Jared C. Wilson's Blog, page 17

How Do You Get a Revival?

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

It is not a miracle, or dependent on a miracle, in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of the right use of the constituted means--as much so as any other effect produced by the application of means. There may be a miracle among its antecedent causes, or there may not. The apostles employed miracles, simply as a means by which they arrested attention to their message, and established its Divine authority. But the miracle was not the revival. The miracle was one thing; the revival that followed it was quite another thing. The revivals in the apostles’ days were connected with miracles, but they were not miracles.

I said that a revival is the result of the right use of the appropriate means.

Those are the words of Charles Finney from his Lectures on Revivals of Religion.

I say that Finney is dead wrong. Dangerously wrong.

But Finney’s words here serve as the philosophical precursor to countless church growth strategies today and the prevailing church growth framework in general. As a sort of churched version of “If you build it, they will come,” this approach to the expectation of revival renders the supernatural natural and the providential pragmatic. Finney and his many modern spinoffs conflate the work of the preacher with the work of the Word. They confuse the minister’s required work with the Lord’s free prerogative. It is God who says, “I will cause breath to enter you” (Ezek. 37:5), and that, when he does, “You shall know that I am the LORD” (v. 6). When the result is worship of God, the credit does not go to the leader but to God. The entire leadership enterprise, the entire purpose of revival, is the knowing of God and the enjoying of his sovereign lordship.

By way of contrast to Finney, enter the wisdom of Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

A revival is a miracle. It is a miraculous, exceptional phenomenon. It is the hand of the Lord, and it is mighty. A revival, in other words, is something that can only be explained as the direct action and intervention of God. It was God alone who could divide the Red Sea. It was God alone who could divide the waters of the river of Jordan. These were miracles. Hence the reminder of God’s unique action of the mighty acts of God. And revivals belong to that category. . . . These events belong to the order of things that men cannot produce. Men can produce evangelistic campaigns, but they cannot and never have produced a revival. (Revival, 1987)

This knowledge ought both to humble us and also to embolden us.

Do Visitors to Your Church Really Feel Welcome?

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

I don’t know of any church leader who wants visitors to their services to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. And yet it still surprises me that many churches still don’t think through some of the ways, both obvious and subtle, that work against making visitors feel “at home” with the congregation. If you’re a church leader who cares about the experience of hospitality for those who visit your church services, I hope you will work through the following questions with eyes open to the impression your church may be leaving visitors.

1. Do you have visible, prominent, clear, and helpful signage?

This is one of the most basic additions to enhance the visitor experience in your church, yet it is one that continues to be lacking in many church facilities I visit. I’ve grown up in the church and have been in a lot of church buildings throughout my life and in my ministry travels, and I still find it difficult to navigate what ought to be familiar church architecture. I can’t imagine how those unfamiliar with familiar church layouts may feel.

-- Where’s your front door?

At some church complexes, usually large churches built between the 1950s and 1980s, or churches that have experienced numerous building additions, it can be difficult to even determine where the entrance is. I have walked around entire buildings trying to enter through locked door after locked door simply trying to get in through a series of identical entryways. Your church complex should have clear signage indicating where visitors should park, where people should enter, and what they should do next.

-- Where do I go?

Once inside the building, I often have trouble determinig where to go for my class or worship service. Most churches, thankfully, have easily visible sanctuaries, but if yours is hard to find, please provide signs directing the way. Also helpful at point of entry to the building are signs for parents directing them to nursery or childcare or to classrooms for Sunday school or Bible study. As an introvert, I am more inclined to look for this information on a sign rather than ask a stranger (who may not know the information anyway), so your commitment to provide clear signage to help me navigate your building is helpful.

2. Do you have greeters who are both welcoming and informed?

The first part (welcoming) sounds like a no-brainer, but sometimes friendly people can also be easily distracted people, and I’ve walked past greeters who are holding the door open but engaged in distracted conversation with their fellow greeter opposite them. I’m glad the greeters are having a good time, but not acknowledging my family’s presence is tantamount to not being there at all. Thankfully, most greeters manage to actually greet most of the time.

The part where more greeting ministries fall short is having knowledgable people at the point positions of hospitality. Last year my family visited a church where we were greeted warmly by a friendly and enthusiastic lady. So far, so good. But when we asked questions about Sunday school placement, she was at a loss. She wasn’t quite sure what classes were available and ended up guessing about where my wife and I belonged. We weren’t particularly offended when she led us to the 50s-60s Sunday school class, but some other visitors probably would be. She was also not sure where the youth class met. Make sure your greeters aren’t just friendly but helpful.

3. Do you make visitors feel conspicuous in the worship service?

Stop it. Seriously. Please stop. Some visitors don’t care and will actually appreciate the attention. But many of them will not. This will be a net loss for you.

Make a clear and vocal welcome to visitors, perhaps point them to an informational card

I grew up in a church that asked visitors to wear red badges that said VISITOR on them. We stopped doing this once we figured out that nobody wanted to wear them, that our efforts at hospitality only served to make guests feel conspicuous and ogled. There are thankfully fewer and fewer churches putting guests on the spot in their services, but still more need to get there. I visited another church last year that asked visitors to fill out a card so the church could have a record of their visit--yes, good--and then asked visitors to hold those cards up in the air so ushers could come by and get them from them--no, no, no. This is obviously not as bad as making these people stand up and introduce themselves or wear badges identifying themselves as different, but it’s still an opportunity for discomfort for many folks who wish to blend in while visiting your service.

