Justin Taylor's Blog, page 232

Verge2012, Day 2

1. Incarnational Leadership

Alan Hirsch

We need to rethink ministry and leadership. If you want to be a missional-incarnational then you need to have an appropriate forum. You can't have a revolution without revolutionaries.

The key take is found in Ephesians 4:1-16.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. . . . And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Vv. 1-6 is on true unity and the upbuilding of the church.

Vv. 7-11 tell us that God gave us apostles, prophets, teachers, etc.

Vv. 12-16 tell us why

You can't get to vv. 12-16 without vv. 7-11.

We need apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers (APEST). How can we be the kingdom of God if we mess around with the forms? We have deep institutional slumbers. The devil has messed around with vv. 7-11.

Jesus has given us everything we need to get the job done. We need the generative form.

From his website:

APOSTLES extend the gospel. As the "sent ones," they ensure that the faith is transmitted from one context to another and from one generation to the next. They are always thinking about the future, bridging barriers, establishing the church in new contexts, developing leaders, networking trans-locally. Yes, if you focus solely on initiating new ideas and rapid expansion, you can leave people and organizations wounded. The shepherding and teaching functions are needed to ensure people are cared for rather than simply used.

PROPHETS know God's will. They are particularly attuned to God and his truth for today. They bring correction and challenge the dominant assumptions we inherit from the culture. They insist that the community obey what God has commanded. They question the status quo. Without the other types of leaders in place, prophets can become belligerent activists or, paradoxically, disengage from the imperfection of reality and become other-worldly.

EVANGELISTS recruit. These infectious communicators of the gospel message recruit others to the cause. They call for a personal response to God's redemption in Christ, and also draw believers to engage the wider mission, growing the church. Evangelists can be so focused on reaching those outside the church that maturing and strengthening those inside is neglected.

SHEPHERDS nurture and protect. Caregivers of the community, they focus on the protection and spiritual maturity of God's flock, cultivating a loving and spiritually mature network of relationships, making and developing disciples. Shepherds can value stability to the detriment of the mission. They may also foster an unhealthy dependence between the church and themselves.

TEACHERS understand and explain. Communicators of God's truth and wisdom, they help others remain biblically grounded to better discern God's will, guiding others toward wisdom, helping the community remain faithful to Christ's word, and constructing a transferable doctrine. Without the input of the other functions, teachers can fall into dogmatism or dry intellectualism. They may fail to see the personal or missional aspects of the church's ministry.

Tom Lin

I was taught to live the sexy life. My parents suffered so that I wouldn't have to suffer. Now I do it again with my children. As the book title says, we are A Nation of Wimps. We want something cool, easy, and shallow. We don't teach our children how to suffer. But God invites leaders to suffer.

Jesus always called his followers to die. Think of the Rich Young Ruler.

It's not easy or sexy to follow Jesus. There's nothing "sexy" about leaving money or idols behind, or in being persecuted for our faith.

Being an incarnational leader means dying to our comfort zones. Are we settling for comfortable leadership instead? God called Tom to work with Inter-Varsity in Mongolia in four years, in poverty. Loneliness and tears; parents cut off communication. His mom said to him, "Our lives are in the palm of your hand; please don't crush us; if you do this I will kill myself."

The Rich Young Ruler encounter ends with Jesus promises manifold blessing for those who give up everything to follow. Leadership bring suffering that's so good. After 10 years of unreconciliation with his mother; she called him to her bedside before she died of stage 4 cancer and asked for his forgiveness. God is faithful when we step into suffering for the sake of the gospel.

Jeremy Story

Over the past thirteen years he has worked to encourage and train Christian ministry and church leaders on campuses across the nation and world to fervently pray and work together to transform college students and the society these students graduate to lead.

The key to leading incarnational-missional movements is not hanging out with unbelievers; it's hanging out with God.

