In our culture, when we find or see something interesting, we point to that thing/person/issue so that others can see it and understand why we find it intriguing. This is a very basic way of communicating for all types of people everywhere. Pointing, as simple as it is, is one of the only universal ways of communicating, therefore, it is one of the most important ways of communicating. Whatever is most important to us or whatever we feel is most important for others to see is what we point to in word and deed. In short we could say that the things that we love are the very things we point people to.

Sometimes we point to things that fascinate us. Sometimes we point at things that are humorous. Sometimes we point to shift blame or trouble away from us. Sometimes we point to ourselves to take credit for our accomplishments. All in all, everything we do in life points to something as well.

The goal of the life of a Christian is to point to Jesus in all that we do. This is missional living - constantly living in such a way as to point people to Jesus.

We can accomplish this in any setting. Work, sports, fashion, friendships, marriage, child-raising, food, study, serving, and just about everything that can be done for the glory of God.
We must begin to understand that a pure focus on Jesus is not an event, but a lifestyle. It is to be involved in every aspect (great or small) of our lives. We should be pointing to Jesus in all that we do or don't do.

John the Baptist (JTB) knew this to be true in John 3:22-36.

Read the passage.

How do we live lives that point to Jesus?

(4 points)

- 1) We must make Jesus known in faith publicly. (vs. 23) This passage tells us something about Baptism in that it was used to publicly confess Christ to others. Our lives need to be a constant outward confession of Jesus so that others see the truth of Jesus in and through us who have been given the Holy Spirit. We need to live loud enough for others to hear us, live bright enough for others to see us, and live differently enough for others to see a difference in us. We don't have to be ashamed of our Christ. Which leads to...

- 2) We must be counter-cultural. (vs. 26-28) John the Baptist was questioned and doubted in this passage and instead of getting angry and jealous at Jesus, he, by the power of the Spirit, turned people's questions into an opportunity to point people TO Jesus and not AWAY from Jesus. This is counter-cultural! This is how we should live and make Jesus known. Some will question us when we live in opposition of sin, and we need to give an answer that points to Jesus and no one else. This is the purpose of the Christian - to live counter-culturally for the Gospel always showing people how life could and should be in Jesus Christ and in His Kingdom.

- 3) We must give Jesus ALL the credit. (vs. 29-31) It is His anyways! JTB could have, in this moment, been swelled up with pride and taken the credit for what he had accomplished in his ministry, but he did not. Even though people tried to build him up and make him feel important, JTB turned the tables around and gave God the glory for the things that were accomplished. This lets us know that even when we get the first 2 points right, we must not become prideful. There are many people who make Jesus known in public fashion and who live counter-culturally, but then they fall into the religious trap of taking the credit and glory. This is grotesque! When we feel like we are something, we need to become nothing. When we think we need to increase is when we truly need to decrease. It is more about Jesus and His church than ourselves as individuals.

- 4) We must daily remember He is Sovereign. (vs. 19-21) These last verses in chapter 3 give us a great picture of the Holy Trinity in that the Father gives all things to the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. All things are truly in the hands of our Triune God! We need not to forget that He is greatly sovereign, and that He demands our trust. Too many "Christians" testify unto a weak god. They claim Christ, but their lives show that there is no sovereign power that is ultimately leading them. We need to be a testimony of a sovereign God. Don't testify of weakness, testify of His strength! Collapse daily at the foot of the cross begging to know the power and presence of our Holy and magnificent God who is all-knowing and all-powerful. Take time everyday to remember that God is THE ONLY thing that matters, and that without Him we are all hopelessly lost embracing the filth that is human nature. When we daily take time to understand who our God is, we can then clearly communicate to others who He is. We can show others what a gracious God we have in Jesus and that He stands to judge those who do not recieve His testimony - just like JTB did at the end of the text.

Christian, take time to remember your sovereign God and then you will not be able to contain it - you will point others to Him.

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taken from my sermon @ The Realm on 5/6/09 entitled "The Art of Pointing"
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Missional: Culture Is A River (A Plea for Missions in the City)

In America, the church does a lot of griping about the condition of the American culture. Whether it is from the pulpit or a layman’s opinion, the church is always vehemently talking about the increasing corruption that is plaguing our nation.
People are always very upset with certain television stations for allowing such grotesque content to be programmed or they are discouraged by who or who doesn’t get elected into office. They can’t believe what kinds of music are becoming popular or how Hollywood gets away with making such trashy films under the PG-13 rating. The church is always disgruntled at how the public school systems are seemingly going to hell in hand-basket cause prayer is ceasing and the Ten Commandments are forbidden and tolerance for everything but Jesus is being taught under the so-called “fact” that we evolved from monkeys from a big bang that makes as much sense as a fully functional automobile being formed by a tornado sweeping through a junkyard. So then the question must be asked…

How is the church supposed to make/change culture when the Gospel is so counter-cultural?

Answer…

Getting as far upstream as you can.

Culture or “Cultura” is the cultivation of the soil, mind, and spirit including our values, beliefs, customs and arts. It encompasses the stories we tell, the behaviors we have and the people/things we treasure.

Biblical History of Culture and the Gospel

Before Jesus ascends into heaven, He tells the disciples that they will go into very different cultures and different cities/countries to spread the Gospel, but notice the methods of how the message spread in the early church periods.

For example, Paul was sent as a Missional minister to different major cities almost completely ignoring the outskirts and rural areas. Think of his Missional territory for a moment: Rome, Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus, Thessalonica, Galatia, etc.