4. Do you welcome your guests at all?

Yes, the worship gathering is primarily for the covenanting members of your local fellowship, but only a rude family fails to warmly welcome guests. Help visitors to feel at home at least with a good greeting from the pulpit or stage. Here’s what a good visitor greeting ought to include:

-- An acknowledgment by the announcement-giver (or a pastor, if possible) of the guest’s presence with a thank you for visiting and an invitation to let them know if they can serve the guest in any way.

-- A directing to the info card or other means of noting visit, with the request of placing info card in offering plate or other receptacle. Better yet, give guests the option of placing an info card in an offering plate or taking it to an info table--or other point of contact--in the church lobby or foyer to exchange for a gift. This is a great way to both ensure you have a record of someone’s visit and also practice hospitality by providing guests a small token of your appreciation. I have seen numerous churches do this really well and have received coffee mugs with the church logo on them, bags of coffee, books, pens, small gift cards, cookies and treats, and so on.

-- A request that visitors refrain from giving. At my church in Vermont, I used to say as part of our welcome to visitors, “Please be our guest today and do not feel compelled to give during our offering time, which is an act of worship intended for our members and regular attenders.” I had one member once say he thought this was not a good idea since we may have guests who want to give. I decided to stick with this request, and since I began this statement, our giving actually went up. Go figure.

5. Do you appropriately follow up with visitors?

We recently had some friends visiting with us from out of town. They attended worship with us at Liberty Baptist Church and filled out the information card. Even though our friends listed their out-of-town address and our church follow-up team could rightly deduce that these visitors weren’t likely to be looking for a new church in our area, they sent them a card anyway. My friend remarked how special and loved they felt, especially since the card was completed by a childcare worker mentioning their visiting sons by name and what a joy it was to serve them. In terms of “return on investment,” there really was nothing in it for this volunteer at LBC, except to know that she, and by extension, our church had warmly welcomed a guest.

If you receive info cards from guests that include contact details, a personal touch in follow up beats a form letter or email any day. Maybe your fellowship can assemble a team of hospitality-minded folks to cover this responsibility. Hand-written notes and cards are unique specimens in our day and, I think, can go a longer way than the impersonality of emails or texts.

On the other hand, many folks are likely to be put off by what is often deemed over-personal contact in follow-up, so it is probably best to avoid phone calls or, even worse, pop-in visits. Your community and its cultural temperament for such things may be different, but in most places today, the unannounced drop-by visit is seen as an unwelcome intrusion. Send a hand-written card or note thanking your guests for their visit, inviting them to visit again, and requesting that they share any prayer needs, questions, or opportunities for service with you.

These five questions may seem like no-brainers for you, but they are still a good checklist to work through, perhaps with your team, as sometimes leaders assume a clarity that more insight can reveal isn’t quite so clear!

His Eye Is On the Sasquatch

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” -- Job 11:7

I’ll tell you why I hope Bigfoot exists --and why, in a way, I hope he is never discovered. Because it excites me to think that there are creatures out there God has made for his own enjoyment and to enhance the wonder of life on the earth.

I like to think about those creepy fanged fishies deep in the Mariana Trench, swimming around in the murky darkness of the oceanic fathoms, their dangling bioluminescence their only lantern into the future. Most of them we will never see--at least, not on this side of the new earth, where we don’t have the lung capacity or the mechanical capacity to withstand the pressure of such depths. There are species down there we have zero clue about. I think of exotic fish in clear pools of water in the darkness of undiscovered caves deep in the jungles that human feet will never enter. In the thickest centers of the wildest forests, there are species of insects and birds yet undetected.

And maybe there are Bigfoots in the North American woods. I mean, we didn’t know about the mountain gorilla until 1902! Can you believe that? An actual large primate we didn’t know anything about until the 20th century?

I believe that God made all things for his own glory. Anything that was made, he made and made for ultimately for that end--to reflect the wondrous creativity and power and love and God-ness of himself. And this is why there are some things we just don’t know about. If we could know everything, we’d be God. So I think God keeps a lot of things to himself. The answers to a lot of our “why” questions, for instance. And maybe, just maybe, giant frolicking sea monsters and fields of space flowers on some unreachable planet and big upright primates only detectable by the blurriest of camera lenses.

God has bathed this world in wonder in such a way that mere examination can’t do it justice. Noted atheist scientist and TV personality Neil deGrasse Tyson recently tweeted, “I wonder who was the first person to see a bird soaring high above & think it a good idea to capture it and lock it in a cage.” Some wiseacre replied, “A scientist.”

Science can help us see the wonder, but it can’t quite figure out how to help us wonder at the wonder. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “In Science we have been reading only the notes to a poem; in Christianity we find the poem itself.”

And this is why I hope we never catch Bigfoot: If we did, the fun would be gone. The mystery would vanish--poof, with a whimper. We’d lose the wonder. He’d be skinned, flayed, vivisected. We’d have his brain in a jar at the Smithsonian. And we’d lose another increment in that feeling that there’s another world just around the corner. It’s better, for now, not to know.

I like that God keeps some things just to himself. It reminds me that he’s God and I’m not. It reminds me that this world he’s created is revealing his glory, not mine. This is part of the reason, I suppose, that when God responds to Job’s inquiries with an epic journey up the dizzying heights of divine sovereignty, he includes some stuff about sea monsters.

I like that God teases us with these mysteries. So long as the mystery of Christ has been revealed (Eph. 3), and we have all that we need to be saved and to work out that salvation, I am totally cool with these little misty visions haunting the created order, always one step ahead of us, peeking around trees, leaving mushy footprints, stray hairs, sketchy images. They help me delight in God’s delight. They help me remember this world is wondrous, and it belongs to the God who spoke the cosmos into being without breaking a sweat.

His eye is on the Sasquatch, you know. Even if ours are not.

Originally published at For The Church.