To incarnate something is the embodiment of idea through action. It's by leading others through influencing people through what you do, and this requires pray. Kingdom leadership exerts leadership for the gain of the King. Only that brings lasting change. We can't incarnate the King's authority without being in constant contact with the King.

We can be like to be like kids who pretend to be ballerinas.

Pray is not our power source or a tool; God is the power source. It is actively seeking God's presence in our life—measured by both quantity and quality. We are to pray frequently. Jesus discouraged meaningless words in prayer, but he didn't discourage time in prayer.

Jesus was incarnationally leading others in missional lifestyle, but he was often pulling back to be alone with the Father. His solution for rest is prayer.

Prayer movements today worldwide are emphasizing large quantities to prayer. Do you want transformation in the Western world, then we should pray in large quantities like the Ugandans are doing.

This is not legalism. We should have not only the form of godliness but also its power.

Persistence means praying over and over again; press into the authority God has given for you. If you want to be an incarnational ministry, spend more hours in prayer and fasting each week. Busyness is overcome by intentional prioritizing and accountability.

(Jeremy Story is the fastest talker of the conference thus far!)

Tara Russell

Tara is the CEO & Founder of Create Common Good, a social + entrepreneurial venture serving the marginalized. Tara has worked internationally for Fortune 500 companies and NGOs. Her work spans process engineering at General Motors in Shanghai, technical sales and marketing at Intel, and product development at Nike.

She also co-founded NightLight International, an organization serving women at-risk in Bangkok, Thailand.

Refugees aren't choosing to leave; they are fleeing, looking for food and water. 16 million refugees around the world; 45 million displaced. Her organization helps refugees find and retain their first jobs. Food can be a natural vehicle to change lives.

Keller says that leadership is the cultivation and stewardship of resources.

Our kids make us stuff to hang on the fridge, but at the end of the day we just want to hug our kids and be with them. Likewise, we must care for our own souls first before our heavenly father. God used land and food in the garden for our good. Isaiah 61:3, we are to be "oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified." God is the father and the farmer who loves us.

Dhati Lewis

Only God can imagine and speak something and it happens.

At Dallas Seminary, there was a constant flow of chapel speakers who talked about the important thing we all should be doing. That's the tension we face at conferences. How do we take these things and incarnate them.

We need to remember: God is sovereign, omniscient—and I'm not. That gives us freedom. The gospel changes people, and people changes world. We don't see more transformation because we haven't been more transformed by the gospel. We need to cultivate our hearts to love and follow God above all else.

Three rules: (1) love God with everything you have; (2) love your neighbor as yourself; (3) do whatever you want to do. The restriction is in the first two.

The apologetic of our day is authenticity.

We want to unleash healthy people to do ministry where life exists.

The church is a family, not an orphanage. When we talk about incarnational leadership, we must have the same passion for the church as we have for our kids. The church is not like a family—it is a family. U

Dave Gibbons

How many of you have prayed, "God, let me change the world for you." God will answer that prayer, but maybe in ways unexpected. Maybe it's not through your strengths or gifts or personality, but through your suffering and pain and weaknesses.

Ephesians 6:12: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

If you keep talking about your weaknesses, you're going to be cycled out into some 12-step program.

Are some of the strategies we're developing part of the "flesh and blood" approach?

The most important thing we can do is to lead in power by the Holy Spirit.

The most important thing this generation needs is not another form, but an encounter with God.

How are you depending on the Holy Spirit? We have to create space during our work week to listen to God—not just when we're alone but when we're with people.

I know how to strategize and program stuff and am an introvert—how do we deal with unusual manifestations of the Holy Spirit in healing?

(FYI: better transcribers than I could take down the various stories being told, but I can't do them justice.)

We believe the Holy Spirit is real, but we don't go to meet him every day? When you woke up did you go to the "flesh and blood" stuff, or were you pumped that you could encounter the Spirit of Christ? You can't make it through ministry in the flesh. Who are you depending on? The next quick-fix at a conference with ten action steps? The Spirit himself will give you action steps.