Back then it was more common for churches to meet in larger urban areas and for the pagans to surround the city in the more rural, farming areas. Nowadays we have seen a complete shift in which more churches are in rural areas than in the city. This is true for a few reasons:
1) Safety has become a problem in major urban areas dealing with increased crime rates;
2) Christians believe they keep their innocence and purity by moving away from progressive culture and sin; and
3) Churches fail to contextualize the Gospel and change methods to reach more people for the Gospel resulting in creating a sub-culture that is satisfied with keeping things the way they have always been.

What the church has somewhat failed to see is that when Christians run away from culture and cities, it gets worse. In essence, the church has added to the problem instead of being a part of the solution, which is advancing the Kingdom of God.

Culture As A River

Jesus calls us the light of the world, and He then says that we are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14)

Now imagine with me that there is a river flowing down from that “city on a hill” and that river represents culture, as we know it.

If Christians move off of that hill and away from the city and away from major cultural spots, they are all of the sudden downstream of the river of culture.
They are now getting closer to the end of the filter of culture instead of being where culture is created. We must understand that TV, Radio, Movies, Books, Fashion, Attorneys and Judges that pass laws, Politicians, Money, and ultimately all beliefs and values come from upstream in the city and filter downstream to the outskirts and rural areas. And we can’t fool ourselves into thinking that our rural influence will ever flow upstream. It doesn’t happen like that. Nothing from the bottom of the river flows back up to the top. What happens on the farm does not catch fire in the city. Culture flows from city to suburbs to rural areas.

So….

We ought not be shocked when corruption increases on our tv sets, on the radio, in politics, in our judicial systems, and in our schools if we are not there having any influence or impact on where culture is made. We are only getting what is being filtered from the city upstream. That explains why Christians downstream get sick because the river is so polluted and filled with junk and garbage. They are then stuck trying to filter out the garbage for their families’ sake, but the longer they remain downstream, the more contaminated the river becomes.

(Before I lose your attention, I want to take a second to say that it is not a sin to be a church in a rural area. People need Jesus there too. In fact, God desires that rural churches exist especially as a result of church plants overflowing from the city.)

BUT if we want so badly the culture to change for the glory of God, we must infiltrate where culture is made, not where culture is filtered.

How can we make culture for the glory of God?

Take the Gospel as far upstream as possible so that others have the Living Water of Christ flowing down from the river of culture.

In our recent past as the church, we have thought that mass evangelistic events in more suburban churches are the solution for culture change. While there is nothing wrong with mass evangelism because it has been used by the Lord to change many hearts, it is not the solution for changing culture into a Kingdom culture. Why? Because changing culture isn’t about the number of people converted, but about the amount of converted people engaging in changing culture upstream.

In an interesting Sociological Study, a man named James Davidson Hunter (professor of Sociology at University of Virginia) did a study of major city and culture, and how culture has progressed throughout history. In his study, he described how on the electoral map (blue/red), those in major cities voted liberal and those outside the city voted more conservative. When the liberal team wins, those people in the rural areas become disgruntled and/or paranoid of the future of the country. He then came to the conclusion that it is not the amount of people that believe something, but where they live in the cultural stream.
To make more of a point, less than fifteen years ago, the American Psychiatric Association claimed that homosexuality was a disorder. It is now a celebrated alternative lifestyle even though if we polled the entire U.S., the majority of people would still say they don’t approve of it.

So how did this happen then?

It wasn’t because the majority of people got together and said this is how we want it.

It is because people in the cities with culture changing abilities and vision approve of it.

Oh, the power of a few!

Additionally, about 23 billion people have lived on the earth between 650BC – 1900 AD. The number of those who have assisted in creating culture as we know it is as few as 150 and no more than 3,000! WOW.

So here’s the deal.

Evangelism is needed, and people do need Jesus in rural areas, but for the Gospel to change culture and take full effect as the Great Commission, some need to be diligent in getting as far upstream as possible.

The content for this blog is attributed in great detail to Mark Driscoll’s sermon at the 20/20 conference in Raleigh, NC in Feb. of 2009 and for more info check out his books entitled Vintage Church and The Radical Reformission

Missional: Nicodemus & Jesus - a bold story

The story of Nicodemus and Jesus in John 3:1-21 is actually a widely mis-taught passage in that most people see this as a conversion story for Nicodemus. Yet there is nothing in this passage that clearly lets us know that this is when Nicodemus became a Christian even though we know, by means of John 19:39, that he may have become a follower of Christ in his lifetime. On the contrary, it seems that this passage was just the beginning of Nicodemus' journey of understanding what it means to find life in Jesus.

If we study this passage, we actually see a very convicting explanation of what it means to be truly born again. Nicodemus, though curious, was more inquisitive than accepting in his conversation with Jesus.

Look at all of what Nicodemus says:

- "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him."

- "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?"

- "How can these things be?"

Now look at what Jesus says about Nicodemus at this time:

- "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

- "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?"

- "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony."

- "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"

Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus that he is not born again in relation to the Kingdom. Jesus uses the terms born again and the Kingdom to help illustrate that when one is reborn, he is spiritually regenerated to live in community of the Kingdom of God.

What is the Kingdom?
Here is a good working definition of the Kingdom thanks in part to Vance Pitman (pastor of Hope Baptist in Las Vegas, Nevada)
The Kingdom is.... the past, present and future activity of God in the world bringing people into right relationship with Him.

