Back in April, I was with Sean McLeish and Derek Rishmawy in Orlando for a conference. Seriously, Derek is a blogging machine! I asked him how he came up with so many topics to write on and his response was something like, “When you read something… when something strikes you or comes to mind, write about that.” Ok! Derek, see if they accept these kinds of articles on the Gospel Coalition website…

When you think of Martin Luther (1483-1546) what comes to mind? Of course most would identify him as the person who initiated the Reformation in the 16th century. But what you might not know about about Luther (nor was it in the movie with Joseph Fiennes) was his rather “earthy” personality.  What I mean by that is… well… Luther had a reputation for having a potty mouth. This week I was reading about the 2004 discovery of Luther’s toilet where he evidently pondered much of the Ninety-Five Thesis (Toilet where Luther strained to produce the Reformation). Luther had a severe problem with chronic constipation which might explain why he was so intense all the time…

Luther had a strong fascination with flatulence. As a young Catholic monk, Luther had quite a heavy conscience that required him to confess his sins constantly. Evidently when he went to confession he would confess so much that the supervising Father finally told Luther that he was so obssesed with his own sin that he would likely confess his own fart. Luther’s more famous quote was, “I resist the devil, and often it is with a fart that I chase him away.” Wow… what kind of odor would chase the devil away?

I’m certainly not an advocate for Christians adopting foul language in their everyday conversations. However, as I was thinking about this, I recollected Philippians 3:8 where Paul in contrasting “all things” with knowing Christ used the Greek word, “skubala”. Unfortunately, the word gets sanitized as it’s translated from Greek to English. The real thrust of the contrast is compared to knowing Christ, everything is (here it comes, but I’ll be sensitive)… crap. You get what Paul is saying. Compared to surpassing greatness of knowing Christ, all of it, everything that I think brings me meaning, identity and security is like a pile of human excrement. The metaphor that Paul uses here is powerful because it wells up strong feelings in us and shouldn’t really be sanitized because it loses it’s ability to shock our genteel Christianity into reality! Maybe there should be room for a rare but well-placed bomb…

Those who know Christ long for the day that contrast gets deeply settled in our hearts and, in the thinking of Dallas Willard, as sincere followers of Christ are intentionally rearranging the affairs of their life to that end.  Do you engage with Christ to that end? And all of this with the hope that one day He will redeem even our own flatulence…

It’s been awhile since I posted my thoughts. To be honest, I think I needed a month or so to stabilize, kind of get my heart right knowing that the next few months will “a ride”. I’m not sure how much of this journey I’ll share on a blogsite but I’d be more than happy to describe what it’s like in person.

That said, I have to be honest that in my stubborn past, I refused to read John Calvin for a number of reasons. First, some (ok, a lot) of the Reformed-type people I know came across as boorish. it seemed like we could never have a conversation about life without somehow getting back to theology proper, particularly the issue of predestination. And it seemed like even as a young believer I was an object being smashed with a hammer into a pigeonholed pentagon… And second, I thought Calvin himself was wound a little too tight. Without even considering his historical context, while I was thankful for the Reformation, I refused to read Calvin because it was too cold and precise theologically. I remember a post of Tim Keller’s where he described many people’s reaction toward Calvin as someone with a “dismal reputation as a pinched, narrow-minded, cold and cerebral dogmatician.” Uh… yea… that’s pretty close…

A few months ago, I started a project by reading Calvin in a different way. For sure, I had to wade through some of the topics that I initially had avoided Calvin over. Most every morning I have read Calvin’s Institutes devotionally. That is, rather than reading him critically (that’s in the good sense of the word), I’ve read him with an open heart. In the beginning Calvin begins by positing two forms of knowledge – knowledge of God and knowledge of self. Knowing God and knowing self are both important, and are not separate but interlinked. But which comes first? Of course, he holds to knowledge of God. But putting that aside, what if I read Calvin with an open heart to see myself in light of knowing God more?