I crave being in God's presence; I can't live without it.

Immersion. We need to immerse ourselves in the power of the Holy Spirit. We don't make time for this. A real sign of your dependance on the Holy Spirit is your prayer life—not just at an individual level but at a corporate level.

Customizaton. We should look not just at "strengths and weaknesses" but also pain, weaknesses, addictions. A lot of us stop at "confess your sins." Do that too much and you're an addict, not at the center of the church. What if we "embrace" our humanity (Romans 7). We want to project like we're Superman. Maybe the best indicator of a person's destiny is bound up with their pain—which can become their gift.

Collaboration. Have you ever thought about the giftings in a church are to be lived out regionally? Pulpit exchanges? Choirs? We must be willing to risk losing our people, but we should do what's best for them. What if we're think to think globally?

We have a power within us by the Spirit; we are to live supernaturally; our pain is a gift.

Neil Cole

A multiplication movement can't be fully seen until the fourth generation.

2 Timothy 2:2: "what [2] you have heard from [1] me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to [3] faithful men who will be able to teach [4] others also.

It's not ultimately about having a dynamic leader.

If the gospel doesn't motivate your people, you're never going to see a movement. We need people so in love with Jesus that they can't keep quiet and can't keep still. Love is the best motive. Love requires a choice. Too many parents have the goal of their kids not being criminals, so they develop a parenting option. If you don't have bad options, you don't have love. There's a difference between moral and godly children.

I don't want to be motivated by anything other than the gospel and by love. It's the energy behind any movement. We cannot energize anybody with anything less. You can trust him to lead and love your people better than you. With that kind of love, no one and nothing can stop us.

Roderick Gilbert

Discipleship is central not only to the Great Commission but to the worldwide mission of God.

I was born and raised in a small town in Northern India. My mother came to the Lord as an 8-year-old. She discipled me from birth.

Discipleship takes intentional mentoring. Luke 2:19—Mary cherished all these things in her heart, which is what she used to mentor Jesus.

You do not begin to disciple someone only when you become a mature Christian. Any disciple should reproduce him/herself at any stage in life. You just need to be able to impart the meaning of obedience to others.

What is discipleship? Hard to explain, but a mother tiger is a very effective discipler. She feeds her cub, then teaches them how to hunt in various stages. At one point she half-kills the animal for them to finish killing. She doesn't do this forever.

Discipleship is very conditional. If you do not take up your cross, if you do not bear fruit . . .

What is a fruit of mango? A mango tree.

The fruit of a disciple is a disciple-maker.

George Patterson

When you hear the word "liberate," what comes into our minds?

Jesus freed us to obey his commands any time and anywhere.

All God's promises are yes in Christ. We need to free people from the "no zone" that paralyzes the body of Christ (no's are first learning Bible doctrines, ordination, denominational funding, etc.)

What is a second track?

Our cell groups are not multiplying via evangelism. We should leave behind any bylaws that aren't in the NT—any rules that keep us from obeying Jesus. We need to take the church to the people. Our churches bylaws can keep us from obeying Jesus. We should work with people who are not receptive to attending an institutional church. Many churches have started a second track. We need to tell our denominational leaders that we'll obey Christ above all else.

Advice for talking to your strong church leaders: be calm; don't be anti-institutional church; talk about Jesus's basic commands; pray, pray, pray about how you can be obedient to Christ's commands.

How do we find receptive people? Keep asking God; look for the new members; go on prayer walks and find the strong man in the community; look for bad folk, who make for good soil.

All around the world people are doing what Jesus said: healing the sick and setting them free.

What do we do with the kids? Jesus used children; include them!

Even the most institutional church can start a second, simpler track: requiring only what the NT requires to serve Christ.

