Dead man walking

In John, chapter 11, Jesus raises his friend Lazarus from the dead. We discussed this in our sermon this past Sunday. There are a couple of things that I wanted to bring to your attention about this passage. One is that when you read through this, even on the worst day ever for the disciples, Mary and Martha, and for Lazarus, Jesus was in total control of the entire situation. The disciples feared getting close to Jerusalem and being killed, Mary and Martha just lost their brother Lazarus, and Lazarus died. (That makes for a bad day.)

Yet, Lazarus really had a worse day, when four days later Jesus called him from the presence of God in Heaven to come back to earth. You see, Lazarus was a believer in Christ and had a relationship with Christ. To him, death was a new beginning. Lazarus for four days enjoyed being with God in intimate relationship and worship. Then, Christ having the power of God, called him back from the dead. Talk about a bad day. One minute you are hanging out with the prophets and patriarchs talking about how silly Joshua must have looked leading the band around Jericho, and then the next minute he was standing in a dark tomb with smelly rags wrapped around his head, hands and feet.

It was all right though. Jesus was there, and when He is around, everything is possible to overcome.

Then there is the part of where Jesus is in control. Jesus used this moment to teach everyone around that He is the man! Not only can he heal the blind and restore the lame, Jesus has control over death. Now this is the real thing. When people begin to come back from the dead, people better start paying attention. How about you? Are you paying attention to Jesus?

Nickels and Noses

It is something that often comes up among pastors when they discuss their church. Nickels and Noses. This is the church term for our discussion about the numbers. Not always the numbers in giving, but usually how many attended the church recently. While there is a lot of information contained in the number that attends a church, it isn’t the main thing. True, I can tell often times by knowing the number of people that attend the church what should be the amount of giving that could be expected from the average giving in the church as a whole. I can also pretty accurately predict the type of ministries and growth issues the church is having by knowing the average weekly attendance of the any church.

The number that really matters though for any church, and especially our new church plant, is not the number that came this week. The main number we want to focus on is how many didn’t experience Christ today. I want to know how many are in our community that we didn’t impact yet. How many are left in our area that don’t have a genuine relationship with Christ.

If you are a Christ follower or church leader. I hope that you are asking what this number is as well. My guess is that in our community, we have about 15,000. We need more churches.

All you need is already there.

In planting a church there are always things that need working on. We have been working on our church website since we started. We now are on our third total makeover for it. It should be coming soon. I spent some time on it this weekend. I spent the day after church, working on figuring out our audio mixer. Before this weekend, my experience was hitting the mute button on a channel and using the slider to adjust volume. Today I learned how to record audio straight to my laptop and how to mix and adjust the audio using a program that I already had installed. I then figured out how to send podcast feeds straight from our new website, which I hope to have finished by the week’s end. All of the things that I did today, I already had all that I needed to get them done. God, had already brought it all together. I just needed to look around and work through it all. It reminds me of what is happening at our church in relationships.

In today’s service we had a great worship experience with a guest band (John Kennedy and family and Carlos Castillo). They brought all of their equipment and got set up. They were new to our church and we were new to them. I had only met John and Carlos through mutual friends. I was kind of nervous at the beginning of the week, expecting the service to go one of two ways. It could have been a train wreck with two different ideas colliding or it could have come together in a way that could only be described as spirit driven. Thankfully, when it happened the entire service was filled with individuals who love Jesus submitting themselves in worship. Nothing is more wonderful than that. It was awesome for me to experience.

Our church experience has been full of ups and downs over the last months. There are times when we have great weeks and see so much progress in what we are trying to do. Then there are other times that we see frustration and feel like we are moving three steps back for every step forward. Yet, when we really step back and look at how we are doing in the area of our relationships with others, we see real progress. This is where God is most concerned and at work. God is bringing these relationships together.

I had a friend of mine who was very involved in our church plant reveal that God was calling himself and his family away to another work a couple of weeks ago. This friend was leading our worship. While I was sad to see our work together coming to a close, I was really happy that he was both hearing God’s call on his life and that he didn’t hesitate to let me know. (Nothing is worse than having someone wrestle with a calling from God and everyone around them is trying to figure out what is going on because nothing is getting accomplished or working.) God was already at work bringing the people together for today while he was calling another person away.