Study Guide for The Imperfect Disciple

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

Now by popular demand, I’m making available a free study guide for my book The Imperfect Disciple: Grace for People Who Can’t Get Their Act Together. I’ve been greatly encouraged to hear how many folks have been using the book in their small groups, book clubs, and church classes, and I hope these suggested questions will help.

Each chapter comes with a set of questions for Personal Reflection and a set for Group Discussion, but obviously readers are welcome to use both sets in either reading situation.

Full text of the guide is below the fold. Or you can download a pdf at the book’s page on my website here.

Please feel free to use in any way you see fit and make as many copies as you’d like.

The Imperfect Disciple: Grace for People Who Can't Get Their Act Together

Study Questions

Chapter 1: Sin and the Art of Soul Maintenance

For Personal Reflection:

1. Reflecting on Romans 7, what is something you struggle to do even though you know it's right?

2. How can the truths of Romans 8 help you follow Jesus in this area of struggle?

3. Do you struggle to share the gospel with others? If so, why do you think that is?

4. What areas of your inner life do you most hope God doesn't want to deal with? Why?

5. What do you think it would look like for you to "go deeper" in your discipleship?

For Group Discussion:

1. What has been your experience with the way churches "do discipleship?"

2. What are some evidences that you wake up in the morning in self-sovereignty mode?

3. What has been the single greatest help to you in sharing your faith with others?

4. How can we combat the fear that God is always disappointed in us?

5. Why is studying more secondary theological matters often an exercise in missing the point when it comes to going deeper in our discipleship?

Chapter 2: Good News for Losers

For Personal Reflection:

1. Do you agree that most of the problems you have are old problems? Why or why not?

2. What parts of the Sermon on the Mount make you the most uncomfortable? Why do you think that is?

3. Is it easy or difficult for you to think of yourself as a "loser?" Why?

4. What is it you're afraid of turning over to Christ's Lordship?

For Group Discussion:

1. How would you react if Jesus called you a dog?

2. Read the Beatitudes together. Which specific blessing(s) resonates with you the most?

3. How does knowing Jesus is for you change the way you view the world?

4. Why is shame such a powerful force in our lives?

5. What can we do to help others see Christ's grace in the midst of their shame?

Chapter 3: Staring at the Glory of God Until You See It

For Personal Reflection:

1. What is keeping you from fixing your gaze on Christ?

2. If you were Satan, what would you do to keep you from seeing Jesus every day?

3. Why is beholding often more difficult than behaving?

4. Knowing that we'll war with sin our whole life can be discouraging. What encouragement from God's word can help you persist in the fight?

5. Thinking of an area of sin in your own life, what is it that you are tempted to worship instead of Jesus when this sin tempts you?

For Group Discussion:

1. What daily practices/routines do you engage that obscure the glory of Christ in your vision?

2. What practices/routines can you adopt that can help you "stare" more at Christ's glory?

3. Describe a time in which you felt particularly close to God. What were the circumstances?

4. Why does the biblical reality that it's the gospel that transforms our behavior so counterintuitive to so many?

5. Do you agree that sin problems are worship problems? Why or why not?

6. Can you describe a struggle with sin in your own life that is directly connected to worship?

Chapter 4: The Rhythm of Listening

For Personal Reflection:

1. Why is it so difficult sometimes to hear from God?

2. Dallas Willard says, "Grace is not opposed to effort but to earning?" How does this change the way you view the place of obedience in the Christian life?

3. Does your environment--home routine, neighborhood, workplace, schedule--help or hinder your ability to hear from God? How?

4. How does your perception of what the Bible is affect how you read it (or don't)?

For Group Discussion:

1. What do you think about old hymns?

2. Do you ever struggle with believing God is speaking? Why or why not?

3. Do you agree that the suburbs can stifle our ability to hear from God? Why or why not?

4. What does the desire to hear from God apart from the Scriptures reveal about us?

5. How can we help each other esteem God's word and persevere in our reading of it?

Chapter 5: The Rhythm of Spilling Your Guts

For Personal Reflection:

1. How does hurry affect your ability to walk intentionally with Jesus?

2. What is at the root of prayerlessness?

3. Do you ever think of prayer in terms of efficiency or immediate effectiveness? If so, what does this say about your view of God himself?

4. Why does prayer seem like such a burden sometimes?

For Group Discussion:

1. Do you suffer from "hurry sickness?" How do you know?

2. Do you struggle with a consistent prayer time? Why or why not?

3. Why are guilt and shame such powerful inhibitors of prayer?

4. Describe a time when you heard a public prayer that was particularly meaningful to you. What was it about the prayer or the praying person's voice or demeanor that impacted you?

5. What difference does it make to know the Holy Spirit is empowering and involved in our prayers?

Chapter 6: The Revolution Will Not be Instagrammed

For Personal Reflection:

1. Even knowing how beneficial church community is, why is it so tempting to keep "doing discipleship" on our own?

2. Is going to church a difficult thing for you? Why or why not?

3. Do you think you expect more out of your church's commitment to you than out of your commitment to the church? Why or why not?

4. Are you afraid to confess some sins to your brothers or sisters? Why or why not?

5. What are some ways you can encourage your pastors/leaders on a regular basis?

For Group Discussion:

1. Why is authentic community so difficult to experience?

2. What are some illusions of community in your neighborhood?

3. In what ways can we "play at community" at church without actually engaging in deeper fellowship with one another?

4. In what ways can we push past the illusion of community in our church to experience the real thing?

5. Does the idea of submitting to leadership make you uncomfortable? Why or why not?

Chapter 7: The Nine Irrefutable Laws of Followship

For Personal Reflection:

1. Do you ever feel stuck? What are the circumstances in which this most often happens for you? What is it that eventually makes you feel "unstuck?"