Why "Incarnational Ministry" Is Not the Best Terminology

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Early Christian Mission, Volume 2: Paul and the Early Church (IVP, 2004),  1574-1575:

I submit that the use of the term 'incarnational' is not very helpful to describe the task of authentic Christian missionary work.

The event of the coming of Jesus into the world is unique, unrepeatable and incomparable, making it preferable to use other terminology to express the attitudes and behavior that Paul describes in 1 Cor 9:19-23.

The Johannine missionary commission in Jn 20:21 does not demand an 'incarnation' of Jesus' disciples but rather their obedience, unconditional commitment and robust activity in the service of God and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is precisely John who describes the mission of Jesus as unique: Jesus is the 'only' Son (Jn 1:14, 18; 3:14, 18), he is preexistent (Jn 1:1, 14), his relationship to the Father is unparalleled (Jn 1:14, 18). For John, it is not the manner of Jesus' coming into the world, the Word becoming flesh, the incarnation, that is a 'model' for believers; rather, it is the nature of Jesus' relationship to the Father who sent him into the world, which is one of obedience to and dependence upon the Father. . . .

The terms 'contextualization' or 'inculturation' certainly are more helpful.

HT: Tony Reinke

Verge 2012

For the City

The first three talks are each 15 minutes in length.

Rudy Carrasco

Christian business people worldwide are fired up about entrepreneurial solutions for fighting poverty.

Business people often feel objectified and misunderstood. We need them for more than just capital. They can bring to the table skills of negotiating, partnership, advocacy, mentoring, skills. We need to listen to them, serve them, and partner with them.

Bob Lupton

The Western church is on the verge of a major paradigm shift in the way we are doing missions and service.

On average, 2 million members of American churches go on mission trips. For all of that compassion we should be saying major changes in poor places. But in reality, the poor are poorer and more dependent, and their work ethic and dignity is lower.

Why should we borrow money when the US church will give it to us? One report from the field: they are destroying the entrepreneurship of my people.

$8.3 billion given to Haiti before the earthquake; but they are 25% poorer today than when we first started given.

What are we doing wrong? We are evaluating our service based on how it affects us, rather than them.

There is a massive misappropriation of kingdom resources. The cost of a mission-trip to build a house in Honduras is $30,000. The Hondurans could do it for $3,000. For what it takes to send someone to sponsor a trip to paint an orphanage, we could hire a number of full-time workers and buy uniforms for every kid in the school.

We are doing for them what they have a better capacity to do for ourselves.

Is our return on investment actually good stewardship?

In order for our cities to experience God's shalom, a whole range of gifts must be employed (architects, accountants, teachers, negotiators, etc.). Under the Lordship of Christ, every gift can be a spiritual gift.

Josh Sowers

The president of The Mentoring Project (a movement that exists to inspire and equip the faith community to provide mentors for fatherless boy) reads an excerpt from his book, The Fatherless Generation: Redeeming the Story.

When dad leaves, something dies. Father hunger can turn into something destructive. Fatherless is becoming the defining characteristic of a new generation.

The last prophecy of the OT before John the Baptist appears on the scene:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction." (Malachi 4:5-6 ESV)

Are we seeing the manifestation of this judgment?

This is not just a social issue but a theological issue. We must adopt a Great Commission lifestyle. We need to step incarnationally into the lives of those who feel branded by rejection. We have to be reconcilers who are reconciled. We must enter into the suffering of a fatherless generation.

The shame of fatherlessness can be replaced by the dignity of the Father's adoption.

 

Dr. John Perkins Interviewed by Justin Lopez

This is a moment in history I've been longing for. It seems like God is doing this.

Background:

He was born in Mississippi 82 years ago. His mother died of starvation when he was 7 months old. His father, a sharecropper, gave them away. He dropped out of school between 3rd and 5th grade, never to return. He went to a Good News Club and learned for the first time of God's love. Galatians 2:20 changed his life.