So when I came to some of his famous chapters on election and predestination (which are way less than I originally had assumed), here’s what it did in my heart. Apart from any logical or biblical argument that Calvin puts forth, what my heart sensed was deep gratitude that in some way salvation was wrapped up in His initiation in my life. I don’t know how much my agency played a part but my heart was settled in the fact that somehow, in God’s wisdom, His lovingkindess was made known in my life through Christ. For the time, it was ok to “sit in it” and not try to figure it out.

All that to say, in honesty, I’ve been surprised how devotional his writings are and how wrong I was!

Today marks the beginning of what Christians call the season of Advent. The word originally means “coming” and it has a deep and rich tradition in the church where His people anticipate the coming of Messiah for a four Sunday period prior to Christmas. Of course, it’s not obligatory for Christians to observe Advent but why would evangelicals give time and space to Advent? There are a couple of reasons that come to mind…

First, I think there is something about Christmas that is more about anticipating the presents than it is about anticipating Christ. What I mean is that early on in our lives we have been trained to “long for” and anticipate that glorious morning when we would open the Christmas presents. This is sometimes where we forget that the Jews anticipated a Messiah that had been prophesied from their own prophets. Advent is to remind us to “long for” what we really need… a Savior. When we forget to remember what the Jews wanted to badly we also forget what we need so badly… rescue… salvation…

But second, advent was not only to remind people of His first coming but also His second coming. If the word means “coming” then Advent is the time of year that we intentionally remember not only of the appearance of Messiah in a field in Bethlehem but His return. The first time He came it was a babe in a manger. The second time He comes will be as the conquering King. Jesus is mentioned as saying twice in Revelation 22, “Behold I am coming quickly…” Advent is the time of year that we acknowledge with our lives that our Savior is returning and to be on the alert!

In many ways, the romantic picture and presents of Christmas tend to take away from His future return. For sure the message of Christmas is “God gave”, but during Advent let’s not forget that He will return. He has promised to return and so He will. May all of His people then during Advent live lives of “Maranatha”… Our Lord, return quickly

I’ve agreed to teach a seminar/class on the subject of vocation for the church starting in January! I’m not sure what night it will be offered but I’m looking forward to a rich time of thinking deeply about the subject of vocation/calling with others and incorporating aspects of spiritual formation. In fact, I’m hoping that this becomes a distinctive of the young adult ministry… equipping adults to live out Kingdom priorities in the midst of their vocation and figuring it out with each other!

Overall, my sense is that there is much confusion about vocation and calling and I hope to reduce that. One of the most obvious problems is that there seems to be a split between vocation and calling. When I use the word “vocation”, what do you think of immediately? Most people would probably respond something like, “my job.” But if I asked for their calling, I would probably get blank looks. If people were completely honest I think they would ask me, “How were you called by God to ministry?” In other words, vocation is for the average person and callings are reserved for those in Christian work. Somehow we have perpetuated this idea that the two are different. But are they?

I hope to tackle a number of questions. Here are a few William Placher lists in his book, “Callings” (I might even make this required reading for the class).

• How do I know what I’m called to do?
• Is there one right answer to the question of my calling?
• Can I make a mistake, and not do what God has called me to do? if so, what are the consequences?
• Can my vocation change?

As I’m in the prep phrase for the class are any other questions I should tackle? What have you wrestled with as it relates to vocation and calling? What aspects of your work need to clarified with the biblical understanding of work? As always, I’m looking forward to any feedback you have!

This morning I was reading Jesus’ teaching early in his ministry on the side of a hill on the north part of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 5-7). In a rabbinic way he is teaching the reality that the eternal Kingdom has broken through into history. As an introduction to the last parable contrasting a man who build his life on rock versus sand, as a way to summarize he says, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

In what way are you learning how to become this person who intentionally builds his or her life upon Him as the solid foundation? What plan do you have to actually become like Jesus? Dallas Willard writes that this is what it means to be a follower of Jesus (or disciple): systematically and progressively rearranging the affairs of your life to the end of becoming like Him.