So, in essence, Jesus is telling Nicodemus why he is not born again (at this time):

1) He doesn't see the Kingdom of God
2) He doesn't enter and participate in the Kingdom of God
3) He doesn't understand the Kingdom of God
4) He doesn't live out the Kingdom of God

Also I find it interesting that Nicodemus came to Jesus in a not-so-bold manner at night. In fact, in John 19:39, that is how Nicodemus is referred to - the one who came to Jesus by night. You see Nicodemus was a very important ruler of the Jews who was curious about Jesus, but didn't want others to really know that he was interested so he came to Jesus at night instead of during the day. He waited until after he was done with a long day of Pharisaical work to sneak out to see Jesus when none of his Pharisee buds would catch him. The issue here is that Jesus calls him out on it and finishes the conversation with a very convicting analogy of light and darkness. He is letting Nicodemus know that if you are born again, people are going to know because it will be clearly seen by others. He explains that if you truly are a believer of Him then you will come to the light and come to the surface and your works will reflect His life.

Let this penetrate into your heart and read carefully cause this can be very convicting and life-changing.

John 3:19-21

¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

This is not a story of conversion, this a story of recognizing how lost Nicodemus truly was. Before one is born again, they must understand how lost they are.

The last recorded saying of Nicodemus in this passage was this. "How can these things be?"
And that is the underlying question that lost people are asking the church.

What is our answer?

Missional: Culture Makers (4/4)

There are basically 4 types of Christian organizational groups that exist in a general sense. Only one of the four seeks to make/change culture for the benefit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1)Hyper-Fundamentalists
2)Liberals
3)Para-churchers
4)Missionals
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Today, I will discuss the 4th and final group:

4)Missionals
(Gospel + Church + Culture = The Missional Church)

Well, what does Missional mean?

Most people will immediately think that Missional refers to having a heart for foreign nations, and desiring to bring Jesus to a different country or continent. And while being Missional does encompass reaching foreign lands with the Gospel, it mainly involves the community where God has put you. Sometimes Christians have no concept that they are missionaries in their culture, and that is why God has put them there.

Read Jeremiah 29:4-7 (ESV)
⁴"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

⁵ Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.

⁶Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.

⁷But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

God specifically sends His people into cultures. Babylon was one of the most wicked of cultures (founded by a guy with the name Nimrod which should tell you something), and yet God sent His people into that wicked culture to live in the culture and love and seek the welfare of the city. This applies to every Christian.

As a church, to be Missional is to not forsake the culture or reflect the culture or follow the culture, but make culture by being a city within a city. This is giving the people in culture a cultural alternative with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do sex, money, power, fame, dating, and relationships differently as a city within a city. And we do these things in public to give a counter-cultural view of how life could and is supposed to be in Jesus. This is a Kingdom view of life.

Additionally, this is exactly what Jesus did!

Jesus left the culture and community of heaven and came down to earth to live as a man to ultimately suffer and die for the sins of the very culture He came to. He went from heaven to earth to minister and serve in culture. He lived counter-culturally. He went in to culture (though He was not OF the culture) to show the culture a counter-cultural Gospel lifestyle through power, presence, holiness and grace of Himself.

Being Missional also involves contextualizing the Gospel. This concept scares people because they immediately think you are changing the Gospel to reach more people. That is far from the truth! You should NEVER change the Gospel, you should, however, change the methods in which you present it in order to make it clear to the culture you are in. Just like foreign Missionaries will train and adapt for a foreign culture, we too must figure out ways to best reach people in the cultures and communities around us. This gets the whole church body involved in church reaching lost people instead of being spectators of a production-type worship service. The Missional church trains their people to be missionaries in the culture in which the church exists. This entails participating in the culture much like Jeremiah 29:4-7 presents. All in all it is about relationships. How can you build relationships with lost people if you extract yourself and your family from culture? Going door to door as a stranger talking to strangers has very little Kingdom impact solely because the people you visit don't know you - they don't know if you really believe what you are saying - they don't see the Gospel at work in your life - they don't have any concept of what it means to be a part of the church. Much like someone coming by your door saying that they have a vacuum cleaner that will change your life and it will never break and by the way it cost $45,000. Wanna buy it? No, you want to see it work. You want to see the truth lived out before you. You want someone you trust to testify that it works - not some stranger in which you have to put your faith in.

To sum it up:
To be Missional is to live counter-culturally in culture presenting an alternative Kingdom lifestyle based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and do so publicly so it can be clearly seen by lost people.

Jesus says in John 17:15
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
Jesus desire us to be missional in our culture.
This is the heart of the great commission.

more to come soon on being Missional...

for more info: check out Mark Driscoll's Vintage Church and Radical Reformission

Interesting Videos just for You...

Here are a couple of videos that might humor you grab your attention.

Tim Keller on MSNBC "Morning Joe"

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Stephen Colbert "stands up for the Scripture" ?

Missional: Culture Makers (3/4)

There are basically 4 types of Christian organizational groups that exist in a general sense. Only one of the four seeks to make/change culture for the benefit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1)Hyper-Fundamentalists
2)Liberals
3)Para-churchers
4)Missionals
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Today, I will discuss the 3rd group:

3)Para-churchers
(Gospel + Culture - Church = Para-church)

Para-church ministries are definitely not all bad. They serve some very good purposes. On the flip side, I don't believe it is biblical to strive after para-church ministries unless the end is to begin a new church. This is simply because the Bible seeks to advance the Kingdom of God through His church. Paul harped on the church at Corinth because they actually were dividing the congregation into separate para-church ministries where some wanted to learn from Paul, some from Peter, some from Apollos, and some from Christ. This was not a denomination split, but one church losing folks to para-church ministries that ultimately hurt what God wanted to do in His Kingdom. (1 Cor. 1:12-13)

Para-churches are also dangerous because they sometimes result in people no longer seeing the need for local church community as long as they believe they are ok just attending a weekly Bible study or Campus Crusade meeting / Baptist Student Union / RFU / etc. ATTN COLLEGE STUDENTS: These are not church! And if this is all you have, you are not following the biblical example of a missional church! You may have the Gospel, you may have community, but you do not have true discipleship, church discipline, true accountability, biblical tithes and giving, elder headship, deacon service, and pastoral preaching/teaching, and much much more...