The relationship between justice and the gospel:

The US gave the greatest declaration of justice ("we hold these truths to be self-evident. . . .") but then the US contradicted its creed through its practice of injustice against Native Americans and African Americans. We can't go back, though, we have to move forward. The gospel is the good news that the atonement for sin has been accomplished and that justice is possible. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus has been born and made a sacrifice and the day of Jubilee is hear! Tell me the old, old story! It's not an individual story of our own prosperity. We have to go back to the basics of the gospel—the story of God's justice in salvation.

God's grace is his deciding by himself that he would redeem this humanity. Ephesians 2:8-9. He saved us from our past, he saves us in the present, and then he's going to take us to heaven to live with him and nothing can separate us from that love!

God's grace is his deciding by himself that he would redeem this humanity. Ephesians 2:8-9. He saved us from our past, he saves us in the present, and then he's going to take us to heaven to live with him and nothing can separate us from that love!    For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14 ESV)

Ain't no separation between grace and faith, between love for God and love for others!

We are addicted to ourselves, and God has redeemed us from our sin.

What passage of Scripture best balances gospel and justice?

The parable of the good Samaritan. It's unfortunate that we have racialized God's grace. Here are some Samaritans that are branded. Jesus asks, What is justice?

There is no virtue in racism. God never intended his faith to be a race. The gospel trumps racism and bigotry, and he has called us to be peacemakers.

Justice is a stewardship issue. It's an economic issue. God was almost a capitalist, but we have not spoken that truth to the capitalists, so they are exploiting.

The need today is to pray: your will be done.

What does Jeremiah mean when he tells the Israelites to seek the welfare of the city?

Israel was to be a people of faith and light to the world; when they weren't he took them out of their land into a nation. Whenever they went, they would still be a light and a witness. They are in Babylon because of their disobedience, but they are settle down, get married, be a witness before I take you home. It's a passage about God's grace and him using his people to carry out his will.

What's our next step?

We must place ourselves into proximity of suffering. 84% of his community is being raised without a father. The church needs to be planted there. We need more than just a welfare system. People need more than your used clothes, they need your presence. The family of God needs to be where there are broken families. The gates of hell cannot stop the church. Some churches are just storefront churches, choosing location for a building rather than because of the community.

I've probably started more parachurch organizations than anyone alive—and I'm praying God would forgive me. It needs to start with the church.

What's the one thing you would encourage folks with?

This is not superficial: begin to listen to God. We're too busy. The first commandment is: "hear, O Israel, the LORD your God is one." Prayer is not us first talking to God, but listening to him, and our prayers are our response to him—and his word is always "my will be done." What would God have me to do?

Real leadership is taking God's vision and turning it into passion. And that means we must be involved in discipleship.

Propaganda

I can't adequately blog a spoken-word piece (it was on city and culture—"Jesus moved in, he wasn't a commuter"), but you can watch his G.O.S.P.E.L. word here:

Session 2

Alan Hirsch

A simple but deep text on incarnational mission: Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you" (John 20:21 ESV).

As the gospel spreads out (from Jerusalem to Samaria to Corinth to Thessalonica, etc.), there is a missional/sending impulse—not only to go to new places but to be his representatives there.

There's a recovery today of the missio Deo. God is a missionary God. He sends the Son. The Son is a missionary, and the Father and Son send the Spirit into the world. Every Christian is a sent-one to participate in God's eternal purposes. Doing stuff isn't what makes a missional churches; it's when mission informs ecclessiology. It's not that the church has a mission but the mission has a church. Mission belongs under doctrine of God first, not doctrine of the church. As the gospel is planted in a group of people, it begins to reproduce itself.

Evangelicals tend to think about the incarnation only at Christmas. It doesn't infuse our imagination, and therefore doesn't inform how we live as Christians. If God is a missionary Go then we must be a missionary people. Incarnationality should be part of who we are. Missiology should inform our methodology. The medium is the message.

If you're not doing church this way, then you ought to have a good excuse.



Dave Ferguson

80% of people will act their way into a new way of thinking and behaving.