2. If Satan wanted to get you really off the discipleship track, with what would he tempt you?

3. Looking over the fruit of the Spirit, which quality do you think you most excel in? Which quality do you most lag in? Why do you think this is?

4. How does Jesus exhibit the fruit of the Spirit? Be as specific as possible, thinking of moments from his ministry in the Gospels.

For Group Discussion:

1. How is joy perhaps different from happiness?

2. Why is it sometimes difficult to think of joy as a command to be obeyed?

3. Describe a time when you were particularly aware of the kindness of God in your life?

4. What is so often the problem with "being good?"

5. How are you doing when it comes to displaying the fruit of the Spirit?

Chapter 8: Will the Real Me Please Stand Up?

For Personal Reflection:

1. When all is said and done, do you feel known? Why or why not?

2. Do you agree that we behave out of what we believe--about God and about ourselves? Why or why not?

3. What, if taken away from you, would cause you a crisis of identity? What idol is at work in that way of thinking?

4. What accusation from the enemy do you hear most often in your head?

5. What promise from the biblical gospel can you use to specifically rebuke that accusation?

For Group Discussion:

1. What words or labels from your past (or present) have impacted your self-worth or identity?

2. What are you afraid of? Why?

3. Deep down we all desperately want to believe that God loves the real us. So why do we so often struggle with actually believing it?

4. The gospel is on audio. What messages do you "hear" on video every day that tend to overpower the good news in your heart?

5. What does the reality of Christ's cross say about God's disposition toward us?

Chapter 9: Does Grace Go All the Way Down?

For Personal Reflection:

1. Have you or has someone you loved struggled with depression? Why is it so difficult to believe the good news in the midst of it?

2. What is your deepest need, and how does the gospel speak to it?

3. What is your darkest secret, and how does the gospel speak to it?

4. What is your greatest pain, and how does the gospel speak to it?

5. What is your greatest worry, and how does the gospel speak to it?

For Group Discussion:

1. What does it say about us that in moments of crisis we most often want God to "puff us up" rather than remind us of his presence?

2. Describe a time you experienced or witnessed the ministry of comfort in the midst of profound suffering?

3. How does suffering reveal who we really are?

4. Is the notion of the sovereignty of God over suffering comforting or discomforting to you? Why?

5. Paul prayed that his thorn would be removed. God said no. Describe a time when God said no to one of your prayers and how you discovered through the experience that his grace was sufficient for you.

Chapter 10: Lurv Wins

For Personal Reflection:

1. Why is it so difficult to believe without seeing?

2. Why is it a waste of even a good gift if we don't enjoy it less than we enjoy its Giver?

3. Do you think about heaven every day? Why or why not? What difference does it--or would it--make in your life?

4. As you finish the book, reflect back on what you've read. What has been the most meaningful or personally helpful portion you've read? Why?

For Group Discussion:

1. What are some earthly joys or gifts of common grace in the world that help you trust and enjoy God? (ie. What are some of your favorite things?)

2. How should the reality of heaven affect the way we live right now?--how we treat others, how we work our jobs, how we think of our church.

3. Finishing the book, what are your thoughts on the general approach to discipleship presented? Did you find the book overall helpful? Why or why not?

4. What was your favorite section or passage of the book? Why?

5. What would you say is the relationship between the good news of the finished work of Christ and the sobering news that there is no such thing as a perfect disciple?

Is Your Gospel an Urban Legend?

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

When our children were itty-bitty we made believe that Santa Claus was real. The excitement for Christmas morning always built up, as our girls couldn’t wait to see what gifts jolly ol’ Saint Nick was going to bring them. Then this illusion came crashing down when we informed them one day that Santa Claus, in fact, was not a real person. The whole thing: made up.

Except nothing came crashing down, really. Our youngest feigned a bit of surprise, but our oldest was unmoved, and both of our girls basically accepted the news with about as much weeping and gnashing of teeth as you might give the news that your favorite coffee drink had gone up $0.50. It’s a little disappointing, but nothing to get bent out of shape over. (The assurance that they’d still get presents on Christmas morning probably didn’t hurt.)

I’ve heard from many anti-Santa Claus people that you shouldn’t play Santa with your kids because of the way it can affect their Christian worldview, the way it can plant seeds of doubt and disillusionment, hurt over what else you might be deceiving them about, once they learn of Santa’s mythological status. And I sympathize with this concern. But I think the reason our girls weren’t sent spiraling into some crisis of unbelieving despair was precisely because Santa was not our worldview. We barely talked about him. We only brought him up around Christmas time, and we never used him as a guilt-trip or ascribed god-like qualities to him (for example, “You better be good, because Santa is watching you and he won’t bring you any presents”).

I imagine that it was not too difficult, even when our girls sort of believed Santa was a real person, to separate the importance of Santa from Jesus because our familial life didn’t revolve around Santa. We didn’t read every day about Santa or discuss how Santa would want us to treat our friends at school. We didn’t talk about the importance of Santa for our everyday life. Dad didn’t write books about Santa or preach on Sundays about Santa. When we sinned against our kids, we didn’t come to them for forgiveness out of a desire to make Santa look beautiful. We didn’t tuck them in with prayers to Santa. And the community of faith we raise our kids in isn’t devoted to Santa. In the grand scheme of things, learning Santa wasn’t real was not a huge deal.

In fact, our oldest daughter confessed she’d already begun to suspect Santa wasn’t real precisely because even though we talked about him bringing presents on Christmas morning, we didn’t really act like he was real otherwise.

And if you’re wondering what any of that has to do with the gospel, here it is:

If you talk a big game about “the gospel,” but don’t live like it’s true, the people you do life with will begin to suspect you don’t actually believe it. Worse yet, they may begin to disbelieve it themselves.

