Ed Stetzer Explaining What it Means to be "On Mission" with Jesus

Ed Stetzer is among the clearest speakers and writers on the "missional movement" in the church today. The video quality here is not very high, but I share it with you because Stetzer offers a very good explanation to those who are interested in understanding how mission is a integral part of the calling of the church.

Tim Keller on Being Salt and Light

Tim Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He has written some extraordinary books and articles dealing with how Christians relate to and engage with society, particularly the city. Here he describes Jesus' metaphor of salt and light and how it is applied by two very different theologians: Dutch politician Abraham Kuyper and American professor Stanley Hauerwas, who teaches at Duke.

Mark Driscoll on the Missional Church

Here is Pastor Mark Driscoll speaking on the missional church. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of what it means to be missional, this is a good primer. I will be speaking on this topic during Missions Month, Oct.10-31, at King Street Church. Between now and then I am going to focus the posts of this blog on understanding what it means to be on mission with Jesus in the world.

The Two Fisted, All American, Red Blooded, Heavy Weight Championship Run for Liberty, Justice, and the American Way

Early this morning I lived the dream. But before I can tell you about it I need to explain three things. First, I'm in Philadelphia currently, studying for two weeks at Westminster Theological Seminary as I begin my doctorate program. Second, I'm in week 6 of an 18 week marathon training program. Third, and most importantly, I am a huge fan of Rocky. It's my favorite movie (the first one, if you're wondering.) So if you combine these ingredients, some of you will probably know where I'm going with this.

This morning I got up at 5am, cracked 5 eggs into a glass (ok, I had cereal,) jumped in my car, and headed to central Philly for the best 7 mile run on the planet for a Rocky fan. Like the jewel in the center of the ring, the run was made perfect by living out one of the best scenes in cinematic history. But, the rest of the run was pretty great too. In fact, I think it would be pretty tough to come up with a 7-mile running route that includes more history central to our country than the one I made today. Here is a list in order of everything I passed along the way.

Penn's Landing

I started at the base of the bridge that takes you over to the shore at Penn's Landing, where all the ships are docked. I got started at about 6:30am. No one was on the street, and there was almost no traffic, making this an ideal starting point.

Benjamin Franklin's Post Office and Print Shop

A few blocks down on the left is Ben Franklin's home and work complex. It's a very cool replica of his post office and printing shop. In the shop you can actually buy type-set prints of the Declaration of Independence. The remains of his actual house can also be viewed.




Independence Hall

This is the building where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. If you take the tour, you can sit in the rooms that housed the First Continental Congress.




The Liberty Bell

As you pass Independence Hall on your left, to your right is a nice view of the Liberty Bell. Did I mention this run was historic? On this jog, history wraps around you like a Snuggie.







City Hall

At this point we pass from history to pseudo-history. Philadelphia City Hall is certainly important in it's own right, but for me its real importance is the fact that in Rocky's training montage, he runs right through here. This was when Gonna Fly Now started playing through my head. I started to pick up the pace.


Philadelphia Museum of Art
I approached the historic steps from the left, dodging a few cars. I took them two at a time at full speed. There are a lot of steps! I was panting pretty heavily when I got to the top, but was it ever worth it! I turned around and gazed out over the city. It is a very cool view from up there.

Now, I was debating whether or not to throw my hands up in true Rocky fashion and jump up and down, but I must admit that I didn't. There were quite a number of other joggers and cyclists there, and none of them were carrying on like that. I decided not to be the guy who looked like a tourist, since, after all, I am actually training for something. But it really didn't take away from the experience. I couldn't stop smiling. The Rocky statue sits at the base of the steps and I ran past it as I continued my journey



The German Society of Pennsylvania
I then ran down Spring Garden St., which is anything but spring or garden-like. In fact, if I were to change anything about this run, I would probably alter the route at this point. However, I did pass the German Society of Pennsylvania, which, from the first sentence of the plaque I read as I ran by, I learned was a society to help German immigrants get the help they needed to live in America. It's historic, but wholly unimpressive. Not worth a picture.


Chinatown
I ran through the heart of Chinatown, which was kinda cool, but it's not nearly as big or colorful as the Chinatown in Washington D.C. Still, I was glad to see it, and there were at least three restaurants that grabbed my attention.