The bottom line is this, if we focus on God and let him lead, then we can know that all that we need will be there at the right time. From small things such as an audio mixer or website to big things such as our relationships, our goal should always be focused on our reliance on Christ. I am thankful for my friend and the relationship we have with our families. We still will always be great friends. I also look forward to how God will use his departure from Deep Roots to build new relationships with those that are involved in doing his work.

Wanna be fed?

This past week we looked at the feeding of the five-thousand in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. In it we see many things. I wanted to remind you of the main points to this message because it is so relevant to what we all are experiencing now.

We all need help. With the state of the economy and all the normal things of life that can cause frustration and anxiety, we are just like the crowd following Jesus, searching for some help.

We need to find and stay close to Jesus. Jesus in that time was the talk of the town because of all that he had done for the sick and lame. We have the same hope that He is able to meet every need.

When we find Him, we may be surprised that those close to Him may not understand. Just like the disciples on that day, those that we know are close to Jesus may not understand how God will show up in a mighty way to meet our need.

We need to bring all that we have to Him. Just like the little boy who brought everything to Jesus to do His work, we too should never hold tightly to our possessions. We need to be willing to give everything up to Him, so He can use it.

We need to remember that there is a tomorrow. While the crowd was satisfied that day and desired to establish Jesus as their king, Jesus was more concerned with the eternal matters. He slipped away leaving the people with needs for the next day. Jesus allows us to go through tough times and suffering sometimes to develop our character and person to reflect Him.

Deep Roots, you all are amazing me about how you continue to grow deeper in Christ and are expanding your reach into the community. I see so much of Him at work in each of you, it makes my job as your pastor so easy.

God Bless you all,

Pastor Mike

Religion Saves Book Review

About two months ago, theResurgence.com hosted a contest to receive a free copy of Mark Driscoll’s latest book Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions . Contestants could enter by simply giving their name and blog address. The publishing company is hosting a blog tour for Religion Saves. My blog, along with 79 others, were chosen out of the hundreds that were submitted. As you can see, my blog isn’t much, so I am grateful to have had this opportunity.

Religions Saves is part of the of Re:Lit Series. Click here for more information about Mark Driscoll.

Below is my review of Religion Saves. You can also download the book review in a PDF format.

Introduction

In order to be completely transparent in my opinions about Mark Driscoll and his affiliations, let me begin by making it clear that I am a fan of Mars Hill Church and Mark Driscoll. I have been listening to Mark Driscoll via podcast for the last three years and own almost all of his books. Additionally, I am a frequent visitor to theResurgence.com and enjoy many of the resources available. I am also involved with a church plant that is pursuing membership with Acts29 Church Planting Network (http://www.acts29network.org/). I appreciate the teaching and resources made available by Mark Driscoll.

In light of my opinion of Driscoll, I will try my best to create the most unbiased review of his book, Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. In addition, I want to thank theResurgence.com for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Religion Saves, in my opinion, was a result of a social experiment. Before the book was written, Driscoll preached a series from which this book is based. Mars Hill Church opened up a section of its website where anyone could post and vote on questions. “And in the end, 893 questions were asked, 5,524 comments were made, and 343,203 votes were cast.” (page 11) The top nine questions were answered and became the series, Religion Saves. The sermon series was then made into a book, in which each sermon in the series became a chapter in the book.

Book Review

This book contains a wide variety of topics. Of course, the nature of the book is dependent upon the the way the questions (chapters) were gathered. For the sake of brevity, I will simply take a chapter by chapter, straight-to-the-point approach. Because I believe that the more concise the book review the better.

