Kevin DeYoung's Blog, page 154

Prayer Request

If you have a moment and feel led I would appreciate prayer for my dad, Lee DeYoung. My dad, 62, works with a radio missions organization called Words of Hope. Their mission is to broadcast the gospel by radio, especially into hard to reach or underserved places. With his jobs he travels internationally several months a year. He's been to over 60 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa. I don't know how he's done it for 25 years or how my mom has been able to manage so well. But they have. Working with producers and translators and church leaders around the world is my dad's passion.

Eighteen days ago my dad was admitted to the hospital in Grand Rapids with an especially violent strand of cerebral malaria which he contracted while on a recent trip to Africa. After suffering for a week from flu like symptoms, he quickly lost his cognitive abilities as the infection spread to his brain. Thankfully he got to the hospital just in time. Another day and he probably would have died. The doctors were able to treat the malaria with a red blood cell exchange and a special drug flown in from the CDC in Atlanta. Over the subsequent two weeks my dad slowly got better. His kidneys, his brain, his blood pressure, and a bunch of other stuff improved. Some days had setbacks, but overall he was on a trajectory toward health. I had some great times visiting my dad and seeing his invigorated passion for the gospel and evangelism and his renewed commitment to going back overseas no matter the cost.

A few times in the past week they almost released my dad from the hospital. But every time something would come up–fever, chills, a blood clot, an IV infection. On Saturday morning–on the day we thought he might even come home–my dad encountered an unsuspected and serious complication. He stopped speaking and lost movement on the left side of his body. Thankfully, it was not a stroke. But the doctors discovered bleeding around the brain that had developed because of blood thinner medication which he was on because of a clot that had developed because of a central line. I'm learning a lot about medicine and how amazing and intricate and sometimes fragile the human body is.

They quickly brought my dad in for emergency brain surgery on Saturday. The surgery was successful in cleaning up the biggest accumulation of blood on the brain. As he woke from surgery he eventually started moving both sides of his body and even spoke a few words. Yesterday he grew less and less responsive. That seems to have changed again for the better overnight. The CT scan looks okay, but there are still several serious concerns. I won't go into all the details because they change often and I may not understand them perfectly. But I know that my dad is in very critical condition and needs the Lord's mercy. Many of you understand firsthand what these scary times are like. We do not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.

If you desire, please pray for my dad. Pray for my mom too. This has been hard on her as you can imagine. I'm grateful that my parents, my three siblings, and all our spouses know the Lord. I'm thankful too for all the support, love, and prayers I've received from my friends and wonderful church family.

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe" (Prov. 18:10).

The Mission of the Church

In the past week I've started reading The Church of Christ by James Bannerman (1807-68). If you aren't familiar with the work, you should be. It is a classic treatment of Reformed ecclessiology. With almost a thousand pages in two volumes, there isn't much Bannerman doesn't cover. Chapter 7 deals with "the church in its relation to the world." The chapter sounds remarkably contemporary. I'll probably say more about the book and this chapter later, but it's worth highlighting the main points here.

It is deeply interesting, then, to inquire into the place and office assigned to the Church of Christ in the world. What is the peculiar and important work given to the Christian Church to do upon earth. . . .What, then, I ask, is the mission of the Church on the earth, and its office in relation to the world?

Bannerman then makes and expound three statements.

"In the first place, the Christian Church, in reference to the world in which it is found, is designed and fitted to be a witness for Christ, and not a substitute for Christ."


"In the second place, the Christian Church in the world is an outward ordinance of God, fitted and designed to be the instrument of the Spirit, but not the substitute of the Spirit." He explains that church fulfills the outward ordinance of God through Word and Sacrament and its own government.


"In the third place, the Christian Church in the world is fitted and designed to serve as a means for effecting the communion of Christians with each other—not to be a substitute for the communion of Christians with their Savior."

In the next chapter, Bannerman allows that the church may work for the betterment of society as a "secondary object," but this, he argues, is not the primary aim.

The bottom line: Christ works out his purposes on earth by his Spirit and by his Church, and that purpose or mission is "His great work in the conversion and sanctification of His people." This is the "mighty and mysterious task entrusted" to the Church.

What if?

Guest Blogger: Jason Helopoulos

What if? What if there was a movement among the people in our Christian church pews? Not just any movement, but a movement where lay people were willing to consider, entertain, and act upon a different impulse than is normal in our decision making. What if one of the most fundamental areas of some Christian families' lives, vocation and place of residence, were decided differently? What if even just a small number chose the location of their home upon the opportunity to become involved in a church plant? Yesterday's post was about church planters, but dynamic and farther reaching effects could be had if lay people captured a vision for church planting.