Gladwell's tipping point: if 16% can be inspired to change, a group will follow.

Paul encouraged leaders to set the pattern and watch others follow the example (Phil. 3:17).

We need to give people a clear understanding of the Jesus mission. Three words: reach (people for Christ) / restore (God's dream to planet earth); reproduce (the vision in others). For the mission to be accomplished, there must be a movement, which comes through discipleship.

Begin with prayer

Listen

Eat

Serve

Story

Do one of these missional practices every day. Who did you bless this week?

At their church, 73% of their missional groups have a focused mission statement, and the church has anointed and commissioned them for this task of living missional in community.

John Tyson

How do you sustain incarnational mission? The only thing that can do this is love. How do you cultivate love?

1. Identification. Is your destiny wrapped up with your community? We normally just start with people who are godly (obsessed with theology). But they we want them to have leadership (obsessed with the brand). Then entrepreneurship (obsessed with the project). But what we really need is incarnational presence (obsessed with people). We need people who will agonize. Jesus was "moved with compassion." "He wept." "His heart broke." Paul spoke "even with tears." [Note: Unfortunately, he's pitting theology against these things, like it's on the same level as branding and projects; I wish it could be both-end, as it is in the Bible.]

2. Authority. We don't need celebrity pastors with big general ideas. We need pastors whose hears are broken for the people they serve. Ignore contemporary Christian culture. Don't be stressed out if you're not missional enough. We need passion for God and compassion for people.

Hugh Halter

1 John 2:6, "Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked."

Sacrilege means to challenge inaccurate views about what are holy and sacred. That's the way the Jesus walked. He's the first iconoclast (image-breaker).

Jesus was sacrilegious with Scripture. He said they searched the Scripture but didn't find him. The more we know Scripture without practicing it, the more dangerous it is.

Pokes fun here at those who want to go deeper. Let's just totally obey one or two Scriptures, then we can go deeper.

Jesus was sacrilegious with the Sabbath. Maybe our churches should cancel their Easter services to serve the poor.

We need people who do unorthodox things. We should be the most un-religious people we know.

Todd Engstrom

A missionary is someone who sacrifices everything for the sake of the gospel.

Where? When? What? How?

Where do people in your church think community happens?

Most think of it as an event. Small group: sitting in a circle talking about Bible and life.

How do people in the community think about where it happens?

Sports bars; parks; etc. They don't set up standing dates on Wednesday nights. They gather when it's enjoyable and convenient

What do they talk about?

In Austin: food; being active and healthy; people and things.

They don't gather in circles. They walk alongside one another for a common activity.

Who are you expecting to be the missionary? Are we asking people without salvation to adapt their schedule to yours. They need to adapt their culture. We had good intention but our forms are not accomplishing the mission of God. How can we gather together in new and creative expressions to land where our city is.

We need to lead not only with vision but with tangible practices to live out our faith in our everyday lives.

Leonce Crump



Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week. This is nearly sin. Many talk about the mission of God, but we are not looking like the kingdom together.

Rev 5:9-10

And they sang a new song, saying,

"Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth."

It's a direct implication of the mission of God to see not only reconciled to him but also different people with different backgrounds reconciled to each other not as projects, but as people in community.

Lots of people ask: how do we diversify our church? First question: what does your staff look like? Second: what does your stage look like? Third: what does your community sound like? Our churches are still mono-ethnic, mono-cultural, mono-economic. The rest of the world is folding into one another, and the church is playing catch up.

How is it reasonable that people without the Spirit of God unite around things that don't matter, but we can't unite around the cross?

Incarnation must precede mission for mission to have any diverse momentum. Jesus tabernacled; he moved in.

How long will we let the status quo remain? We must incarnate the gospel in many different cultures.

Verge2012: Free Livestream

I'll be blogging through the main sessions today and today tomorrow of the Verge2012 conference in Austin.

