Kick Off with Tim Keller

Hope you had a good holiday season. Rachel and I spent some time away and I took the month off from blogging. But now I'm back and hope to share some small insights with you in 2011.

Here's an intriguing speech from Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. Much of my thinking and research lately has been on the mission of the church, particularly as it relates to its local context. In this speech, Keller makes his case for the city and the grace that is found there. Since King Street Church is a large congregation in a downtown environment, I found a lot of food for thought here, particularly the discussion of Jeremiah 29 and the call to seek the peace (shalom) of the city as a part of the church's mission.

http://qideas.org/video/grace-and-the-city.aspx

Missions Month Begins This Week

For those of you who are part of King Street Church, this Sunday begins Missions Month, four weeks of focusing on the mission of the church in the world. We'll be studying 2Cor.4, with guest speaker Mike Leonzo joining us Oct.24 for what will be a very interesting look at multi-ethnic churches.

So what exactly is the mission of the church? In the video below, Kevin DeYoung, Ryan Kelly, and Greg Gilbert offer what I believe is a very helpful and thought-provoking discussion.

The Mission of the Church from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

Missional Church

A number of people from the KSC community have approached me to find out what my plan is for outreach. I suppose since I serve as Pastor of Outreach, it's a pretty understandable assumption that I would, in fact, have a plan for how to do outreach.

However, the real fact of the matter is, I'm not sure.

Don't get me wrong. I have some ideas, some direction, and some knowledge of biblical concepts that is growing steadily as I study. But as I crest only the five month mark of my time here in Chambersburg, I am still almost fully in recon mode, attempting to learn my church, my community, and the values of my new culture. The last thing I want to do is announce a plan without being informed by the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of the community.

But if you're wondering generally how I envision church outreach, please watch the following video. I stumbled across it recently, and I believe the concept of missional church that it teaches is absolutely essential. If the church is to be faithful to biblical evangelism, the change this short video decribes must become reality.





I am not in any way saying that churches cannot have attractive buildings, compelling speakers, or extremely well-organized, quality worship services. KSC has all of these. The video is not arguing for getting rid of these items, but to use these items to equip and propel all of the church people into the community, to share the loving message of Jesus with friends and neighbors.

That is true outreach. That is what Jesus did. That is what he commands us to do.

The Big Red Tractor

A very interesting parable from Francis Chan, author of the new book Forgotten God and the phenomenal Crazy Love. If you have not yet read Crazy Love, you should drop what you're doing this instant (unless you're holding a laptop while you read this), go buy a copy, and read the whole thing over the next couple of days.

The Big Red Tractor from Jacob Lewis on Vimeo.

Some Observations on Pentecost

My reading and teaching is taking me deeply into the profound declarations and mysteries of the Spirit's infilling at Pentecost. Here are some of my obeservations from Acts 2:1-21. If these seem confusing, that's probably because I'm still working out my own understanding of the text and the ramifications of its meaning.

1. Pentecost is a visualization of the kind of whole-world vision the church is to have in its scope of outreach.

Pentecost is the reverse Babel. At Babel (Genesis 11) humans made a tower to reach God for human glory. At Pentecost, God declares his work of salvation to reach humans for God’s glory. At Babel, God confuses speech to divide a single nation. At Pentecost, God clarifies speech to unite disparate nations under one Gospel to build one holy nation. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, we begin to see the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham to bless all the nations of the world through him. So our vision for missions should match God's passion for all nations.

2. Peter is arguing that the sign of Pentecost is the inauguration of the last days that lead to the Day of the Lord.

We are in the time between the times. And in this epoch of human history, God does mighty things in the name of Jesus, through the power of his Spirit, working in his church. Which puts us in an already-but-not-yet situation. God’s Kingdom has come, is coming, and will come.

3. This church age is the promised time when God pours out his Holy Spirit on all his people. The Spirit gives utterance to his people to declare the Gospel. The Spirit gives visions and dreams, though their content is not explained here.

This is perhaps the observation that challenges me most. We live in a world where the Holy Spirit is active among all of his "sons and daughters." Every true follower of Jesus is indwelled with the Spirit and is led by the Spirit. They are empowered by the Spirit to do work that far exceeds any work humans can do on their own. So why do I choose so often to make decisions based on what I know I can do? Why doesn't the church take more risks and make more sacrifices? Why do I let my inadequacy determine my willingness to share the Gospel with another person?

After Jesus and Before the Spirit

I've always been intrigued by the period of time between Jesus' ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It strikes me a little like wilderness camping where you have neither the guide who trained you nor the supplies you were trained to use. I pictured a scared huddled mass of humanity, afraid to step out the door. But over the past few days I've had the opportunity to study Acts 1:12-26, which is really the only narrative we have describing this period of time. To my amazement, the first church didn't see themselves as lacking anything. They were just waiting for more. Let me show you what I mean. Here's a list of their activities:

They went home as they were instructed by Jesus. (vs.12)

They devoted themselves to praying "with one accord." (vs.14)

They met in large groups. (vs.15)

They interpreted their experience with Judas using Scripture. (vs.15-20)

They sought the Holy Spirit's guidance through Scripture. (also vs.15) (This is the one that really changed my view.)

They selected nominees based on wise discernment. (vs.21-23)

They asked God to select between their nominees. (vs.24-26)

There is nothing about this narrative that would give the impression that the disciples were anything but confident in their ability to live as Christ's community. Sure they were waiting per Christ's instructions so they would recieve the power to do the work they were called to do, but they weren't powerless. On the contrary, they went to the same sources we do today to determine how to interpret our experience and to hear what the Lord wants of his people: Scripture, wise discernment, and prayer.