Consider these examples:

-- Children grow up in a home where grace is articulated, perhaps even frequently, and yet the dominant culture of the home is one of law. The demeanor and the discipline of the parents reflects more a concern about behavioral compliance, not heart transformation. The rules and the expectations outside the home carry the chief concern of looking like a nice, tidy Christian family, an example to others, inordinately preoccupied with reputation and impression. There are more rules than necessary, and most of them seem to function less to train the kids up with godliness and more to make the parents’ lives more comfortable and convenient. The talk is gospel, but the climate is legalism. What happens to these kids? They grow up hearing about the gospel the same way they hear about a fairytale land. They hope it’s true, but all evidence seems to suggest it’s not.

-- A married couple does all the right religious things but treat each other behind closed doors according to self-centered expectations and desires. They both know the gospel. But one spouse withholds affection and kindness from the other. The other, in turn, becomes overly needy, pouty. They are each making unreasonable demands of the other, one in coldness and the other in desperation. They can talk grace all the live-long day, but the culture of their marriage is law. After a while, the gospel begins to seem less real. Enough people talk about it that it has the appearance of truth, but the power of it is unfelt, unseen. The climate of their home is legal, and the gospel starts to sound like a rumor, some kind of urban legend.

-- A church plasters the word ‘grace’ everywhere, but the substance of that word has not quite sunk down into the bloodstream. The pastor preaches on the gospel. The people read a lot of gospely books. They brand all their programming and resources with the word “gospel” and “grace.” And the message starts to attract messy people, sinners of all kinds, because that’s what happens when a message of grace is faithfully proclaimed. But the members aren’t really welcoming. They really treasure their own comfort. They value their preferences. They want their church to grow--until it does. And then it changes and change is disruptive, inconvenient. An “us vs. them” mentality creeps in, and eventually the new people start to creep away. Why?

The message of grace requires a culture of grace to make it look credible. In other words, you can un-say with your life what you’re saying with your mouth.

Tim Keller talks about what happens when the gospel is on audio but the world is on video. It is hard for the message to compete if everything around us is screaming the exact opposite.

So how about you? Is your gospel credible? Do you talk a big game about it but treat others like that’s all it is--a game?

Does your gospel sound like an urban legend? Something you like to repeat but doesn’t quite sound true? Is it just a curiosity to you, a message of interest but not of impact?

Would those you’re in relationship with struggle to believe the good news of grace because of the way you treat them? Do you make grace look true with your life? Or do you give your kids, your spouse, your brothers and sisters at church, your lost neighbors and co-workers reasons to doubt this message?

Do you tempt people to disbelieve with your posture what you tell them to believe with your mouth? A message of grace without a manner of grace is a message disbelieved.

Matthew Barrett, H.B. Charles, and Steven Smith Join Midwestern Faculty

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

We were excited today to announce the addition of three new faculty roles:

– Matthew Barrett, who has served since 2015 as lecturer and tutor of systematic theology and church history at Oak Hill Theological College in London, will serve MBTS as Associate Professor in Christian Theology. Barrett is the author of a number of books, including Reformation Theology; God's Word Alone; John Owen on the Christian Life; and Four Views on the Historical; as well as the founder of Credo Magazine.

– H.B. Charles, Jr. — pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville and Orange Park, Florida, and author of the books On Pastoring and On Preaching — and Steven Smith — pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas and author of the books Dying to Preach: Embracing the Cross in the Pulpit and Recapturing the Voice of God: Shaping Sermons Like Scripture join Midwestern’s Spurgeon Library as Senior Preaching Fellows.

From the press release:

"Rarely does a seminary get to add to its faculty an individual with the gifting and accomplishment of Matthew Barrett, H.B. Charles or Steven Smith," said Midwestern President Jason K. Allen. "Rarer still, does an institution get to simultaneously add three such individuals. Pastor Charles and Dr. Smith are two of this generation's most well-known and gifted preachers and teachers of preaching. They represent so much of what is right about great preaching and are eager to share their ministries with Midwestern Seminary and as an extension of the Spurgeon Library.

"Drs. Smith and Barrett, and Pastor Charles also fit into a broader narrative of God's blessing on Midwestern Seminary, wherein in recent years he has been pleased to send us a new generation of accomplished scholars, dedicated churchmen, and devoted Southern Baptists who are committed to Midwestern Seminary's vision of existing 'For the Church,'" Allen added.

The 5 C’s of Preaching

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

What are the basic elements of biblical preaching?

How do you know you’re preaching a Christian sermon and not simply giving a religious or spiritual lecture?

While I think gospel-centered expository proclamation is the best approach to fulfilling the biblical call to preach, this exercise could probably use some more filling out. And since preachers like alliteration and lists, I thought I might suggest a checklist reflecting what I propose to be the irreducible complexity of true Christian preaching. Next time you’re preparing a sermon, maybe keep these questions in mind. Or, after the next time you preach, share this list with your fellow elders or another team of trusted advisers and ask them to apply the questions to your delivered message.

1. Is your sermon CONTEXTUAL?

The word contextual is important. It’s more specific than simply asking if the message is textual, because a lot of preachers use Bible verses in their sermons, and by this they determine that their sermon is based on a biblical text. But putting some Bible verses in your sermon is not the same thing as preaching the Bible. Moreover, simply explicating one or two verses--which is totally fine to do, in my opinion--may also not capture the import of even those one or two verses if they’re taken out of context.