You can watch the sessions online for free here.

Here's the basic schedule; all times are Central:

 

Wednesday, February 29

9am – 11:30 – Main Session 1: For The City

1:30 – 3:30 – Main Session 2: Incarnational Mission

6:30 – 9 – Main Session 3: For The Gospel

Thursday, March 1

9am – 11:30 – Main Session 4: Incarnational Leadership

1:30 – 3:30 – Main Session 5: Disciple-making

6:30 – 9 – Main Session 6: For The Nations

Continually Crying to the Just Judge of the Universe Who Gladly Answers Faithful Prayer

Luke 18:1-18, the dogged nagging of the persistent widow before the unjust judge, can be one of the more confusing parables that Jesus told.

One clue that can help our interpretation is to remember that Jesus often used a fortiori arguments—arguments that reason from the lesser to the greater.

The Apostle Paul uses this form of "If X, how much more Y" in his didactic teaching (see, e.g., 2 Corinthians 3:7-9; Romans 5:9-10), whereas Jesus tends to use more earthly, everyday images to make this point about God's character and car. For example:

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

(Matthew 7:11)

"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30)

"Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." (Matthew 12:11-12)

With that in mind, we might gain a little clarity on Jesus's parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge:

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

He said,

"In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying,

'Give me justice against my adversary.'

For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself,

'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'"

And the Lord said,

"Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?

Will he delay long over them?

I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

(Luke 18:1-8 ESV)

Craig Blomberg, in Interpreting the Parables (IVP, 1990), 273, gets to the heart of what Jesus is teaching:

The parable teaches both that (1) God will hear and answer the cries of his people against injustice by again sending the Son of man to earth, although they cannot be sure of the timing, and that, therefore, (2) we must persist in faithful petition for the consummation of the kingdom.

In other words, Jesus is teaching the opposite of what we tend to think about this parable. Yes, we should be like the persistent widow (continually coming to him, crying to him day and night for justice), but how much more can we do this when we have a judge who loves justice and will settle all accounts speedily.

To drive home the original imagery of the "lesser than" part of Jesus's argument, here's a trailer for one of the Modern Parables, reimagining the unjust judge and the persistent widow in a more contemporary context:

So What Is "Theological Interpretation of Scripture"?

Last week I mentioned D.A. Carson's essay, "Theological Interpretation of Scripture: Yes, But . . . ," published in Theological Commentary: Evangelical Perspectives, ed. R. Michael Allen (London: T&T Clark, 2011). Wes Vander Lugt has a helpful summary of the other essays here.

In his fine book 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, Rob Plummer gives a helpful introduction to the Theological Interpretation of Scripture (TSI):

The recent publication of many titles related to TIS demonstrates that the fascination with this hermeneutical approach is only beginning. At the same time, TIS is so new that even many Christian scholars have no clear sense of what it is. In a sentence, TIS is an academic movement that seeks to return reflection on the biblical text to the purview of the confessing Christian church. Below, we will survey the terminology, history, and characteristics of the theological interpretation of Scripture movement.

Kregel has granted permission to share the whole helpful mini-essay as a PDF.

Journeys of Faith: Including a Response to Eastern Orthodoxy

Rob Plummer has edited a new book with Zondervan entitled Journeys of Faith: Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Anglicanism.

The book is divided into four sections, with a proponent who has moved to this theology and practice from a different faith tradition, a responder, and then a rejoinder by the original advocate.

Wilbur Ellsworth advocates for Eastern Orthodoxy, with a response by Craig Blaising.

Francis Beckwith argues for Catholicism, with a response by Gregg Allison.

Chris Castaldo defends Evangelicalism, with a response by Brad Gregory.

Finally, Lyle Dorsett explains his move to Anglicanism, with a response by Robert Peterson.

Zondervan has given me permission to post Dr. Blaising's chapter, A Response to Eastern Orthodoxy. You can see part of the defense of Eastern Orthodoxy here, but not the whole thing.