Para-churches can be done successfully if done within the right context with regard to the local church, but that is hard and a little unnecessary. Most para-church ministries actually become church parasites using the local church to help fund, provide resources, and ultimately produce customers from the church resulting in some people disregarding the local church altogether. God is not pleased with our efforts to stim away from the church in creating ministries apart from the church with the goal of keeping away from the church in order to reach people. The local church simply needs better leadership, creativity, discipline and courage to produce these types of ministries itself.

This is hard to swallow being a person who has hosted many Bible study events outside of church myself. I am even presently engaged in leading a young adult ministry called 28:19 in Olive Branch, MS. The only difference is that the end in mind now is to become a Missional Church Plant in the near future. Backyard Bible Studies are not all bad, but they are not church.

In addition, para-churches are sometimes intended to bring to the table what the church cannot, and for a lot of people this just means trying to produce an event to get high on Jesus. There was a historical religious group called the Essenes who were very similar. They just went from event to event trying to escalate their spiritual high-ness, but in between these events, their lives were strangely fruitless. They would withdraw themselves to try and have an incredible experience that they couldn't get at church and that is what they based their spirituality on. Curiously, this is what youth ministries try to provide when they host summer camps or weekend disciple-nows or retreats. They provide an event outside of church that is so great and experiential that students bleed with tears thinking God has really shown out and they repent unto salvation seemingly year after year and when they get back home they wonder why they don't feel the same love or have the same intoxicating drive as they did during that rally or event. They simply go from event to event apart from "boring" church to try to fix themselves spiritually. We need to rethink our efforts fellow student-ministers! I am not a camp hater, but I am if you know what I mean. Students need to see that our church services are not boring but necessary for sanctification and life change. Some student ministers don't even try to make their week to week services any good - they spend like 30 mins on the sermon and such - and this trains our kids to be Essenes with a para-church mentality. They will always be searching for the high. They will eventually turn to other things.

Jesus says in John 17:15
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
Jesus is speaking of the CHURCH. He wants to accomplish Kingdom growth through the Church as a local body in community and culture representing the Gospel!

Function with the church and not apart from the church

(to be continued...) Next Post: Missionals

for more info: check out Mark Driscoll's Vintage Church and Radical Reformission
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Missional: Culture Makers (2/4)

There are basically 4 types of Christian organizational groups that exist in a general sense. Only one of the four seeks to make/change culture for the benefit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1)Hyper-Fundamentalists
2)Liberals
3)Para-churchers
4)Missionals
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Today, I will discuss the 2nd group:

2)Liberals
(Church + Culture - Gospel = Liberalism)

Jesus encountered Liberals during His time on earth as well. The cultural Liberals in NT times were a group called the Sadducees that took religion and mixed it with much compromise. They were the ones who tried to look the most socially acceptable in the culture. They did not strive for the Gospel or even holiness, but they instead sought after the best social status possible. Popularity became their god essentially. They were known more as cultural accommodators that would quickly give up on hard teachings of the Scripture in order to seem more politically accurate. They gave up the Gospel in their churches. So Liberalism is really nothing new.

Today, a Liberal church is sometimes hard to pinpoint if one is not sound in the Scriptures. They put on a cloak of humility that some people are drawn to. They do really good things in and for the community and culture that seem to be real beneficial and biblical, but they neglect certains teachings that would harm their attendance or social status. That is why if you are not biblically sound yourself, it will be hard to realize what they are NOT teaching. They have pretty good cultural habits as far as being environmentally friendly and trying to help the poor and helping widows which is extrememly important, but what they teach people about the Bible is very dangerous.

Liberals tend to leave out repentance, the cross, blood and the exclusivity of Jesus as the only Savior in their doctrine and teaching. Some have even abandoned the pulpit to have open discussion or dialogue about what is right and wrong and what other religions have to offer us as well. Many essential teachings of the Bible are "take it or leave it" according to the Liberals. They believe that there is no real way to know what Jesus meant when He spoke in the Scriptures - so to be absolute about the Bible is to be arrogant. The liberal cloak of humility is one that makes the Scripture an obsolete book written by men just like any other book. In other words, to know something for sure is to be prideful. This is a horrendous teaching that saddens and angers the heart of God especially after He poured Himself into a book written through the power of the Holy Spirit with full salvific revelation once for all delivered to the saints=us.

The problem is that they sin by forsaking the truth of the Gospel and in so doing they have made culture their god rather than the true God. They still have church (though it is weird that they are selling to people what people already believe) and they will always be somewhat prevalent. The result of Liberalism is that they reflect the culture back at the culture rather than reflecting Jesus to the culture. Mark Driscoll calls them the "Mirror" churches because they are just the same as the culture. They eventually compromise on sins and make them normal functions in the church such as: homosexuality, abortion, women as pastors of churches, and allowing more than one way to heaven. Another result is that there is no real cultural transformation taking place because when there is no Gospel and no personal holiness amidst a dark culture then there is nothing new. They are disobedient and grotesque! In reality, they just have fancy ways of saying, "We Think God Is Wrong." Another tragic result of Liberalism is that it scares the Hyper-fundamentalists into their own corner of Christianity.

Hyper-fundamentalists see the Liberal church as the greatest threat. They see that the Liberals have made culture their God so, in turn, they will just be the polar opposite and flee from cultural association altogether.