Make sure the biblical text drives what you want to say, and not the other way around. And even if you aren’t preaching a whole passage of Scripture, make sure whatever portion you’re preaching is kept in the context of the passage where it’s found. Every biblical text should be interpreted according to its immediate context, and every immediate context should be interpreted according to the greater context of the gospel storyline of Scripture (see Question 5). As the old preacher’s dictum goes: “A text without a context is a pretext for a prooftext.”

2. Is your sermon CONVICTIONAL?

In other words, does it express declarations of truth? The import of a Christian sermon is not simply to raise questions and coddle felt needs but to proclaim “Thus saith the Lord.” So our preaching comes with conviction. It comes with conviction about who God is, what God has done, and what this means for you and me.

Convictional preaching means we don’t preach as if every sentence ends with a question mark. Convictional preaching means we don’t hem and haw about sin and the law. Convictional preaching means we don’t flinch at the realities of hell and wrath. Convictional preaching means we don’t cater to the world’s values or consumeristic impulses. Convictional preaching means we do not avoid or soften the essential and orthodox doctrines of historic Christianity. And perhaps most fundamentally, convictional preaching means we preach the written Word of God as if it is inspired and infallible, sufficient and supernatural, living and life-giving.

3. Is your sermon CLEAR?

Remember that a good theological sermon is not one that people find difficult to understand! In maybe one of the best narrative examples of expository preaching in the Scriptures, we read that the scribes and priests reading from God’s Word to the gathered people did so “clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Neh. 8:8).

So there are two important aspects of clarity here: clear speaking and clear understanding. Good preaching isn’t dumbed down, of course, and often stretches hearers’ intellects. But it is best to stretch hearers’ intellects with big thoughts of God, not big words of preachers. The specific contexts of your community and congregation can certainly factor into what kind of illustrations you use, what kind of vocabulary you employ, and so on. But just remember that even if you’re preaching at Harvard, making it difficult to understand the Bible--much less respond to it!--does not validate your homiletical prowess.

Sometimes I think this is why some preachers stick to the King James Version: the archaic language is difficult for modern ears to make sense of, and because of this, the preacher can pretend to be some specially anointed exegetical priest and repository of the divine gnosis. And if you didn’t understand that last sentence, that’s exactly what I’m talking about!

Know your audience. And then help your audience know God’s Word. Make it clear.

4. Is your sermon COMPASSIONATE?

I’ve heard Alistair Begg say that preaching is a passionate pleading. This question for your sermon evaluation is really simply asking this: Are you preaching out of love?

What is your motivation in your message?

This doesn’t mean that every sermon must have the same emotional tone. Different texts carry the tones of their contexts. Some biblical texts call for rebuke, and some call for rejoicing. Some call for both. One of the great advantages of expository preaching is that it helps us preach according to the grain of the text. But it’s possible to bring emotion to a sermon that is either completely unwarranted by the text itself or totally unhelpful to the aim of helping people see Jesus. Some preachers seem to think that yelling = preaching. But you should know that if all your sentences end with exclamation points, effectively none of them does.

So to preach with compassion is not simply to preach happy or sad or with deep emotions. That’s all well and good. Preaching, as a human act, can employ the range of human emotion and ought to engage both the preacher’s and the congregation’s heart. But emotions can be mis-aimed. To preach with compassion, then, is to preach with:

1. a pervasive concern for the expansion of the glory of Christ;

2. a deep affection for the church, that she might be edified and stirred in her affections for Christ; and

3. a sincere and thorough desire for lost souls to be rescued from their sin and from the wrath it deserves.

5. Is your sermon CROSS-CENTERED?

I almost wrote Is your sermon crucicentric?, but I didn’t want to violate Question 3.

This last question is perhaps the most important in all your preaching. You can preach an expository sermon with clarity and conviction and even compassion, but if you’ve missed the gospel of Jesus Christ, you’ve not even preached a Christian sermon. Only the gospel of Christ’s cross and resurrection can both save a lost soul and sanctify a found one. It is God’s grace in the good news of Christ’s life, death, and glorified raising that provides the power sinners need to grow and go, and it is only God’s grace that does that. This is why Paul resolved in his ministry “to know only Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).

Here is an apt illustration on the utter importance of cross-centered preaching from the Prince of Preachers himself, Charles Spurgeon:

A young man had been preaching in the presence of a venerable divine, and after he had done he went to the old minister, and said, “What do you think of my sermon?”

“A very poor sermon indeed,” said he.

“A poor sermon?” said the young man, “it took me a long time to study it.”

“Ay, no doubt of it.”

“Why, did you not think my explanation of the text a very good one?”

“Oh, yes,” said the old preacher, “very good indeed.”

“Well, then, why do you say it is a poor sermon? Didn’t you think the metaphors were appropriate and the arguments conclusive?”

“Yes, they were very good as far as that goes, but still it was a very poor sermon.”

“Will you tell me why you think it a poor sermon?”

“Because,” said he, “there was no Christ in it.”

“Well,” said the young man, “Christ was not in the text; we are not to be preaching Christ always, we must preach what is in the text.”

So the old man said, “Don’t you know young man that from every town, and every village, and every little hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London?”

“Yes,” said the young man.

“Ah!” said the old divine “and so from every text in Scripture, there is a road to the metropolis of the Scriptures, that is Christ. And my dear brother, your business in when you get to a text, is to say, ‘Now what is the road to Christ?’ and then preach a sermon, running along the road towards the great metropolis--Christ. And,” said he, “I have never yet found a text that had not got a road to Christ in it, and if I ever do find one that has not a road to Christ in it, I will make one; I will go over hedge and ditch but I would get at my Master, for the sermon cannot do any good unless there is a savour of Christ in it.”

A savour of Christ! That's what all of us are dying for. Whatever you do, preacher, do not deny your people the cross of Jesus Christ. Do not treat the gospel like an add-on or afterthought. Preach it from every text to every heart on every occasion.

