Evangelism is for the Church?

This week I attended a conference and had the privilege of hearing Ed Waken speak.  Ed works for Church Multiplication Associates which is Neil Cole's company.  Honestly, in light of my previous reading, which included some Neil Cole material, he said nothing that I hadn't read or heard before.  What he had to say was very good, but for me it was just more confirmation of the direction the church needs to head if we are to be truly kingdom minded followers of Christ. 

There was one thing that he did mention, however, that caught my attention.  Actually, I was a little embarrassed that I had not noticed it or thought about it before.  It has to do with evangelism.  Ed asked those in attendance to raise their hands if we thought evangelism was for non-believers.  Many people raised their hands.  Then he asked how many thought it was for the church.  A couple hands went up.  Then Ed proceeded to point out that evangelism is a spiritual gift.  In Ephesians 4:11-13 the apostle Paul mentions a few spiritual gifts along with their purpose:

It was [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Spiritual gifts are for the church.  Spiritual gifts are given by God so that the church may be built up and grow to maturity in Christ.  Evangelism is a spiritual gift, thus it is for the strengthening of believers. 

For so long evangelism has had an outward focus on the non-believer.  According to Ephesians 4:11-13 this is a wrong application.  This brings me to my point.  If evangelism is for the believer/the church family, then what is evangelism?  How does evangelism build up other believers into the fullness of Christ?

Answered Prayer: A Sign God is at Work

Alan Knox, who blogs over at The Assembling of the Church, asked a good question today:  "How is God working in your life?"  Here's my answer to that question.  It is a little long for a comment, so I answered his question here.  Lately I have been noticing God is on the move in our local church community.  God is working in hearts and lives and people are being changed.  Yesterday,  Easter Sunday, was one more example to me of God at work.

Here's a little background first.  I pastor a church that could be referred to as "traditional."  It is traditional in the structural sense.  Overall, the structure would probably not differ all that much from other "traditional" churches in America.  About a year ago we implemented an open sharing time in our corporate gathering.  I believe that this is vital and important to the life of the church.  In 1 Corinthians 14:26, the apostle Paul wrote that when the church gathers everyone should bring something to contribute to the church gathering.  And he emphasizes that this is done for the encouragement of others.  My prayer going into this was that people would share testimonies and praises regarding how God is working in their lives.  Prayer concerns are also important to share, but my focus was more on testimonies and words of encouragement. 

For much of the time since this implementation began, those sharing shared prayer requests about 90% of the time.  I subtly began to introduce the sharing time by saying something like the following:  "This is the time in our gathering when we share words of encouragement, testimonies, praises and prayer requests.  How is God working in the life of this community?"  

On Easter Sunday my prayers were answered.  During the time of sharing we had two prayer requests and the rest of the things shared were praises, how God had answered prayers and testimonies.  We had one man share about an 18 year old that is very close to their family.  This women was hit by a tractor trailer and experienced head trauma.  When they drove to see her she was in a coma.  Apparently, 90% of people with this particular injury remain in a vegetative state.  The elders of her church came and prayed over her...and five minutes later she opened her eyes!  Within a matter of days she was walking around again!  This man was in tears as he shared about God's healing power.

We had another older man share with the gathering.  His wife battled cancer for 10 years.  Two weeks ago she lost that battle.  But three days before she died she gave her life to Jesus.  And she spent the two days afterward sharing her faith with others.  He had prayed for her salvation for 25 years!  Again, it was another tearful testimony to the power and glory of God!

We had three men who shared Scripture that God had placed on their hearts.  And a few others share about how God recently answered their prayers.  I was blown away by the power and goodness of God.  As I write this 24 hours later I am still riding high from all of this. 

Also, to begin the day another pastor friend and I baptized two young men in the icy waters of Lake Wallenpaupack.  If you want to see the video footage of it you can view it on my Facebook page (sorry, it's not on Youtube so I cannot post it on here). 
Even in my own life God is on the move.  For over a year I continually had the notion that I should go back to school and study missions/evangelism.  I always put it off though but God seemed to always bring it back before me.  I recently applied to school again and was accepted.  But there is more to the story.  I recently received a denominational newsletter and there was an advertisement for "Global Studies Intensive-Kenya."  It is a two week hands on study trip to a foreign country that seeks to equip believers by having them experience foreign missions by participating with missionaries in other cultures.  I read it and thought, "That would be awesome, but I could never afford it."  About a week later a man from my church family approached me and handed me the same paper and said, "My wife and I prayed about this and if you want to go we will cover the cost for you."  My heart jumped in my chest!  I might not be able to afford it but God can!  Now I will be going to Kenya for two weeks later this year!  I cannot wait to see how God will continue to work!  I am reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.  In these verses Paul reminds us that God is faithful and will continue the work He has begun in us.  Look out...God's at work!