Seldom do we hear of a family or individual who decides to accept this job or move to that place because there is a church there that they could serve and assist in. And that is a travesty. We consider everything else. The schools, the parks, the affordability of housing, area recreation, and the weather are all factors that seem to play into our willingness to consider moving to this or that part of the country. And after we have chosen our location due to vocation or interest it is then that we look for a church to join in that new local. But what if the order was reversed? What if individuals and families began to consider moving to a new location so that they could help start or serve in a church plant or young church? What if this was considered by more than just a few individuals and families and actually became a real consideration for lay people scattered throughout our congregations? How many churches could be planted and how many young churches would be given a boost "over the hump?"

Can you see the picture? Retired individuals and couples consider moving to that city because their wisdom, experience, stability, and free time could greatly assist the church plant effort there; Professional individuals with their flexibility and financial resources packing their homes and moving across the state or country to assist in this church plant effort; Young families actually considering where they could serve the church best, over and above what location would provide the greatest place of comfort for their family; Young individuals graduating from college and taking two years to lend their zeal and energy to a church planting effort instead of moving on to graduate school or finding their career path.

What if? If weather, upward mobility, schools, and family can be the draw we need to move across the state or the country then why not the Church? What if the planting of churches was a true consideration for every person in the pew–at least a consideration? It could alter the landscape of the American church, lead tens of thousands to saving faith, result in hundreds if not thousands of new and healthy churches, and it would be good for the spiritual vitality of our existing churches. Am I overshooting? I don't think so. What if?

So You Want to be a Church Planter?

Guest Blogger: Jason Helopoulos

What should a church planter look like? Surely he must have gifts in preaching, teaching, leading, shepherding, etc. It is equally clear that he must have some ability to initiate and cast vision for a group of people. He must be a self-starter. And none of us would deny the essentials: that he is committed to preaching the Word of God, applying that same Word to the congregation, and that he have a faithful and active prayer-life. We also know that he must have a heart for the lost, the under-churched, and still be able to disciple those under his care.

I am not an expert on anything (except maybe Chicago Style-pizza and Diet Coke). And I don't pretend to be an expert on church planting. But as I have reflected over my past four years as a church planter my understanding of what is necessary for faithful service in that field has become more well-informed. There are qualities I had not considered before that I would now say are essential. I would suggest that if a man isn't marked by these attributes as well, he shouldn't be considering or be considered for church planting. He must be:

Comfortable in Conflict: Who in the world likes conflict? Not many of us. And though a church planter surely does not enjoy it, he must be able to endure it. Maybe the greatest difference in church planting compared to more established churches, is that the church planter is "out front" by himself. There are no other pastors, elders, or leaders in the church, because the church isn't established. This means there is no one to help carry the burden of conflict. And there is no other target for those seeking conflict. And conflict will come. You don't have to be a prophet to make that prediction! A church planter must be able endure the burden (even alone) and continue to minister in the midst of it.
Have Knowledge of His Weaknesses: There are no buffers between a church planter and the congregation. The smallness of the work creates a close proximity physically, mentally, and spiritually. Due to this, a church planter will readily see his weaknesses reflected and adopted by the people under his care—often without their awareness. If he doesn't know his weaknesses going in he will by the time he leaves. And at that point, it may be too late.
A "Multitasker": I have a picture in my head. It is one we have all seen: a man holding sticks with multiple spinning plates residing atop them. How does he do it? I don't know, but it is quite a balancing act. Welcome to church planting. A church planter is usually alone, at least to some degree. Therefore, he must be able to multi-task. There are so many areas of church life and ministry that will call upon him each day. He must be able to do anything from preaching to counseling to preparing orders of worship to washing nursery toys. He is the secretary, pastor, man-on-call, emergency ride, and nursery recruiter. On any given day, he will wear a myriad of hats. Does the average pastor? Yes. I would never argue otherwise. But the church planter usually does so to a greater degree.
Persevering: Let's face it, some of us throw the towel in much earlier than others. There are those who labored through those two-a-day practices during high-school football and others who quit. A church planter must have a persevering personality. Because the ebbs and flows of church planting are quick hitting and continual. This week a family visits and shows interest. And it easy to ride the tide. But the next week two families announce they are leaving and your congregation shrinks in half. There will be weeks and even months that the average church planter wonders what they have gotten into and in those moments perseverance matters a great deal.
Able to Step-Aside: Having said that a church planter must be persevering we also must say that an equal attribute is that he  have it within him to step-aside when it is needed. It may be that he is laboring in an area that is difficult for the gospel to penetrate, he has labored for years, and that initial zeal and energy is dissipating. He must know when it is time to hand the reigns over to someone else or even to close the doors of the work. He must persevere, but be self-aware and humble enough to know when to step aside.
Humble: I know, all pastors (for that fact all Christians) are supposed to be humble. But in reality, this is a rare quality among men. But among church planters, it must be one of the chief qualities. Pride will kill the efforts of the church plant and his congregation faster than anything else.
Have a Love for All Types of People: Again, this seems to be a "no-brainer" and something that we should all embrace. But if we are honest, this is not the case. All kinds of people will be drawn to a church plant. This doesn't happen to the same degree in well-established churches. As much as we would like it to be otherwise, established churches have reputations. They have been marked by many in the community as the upper-middle class church, the doctrinal church, the black church, the young church, the homeschool church, etc. But a church plant is seldom marked at the beginning. This means that all shades of people will come through the door. And the church planter must be ready in love to minister to all of them. I have found it fascinating to see how many hurting and needy people find their way into a church plant. They often do so, because they have access to the pastor. For some pastors, this is uncomfortable. If that is the case, then church planting isn't for you.