Question 9: Birth Control

The book’s opening chapter asks, “Is birth control biblical?” Since there is no Scripture verse that directly addresses the issue of birth control, Driscoll begins by building a biblical worldview by listing sixteen truths pertaining to human life, sex, gender, and children. After the biblical worldview is established Driscoll gives a brief history of the use of birth control, followed by the levels of birth control. In order to organize the many different kinds and methods of birth control, Driscoll develops five different levels of birth control, which range from no birth control to abortion. Each level is explained and evaluated at length. Driscoll spends a significant portion of the chapter discussing the many arguments against birth control and their counter arguments.

The chapter focuses on whether or not a Christian can sin with the usage of birth control. Driscoll makes it very clear that he can not declare whether a Christian is sinning at any level of birth control, excluding level five. Since the Bible clearly teaches that life begins at conception, the real concern is whether or not a fertilized egg is destroyed with the use of birth control. Ultimately, every married couple should research various forms of birth control and prayerfully consider what God desires for them. Driscoll does a great job of organizing all the different types of birth controls and all the issues surrounding them into a condensed chapter.

Question 8: Humor

At this point, Driscoll’s use of sarcastic humor in his sermons is questioned. To introduce this chapter, he gives a brief summary of how humor is used throughout the Old and New Testaments, and then specifically how Jesus used humor in his ministry. Following this, Driscoll outlines ten ways that humor is helpful and then lists ten boundaries, or guidelines for the use of humor.

As with other topics, Driscoll incorporated Scripture and developed relevant guidelines for using humor in all aspects of life. I often enjoy Driscoll’s humor in his sermons but have, at times, felt that he overstepped my own personal boundaries for the use of sarcastic humor. Overall, this chapter helped to shed light on how humor can be used in a sanctifying way for the glory of the Gospel.

Question 7: Predestination

The most lengthy chapter in the book, “Predestination,” discusses the question, “Does God predestine some to be saved and others to be damned?” The main focus of the chapter includes the differences between Arminianism and Calvinism. Driscoll also spends a significant amount of time on the evaluation of Romans 8:28-10:1. He concludes the chapter by answering a series of questions and objections related to predestination.

This chapter was, by far, the weightiest chapter in Religion Saves. Considering that volumes have been written on this subject, Driscoll succeeds in explaining the basic  precepts of this topic in a single chapter. Even though Driscoll does not clearly state what he believes about predestination, he does so in his sermon from which this chapter is based. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this chapter and would recommend it to anyone searching for a basic overview on the topic.

Question 6: Grace

This topic, unlike the others, was the answer to the question personally appointed to Driscoll, “Of all the things you teach, what parts of Christianity do you still wrestle with? What’s hardest for you to believe?” Driscoll’s answer was “Grace.” Driscoll shares his testimony about how God’s grace saved and transformed his life. He goes on to distinguish common grace from saving grace. The majority of the chapter describes the thirteen experiences of grace.

I find Mark’s answer to this question to be true in my own life as well. The more I learn about grace, the less I understand. I liked Mark’s definition of grace, “Grace is God the Father in love doing good for ill-deserving sinners through God the Son by God the Spirit.” My favorite part of the chapter was reading about the thirteen experiences of grace, which helped me better appreciate God’s saving grace.

Question 5: Sexual Sin

Driscoll begins by analyzing sexual sin in Scripture and in today’s culture. He sets up the chapter by defining sexual sin before discussing strategies of breaking free from sexual sin. The majority of the chapter explains Driscoll’s eleven tips for “Christian men and women seeking to break free from the bondage of sexual sin.” At the end, Driscoll further discusses masturbation and pornography.

The subject of this chapter strikes close to home for me. Recently, I posted an article on my personal blog about battling sexual lust in which I referenced Driscoll’s book, Porn Again Christian. This chapter included a lot of the same content found in Porn Again Christian. Overall, Driscoll provides a solid biblical framework for us to begin removing sexual sin from our lives by the blood of Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Question 4: Faith and Works

This chapter is devoted to describing the doctrine of justification and regeneration. Driscoll begins by refuting that we are saved by works and explains that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone and His death on the cross. After detailing the doctrine of Christ’s justification, he explains the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration. Driscoll distinguishes between justification and regeneration by implying the justification is God’s work for us and regeneration is God’s work in us. The majority of the chapter is spent listing the ten aspects of regeneration. In his closing point, Driscoll explains that Christians are not saved by good works but for good works.