How is God working in your life and the life of those around you?

Good Friday Musings: The Irony of It All

I was reading John's account of the arrest and trial of Jesus and I could not help but think of the irony of the events.  In John 18 we find Jesus and Pilate conversing behind closed doors and Pilate asks Jesus an important question:  "Are you the king of the Jews?" (18:33).  Jesus responds in the affirmative in vv36-37.  I thought for a moment on the kingship of Jesus, particularly as displayed during his earthly ministry. 

For a moment let us look at a future earthly king, Prince William of England.  He was born in a hospital with the best medical assistance of the day at his disposal.  He was raised in a palace.  Eventually he will be the head of a nation (symbolic?).  His upcoming wedding is garnering worldwide attention.  He wears fine clothes.  He eats fine food.  He has access to fine cars.  The finest people of society and celebrities are hoping to receive and invite to his wedding.  Photogs and the paparazzi are constantly following him around.  Overall he is a very popular fellow.

Now lets look at Jesus.  He was born to a young woman in a filthy, stinking manger.  He had no home.  He had the clothes on his back.  He never married.  He was betrayed by the kiss of a friend.  His closest associate denied him three times.  He was beaten.  He was flogged and scourged.  He had a crown of thorns placed on his head.  He was stripped naked.  He carried his cross.   He was mocked while he hung.  He was deserted by those closest to him.

But look at what Jesus says in response to Pilate in John 18:37:  "You are right in saying I am a king.  In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth."

He came into the world for this.  He knew it was going to happen.  Every moment while he walked the earth brought him one step closer to the cross.  In fact, we could say that from his birth his entire life was lived in the shadow of the cross.  But he still went.

Revelation tells us that Jesus is "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev. 19:16).   Today, on the day we ironically call "Good Friday", is the day we gather in remembrance of what King Jesus did for all of us.  It is "good" because through these events all things have been redeemed and we, through faith, can be part of King Jesus'
already/not yet" kingdom.  Have you humbly bowed before King Jesus, the only one who has taken what is fallen and make it all new?

Thank you King Jesus!

5th Sunday is Coming Together

As I shared in a previous post, our local church is going to be going outside of our four walls and into the community.  On the months of the year that have a 5th Sunday in them we will be trading our worship time gathered together for a worship time in our community through service.  The object of this is to get out into the community to let them know we are here, we care about them and shine the light of Jesus where we live, work and carry out our lives.  A neat thing about this is that we are not the only church doing this.  Another church about 9 miles away is also starting this as well as another church in the Philadelphia area (from which we got the idea).  And I know that other churches from all over America have been doing this as well.  I cannot help but think:  What would happen if every church in America participated in 5th Sunday?  What kind of impact would that have where we live? 

So far we have four service areas for the day.  First, we will be doing a litter pluck on the stretch of highway in our local community.  Second, we will be doing a litter pluck in at a recreational area along the Delaware River (and this 5th Sunday is on Memorial Day weekend...there will be people present in the area--I wonder what God is going to do in that area?).  Third, a few miles from our church there is a nursing home that we will visit and spend time with the the residents.  I imagine a group of 30-40 people showing up to love on the elderly in the home and I cannot help but get excited!  Finally, a smaller group will be be going to the home of a local widow to do some cleaning and yard maintenance.

Prior to our worship through service we will meet together and break into our service groups and pray together.  We will pray for each other, pray for those we will meet and pray for God's guidance as we seek to be a light in the community.  Then we will depart to serve together.  After the serving time we will meet back at our local church for a fellowship meal and a time of sharing.  I can't wait to hear the stories from the day. 

I want to encourage you and your church family to be a part of 5th Sunday, too.  What are you doing to impact your community for Christ?  I hope and pray that this will be the beginning of God's mission DNA to be absorbed by our local church.

Get Outside and Take a Look Around

When we think of Moses we often think of God's appearing to him in the burning bush or the crossing of the Red Sea or his receiving of the Ten Commandments on top of Mount Sinai.  But one thing we often overlook, and the Bible seems to be quiet about, is his upbringing and subsequent "a-ha" moment.

In Exodus we appear to go directly from the birth narrative of Moses to his adulthood.  In Exodus 2:1-10 we find Moses being placed in the Nile by his mother only to be found and brought up in Pharaoh's house by his own daughter.  Between verses 10 and 11 we appear to bypass a bit of time and we find Moses maturing into a fine adult.  But what we find in verse 11 has implications for us today.  Here's what it says:

One day, after Moses had grown up he went out to where his own people were and and watched them at their hard labor.  He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.  - Exodus 2:11 (NIV)

A couple of things are interesting about this verse.  First, growing up in the household of Pharaoh, Moses must have been privy to a fine education and the best of everything.  Essentially, he would never have to leave the palace.  Secondly, and probably more importantly, Moses decided to leave the palace and what he saw shocked him.  He saw an Egyptian beating one of his own people.  In that moment I'm sure Moses had a choice to make.  He could have walked on by and allowed the beating to continue unabated.  Or he could intervene and attempt to deal with the apparent injustice. 