Ministry Before Our Eyes

Guest Blogger: Jason Helopoulos

How often have you been "locked" in conversation with someone on Sunday morning only to find yourself thinking about the person you need to talk to "over there"? Our minds start to wander and our eyes follow. I know the thoughts, "I need to touch that man over there this morning," "if she leaves before I am able to encourage her an opportunity will be lost," "no one is talking to that visitor I need to get over there." And all the while, the person before us and the ministry the Lord has given to us in the moment is lost.

The seminary I attended had a chaplain. A comment was made about him that has always stuck with me. It was an offhand comment, but it has often served as a gentle rebuke and forceful encouragement to me. It was one of my professors who made the comment. He recalled a day when he was engaged in conversation with the chaplain. And the president of the seminary entered the room. This president was and is a boisterous and charismatic personality. When he enters the room your attention is drawn to him. And the professor recalled how the president made his way over to them, but the chaplain's eyes never diverted from the professor. The seminary president stood waiting on the edge of their conversation and only after the chaplain had fully ended the conversation with the professor did he turn to the president. It wasn't an act of rudeness or power that led the chaplain to keep the president waiting. It was an act of love and true humility. The professor in recalling this story said, "When the chaplain is with you, it is like you are the most important person in the world." The professor was his field of ministry in that moment. The Lord had drawn them together and he was going to be faithful in that moment.

I wonder how often we miss the ministry before us for the ministry "over there?" How often have we neglected the opportunity we have now, because we think there is something more important that we must do on the other side of the room, back at the office, or on our phone that is ringing? And most importantly, I wonder how often we have hurt our brothers and sisters in Christ or our witness to the love of God, by treating others as insignificant and not worth our attention?

The most important ministry we do as Christians happens in the moment. And that moment is usually unplanned, unforeseen, and unnoticed. Think back over your own Christian life. If I was to ask you, "What were some of the most important encouragements, advice, words you have received in ministry from someone else? What moments have shaped your pursuit of Christ and ministry to others?" Most of us would point to rather "insignificant" moments: a moment when someone offered a short phrase or two—like my professor about this chaplain. Or it isn't even what they said, but just the way they listened—like the way that chaplain influenced this professor. He just modeled before him love and grace. A love of Christ that is willing to treat the seemingly insignificant as a child of God.

Guest Blogger: Jason Helopoulos

Even bloggers need a break once in awhile.

To that end, I've asked my good friend, Jason Helopoulos, to do some guest blogging for me over the next two weeks. Jason is the pastor of Providence PCA, a church plant here in East Lansing. He'll blog the second half of this week and the second half of next week. The blogs may still be listed under my name (if I can't figure out how to change that), but Jason will include his name at the top of the post itself if he is writing.

Jason has agreed to help me out from time to time this year when I'm on vacation or out of town. He is a godly man and a good thinker. You'll benefit from his posts.

Tuesday Morning Humor

A Certain Christmas

[image error]I know it's the day after, but I bet you are still up for thinking about Christmas. Here is the sermon I preached on Christmas Eve.