Now to be certain, we can’t do this in our own ability. Grace is both necessary and sufficient. Here are some self reflection questions then…

1. How is intention to grow in following Jesus manifested in your life? How is learning how to be a good boy/girl or doing the right things different than the heart of a disciple?
2. What drives the gospel deeper into your heart? Into those nooks where you largely function out of self (self-importance, self-justification, self-promotion, self-reliance)?
3. Is this something you do alone? Or do you find yourself standing with others who cry out for the same things in their life?
4. What do you do when you see how deep the roots of sin in your life are? Are you willing to take an axe to the root as Thomas a Kempis wrote in The Imitation of Christ? 
5. How are you, in turn, making disciples (assuming that Matthew 28:18-20 was not just the spiritual elite or professionals)?

Making disciples is what we all are commanded to do and it all turns on our own following after Jesus. Dallas Willard is absolutely correct when he says that the heart and intention of the disciple has always been the same since the original disciples. It is the growing desire to follow after their Savior and Master, systematically and progressively re-arranging the affairs of their life to that end.

If you were asked to communicate what the gospel is to someone else, what would you include? In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul includes both Christ’s death on the cross and His resurrection. Think about it.. what if you didn’t mention anything about the resurrection and just spoke of His death on the cross? At the core of the gospel, Christ’s work not only includes His death but His resurrection from the dead. This should give us a final clue as to what the gospel is.

Tim Keller offers a concise definition of the gospel as, Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God fully accomplishes salvation for us, rescuing us from judgment for sin into fellowship with him, and then restores the creation in which we can enjoy our new life together with him forever (Leadership Magazine, The Gospel in All its Forms). All I want to point out is the word “restores”. What’s clear about the gospel is it not only deals with the issue of sin, but it includes God’s promise of a future-restored Kingdom with the fullness of Isaiah 52 – shalom, happiness or welfare, and the completion of salvation.

Understood this way, the gospel is (here’s the big word), eschatological! it is the good news that the resurrection of Jesus was the inaugural event proving God’s commitment to finishing what He began. When we take part in the sacrament of communion, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11 we re-enact the gospel until He returns. The gospel always comes with this sense of future orientation as fulfillment, consummation, complete transformation. So when we read the Bible, we live between  two poles: the original Garden of Eden and the future redeemed Garden.

The danger is if we leave this eschatological piece out the gospel becomes stunted because now it’s simply about converting people. Or maybe the subtle message is that this life stinks but it’s really going to be good when we go to heaven. The gospel is much larger in the sense that it includes the deep valuation of life right now while acknowledging that we are all in a process toward a final end state. This is wonderfully good news! What God began not only in me, but in the world He will finish and not even death has the power to nullify His redemptive work.

This is one of the reasons why acts of justice toward the marginalized, poor and oppressed is gospel-centered. It’s not an add on after we get saved. Caring for the poor is what comes naturally to those who understand the robustness of the gospel. We don’t usher in the Kingdom by our actions. However, when we act in such ways, we at least model what this future Kingdom will be like. We act in redemptive ways because we know that God is redeeming the material world, not a part of it but all of it! Grace not only is the way “in” but grace restores what sin marred.

When I was a younger Christian I used to be puzzled by statements that Jesus made like in Matthew 13:13-15. Why would Jesus speak cryptically so that people would be puzzled by what He said? I wondered, if the gospel is that good, why doesn’t He just come out and say it clearly? Why speak in riddles, seemingly convoluted statements that only confused people? As the robustness of the gospel has become clearer in my thinking, the gospel brings with it a value system that is upside down from what most people expected. And this confuses many…

The Jews believed that when Messiah came, He would come in power, overthrowing oppressive Rome and re-established the shalom of the Kingdom in the nation of Israel. Yet, what was so puzzling is when Jesus told people that the Kingdom is here, there was confusion! Where is this Kingdom? You say that the Kingdom of God is here yet where is this triumphal Kingdom we’ve anticipated?