Driscoll successfully defines the biblical definition of works. He clearly makes known that Christians are not saved through their works by any means but through Christ alone. In my opinion, this chapter could be used as a “Gospel 101” course. I appreciated Driscoll’s focus on the doctrine of regeneration. His ten aspects help to clarify and explain this glorious truth.

Question 3: Dating

Similar to the chapter about birth control, there are no Scripture references specific to dating in the Bible. So, Driscoll packs the chapter full of principles based on Scripture that will help guide dating couples. Within the chapter, Driscoll discusses co-habitation, singleness, sixteen Christian dating principles for both men and women. In addition, he presents seven dating questions specific to men and seven specific to women and concludes with some dating methods.

Overall, Driscoll’s principles are informative for guiding dating Christians. Dating situations can vary greatly depending on age, culture, socio-economic status, gender and race. Due to the complexity of dating situations, it may have been helpful for Driscoll to distinguish between principles based on experience (or common sense) and those based on Scripture. For example, we know that the Bible teaches that we should not have sex before marriage or that Christians should not date non-Christians. Since not every principle would be applicable to every situation, prioritizing the importance of the Scripturally based principles would have been helpful and beneficial.

Question 2: The Emerging Church

Driscoll seems to have an insider’s view on the most recognized movement of the emerging church. In order to help explain his view point of the emerging church, Driscoll begins by describing his involvement and affiliations. Next, Driscoll categorizes the complicated and murky waters of the emerging church into “four lanes.” The majority of the chapter’s focus is given to the last of the four lanes, “Emergent Liberals.” Driscoll claims that the major leaders of this lane in the emergent church are Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt, and Rob Bell. One by one, Driscoll discusses the theological beliefs and view points of each of the leaders listed. To conclude the chapter Driscoll sounds an alarm by clearly stating that the “Emergent Liberals” are swiftly exiting the highway of missional christianity to pave another road away from traditional biblical orthodoxy.

Personally, this was the most interesting chapter. I believe the word “emergent” is used a lot in discussions about the church, but few really know how to define what it means. Therefore, I feel I am having to trust Driscoll’s evaluation, because it would be hard to refute what hey says due to the ambiguity surrounding the subject. Driscoll has a unique perspective of the emergent church due to his involvement in the emergent church movement. Because of Driscoll’s personal relationships with several individuals involved in this movement, he is careful not to attack them personally but rather evaluate what they have written or said about their theology. Driscoll brings clarity to the emerging church and its proponents with refreshing insight and discernment.

Question 1: The Regulative Principle

The majority of the chapter defines and evaluates the weaknesses and strengths of the normative, regulative, and missional worship principle. The principles mentioned all pertain to the elements of corporate worship or the worship gatherings of a local congregation at a local church. In an attempt to guide churches in their corporate worship gatherings, each principle attempts to state how much Scripture influences the elements included in these gatherings.

I had never heard of the regulative principle before I read this chapter. To be completely honest, I never really thought of the elements of a church service and whether or not they were biblical. As someone who is preparing to help plant a new church, I am grateful that I was able to read this chapter. I particularly enjoyed Driscoll’s invented Missional Worship Principle, which describes Mar Hill’s philosophy of ministry and life.

Conclusion

Overall this book was a very entertaining book to read and review. It was evident that Driscoll was well-prepared and researched for each subject. I have always appreciated Driscoll’s organized style of writing. He has a gift for taking complicated topics and breaking them down into understandable systems and structures. Each topic was interlaced with entertaining and witty stories and examples. The most important characteristic of this book was the sheer amount of Scripture. I believe that Scripture probably consists of at least a third of the book.

Something to consider is that each chapter is a general (view from the sky) overview of a particular topic. Even though Driscoll does an efficient job of condensing the information into chapters, it is worth noting that I would categorize this book as exhaustive. I would view each chapter as an introduction to that topic and for further study, consider other more in-depth resources. Personally, I would only recommend Religion Saves as a good casual read rather than a “must read.” At the same time, it makes for excellent casual reading.