So there they are--the 5 C’s of preaching: Contextual, Convictional, Clear, Compassionate, Cross-centered. I pray they will serve you well.

Where I’ll Be, Fall 2017

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

Every now and then, for those who are interested, I share selections from my upcoming speaking dates. If you’re in any of these areas and able to attend, would be great to meet you.

August 7-8 – The Normal Pastor Conference. Orlando, FL. I’m really excited about this! It’s coming soon, so make sure to register asap and join me, Zack Eswine, Joe Thorn, Erik Raymond, John Onwuchekwa, and Won Kwak in Orlando for what we promise will be a time of encouragement and refreshing for faithful shepherds of churches big, small, and anywhere in between.

August 31-September 1 - Trinity Baptist College. Jacksonville, FL. Speaking in chapel.

September 8-10 – SongTime Annual Conference. Cape Cod, MA.

September 25-26 – For The Church. Kansas City, MO. 4th annual conference at Midwestern Seminary, also featuring Matt Chandler, Matt Carter, Ray Ortlund, H.B. Charles, Owen Strachan, and Jason K. Allen.

October 19-21 – Here We Still Stand: Reformers & The Texts Conference. San Diego, CA.

View complete listing of speaking engagements here. And if you’re interested in having me speak or preach at your church or event, inquiries may be sent via this page.

How Many More Petersons Are Out There?

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

It was the "yes" heard 'round the evangelical Twittersphere, at least for the day. In an interview with Religious New Service's Jonathan Merritt published yesterday, evangelical stalwart Eugene Peterson professed what appeared to be a reversal of his views of homosexual relationships, saying, among other things, "I don't think it's something that you can parade, but it's not a right or wrong thing as far as I'm concerned."

When asked by Merritt whether he'd personally officiate the wedding of a same-sex couple, Peterson answered simply, without equivocation: "Yes."

Depending on your perspective — a fondness for or a skepticism about Peterson and his work — reactions in social media streams ran the gamut. Some admirers of his ministry expressed shock. Critics complained that "only people who weren't paying attention" to his "trajectory" could be shocked. Close followers of Peterson's work, including a few who have attended some of the rare public events at which he's appeared over the last few years, mentioned that this isn't a new position for him, that he has been making these same affirmations in smaller group settings for a while.

There are many others, however, who were not shocked, but nevertheless saddened. Count me one of them.

I am old enough to remember when it was unfashionable to like Eugene Peterson's work simply because his work had become so fashionable. Cutting my ministry teeth during the rise of the seeker church movement of the 80's and 90's, I had grown weary of the misuse and over-use of Peterson's Bible translation The Message. But as my generation aged, we found so much more depth in Peterson's writing than we were previously led to believe. Where The Message had been used to make the Scriptures more palatable for modern worship, to make it more up-to-date, it was Peterson's work on pastoral ministry (mostly) that became increasingly relevant to many of us precisely because he was eschewing modernity as an ecclesiological virtue.

I have never pastored a very large church, and I've always resonated with thinkers and writers who championed the smallness and ordinariness of faithfully shepherding a local congregation. For many like me, Peterson became a kind of patron saint--a defender of the institutional church while also a critic of the professionalization of the pastorate, a dismantler of the spiritual racketeering so many in our day pass off as Christian ministry.

Yes, he tilted leftward. We saw that. Many just dismissed this as an affectation, an impression left of his being artsy or contemplative. But he had never clearly embraced that which the Bible calls us to reject. He hadn't gone the way of the Rob Bells or the Brian McLarens or of numerous other thought leaders who'd followed their hearts right into religious liberalism. At least, we didn't think he had.

Whether Peterson had been sharing these convictions for a while or not, yesterday's RNS piece has clearly been his most public admission. What is most curious about the interview, assuming it was published verbatim (or close to it), is how much is missing. Peterson offers no defense for his position, no biblical rationale, no theological reflection. There may be a variety of reasons for this. Peterson is notoriously "out of the loop"--it's possible he didn't know or quite understand the reach and impact his statements would have on social media. It's possible he knew that his interlocutor was a sympathetic ear to this position. (Jonathan Merritt routinely publishes articles and editorials offering support for ministers, writers, and other leaders who have rejected the traditional teaching on biblical sexuality.) It's equally possible, I suppose, that he simply doesn't care, that he doesn't think he owes anyone an explanation.

Knowing the careful and introspective thought that has gone into his writing on Christianity and the Christian ministry, I'd be surprised if Peterson could make no attempt at exegetical reasons for his views. But the reality is that he offered none. He only offered that he has over the last several years met gay folks who "seem to have as good a spiritual life as I do," and this has changed his mind.

Certainly knowing gay people--spiritually-minded or otherwise--will change the demeanor and tenor of many people's speaking and thinking on same-sex attraction and their ministry toward the LGBTQ community, but as a justification for rejecting traditional views on sexuality it hardly seems to suffice. And it actually seems to undercut what Peterson has been carefully teaching so many of his devotees all along--that God's word holds the wisdom that runs counter to the seasonally shifting whims of the world, that faithful ministry means, among many other things, enduring steadfast while the trends and fads of the culture swirl around us, that what really and ultimately counts is "a long obedience in the same direction."

Lately, each day in evangelicalism seems to bring with it a new watershed. A few months ago, popular author and conference speaker Jen Hatmaker made waves with her public affirmation of same-sex marriage. Even after the backlash, which has cost her not just readers and fans but also speaking engagements, Hatmaker has not disavowed her views. Peterson may be in a different position, as he is not a frequent conference speaker, nor is his publishing reliant largely on the typical evangelical customer base. He has been somewhat of an outlier all along, drawing devotees from multiple Christian traditions and tribes. But the fallout of his announcement pushes us to face a cultural crisis in evangelicalism many have not yet faced. For instance, how many more Jen Hatmakers and Eugene Petersons are out there?

