Monday, May 28, 2007

“Rabbi El’azarben-‘Azaryah (1st century-2nd century C.E.) said, ‘…if there is no meal there is not study of Torah, and if there is no study of Torah there is no meal.’”

We are having our second BBQ today. We are expecting around 35 people, but I suspect more will be coming up (some Redding college group peep’s are showing up from San Jose!). As I was working at the Wilder Ranch I felt like God told me to invite Alana’s boss to be the BBQer of Honor (they are Atheists). So, I made the call & Matthew is gonna’ come over; he is very excited that we found out he is a modern marvel at the BBQ, very fun stuff. Everyone who is coming is someone God has privileged us to have relationship with. Some are close to God, some far, but everyone who is coming up today has a relationship with our church. I hope they experience Him.

Basically our whole gig right now is to live life as followers of Jesus & see what happens. I have always believed: If the life of Christ is happening in your (our) life, it will happen. What is it? Just pick something from the New Testament & that’s what I mean: Love, faith, grace, sacrifice, community, freedom, repentance, baptism, following, leading, righteous anger, feeding the poor, worship, friendship, small-groups, church planting, etc. As we abide in Christ, fruit is sure to follow. Center your life on Jesus & live life out loud for the world to witness & see what happens; Acts 2:42-47 challenges me when it says, “& God added to their numbers daily.” I take from this that as they lived as followers of Jesus in community God added to their numbers. So, as the pastor of this church, I’m saying, “love everyone & let’s see whom God brings.” Instead of having church events “Today we are going to love people,” I see Jesus & the early church saying, “Everyday, moment, person, situation, & setting is a church event.” My whole life an outreach; everywhere I am, Jesus makes himself known through His church.

We’ve also been talking about our mission, which is: “Love God, Love People, make Disciples; Equip them for the work of ministry, the building up of the church, to demonstrate God’s glory in all nations.” I have been talking a lot about how it all starts by loving God & when you fall in love with God & see how much he loves you, loving people is a natural result. Too, we have been discussing what it means to Love People. I mentioned a few weeks ago how it is not our responsibility to save people, but to love them. Also, it is not our goal to love certain people, but to love all people. I am at a place where if we only loved God & loved people I would be happy. I think it’s God saying, “Sean, be content with me & know there is no higher calling than to share my love.” However, & being thankful for the breadth & depth of Scripture, our love has direction & purpose: Make disciples.

So, our BBQ is a mystery to me. Most people know we are a church; however, many don’t & that’s great for now, I hope they enjoy our community.

Friday, May 18, 2007

When I got done with grad school there was one author I really wanted to dig into: A.W. Tozer. I have not been disappointed.

Tozer on walking in righteousness
“Just let me ask: Who said that you can be a Christian without being a disciple? I don’t think you can. The idea that I can come to the Lord and by grace have all of my sins forgiven and have my name written in heaven, and have the Carpenter go to work on a mansion in my Father’s house, and at the same time raise hell on my way to heaven is impossible and unscriptural. It cannot be found in the Bible.

We are never saved by our good works, but we are not saved apart from our good works. Out of our saving faith in Jesus Christ, there springs immediately goodness and righteousness. Spring is not brought by flowers, but you cannot have spring without flowers. It isn’t my righteousness that saves, but the salvation I have received brings righteousness. I think we must face up to this now—that we must walk in righteousness if we are going on to know the Lord. The man who is not ready to live right is not saved, and he will not be saved, and he will be deceived in that great day.

I cannot believe that a man is on the road to heaven when he is habitually performing the kind of deeds that would logically indicate that he ought to be on his way to hell.” (The Counselor pgs. 127-28)

I love that Tozer went & still goes against the grain of popular Christianity. “Who said you can be a Christian without being a disciple?” “It cannot be found in the Bible.”

Apparently people in Tozer’s day were saying you could be a Christian without being a disciple. Tozer wrote another book called “I Call it Heresy", in the first chapter he says,
“The scriptures do not teach that the Person of Jesus Christ nor any of the important offices which God has given Him can be divided or ignored according to the whims of men.

Therefore, I must be frank in my feeling that a notable heresy has come into being throughout our evangelical Christian circles - the widely accepted concept that we humans can choose to accept Christ only because we need Him as Savior and we have the right to postpone our obedience to Him as Lord as long as we want to!

This concept has sprung naturally from a misunderstanding of what the Bible actually says about Christian discipleship and obedience. It is now found in nearly all of our full gospel literature. I confess that I was among those who preached it before I began to pray earnestly, to study diligently and meditate with anguish over the whole matter. I think the following is a fair statement of what I was taught in my early Christian experience and it certainly needs a lot of modifying and a great many qualifiers to save us from being in error. "We are saved by accepting Christ as our Savior; we are sanctified by accepting Christ as our Lord; we may do the first without doing the second!"

Tozer hits it home. Let us follow Him.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Why theology (knowledge of scripture) is important.

I'm reading a book about the Fourth Crusade. It is an interesting book & it is very discouraging at times. While reading it I can see why so many people around the world hate Christians. Likewise, I am saddend at how far the church in the year 1200 had gotten from New Testament teachings. This is a sermon from Sir Abbot Martin. It is credited with launching this very un-christlike venture. See how many unbiblical comments you can find.

"Heed my word to you, my lords and brothers; heed my word to you! Indeed, not my word, but Christ’s. Christ himself is the author of this sermon; I am his fragile instrument. Today Christ addresses you in his words through my mouth. It is he who grieves before you over his wounds. Christ has been expelled from his holy place—his seat of power. He has been exiled from that city which he consecrated to himself with his own blood. Oh the pain! This land is no dominated by the barbarism of a heathen people. Oh the misery, the sorrow, the utter calamity! The Holy Land…has been given over to the hands of the impious. Its churches have been destroyed, its shrine polluted, it royal throne and dignity transferred to the gentiles. That most sacred and venerable Cross of wood, which was drenched with the blood of Christ, is locked and hidden away by persons to whom the word of the Cross is foolishness, so that no Christian might know what was done with it or where to look for it. And so now, true warriors, hasten to help Christ. Enlist in His Christian army. Rush to join the happy ranks. Today I commit you to the cause of Christ, so that you might labor to restore Him to His patrimony, from which He has been so unmercifully expelled. Whoever takes the sign of the Cross and makes a sincere confession will be totally absolved of every sin and when he leaves this present life, no matter where, when, or by what happenstance, he will receive his life eternal."