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I'm sure most of you have held a snow globe sometime in the past month. There are hundreds of them out there. You can find a glass dome with a Christmas tree inside or a snow man or a quaint little town or a Thomas Kinkade church or people at the beach or just about anything you can imagine. I saw one with Santa Claus kneeling down at the manger, which is a nice thought, if somewhat hard to explain to your children.

You can actually get quite a variety of nativity snow globes. They all have Mary and Joseph with baby Jesus in a glass ball of liquid and fake snow. Depending on the size, some of them include the angels or the shepherds or the Wise Men or the animals. You can the flip the whole thing around and watch the snow gently fall on this porcelain scene of Jesus' birth. It's all very sweet and very pretty-a kind of Precious Moments Christmas live from Breckenridge.

There is nothing wrong with these picturesque nativity scenes. But I fear that many people look at Christmas like they are looking at a snow globe. It's all soft and warm and fuzzy. Christmas becomes this magical event with this mythical story that captures the imagination like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or Narnia. And it's perfectly fine to experience Christmas in this way, provided you realize that unlike those other stories, this one actually happened. Christmas is not just in the heart. It's not just about the season of giving. It's not just about the love of family and friends. Christmas is history. We remember an event that really took place with real people in a real place in a real century. This is not a fairy tale or a made up story that should inspire you whether it's true or not. If it didn't happen, let's go home and not miss the beginning of It's a Wonderful Life.

But if it did-if a virgin actually gave birth to the Son of God-then we surely have something to sing about. Everyone should know this story. Everyone should see that everything is different because of this story. Christmas is a story comprised of the most literal historical facts with the most amazing theological significance.

I want to spend just a few minutes tonight looking at the very beginning of Luke's gospel. So please turn with me in your bibles to Luke 1:1-4.

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things that you have been taught.

It's easy to skip over a paragraph like this at the beginning of the book. "Dear strange name I can't pronounce, I'm writing you a book, etc., etc. Whatever. Let's get to some angels!" But this dedication is critical in explaining what sort of book we are reading. In these four verses Luke talks about his sources, his approach, and his purpose in writing this gospel.

First he talks about his sources. He explains in verse 1 that many have already undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished. He's probably thinking of one or more of the other gospels. He may also have in mind other written or oral traditions. By the time Luke sat down to work on this, there were already a number of sources to draw from. Luke read what was out there and talked with those who knew firsthand what had happened.

Notice some of the key words and phrase in Luke's description of these sources. In verse 1 he talks about the things accomplished "among us." The stories he is compiling did not take place in a time long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. These events did not happen in a corner. These are not stories Marco Polo brought back from China. These things happened among them-in their time, in their land, in some of their homes. We are not dealing with myths and legends. We are talking about  things that people could touch and see and hear and smell.

And then in verse 2 you see the word "eyewitnesses." This is very important. How do we know almost everything we know about history? We know something because someone was there and passed it on what he saw or wrote it down. Even today in a court of law, with all the DNA evidence and technology we possess, the jury still wants to hear from those who actually saw what happened. That's what we have with the gospels-the record of eyewitness accounts. And not just eyewitnesses who saw one or two events, but those who saw everything that happened from the beginning.

But, you might be thinking, eyewitnesses can get things wrong. They can remember stuff that never happened or forgot important parts of the story. Or worse yet, people might claim to have seen something they never saw. How do we know these eyewitnesses accounts are trustworthy? Well, one clue can be found with the phrase "ministers of the word" in verse 2. See, there were not only eyewitnesses who saw these events, there were also official ministers of the word who were responsible to pass the reports down to others. This is why it doesn't make sense to think all sorts of fake stories about Jesus got invented and passed around. From the very beginning there was an established tradition and authoritative spokesmen. It wasn't like the first Christians just believed any old thing they heard about Jesus. It really mattered to them what really happened. So they sought out eyewitnesses and the official ministers and apostles who were passing on this authoritative message.

After talking about sources, Luke next talks about his approach. Look at verse three. Notice four things about his approach in compiling this narrative.

First, you see that his work is the fruit of investigation. I get that from the phrase "having followed." It means "having followed along" or having "searched into this" or "having investigated." Luke has been a student of these events.

Second, take a look at what he studied or investigated. He looked into "all things." From Jesus birth to his death, for the prophecy before his birth to his resurrection and ascension after death-Luke followed all of it. He has tried to be thorough and comprehensive.

Third, notice that he followed all things closely. We know from Acts that Luke was a doctor. He was a bright guy, a sharp student. He was not interested in quickly putting together some propaganda piece. He really dug into the sources, read the materials, talked to eyewitnesses. He worked carefully and looked over everything closely.