Last month, Stan Mitchell, pastor of Gracepointe Church announced his congregation's plans to move from Franklin, Tennessee to Nashville. Self-describing as a "progressive pastor," Mitchell shared with USA Today Network's Holly Meyer that he felt Nashville's marketplace might be more accepting of Gracepointe's recent adoption of sanctioning same-sex marriages. One line in the interview stood out the most to me, the part where Mitchell says, "There are pastors all across this country who call me weekly that are thinking the same thoughts, trying to find the courage to do the same thing in evangelical churches."

I have no doubt this is true, and I have long suspected this is the case.

One hallmark of the attractional ministry so dominant in American evangelicalism is the reluctance to speak out on many cultural hot topics. The attractional paradigm is a populist strategy, so its ministers rarely if ever speak up about, for instance, government corruption or civil rights abuses. Perhaps they consider those matters too political. And yet the Bible speaks to them. Fewer and fewer will venture anything about abortion. Perhaps for the same fear of seeming political. And you would be hard pressed to see them offering much of anything on the Bible's teaching about homosexuality. Tackling that or any culturally controversial matter would violate one of the attractional church's cardinal rules: Keeping the customer satisfied.

A few years ago one of our nation’s leading evangelical voices, Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church in Atlanta, caught flak for mentioning in a sermon that a same-sex couple had been serving in leadership at one of the North Point campuses. In his illustration, he did not mention any approval or disapproval of same-sex marriage per se, but only that one of the partners was not fully divorced from their (opposite sex) spouse. Given opportunities to clarify his views on homosexuality, Stanley has not exactly done so (that I could find).

Stanley and other leaders of similar and even lesser platforms realize this is a hugely controversial subject and likely to cost them something. If they come out for same-sex marriage, they risk alienating their traditionalist evangelical customer base. If they come out against it, they risk alienating many progressives and “spiritual but not religious” devotees who have been drawn to their ministries precisely because they seem “non-judgmental.”

I suspect if any of these folks were to voice their opinion, for or against the traditional teaching on homosexuality, they'd be surprising a significant portion of their audience. Think of the criticism Joel Osteen received from those who felt betrayed by even his apparently embarrassed support for the biblical teaching. He later softened his views in response.

The question isn't going away. Gay rights advocates care. Evangelical traditionalists care. The option not to show your cards will eventually not be an option at all.

The distant popularity of The Message notwithstanding, Peterson has never shared much in common with the leadership-industrial complex of attractional Christianity. And his public admission comes at a time when he’s consciously winding down in life and ministry. He's never sought popularity or a big platform; those things were, in a way, thrust upon him. But one thing I hope his statements and those from leaders like Jen Hatmaker and Rob Bell will have in common is in emboldening others to admit their stances and let the chips fall where they may. Not because I think that's a good thing, but because I suspect there are plenty of influential pastors operating in cowardice and hiding behind the naivete of their congregations. For the good of the church, and for the sake of their own consciences, I hope, as Mitchell says, they will find the "courage" to make the admission.

Will they lose their platforms? If the response to the interviews with Peterson (who at this time has already lost his publishing outlet with LifeWay) or Hatmaker are any indication, they are likely to lose some favor. Many congregants may leave. Mitchell's church has shrunk sizably since his shift. This is the trend of liberalizing Christianity. But many attractional leaders are likely to maintain their popularity and their profitability. Many have built their ministries on sentimental religion and pop-spirituality; echoing the cultural zeitgeist on homosexuality isn't likely to feel so jarring to their most ardent supporters.

History has shown that cultural appropriation is always crouching at the church door. Many times it holds sway in the pews and in the pulpits. We grieve rightly when our ministerial heroes show themselves susceptible to the spirit of the age.

But when all gets shaken out, orthodoxy always remains, perhaps rattled but not undone. James Merritt, a pastor and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention (and also, incidentally, Jonathan Merritt's father), tweeted shortly after the news broke: "I’ll change my mind when God changes his. His is the only opinion that matters and on this issue God neither stammers or stutters." Or, as Eugene Peterson has said, "No truth is ever out of date." It is good that our hope is not in pastors or pundits, but in the glorious Redeemer in whom there is no shadow of turning.

—

UPDATE: In the 24 hours since the original RNS interview published, Peterson has (thankfully) retracted his statements.

Early Bird Rate for Normal Pastor Conference Ends Friday!

Written by: Jared C. Wilson

Let me take another opportunity to encourage all of you pastors and ministry leaders out there to register for the Normal Pastor Conference being held this August 7-8 in Orlando, Florida. The early bird rate of $50 ends tomorrow, Friday the 7th. After that, the price will jump.

Sponsored by the Christian Standard Bible, this event is aimed at encouraging and refreshing those daily in the trenches of ordinary ministry. Some of our speakers you may have heard of, others not. Some of them have published, some of them have not. None of us pastors a huge church or has a bestselling book. None of us has the eight surefire tricks to take your church to “the next level.” But we all have experience faithfully tending to a local flock and simply want to let you know you’re not alone, you’re loved by God, and you’re due a time out simply to be built up in the gospel.

Sound good? So for the next 2 days, for just $50, you get:

– 6 grace-filled talks from Zack Eswine, Won Kwak, John Onwuchekwa, Erik Raymond, Joe Thorn, and myself.

– Free books from our sponsors, including a new CSB Bible.

– And of course the chance to fellowship with your fellow ministry compatriots from all over.

Register today!