Christ Church
You'd think after a run so chock full of American goodness I couldn't fit one more stop. But alas, Penn's Landing is right next to Christ Church, where I parked. This is the church George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Betsy Ross attended, along with 15 signers of the Declaration of Independence. What did I do here, you ask? Cool down exercises in the courtyard, of course. Nothing completes the ultimate American run like quad stretches where the fathers of our country worshiped.

Cardboard Ministries

This is an example of a cardboard ministries event. The power is in the numbers and the faces. Nothing transforms humanity like the Gospel.

A Week Among the Children of Bulawayo

While my time in exotic Wisconsin shaped my mind, my time among the people of Bulawayo Zimbabwe sculpted my heart. This was not my first time among orphans in Africa, but it was the first time I lived with them, sat in their homes, and spent afternoons playing with them.

What comes to mind when you hear about African orphans? Need? Broken lives? What you can do with the price of a cup of coffee? I'll be honest, most of what I knew came from Sally Struthers commercials and odd parental warnings when I didn't eat all my dinner.

Here's what I saw: Smiling faces, kids playing soccer (futbol) in the yard, children and adults seated in the living room an hour each evening for Bible study prefaced with exuberant worship songs during which the children danced together. Yep, danced together. I spoke with one of the "aunties" who cares for the children. She lives in the home with her husband and biological child. All the kids see her as a parent, and she sees all the kids as her children. Her own child embraces all the kids as brothers and sisters. If I said that about Americans we might agree that this would be nice in theory but assume it would not happen in practice. I'm telling you, I saw it.

Can 94 children and a host of "aunties" and "uncles" truly be a family? I think so. I believe I saw the body of Christ formed from brokenness. He makes all things new.

A Few Days with Dallas Willard

God molded me in two different ways over the past two weeks. Both were spiritual challenges, but one came through the molding of my mind and the other the molding of my heart.

As I mentioned in the last post, I took two trips back to back. I'll cover the first trip in this post. The first was a conference with Dallas Willard as the keynote speaker. It is not an overstatement to say that Dr. Willard's work has been one of the most influential factors in my Christian life. To spend a few days with him listening to his insights on the state of human depravity and the call to make disciples of Christ-like character was both a thrill and a challenge. It was an honor to be able to sit down with a man like this and thank him for the influence he has been on my life.

A few quotes will give you a taste of my experience:

On the question of original design: "What did God create us to be? For many Christians there is no answer to this question."

On the source of the human problem: "All of the troubles and failures of human existence are rooted in failure to think rightly about God."

On the Lord's prayer: "Unless we desire to hallow his name, then we will not want his kingdom to come or his will to be done."

On the full message of the Gospel: "Put your confidence in Jesus and live with him as a disciple now in the present Kingdom of God."

On the question of who we are: "You are a never ceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God's great universe."

On the relationship between faith and knowledge: "We are a people of knowledge, not of faith. Faith is based on knowledge." "It is on the basis of knowledge that people come to faith."

On the sermon on the mount: "We make a mistake when we try to do the things in the sermon rather than trying to become the kind of person who would do these things naturally."

On the relationship between grace and effort: "Grace is God accomplishing in my life what I cannot accomplish on my own." "Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Those touched by grace exert tremendous responsive effort."

On the use of God's commandments: "Once you begin to grow in the Christian life, you see that God's commandments are a natural expression of who we are."

On becoming like Jesus: "As Jesus' apprentice I am learning from him how to lead my life in the Kingdom of God as he would lead it if he were I. I am with him in all my circumstances learning to be like him."

Dr. Willard's thought inspires to think more deeply about my spiritual growth. We are told to be renewed through the transformation of our minds, and I believe Dr. Willard is a Spirit-led guide for those pursuing this sort of transformation. If you are thinking of reading something from him, I highly recommend The Spirit of the Disciplines.

2 Weeks, 2 Extraordinary Trips

Tomorrow morning I set out on a two week whirlwind trip that will take me to both exotic Zimbabwe and exotic Wisconsin. You heard me, exotic Wisconsin.

Though I have to kiss my family goodbye and send them off to Michigan to stay with family, which I'm not excited about, I am excited about these two trips I'll be making back-to-back over the next two weeks. First, I'll be hanging out with about 40 other pastors in Green Lake, WI. Our host? Dallas Willard, professor of philosophy at USC and and author of some of the best books you'll ever read on spiritual growth, spiritual discipline, and life in Christ. His big ones are The Divine Conspiracy and The Spirit of the Disciplines, but almost everything he writes is golden.