Moses choose to intervene and we know where the story goes from here.  Moses kills the Egyptian and flees, only to return later at God's command and lead his people out of slavery.

The big take away from this:  We must get out of the palace (or building). 

So often, the church gets stuck in the building.  Like Moses in Pharaoh's household, things are nice there.  The carpets are clean, the music is rehearsed, the message is polished, people look and smell nice (for the most part) and we know approximately how long the show will last (about an hour, an hour and fifteen minutes tops).  It's a nice neat package. 

But Moses left the palace and what did he see?  Beating, injustice, hard labor...things definitely not the way God has designed them to be.  But here's the rub, Christians are called to be the ones to engage all of this.  We are the ones who are called to be light in this world.  We are the ones who have received the Great Commission.  We are the ones who have been commissioned to take the gospel of God's kingdom to the world who desperately needs to hear it. 

If only we'd leave the palace.


(HT:  Drew Williams)

Radical Christianity: A Step Too Far or Not Far Enough?

Over at the Out of Ur blog Skye Jethani raises some good points about the current trend or focus on what can be referred to as "Radical Christianity."  There appear to be more than a few books that have been written by pastors and para church leaders about this topic in the last few years.  Two of the more popular examples are Radical by David Platt and Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

Part of the focus of these books deals with what can be referred to as the consumer mindset in the American church.  Skye Jethani agrees that this is an apparent issue within American Christianity, but a question he raises is this:  How radical is radical enough?  Here is a portion of his post:

"But after years of hearing, and offering, this call to radical activism, I’ve realized that activist Christianity may be just as detrimental and off-center as consumer Christianity. We can all agree that using God simply as a divine vending machine to provide us with the American Dream, as consumer Christianity teaches, is wrong. God is not a means to an end. He is the end. But what about using God as a means of solving world hunger, growing the church, or constructing a sense of self-worth and value? Could such activist Christian tendencies be equally flawed? Might activist Christianity also reduce God to a useful device?


We pastors have a tendency to over-correct the error of consumer faith and instead make evangelism or justice the center of our life rather than Christ. We essentially exchanging one error for another, albeit a more admirable one. As Tim Keller says, idols are “good things turned into ultimate things.” When presented this way missional activism can lead to the kind of exhaustion expressed by the suburban mom, and it robs us and our people of the joy Christ intends for his children."

To read the entire post go here.  I think Skye Jethani raises some good points that need to be considered and processed by any Christian leader.  We want to be sure we are following Christ rather than jumping on the latest Christian craze bandwagon.  However, I'm not so sure I see it quite like Skye though. 

First, is it fair to refer to it as "radical activism"?  I'm not so sure that is a fair label.  Yes, this activism can be sensationalized but I tend to think that the overall point is not so much a radical activism but rather a call to be more Christ-like in our sphere of influence.  I have read a few of these books and while they often refer to radical examples I think the overall emphasis is more in line with the idea that Christians need to see there entire lives as missional opportunities.  For some of us that may be radical in the sense that our lives are drastically different from those around us but they are not saying that you have to move overseas or sell your house, etc.  A practical example I saw recently pertains to a woman who ministered to her waitress at a local Sonic Drive-In.  She gave her a bed, clothes, etc.  She reached out to another person.  That's more in line with the point as I see it.

Going along with this point is the research done by those like George Barna and others.  The research has shown for a while that Christianity (and thus Christians) in American does not look any different from non-Christian America.  A question we need to ask is "Why?"  I think that is one of the things driving the call to what Skye refer to as "radical activism." 

Secondly, others have begun to claim that this radical activism is leaning heavily upon works based righteousness.  Again, I don't see it that way.  The scriptures clearly call us to a life of holiness (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:1ff.).  Holiness is not about a set of rules.  Holiness is not about doing this thing and not doing that thing or saying this and not saying that.  I see holiness as reflecting the character and concerns of God in our day to day lives.  As a father of two little girls I know that they will take on my characteristics because they are close to me.  They will say what I say and eventually do what they have seen me doing.  I think holiness works the same way.  Those who call of the name of Jesus Christ are God's children and the more time we spend with Him the more we will look like Him in this world.   Herein lies the issue.  When we see statistics that say that 65% of professing Christians do not read the Bible I think we have a problem.  I'm not saying that Bible reading is the answer but I think it is a part of the answer.  If we believe that God has revealed Himself to humanity in its pages and we are not reading it and learning about the heart of God then is it any wonder that Christians do not look like Him in America?  I think of Peter and John in Acts when they were brought before the Sanhedrin and they recognized that "these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).  I think that perhaps Christians in America are not often recognized by there lifestyle because we are not spending time with Him, thus we do not look like Him in our spheres of influence. 

