as the inside. It’s the inside battle that looms the largest. We know what we are not. We are aware of our weakness and feelings of inadequacy. Joshua also wrestled with the fear of being alone, of losing God (Joshua 1:5). He faced the fear of wondering if people would follow him after Moses’ great leadership (vv.5-9). Joshua faced the fear of failure and the tendency toward discouragement as he recognized his weaknesses (vv.6-9). We too know that we have opposition and we need to know that God is with us. God’s presence is what makes His people distinct. Without His presence who are we? Ephesians 2:22 proclaims we are the dwelling of His Spirit. We are a people of the Spirit and Jesus sent His Spirit to fill, empower and teach us and to make real God’s presence with us.

God reassured Joshua twice by telling Joshua that He would be with him (vv. 5,9). There are two things to note about God’s assurance. Firstly, God said, “as I was with Moses, so will I be with you, I will not fail you nor forsake you” (Josh. 1:5). The Hebrew word for “fail” here means to relax or lose focus, to become distracted or drawn away. God is saying to Joshua, “I am not slack. I do not relax where my children and promise are concerned. You are at the very center of My attention.”

Another noteworthy thing about God’s faithfulness is discovered in the word forsake. It means to leave, lose, forsake or neglect. Many of us lose things, perhaps our keys, a checkbook, or a cell phone. Ever wish that like your head, which you might lose if it were not attached, you could somehow attach things to yourself? What God is saying is that you are attached to Him, bound to the heart of God by cords of love. God is telling Joshua, “I’m not going to let loose of you; I’ll not forsake you.” In good and bad times we are bound to Him. The writer of Hebrews reminds us of this when discussing our attitude towards material goods. “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money; being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5).

Slow down and consider the scope of God’s assurance being expressed here to Joshua and to us. God tells Joshua that He will be with him, “wherever you go” (v.9). We are a people of movement. Wherever your feet are and wherever you step, God is saying, “I’ll be there.” There has never been a time in your life that God wasn’t there. From the day you were formed in your mother’s womb to the first day of school, every moment God has been there.

Regardless of where you are at today, God is saying, “I’m not going to take My eyes off you. I’ve bound you to Myself and in every step of your life, I’ll be there.” This is why we will inherit the Lord’s promises to us. It’s not because of us, but rather it’s because of God.

THE FAITHFUL PROMISE-MAKER

Faithful to His Promise- Part 3

The value of a promise is directly contingent upon the integrity of the one who makes the promise. Time is not the issue, one’s own inadequacy is not the issue and lack of visible resources is not the issue. God and His promise is the issue.

God’s people are called to entrust themselves to Him. As God’s chosen people, Israel was born out of God’s promise. God told Abraham that he and his descendents would receive an inheritance. Now move forward and we find Joshua and Israel about to enter a promised land full of obstacles and resistance. Much time had transpired since God first gave the promise to Abraham.

Consider the whole process and time span of God’s promise to Abraham. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, went to Egypt with his family, including Joseph, and they numbered about 70 people. As their numbers grew the Egyptians became afraid of them and enslaved them, however the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew. The taskmasters made their work hard and they cried out to God. God’s promise seemed far away.

However, God sent them Moses and under God’s powerful hand, Moses did the impossible and brought them out of slavery. Under God’s direction Moses gave them their constitution, bylaws and culture. They became a people with identity and destiny. Yet the people were complainers, doubters, quitters and constantly fell into unbelief. Even Moses became discouraged! At one point, they even reach the promised land and having turned back in unbelief, spent 40 years in the wilderness. However, two men stood on the promise and said, “Let’s go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it!” (Numbers 13:30). How do you suppose Joshua and Caleb felt during the 40 years still waiting on the promise? They did not give up because they were convinced of who they were, a people of promise, and that God was a God faithful to His promise.

It’s vital to see the faithfulness of God in receiving His promise. Moses died but just because Moses died didn’t mean the plans of God were dead. God reminds Joshua that the promise is dependent upon the God who gave it. God’s promise is bound to His divine nature. Twice God reminds Joshua that He is the divine giver (Joshua 1:2-3).

A few years ago, Simon Pettit, who was one of our outstanding Newfrontiers leaders in Africa, died. One day Terry Virgo and John Lanferman will die. However the promise is not dead. It’s about who God is.

We are on a journey to lay hold of the promise of God to us. He is faithful to His promise to us. He will supply all that is necessary in order that we receive the inheritance.