But probably what was even more confusing is not just the seeming delay of what people expected the Messianic Kingdom would be like. It was also the “values” of the Kingdom that seemed exactly the opposite of what people wanted, even expected. For instance, how does the Kingdom of God come? In the quiet of a manger. As Pastor Mike spoke about this past Sunday, how does power come? When one is weak and humbly calls out to God for rescue. How does one get “in” to the Kingdom? Not by bloodline or power or riches, but by awakening to the fact that they have been “out” with God. What is the way up to greatness? By becoming low and seeing oneself through the eyes of humility. How does one find themselves? By losing themselves. Who is central in the Kingdom? The poor, the weak, the marginalized, the disenfranchised and not the powerful and rich. How is one made rich? When they recognize their own poverty with God and they find sheer beauty in Him. The announcement of good news is that the Kingdom of God is not out of reach but it is the inverse of what we expect it to be.

Here’s one application for young adults . Growing up in the church is a good thing. It provides “railing” that keeps one on the right path from early in life. I’m grateful that my boys have been given a background where they won’t have to figure life out the hard way. They have been given God’s Word early in life and it’s been to their benefit. Yet, I can’t help but wonder if this aspect of the good news is often forgotten, especially in Orange County, there is no need to live in an upside down way that the Kingdom points to. The railing that was so beneficial seems to keep people in a state of comfort as they get older. Why risk when comfort is available with a steady job and most everything is readily available? Humility is something to assent to but really it’s about making a name for myself (look at how much people talk about themselves!!). This creates tension and the problem with tension is that our modern form of Christianity does not like tension. At least here in Orange County, in the midst of plenty, the removal of tension has this tendency to lead toward a static faith.

So the tension that the upside down Kingdom brings is holy. It’s a really good thing. It keeps us risking (living by faith) in the midst of the Kingdom. It keeps us humble. It reminds us that no accumulating of any thing actually benefits us. It reminds us that we think the good life is comfort when in fact the Kingdom brings a vision of the good life that is much more consistent being transformed inwardly into a person that you were created to be. If our mandate is to make disciples, this Kingdom tension is inherent and any disciple must grapple with it as part of following Jesus.

With this good news, this gospel, the glorious announcement has been made that God’s rule and reign is present. Everything that your heart has longed for has arrived in the person of Jesus. But while it’s not here in its fullness or completion, that end is guaranteed. There are a few elements of this new Kingdom that are worth looking at. Actually, the gospel message includes this as something that you just don’t understand at the beginning and then you get on to the good stuff.

With God’s Kingdom there is a certain kind of relational status that has been given to the follower of Jesus. A simple way to think of it is that with the arrival of the True King, not only does He rule in our hearts, but He has also invited us to share in His royal status.Paul writes in Romans 8:15, For you have not received the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.”

Notice the familial language! You are adopted as a son. You are put into a new family, with a new Father and  all of the rights and privileges that only belong to those who are of blood relation are given to you! You are considered an heir and a fellow heir with Christ! That kind of language should shock us because what we have received from God is not based on our work but on the work of Him in our place. As Tim Keller is fond of saying, the gospel is the message that you are far more wicked and flawed than you have seen, yet you are far more loved than you’ve ever experienced.

Why is this important to young adults? Our whole life we have heard messages told to us about who we are. For those who are “in Christ”, the core of our identity is not in what we do (or don’t do). The core of who I am is found solely in my forever adoption into the family of God with all of the benefits, rights, and privileges bestowed upon me freely. At the core of my identity, I am not a pastor, a father, a husband, a friend, etc. I am not what I’ve been told all my life – you’re a bum, you’re stupid, you’re so smart, you’re so special, etc. At the core of who I am is this relational adoption into God’s family. Scholars calls this the “sonship” aspect of the gospel.