Jesus, in the same Scripture as we discussed above, prayed that we would keep from Liberalism as well as Hyper-fundamentalism.
John 17:15
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

Jesus says that we are sent as missionaries by God and that we should not leave the world, but since we are in the world, we should be sanctified by the Scriptures (vs 17) and not give in to sin and Satan.

Be Light in darkness.
(to be continued...) Next Post: Para-churchers


For more info: refer to Mark Driscoll's Vintage Church and Radical Reformission.

Missional: Culture Makers (1/4)

There are basically 4 types of Christian organizational groups that exist in a general sense. Only one of the four seeks to make/change culture for the benefit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1)Hyper-Fundamentalists
2)Liberals
3)Para-churchers
4)Missionals
__________________________________
Today, I will discuss the first group:

1)Hyper-Fundamentalists
(Church + Gospel - Culture = Hyper-Fundamentalism)

This sounds good at first, but this is the group that is so overly religious that they try to stay away from the world thinking they are righteous and everyone else can just go to hell unless, of course, I run into them on "Outreach Night."

The attitude is that the world is dark, there is no hope, so huddle up and hide. Its premise is based on paranoia that the world will always beat the Christian if the Christian is in the world. So they say, "lets do what we can to leave this world while we're here because that's what Jesus would do." - for example: giving up opportunities to further the Gospel on the internet, tv, movies, music, politics, fashion, secular employments, and other things that "Make" culture."

BUT if you study people like Joseph(Gen. 37-), Nehemiah(Nehemiah), and Daniel(Daniel), you will see that these guys served the Lord faithfully as missionaries right dab in the middle of corrupt cultures such as Egypt, Babylon, and backsliding Jerusalem. They did so through the power of the Spirit. These men: loved their city, served the common good without compromise, worshipped through their secular vocations, and ultimately suffered for their faith. They lived for Jesus, proclaiming Jesus, resisting sin in sanctification and brought God to the culture they were sent to. (and yes, OT people believed in Jesus as the coming Messiah)

(Hyper-Fundamenatlists) They are typically people that love Jesus but have a skewed view of sanctification which actually is our growth as Christ followers and as missionaries wherever God has us, and we need to know that our communities are "training grounds" and "battlefields." Our sanctification is based on that we have flesh, we are dark and evil apart from Jesus, and the closer we get to Jesus, the more prepared for battle we are. This is also why sheltering ourselves, our children, and others becomes faulty- because even though we do these things out of love and concern, we are not producing innocence but naivety. We are not teaching Missional values but "bomb shelter" values. For example, homeschooling (though not always bad) can be done from a paranoia-driven conviction that I don't want my child to see that corruption until later. While this is generally understandable, we need to be training our kids at a very early age what is wrong and what is righteous and WHY. It is ok to keep them from grotesque sin in the world, but they need to be educated for missional purposes on why things are the way they are and what our responsibilities as missionaries are. They need to be trained as missionaries here much like "foreign-missionary kids" are trained to adapt to foreign cultures.

For us to understand grace, we need to first understand the depravity of our world - heck, the 1st three chapters of the Bible are dedicated to this teaching. Not everyone is saved by growing up in church, and hyper-fundamentalists sometimes refuse to remember what they were saved from. That employee, that public-school kid, that secular musician, that lawyer, that college student, that single-mom working two jobs - they all need us to be IN Culture living missional lives in obedience to Jesus.

The Pharisees were similar to the hyper-fundamentalists in that they were very serious and devout but were more about spreading the law rather than the love of Jesus. They simply added to the scriptures what was not there, they avoided culture where Jesus was needed most, they extricated themselves to keep their piety and reputation clean, and they sinned grievously because of these practices.

Jesus Himself desires that we abstain from becoming hyper-fundamentalists:
John 17:15
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

Even though we are NOT of this world and we will be hated, we must understand that it is unbiblical to do everything to leave the world without actually leaving the world. Study Joseph, Nehemiah and Daniel.

The sin of hyper-fundamentalism is a sin of omission - not being missional in a dark world and not loving their neighbor.

(to be continued...) Next Post: Liberals

for more info: check out Mark Driscoll's Vintage Church or Radical Reformission
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Missional: His Light / Our Darkness

^{John 1:4-18 (ESV)}

⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through Him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. ¹²But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, ¹³who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵(John bore witness about Him, and cried out, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.'") ¹⁶And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.

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Isn't it funny how we shelter either ourselves, our children or those we love from the world? Yet this is based on the fact that we think that some people are innocent, and once exposed to the sins of the world that they will THEN become marred or perverted. The Bible teaches that we are darkness - every last one of us - from the youngest of children to the oldest of elders. We are wretched, filthy, rebellious, and utterly depraved beyond human recognition. Our best, the Bible says, is as filthy rags. As gross as it may be, Isaiah 64:6, literally says our righteousness is like a polluted garment that women use during their menstrual periods. Even when we were born, we were filthy. Jesus is the light. He is the only light. Without Jesus, there is nothing but darkness.

We Are Darkness. Not just the world, not just the world system, not just the porn industry, not just the drunkenness of the men, not just the homosexual movement, but our own selves killed God on the cross by our sin. Darkness.

Jesus as our Savior and missional example left heaven and came to dwell among darkness as Light without sin. He is alone in this. We are all naturally opposed. BUT He is God.

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LIGHT vs DARKNESS

I am preaching through the gospel of John on Wednesday nights at our youth Bible study called "The Realm" (http://realmministry.ning.com) at Meadow Brook. This text (John 1:4-18) was and is powerful. Here are a few insights on this battle between us and God.