On Friday I come home for two days; long enough to wash my clothes and repack. Then it's off to Zimbabwe where I will be staying with a small team at an orphanage just outside of Bulawayo. There I will be doing some work projects, playing with the children, and preaching. Mostly what I will be doing is working with my friend and travel companion John Hetrick to learn about the orphanage for the possibility of future partnership.

I'm sure I'll have plenty to share when I return. Please pray that God will use this time both to pour out his Spirit in me and to use me for solid ministry. Also ask God to make the time away from my wife and son bearable. Thanks.

How Do You Start Your Day?

Here's a bit of biblical teaching that absolutely astounds me with its clarity and depth. It is from a wonderful but weighty book entitled Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard Lovelace. Lovelace addresses what I believe to be the principle problem for both guilt-ridden Christians and nominal religious people.

Only a fraction of the present body of professing Christians are solidly appropriating the justifying work of Christ in their lives. Many have so light an apprehension of God's holiness and of the extent and guilt of their sin that conciously they see little need for justification, although below the surface of their lives they are deeply guilt-ridden and insecure. Many others have a theoretical commitment to this doctrine, but in their day-to-day existence they rely on their sanctification for justification... drawing their assurance of acceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religious performance, or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience.

Few know enough to start each day with a thoroughgoing stand on Luther's platform: you are accepted, looking outward in faith and claiming the wholly alien righteousness of Christ as the only ground for acceptance, relaxing in that quality of trust which will produce increasing sanctification as faith is active in love and gratitude.

Sadly I think Lovelace is exactly right. Justification is God's legal pronouncement that we as Christians are pardoned because of the substitute death of Jesus. That is the ground of all our hope. And yet, I meet people within the church all the time that cannot articulate this hope, and it's clear that being justified by Christ's sacrifice and being bathed in Christ's righteousness (his sinless right standing before God) is not where they draw their strength and joy. The guilty hand-wringers feel like they haven't done enough to earn God's favor and the cultural religious types see no need for a deep, passionate embrace of the Gospel that results is a transformed life. It would not be an overstatement to say nearly every counseling situation I have had falls into one of these two errors.

Thankfully, Lovelace and Luther's answer to this problem is also entirely accurate. In fact, it is the core of the Gospel message: you are accepted. You cannot earn acceptance by cleaning up your life, but you can lean on the acceptance of God in Christ and let that truth turn your life into passionate, sanctified worship. In Jesus, you are accepted. If this truth is the fuel of your life, it will drive you into the relaxed "quality of trust which will produce increasing sanctification as faith is active in love and gratitude."

Amazing Grace on the Field

As a life-long fan of the Detroit Tigers, allow me to throw my hat in the ring with all the others who have commented on the extraordinary events surrounding the Tigers vs. Indians game last week. Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game, but a blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce robbed Galarraga of his spot in history as only the 21st pitcher ever to retire 27 batters in a row, and the first in Tiger's history.

What makes this story extaordinary is not the blown call. That happens all the time. It's not even the perfect game, though that's why everyone is taking such notice. In my opinion, what is truly amazing is the outpouring of grace by Galarraga himself that began the moment the call was blown and history was lost. You see, it was Galarraga himself who covered first base for the final out. He was the one who caught the ball and looked to the umpire for the out-signal. And in that moment, when Galarraga's hands started to climb to the air in victory, and he saw the safe call from Jim Joyce, all Galarraga did was smile. He smiled.

I was watching the game. I was yelling at the screen, nearly waking my son. And my anger compounded when seconds later I was subjected to viewing the replay from about 6 angles, all clearly portraying a not-even-close out. But not Galarraga. He just walked back out and coaxed a ground ball from the next guy, giving him the only 28 out perfect game in MLB history.

Grace. This is costly grace. When he saw the replay, Galarraga simply said, "Nobody's perfect. Everyone is human." He's right. But it's one thing to say that in retrospect, when the emotions subside. It takes a new level of grace all together to let this be your guide in the heat of the moment when it costs you everything.

The next day, Galarraga walked the line-up card out to a very contrite, emotional Jim Joyce standing at the plate. This is normally a task for the manager, but in perhaps the classiest move I have ever seen in sports, Tiger's manager Jim Leyland asked Galarraga to walk out there. And with grace unbounded, he not only gave Joyce the card, but shook his hand and showed the sporting world the power of forgiving grace.