And finally, notice that Luke's gospel is meant to be "an orderly account." You may have this idea that when God inspired the biblical writers he just took over their brains and downloaded information, but here we see that he fully employed Luke's intelligence and his hard work. Luke was doing his best to be a careful scholar of these events. He wanted to arrange this story in a logical way. This probably means there is a rough chronological order, a rough geographic order, and a broadly theological order to this narrative. He is trying to produce a work that is true, understandable, and based on what really happened.

A couple years ago I was talking to another pastor around Christmas time and he was explaining to me why the virgin birth didn't have to be historically true. He said maybe Matthew and Luke were just trying to throw in a bit of mythology that would appeal to the Greeks. Maybe they were trying to force the story into Isaiah's language. Maybe it was just their way of saying Jesus' birth was from God. But do you see how that sort of reasoning can't work with these four verses? Luke is at great pains to inform us that he has compiled a narrative that has been researched, investigated, poured over, and comprises the best scholarship and the best eyewitness accounts. Luke could not be any clearer: there is nothing in this book that should be understood as legend. The history may be rearranged at points, but there is nothing here that has been invented or mythologized.

Think about the familiar words from Luke 2. If you study other religions and read about the birth of Hercules or the birth of the gods in Hinduism or the birth of the gods in Shintoism the stories are nothing like Luke 2.

In those days [a certain time in history] a decree [something that the Romans issued from time to time] went out from Caesar Augustus [a known world figure] that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria [an extra bit of history which shows that Luke is trying to be meticulous, even if scholars today aren't sure where to place Quirinius chronologically]. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph [a historical person] also went up from Galilee [a specific region], from the town of Nazareth [a specific town], to Judea [another specific region], to the city of David [more historical background], which is called Bethlehem [another specific town we have record of], because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child [more background information]. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

There is nothing in here that sounds like fairy tale and everything to prove that Luke means this to be verifiable, accurate, precise, historical fact.

Which brings us to the third point. Luke talks about his sources. He talks about his approach. And finally he talks about his purpose. We see in verse 4 that he is writing to a man called Theophilus. We don't know exactly who this man was. It seems that he was an important man. He is given the title "most excellent" Theophilus. In Acts Felix and Festus, two Roman magistrates, are both called "excellent." We also know that Luke's gospel, more than any other, is directed toward the rich. So I suspect that Theophilus was an important Roman official, Gentile and probably well off.

Luke wrote this gospel to be read by a wide audience. He understood that many Christians would read it. But most specifically he wrote it for Theophilus.  Most likely, this man was a new Christian who had just received the message of the gospel. But Luke wants to make sure Theophilus has certainty concerning the things he has been taught. You can imagine this man as a baby Christian, taking this big step to accept the gospel, perhaps risking his reputation in the process. He has heard and believed, but there may have been moments for him, like there are for you, when the whole story seems so crazy, so fanciful, so unbelievable, maybe too good to be true. So Luke says, "Look, I have researched this thing. I've talked to eyewitness. I've read the other reports. I've studied the story from top to bottom, every bit of it, as carefully as I can. And now I've written it down in a orderly account so that you can be sure that there is good reason to believe what you have believed."

That's what Luke wanted Theophilus to understand a couple thousand years ago. And that's what God wants us to understand tonight. The Christmas story is not a snow globe. It's real. It's history. Now, it's not bald history. There is a shape to this narrative. It's like a documentary. A good documentary is all true. It's about history and facts and eyewitness reports. But the there is definitely a order to it, a design, a purpose. The film maker is trying to tell a story, trying to persuade. That's what the Luke's Gospel is like. It's all true. It's history and facts, with a theological point.

You ought to be absolutely confident that a virgin named Mary gave birth to a child named Jesus. In some ways it was plain and ordinary. It certainly wasn't a Thomas Kinkade moment. Mary grimaced and groaned. She pushed and pushed, through anguish and pain. Just like millions of moms before her and billions after her. It was a bloody, messy, scary, happy scene. That's what it's like whenever a child comes into the world. It was all completely normal and real.

And absolutely unique and supernatural. For this Child had been predicted for millennia and prophecies were made about him for centuries. A virgin had never given birth before, because God had never come to his people like this before. Immanuel, God with us. Not a myth. Not a legend. Not a fairy tale. A real boy born to a real woman in a real town on a real day, so you can know there is a real Christ to save his people from their real sins. God came to earth on Christmas to live, to die, to be raised, to ascend, and to come again. It's all gloriously true. So you can be certain.

Once In Royal David's City

O Holy Night