1) Darkness is our condition because of sin. In the fall of man, darkness overtook everything in creation. We are image bearers of God, but that image has been marred and we have a sin nature that enslaves us into total depravity (which is not just a reformed teaching but a biblical teaching) - meaning we are dark, and we can't make ourselves Light.

2) Darkness is our world. The world is corrupt and under the influence of the darkness of Satan. Besides the nation of Israel, no people group (ethnically) is specifically God's people. So America itself is not God's people and nation that He is dependent on. Some religious people believe America is the new Israel- specifically blessed and chosen by God to be His people. Not true. Only believing Gentiles and believing Jews are the holy and chosen generation described in 1st Peter. So don't marvel that America has turned from being a "Christian" nation. This is a dark world. America is not the Light. Jesus is.

3)Darkness is in us. Everyone is the same apart from Christ. Sinful. We are all equally sinful and wretched. The same darkness in the world is in our hearts as humans.

4)Darkness existed in Jesus' day and prior. Our world has not developed new evil that Jesus and His disciples never faced. There was every form of evil back then - rape, adultery, murder, hate, lying, strife, homosexuality, etc...

5)Darkness presently exists in churches. There are lost people in church, and there are Christians giving provision to the flesh daily in the church. We are imperfect people walking and living in darkness.

6)Darkness is loved by some churches. Liberal churches are accepting darkness as normal and not preaching the full counsel of God AND over-fundamental churches have a hatred for their communities so they "evangelize" themselves and have Christians get saved over and over again in revival and call them "new converts." If that church ceased to exist, the community wouldn't know or care.

7)Darkness is attractive. People flock to darkness cause of its immediate gratification of desires. Darkness will always be popular in a dark world with a dark human condition.

8)Darkness = blindness. Lost people don't understand Jesus. They understand sin. Their sin blinds them of the truth of the gospel. Some church members can't figure out why they have no desire or reason to read God's Word, pray, share faith, or be missional. They don't light up when thinking about Jesus and they don't understand why. Blindness in the darkness explains this.

9)Darkness is comfortable. If you stay in pitch black dark long enough, your eyes get used to it though you are blind. If after a while you shine a mag-light into your eyes, it will sting and be very uncomfortable and you will shut your eyes to get back to the darkness you know and love too well. Darkness is comfortable to our sinful lives.

10)Darkness hates light. Light is uncomfortable to darkness, and darkness can't exist in Light. (pure Science) Darkness is imposed upon by Light. The world hates Jesus and in return will hate us if we love Jesus. Darkness murdered the Light on a cross because it hated Him so much. (vs 10-11)

11)Light exposes darkness. Jesus exposes sin. Jesus exposes all sin. Everyone who has ever existed is vulnerable to Jesus as the Light of the world. Darkness cannot hide from Christ. (vs 5)

12)Light changes darkness. Jesus provides reconciliation for darkness. His death He died for all so that all would be without excuse. Jesus changes people from dark to Light by His divine power. (vs 9, 12; 1 John 2:2)

13)Darkness doesn't choose Light. Darkness hates Light so why would it choose Light? Christians don't make themselves Christians. That's why salvation in not a plan, it is a man. It is isn't a prayer, it is a man. It isn't a feeling or experience, it is a man. If YOU do something to save yourself, then that is salvation by works which isn't salvation at all. This explains people's struggles with security. It is bad theology to teach people it is about what they did or how much they meant a certain prayer in the past that secures their salvation. The promises of God are in the very text we are looking at. The man is Jesus and Jesus is the Light that changes darkness by His will and power. (vs 13)

14)The Light is true and saves by grace. If you have been changed by the Light of Jesus, that is grace. That is undeserved favor. Darkness deserves hell. We deserve hell. Some ask, "How could a good God not impart grace on everyone and send people to a burning hell?" The better question is, "How could a good God ever let anyone as dark and sinful as we are into His holy heaven?" Jesus is the truth. Truth is exclusive. Jesus is the only truth when it comes to salvation. Truth is singular. So... Jesus is true whether we believe it or not. Just because I believe in Jesus doesn't make it true. This is refreshing cause the Light reveals salvation and truth by grace. (vs 14, 17)

15)Light already has victory over darkness. Even though this world is presently dark, we are still fighting from victory and not for victory. Jesus' death, burial and resurrection put sin to death, death to death, and hell to death. The Light of Jesus, in victory, allows us to live and strive for holiness. This victory means we no longer have to be enslaved by sin, but we can yield to His righteousness and live holy. We don't have a license to sin, we have freedom to live in Christ's righteousness.

16)Light won't annihilate darkness until Jesus' return and we are fully glorified. Darkness will exist in this lifetime, and it will always be prevalent. We will still battle flesh and sin, and we will not be able to escape a rotten world no matter what we do to shelter ourselves or others. When Jesus returns, it is on like donkey-kong, and sin and darkness are in trouble. Read Revelation for more on that.

17)Being Light among Light does not advance the Kingdom, it is not missional, it is not what Jesus did, and it is impossible. This is the over-fundamental problem. Christians in their holy huddles trying to escape culture and community does not in any way advance the Kingdom. Jesus came as Light in darkness as a missionary to save the lost by dying for the filthy. Plus, as stated earlier, their is darkness in us and the church anyways so there is no way to ultimately purge out sin until Jesus wipes it away completely. This doesn't mean we just accept sin (especially in our churches) but we must realize that we are bad people saved by Jesus so that we can testify to other bad people about Him that they might be saved.