Passion

Passion. This word is the difference in many different things you do each day. When you have passion for something, it gives whatever you are passionate about that something else. With passion comes more feeling, effort, desire, and fortitude. A lot of us are passionate about our favorite team or sport. Many are passionate about the next big item on their wish list. There are those that are passionate about family or work. We all have things that we are passionate about. Sometimes we are passionate about multiple things at different levels of intensity in our passion.

When you are dealing with the subject of God and His church, what do you find yourself passionate about? Is it the passion to prove that He doesn’t exist? Are you passionate in finding a church that can meet your needs? Or are you passionate for Christ alone? I have developed a passion for making Christ the main point in everything I do. I don’t always get this right, but this passion is what drives me to try to be better than I am right now.

As our small group plants Deep Roots Fellowship, I am trying to convey that this passion is not a passion for the building that you worship in or the type of songs you sing on Sunday. This passion is not about being passionate about the position that you hold or the passion for finding approval among the leadership. This passion is one that desires to have the same heart as Jesus. The passion to always come back to the Bible to discover what God truly thinks about the decisions that you make every day. A passion to reach out to your neighbors, family, friends and coworkers out of genuine love for them. A passion to share the person of Christ with others because of the great love He has shown for you.

This passion is far different from any other type of passion. This passion should be the real deal. This passion should not be corrupted by our own selfishness and greed. This type of passion must be rooted in an authenticity that can be felt by those around us. This type of passion should be so pure in its motive that others begin to sense that we are different than their other friends. They should see in us something that is missing in their own lives and want to be a part of it.

The only problem is that this passion can only be found in those that have suppressed all other passions for this one. They have simplified everything in their life so they are able to focus on developing this one passion. That is, a passion for Jesus.

Prayer

I am a Charles Spurgeon fan. Spurgeon was a man that had a megachurch before megachurch was even a term in church circles. Spurgeon grew a church in the city of London to a congregation size of over 10,000 members, and he preached each week to well over 6,000 or 7,000 souls. He did this during the 1860s to 1890s when the sound equipment and modern day conveniences that churches depend on today did not exist. If you were to look to Spurgeon for the methods and techniques that he used to attract such a crowd, you wouldn’t be that impressed with his style or his creativity. The large crowds that came to hear Spurgeon preach came because of the simple message that he preached. He refused to adopt some of the same tactics that his contemporaries were using. Many of them were trying to keep up with the new modern-thinking era and trying to match scientific discovery with God’s Word.

Spurgeon always kept it simple. He kept the Bible as his sole source and authority for preaching, and he relied heavily on prayer. Spurgeon had a church that prayed for him everyday. He insisted on the importance of prayer and made it a priority in his church. He modeled prayer in his own life, so that others knew how important it truly was. In fact, in his book The Soul Winner, Spurgeon tells his readers that if one is truly committed to winning the lost for Christ, they must depend on prayer.

This, along with a lot of circumstances that God has placed in my path, have led me to be convicted about the prayer condition of our church. As a new church plant, we need to set the stage properly and depend on prayer like Spurgeon, Cymbala, the Apostles, and so other many mighty men of God have in the past. Prayer is honestly a little difficult for me. I pray all the time but have difficulty setting time aside to pray at length. I am also not comfortable with public prayer. These are personal hang-ups that I am going to have to get over, and the only way to do so is to begin with prayer. I will be praying with a greater conviction of praying in the proper way. In addition, our church services will begin with prayer. Before each service we are going to set aside just thirty minutes so that those that know the importance of prayer can come together and learn how prayer should be done from the body of Christ.

If you are reading this and not really comfortable with your own prayer life, or have problems with praying regularly and often, then I would suggest that you begin right now. Write down a list of things that are important to you or those around you and then bring them up before God. Ask Him what He thinks of how you are living for His Kingdom’s purpose and to show you where you need to grow. I would also encourage you to pray for your family, friends, church leadership, and the church as a whole.

Just remember, I am praying for you.