And why is this sonship aspect of the gospel something that isn’t just received by faith at first and then it’s up to us to work really hard or obey? It’s because I take my identity from so many other places each and every day. Why do I live with this sense that I’m not doing enough, or I’m  not enough? Why am I so prone to idolatry and finding my identity in something other than God and love that with a super-love? It’s because I’ve forgotten the gospel. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that I forget this radically good news every day. I forget the good news that with God’s Kingdom, He accepts me completely, without conditions. That takes some serious weight off of obedience. I am now going to obey for much different reasons.

Every other religion that’s out there in some form or fashion has to make you doubt that you really belong. Whether it’s trying harder, or being better, or striving for some ideal, there is always this lingering sense that I’m not enough. I think this is what’s used to keep people “motivated.” The result of that is it naturally leaves people wondering, “Where do I stand with God?” Christianity is, as far as I know, the only religion that actually says that your status is not dependent on your working or striving, but on the work of someone else who did it for you in history. This is radical!

I suggested that the gospel is like a brilliant diamond with the work of Jesus at the very core (1 Cor. 15:1-8). While acceptance of this might come in the form of the modern day “salvation prayer”, as I said earlier, the gospel is much more than forgiveness. It certainly includes this but it’s more than we ever thought and all that we hoped would be true.

The good news is that a Kingdom has arrived! The three writers, Matthew, Mark, and Luke call this the “Gospel of the Kingdom” (Matt. 4:23), meaning this good news is about the rule and reign of Messiah that the Jews were waiting for. In short, this is the good news… God’s effective reigning, His power and authority, are present in the lives of His people and around them. While this Kingdom will be fully realized at a future point, with the coming of Jesus, we have enough to instruct us and motivate us that God’s rule and reign is ultimate reality.

What can get confusing is that Jesus sometimes uses “Gospel of the Kingdom”, and sometimes, “Kingdom of Heaven”. As far as my study goes, there is no appreciable difference between the two. Jesus is announcing, turn back to God’s face for life as God created it, a life full of shalom, happiness, and salvation, is readily available to you. And if you don’t know what God’s face looks like, take a long hard look into the loving face of Jesus.

Further, we shouldn’t see any difference between the gospel as described in Kingdom terms and the gospel described in the disciple John’s terms. If you want a better treatment you can read Chris Green’s Power to Save (which includes the chapter written by Simon Gathercole). John rarely word “Kingdom” to describe the gospel. In fact, he doesn’t even use the word “gospel”. Rather, he describes this good news of the Kingdom as requiring personal transformation – you must be born again and “eternal life”. Both of these terms describe this now and future life that Kingdom language speaks about.

What difference does this make? The gospel is not just about getting forgiveness. It certainly includes that but it’s more. My deepest concern has been that we give people the idea that they pray a prayer “to get saved” and then get really busy living the Christian life. Or that somehow we are rescued by God’s grace (salvation) but then growth (sanctification) is what you do. If salvation is by grace through faith it seems to me that sanctification is by grace through faith as well (it might includes our participation but all growth is caused by God).

The gospel has a Kingdom element to it. The invitation of Jesus in all of our lives is to trust that what He brings with Him is a life connected to the deepest longings of our heart. It is the way of real, deep personal transformation and it tells us that we actually are heading somewhere in life (more on both of these later). And the way to receive this life is to acknowledge that you could never do this or achieve it on your own. It was Jesus’ work on  your behalf that secured this very life for you. And so while the prayer can be useful in terms of helping people articulate what’s in their heart, it turns out that the gospel is more compelling than simply pray the prayer to be forgiven. What if the gospel were so simple a child could understand it and prayer is the simplest way to demonstrate acceptance? Yet, what if the gospel is more nuanced that we thought?