18)Being dark in darkness does no good. This is the liberal problem. When we compromise and become just like the culture and its desires, we are in sin not loving Jesus. If we are saved by the Light of Jesus, we will shine in the darkness, not blend into the darkness. This is sadly a popular church view - that we become like the world so they world feels accepted by Jesus. Not Good. Being dark in darkness is ultimately the easier route. It is the path of least resistance, so many will follow. BUT Jesus is Light!

19)Being Light in Darkness is being missional. This is a massive part of sanctification. Living in sinful culture, staring face to face at sin, denying yourself, resisting temptation, portraying Jesus, and showing His power. When you do this, you mature in the faith. If you give in to sin and justify your sin, you are just dark in darkness living a false gospel. BUT those that put on the full armor of God and stand strong in the darkness, soaked in the living Word of God, protected by unceasing prayer, and filled with the knowledge of Christ become Light to a dark world. This is missional living.

You are Light SENT into the darkness. We shelter ourselves from aspects of culture like movies, music, facebook, myspace, public schools, tv, internet, and concerts declaring them to be irredeemable when God has called us to live as Lights in darkness. We need to use these things for the glory of God. We need to be Lights ..... in Hollywood so that movies and tv can be redeemed, in the music industry so music can be redeemed, in technology so it can be redeemed and used for godly purposes, on the internet- instead of porn lets put Christian blogs and preaching up, on facebook and myspace where predators and adulterers are - lets use it to spread what God is doing in our lives; in public schools - be missionaries; in concerts- lets infiltrate the secular to bring the message of Christ redeeming the music of the culture. We don't run away from these things, we use them as missional tools to reach people for Christ.

To run away from culture is to be fine letting people go to hell as long as you appear clean. To be missional in culture is to do whatever you can, short of sin and spiritual compromise, to reach the lost. It is to be the Light in darkness.

(for more: I will blog on Missional: Culture Changers in the near future)

-Ben Williams

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - "7th Floor West"

Missional: Yearbook

by Ben Williams

I went to high school at Evangelical Christian School in Cordova, TN (ECS). The other day, I pulled out the ole' yearbook because I figured it has been now close to 7 years since I graduated high-school, and it seems to be a good time to reminisce. I was super skinny back in those days so I don't like showing others my yearbook mainly to avoid people looking at me with disdain saying,"what happened to you?" as if I had indulged 20 something honey-buns a day since graduation. I just recently had to get another driver's license picture because I was 16 in the last photo, and no one believed it was actually me which spells trouble each time I was ID'd for a credit card purchase or trying to get into Buffalo Wild Wings after 11pm on weekends. I was tired of the weird looks...

Plus, I was a weird guy in junior high/high school anyways. I was saved by Jesus at 16, but didn't cease to be a complete "nut-job" who passionately wanted to be a rockstar for Jesus that went to a preppy school where we had to wear golf shirts tucked in to our Sunday-pants when what I really wanted to wear was tight muscle shirts with gothic-design pajama pants and put highlights in my hair thinking I looked like the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls. (I did all of these BTW) It was a fun but dorky part of my life BUT I began loving Jesus, so my regrets are minimal.

All this is to say that Paul wrote this:
¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)

If anything, when we look at our past, we should have smiles on our faces, and laugh as hysterically as ever BECAUSE we have matured (at least somewhat). God wants us to not sit in regret over our past sins, failures and ultimate dorkiness. He doesn't even desire that we look at our past achievements and gloat thinking, "those were the days." When we do reminisce, understand that it is in the past! Good or bad - it doesn't matter. There are people that feel so dirty, ashamed and unforgiven that all they do is associate themselves with past failures which becomes their identity. And there are those that think they have already accomplished their best and they relish in their past. They are convinced that their "peak" was reached years prior.

As believers, we must press on FORWARD.
What does this mean?
Grow.
Grow in what?
Knowledge and Understanding of Jesus Christ in relationship with Him, partaking of His death, burial, and resurrection on a daily and missional basis.

Here is a BIG problem today:
Christians think back.......and see "better, closer, motivated, and excited," concerning their relationship with Jesus.

If you look at your past, and you feel like you've lost spiritual ground...
If you look at your past, and you knew more about Him back then than you do now...
If you look at your past, and you don't see any progression spiritually...

Instead of finding your righteousness and identity in Christ, you have abandoned growth, and you have made yourself "your past."

"Your past" is who you are, and that is unbiblical for believers.

Paul, by the Holy Spirit, says to forget about past sins, failures, and accomplishments AND press forward.

This means discipline yourself in sanctification. Grow. Mature. Allow Jesus to live through you daily. Get involved in ministry. Plug in. Don't be a slug that is unfruitful for the Kingdom.

Jesus desires us to persevere. Those that truly love Jesus will persevere.

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To all those that are struggling with their past: Grow forward.

To all my high school peers: hi. (miss and love you all)

Missional: Worship Leaders

Ben Williams

Romans 12:1 - "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

John 9:31 - "We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, God listens to him."

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As a disclaimer I must begin by saying that there are many musicians that I know personally who love Jesus and are obeying Him presently. There are many musicians that encourage me, and whom I love and would love to serve with. I also know many pastor figures and preachers who do ministry from dark motives, and they have no concept of what it really means to worship the one true God.

That being said...

What is a worship leader? :

It is NOT some guy with a guitar in his hand who has talent and can sing the right notes and make really cool music fit with words that appear to glorify God. It is not some guy who stands in front of a choir waving his hands for the glory of the Lord in anticipation that others will follow the musical notes made by the swift circles he makes with his arms and hands.