What do you think?  Is this current trend of "radical activism" off track or is it just what the American church needs at this time in history?

I Love My Church Family!

It's nice to have a relaxing Saturday morning with my family after the week we had this week. Let me fill you in on the major pieces of what transpired. Last Saturday night my youngest daughter, Ana, came down with a fever on top a an already existing cough that she had for a couple days. On Monday morning, I took her to the doctor because the cough was bad and the fever still present. We found out her oxygen level was around 91%. After receiving a nebulizer treament the oxygen level was still the same. This meant we were off to a hospital an hour away from where we live. Ana was in the hospital from Monday until Wednesday. It was tough but it could have been much worse. It turns out that she had a virus that caused an asthmatic flare-up. Now she is back to her busy self and all is well again, thank God.

But here's the purpose of this post. During those three days I was overwhelmed by the support and outreach by my church family. My cell phone was constantly going off. I knew that there were dozens (if not more) of people praying for my little girl and our family. There were countless offers of meals and more. On Wednesday when we were released, I did not have a vehicle to drive home so I called a brother in Christ and he immediately left what he was doing to drive and hour to pick us up and take us home (thanks Bro!). I was blown away by the family of God this week. It was an awesome thing and I hope and pray this is something that happens all the time and I'm just not aware of it.

Also, a young 19-year-old brother in Christ who I am discipling, bought Ana flowers and a stuffed monkey and drove the one hour drive to the hospital and hung out playing games with us for almost three hours! I was blessed by his presence and his generosity to my little girl (thanks brother!).

When it comes to the Scriptures and the church, one of the metaphors used in reference of the church is "family." Through Christ, we are all brothers and sisters. No are no distinctions of race, class, sex, etc. When the church realizes this it is a beautiful and very powerful thing. The outside world is constantly watching the church and what are they seeing? When the church acts and lives as the family of God that is quite possibly one of the greatest apologetics we have at our disposal.

According to Dr. H. Douglas Buckwalter, NT and Greek professor at Evangelical Theological Seminary, the literary center of Matthew's gospel is 12:46-50. Here's what we find in these verses:

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (NIV)

Notice that Jesus equates action ("doing the will of the Father") with his true family members. Those who are of the family of God through Christ live it out. I witnessed this on a small scale this week, and I have been blessed immensely by it.

How have you witnessed the family of God in action? How can you be more active in the family of God? Is there someone you can reach out to this week?

Why the "Free" in Free Methodist?

As a pastor in the Free Methodist tribe a question that I'm often asked is this: "What does the "Free" in Free Methodist stand for?"

To begin to answer this we must go back 150 years. On August 23, 1860 a group of pastors who were expelled from the American Methodist Episcopal Church for speaking out about the spiritual decline that had taken hold of the church, along with a group of lay-people, were meeting in an apple orchard in Pekin, New York. It was in this meeting that the Free Methodists were "born."

"The issues of the church's founding included so many freedoms that it would have been difficult to give the new church any other name than 'Free Methodist.' For instance, in the new 'free' churches, the pews were free, in contrast to regular Methodist churches which either rented or sold their pews. In the new church, even the poorest people could sit were they chose without having to 'rent' or 'buy' a pew to worship God."(1)

Obviously, another issue of the day involved slavery. The Free Methodist were advocates for freedom for all people, thus they took a strong anti-slavery appraoch.

The name Free Methodist stood for the following freedoms that this tribe continues to affirm today:

1. Free pews in our churches
2. Freedom and simplicity in worship
3. Freedom from materialism
4. Human freedom (no slavery of any kind)
5. Freedom and openess in relationships (cf. advocating no involvment in secret societies which hinders genuine relationship with God and others)

When we look at this list we see that there is still a need to advocate for these freedoms today. In the words of Ecclesiastes, "there's nothing new under the sun." Slavery is still rampant today, especially sexual slavery. Corporate worship in some areas is not free due to hierarchy as well as other things. In the American chuch materialism and the American Dream have infiltrated certain areas. Relationships are more shallow than ever due to our rugged American individualism. This is also directly related to our relationship with God as well. And in some areas the poor are still relegated to a lesser status. These things should not be.

I am proud to be Free Methodist. As I look at the freedoms listed above I see them rooted in the pages of the Scriptures and in Jesus Christ himself. May all Christians, regardless of tribe, hold to these freedoms and fight for them for all people in and through Jesus Christ.
____________________________
(1) taken from Belonging, Light and Life Communications: Indianapolis, 2000.