The Reformers and Puritans as Spiritual Mentors

A new book out from Michael Haykin, one of the best historians today who does historical scholarship with an eye toward the church: The Reformers and Puritans as Spiritual Mentors (Joshua Press, 2012).

From the introduction:

The idea of models and mentors is central to the contents of this book, the first in a series of studies (there are three currently planned) seeking to help present-day Christians lay hold of a "usable past." This latter term has become central to an ongoing discussion among historians about the relevance of the past. By employing it, I am signifying my commitment to the concept that the past does indeed have significance for the present and that the historian has a duty to share his historical studies with a public wider than the academic guild of historians and to help non-specialists see the way the light of the past can help illumine the present.

In this collection of essays and lectures—written for a variety of setting and over the period of the last fifteen or so years—I am really seeking to follow a biblical principle that should undergird the Christian study of church history. That principle lies behind the admonition of Hebrews 13:7: "remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you. Pondering carefully the outcome . . . of their way of life, imitate their faith."

Here is the table of contents for his studies:

The Reformers and Puritans in Their Historical Context: An Introductory Word
"The Father of the English Bible": William Tyndale
"A Setter-forth of Christ's Glory": Remembering the Life and Martyrdom of Thomas Cranmer
"Uttering the Praises of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit": John Calvin on the Holy Trinity
Regeneration and Faith according to Two British Reformed Confessions: John Knox and James Ussher
A Pioneer of Puritan Soul Care: Richard Greenham
"Zeal to Promote the Common Good": The Story of the King James Bible
"That Secret Refreshment": The Spirituality of Oliver Cromwell
"The Calvin of England": John Owen and His Teaching on Biblical Piety
"One Brilliant Shaft of Life": The Marriage of Richard Baxter and Margaret Charlton
"I Will Pray with the Spirit": John Bunyan on Prayer and the Holy Spirit
A Concluding Word

 

John Mark Reynolds: New Provost at Houston Baptist

An interesting development in terms of high-quality Christian higher-ed programs: John Mark Reynolds, the founder of the Great Books program at Biola (the Torrey Honors Institute), has accepted the position of provost at Houston Baptist University under president Robert Sloan.

John Mark reflects on the transition, explaining:

I began to worry that I was staying too long. I am a "starter" and not a "repeater." Torrey is stable with a strong leadership team and I am more an entrepreneur and vision caster.

And one of John Mark's former/current students, Matt Anderson, grieves the news with hope:

There are few individuals whose lives have left a deeper stamp on my own than his, and few seasons of my life that were more profoundly influential than my time at Torrey. But his greatest contribution was ever and always to point us all beyond himself, backwards to the saints and giants whose voices shaped his own and upwards like Socrates to the Good, the True, and the Beautiful in the face of Jesus Christ.

You can read his full post here.

How to Listen to a Sermon

Phil Ryken:

So what is the right way to listen to a sermon?  With a soul that is prepared, a mind that is alert, a Bible that is open, a heart that is receptive, and a life that is ready to spring into action.

Read the rest for an explanation of each point.

If you're a regular church attender (and therefore sermon-listener), it's sometimes surprising to think we don't have more teaching on how to listen to a sermon. Here are some more resources for your consideration:

Christopher Ash, Listen Up! A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons
Thabiti Anyabwile, "A Healthy Church Member Is an Expositional Listener" (ch. 1) in What Is a Healthy Church Member?
John Piper, "Take Care How You Listen!" (sermon)

Here's a quote from Thabiti as further incentive:

Few things are more discouraging or dishonoring to [faithful pastors] than a congregation inattentive to the Word of God. Faithful men flourish at the fertile reception of the preached Word. They're made all the more bold when their people give ear to the Lord's voice and give evidence of being shaped by it. As church members, we can care for our pastors and teacher and help to prevent unnecessary discouragement and fatigue by cultivating the habit of expositional listening.