A worship leader is one who sacrifices themselves to give glory to God by pointing their time, talents, and treasures to the Word of God/Jesus Christ so that others can clearly see and follow their example. Music is definitely a part of worship, and I recognize that many musicians have given their lives to this ministry, but for lack of better terms we have labeled musicians as "THE worship leaders." This has its pitfalls.

Like I said, many pastor/preachers are lukewarm worthless and shouldn't stand before anyone to preach their heartless version of the Word of God. This is a disease.

BUT there is a mass of musicians that are filtering into churches who have no understanding of what it means to worship in spirit and truth, and they are the very ones called our "worship leaders" who, in turn, are exemplifying worship to our people. This is tragic!

Musicians can lead in a part of worship, but "worship leaders" are the ones that bring the Word of God to the ears of the hearers. Musicians can and should do this as well as the pastor/preacher, but it is usually left up to the pastor to teach/preach/and clarify the truths of Scripture.

We need more Missional musicians that can lead in a part of worship:

What is a Missional Music Minister like?

They...

Love Jesus,

Obey Jesus,

Follow Jesus,

Read their Bibles,

Have a consistent, fresh understanding of who God is Daily,

Be in concentrated Prayer daily,

Go to Church!,

Be a fruitful part of a Local Church,

Have accountability,

Make Disciples,

Bring their Bibles to Church!,

Listen Intently to preachers that are serving with Them!,

Have discernment to choose Biblical Songs,

Quit being lazy, and learn new and creative Songs,

Find new ways to make older songs relevant to younger Listeners,

Write music that coincides with what God is showing You,

Be Teachable,

Be able to teach the Word from the Stage,

Always be learning how to improve communication skills,

Understand that younger generations are easily influenced by good musicians,

Be Wise,

Don't Fake The Above!!!

These are the characteristics of a Missional Worship Leader.

I have met too many "leaders" that just don't take the spiritual responsibility of leading in praise songs very seriously. They are super talented, but they think leading in song is just a social status that demands respect. This is not intended to be slanderous towards these kinds of people, but to encourage them that leading in praise is so much more than what is seen and done from the stage. In fact, don't be different on stage than you are in person. You gotta love some of these "leaders" who are so different on stage that you think someone gave them a lobotomy resulting in some wuss-of-a-man who starts to whisper his prayers as if he is constipated beyond recognition, and when he talks he sounds so uneducated that you start to think he was home-schooled by Joey from "Friends". Don't try to fool people by developing a stage persona that exemplifies what you think a Christian praise leader should sound like. Lead courageously as yourself - one who has been with Jesus. If the person you are and the person you are on stage never mesh..... be humble and quit.

Jesus wants Missional Ministers of music. Not puffed-up "worship leaders" that flirt with girls, have filthy mouths, and can't even tell you what the preacher spoke about following their "killer" set.

So.... To all those who are being missional-minded musicians, persevere.

And to all that are not: Ask God what you lack in order to be Missional because we have too many good guitar, piano, bass, drum players that have forgotten the most important instrument in ministry........The Word.

Missional: Beginnings

As I was talking to an old friend about Jesus last night, I realized this: That any Christian should use any resource/tool/ability that is available in order to get Jesus across to people. 

That is why I started this blog.

Missional Beginnings:

This friend of mine once considered himself to be a strong Christian, a leader, and a potential preacher/pastor. He has since fallen into dark places where sin has chained him back up, and demonic forces have demonstrated influence on his life. He has hit a rough place in his life now to where he is still looking for answers, and he is curious as to why Jesus isn't as important to him as his sin is. He is very open and honest. He desires to go back in time before he slipped...

We began discussing spiritual things for half an hour to 45 minutes, and the problem became very evident through conversation that he was trying to focus his efforts on making himself right with God. Notice I said problem. 

He has an understanding of Religion, but he has lost any concept of Regeneration. (The first qualification for a Missional life is a heart justified/born-again by Jesus = "Regeneration") 

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Religion is: Making yourself right, making yourself love and obey Jesus even though you don't want to. It is forcing something that is opposed to your own will. This works about as well as a diet consisting of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and chocolate milk, and having a workout regime that entails walking to and from your mailbox expecting to have dropped major poundage because "you walk" everyday. And we ask ourselves why this isn't working...

Regeneration is: Jesus changing your heart and your will, making you righteous, and giving you the desire to love and obey him. It is all about Jesus.

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Therefore, my friend (who I dearly love) is either NOT saved because his religious efforts to make himself clean were the driving force of his "Christianity" to begin with OR  he is a brother in the faith, but has forgotten what Jesus has already done for him.

If he is saved, Jesus has already declared him righteous and his own efforts are just part of a redundant cycle of pride that tells us we can do it when we can't. Only Jesus can. We don't live for Jesus by taking up our cross (which coincidently we hear most Sundays from the pulpit) but we must take up our cross by allowing Jesus to live through us (that is how we die to ourselves).

So how are we saved and how are we to be holy and set apart on a daily basis?

Conviction: The Holy Spirit will convict the lost of their lostness, and He will convict of sin in the life of the believer. (John 16:8-11 / 1 Thess 1:5 / Jude 1:15)

Confession: Admit and proclaim our sinful state - this portrays a renewed mind. (Romans 10:9 / James 5:16 / 1 John 1:9)

Repentance: Turn from sin because your renewed mind hates sin. This is not being sorry. It is being broken, disgusted and transformed to hate sin like God does. (Colossians 3:5)

Reconciliation: Jesus takes the sin away that separates us. He makes us right. He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. (Colossians 1:22)

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To my good friend who inspired me to begin a resource for people that need help seeing the big picture: Repent. 

To everyone else: pray for me and respond in worship by using whatever means possible to communicate Jesus yourself.