Martin Luther on Work

I'm reading a book on the relationship between Work and God. Our work matters to God, and God matters to our work. I've still got a long way to go, but I came across this quote from Martin Luther, where it says,

Luther observed that God's blessings at times come to us through our labors and at times without our labors, but never because of our labors; for God always gives them because of His undeserved mercy...He uses our labor as a sort of mask, under the cover of which he blesses us and grants us what is His, so that there is room for faith.

More to come on the issue of work from a Gospel-centered perspective...

Joshua Harris and Facebook, part 2

Two entries ago I wrote about becoming a friend of Joshua Harris on Facebook. Well, he lasted exactly one week on Facebook before deciding to quit Facebook altogether. He writes about his reasons why on his personal blog on August 24 in an entry entitled "My One and Only Week on Facebook" His thoughts and confessions in the entry are pretty challenging. Here are some excerpts, if you don't want to read the whole thing :

First, I just don't have enough self-control not to check my page constantly. In one week I saw what many of you warned me about: it's addictive. I found myself tempted to update my "status" every five minutes. "Joshua Harris is walking across his office. Joshua Harris sitting in his office chair. Joshua Harris is wasting valuable time describing what he is doing."...
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The other reason I feel right about making my time with Facebook just a visit is a little harder to explain. How do I put this? I found that it encouraged me to think about me even more than I already do--which is admittedly already quite a bit. Does that make any sense? Without any help from the internet I'm inclined to give way too much time to evaluating myself, thinking about myself and wondering what other people think of me. If that egocentrism is a little flame, than Facebook for me is a gasoline IV feeding the fire. I need to grow in self-forgetfulness. I need to worry more about what God is thinking of me. I need to be preoccupied with what he's written in his word, not what somebody just wrote on my "wall."

Thanks, Joshua, for being open and honest and Godward. I think about Hebrews 12:1 "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Now, he doesn't condemn Facebook altogether, but confesses that, knowing his own heart, he doesn't think it's helpful for him. Will I follow suit? I know I face similar temptations that he does/did...Where will the Lord bring me on this?

The Cost of Moving a Church Toward Gospel-Centeredness

I read the following excerpt in an article entitled, "Crucial Issues in Gospel and Community" by Jeff Louie. I was simultaneously challenged and encouraged by these words, and find that I am going to need much prayer for the task ahead of me. Furthermore, I realize how much my life will need to be transformed in this process -- I need strength, patience, perseverance, and I must "bleed the gospel ideals". Hmmmph. Although I am early in this process of moving Immanuel Community Church toward gospel-centeredness, I wholeheartedly agree with what he says towards the end : "But is it worth it? Definitely, yes!" Amen! May the Lord grant that my joy would not just be wrapped up in my own grasping of the beautiful gospel, but also in seeing my precious brothers and sisters embracing it in their hearts and lives.

The Cost of Moving a Church Toward Gospel-Centeredness

The transformation of an existing church toward a gospel-centeredness will require a high degree of commitment, and perseverance by the leadership and especially by the lead pastor. It can take months, but more like years of commitment. The lead pastor must not only support the gospel ideals, but he must bleed the gospel ideals. He is not to relegate the work to an assistant pastor, but must be totally committed and involve himself.

The leadership needs to have a high degree of spiritual strength, as many in the congregation will not understand where you are taking them. There will be those who catch on quickly, those in the middle who will follow whatever happens, but also those who are resistant to change. People attached themselves to an existing church, because they liked that church’s culture when they joined. If that culture is being changed, you will hear disparaging comments.

You will hear all sorts of excuses:

“We can’t show compassion, because we are not ready.” When will you be ready? Isn’t “loving our neighbor” the second greatest commandment? It is not an option. Beware that you don’t use this excuse, only to discover that nothing is done 5 years later.

“We are too small of a church.” It is not a matter whether you can implement ministries to change your community. We are not called to “change” our community. But we are called to “love” the people around us. We may, or may not bring a lasting effect. That is up to God. Some churches are bigger and can do more. Churches with lots of strong adults can do more building. Churches with seniors can do more mentoring. Congregations with intellectuals can do more tutoring.

“We won’t be effective, because the people in our neighborhood are different from the people at the church; we would do better to help our own kind.” There are aspects of effectiveness in ministry when the person you help is like yourself. But if you limit yourself to this, and use it as an excuse to do nothing toward the immediate needs of the people around you, then something is wrong. This is not what the second greatest commandment is about. I can’t imagine the Good Samaritan saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t speak your language. I show compassion, but only to my own kind; it’s a matter of effectiveness.” Beware that we do not make “cultural-pride” and “effectiveness” synonymous.

The lead pastor may need to risk his own job for the sake of gospel transformation. This is not another ministry to be added on top of what usually happens at the church. Some will not understand why you are declaring bold truths. Other will claim that you are headed toward a liberal social gospel. There will be times of misunderstanding, bouts of sadness. In the seventeen years at Sunset Church, I estimate that I have been sad at least 25% of the time.

But is it worth it? Definitely, yes! We do not serve ourselves, or institutions. We serve the living God who will judge the works of our hands. We need to stand before the Lord knowing that we strove to represent him in the fullness of his gospel.

The Gospel, Joshua Harris, and Facebook

So I was reading Joshua Harris' blog late Saturday night. Joshua Harris is the senior pastor of Covenant Life Church in Maryland. He is also the author of the famous but not necessarily popular book I Kissed Dating Goodbye. I got to meet him personally at OIL 2006, when he was one of the main speakers. His latest blog entry was entitled "FACEBOOK SURVEY", and it began :

Here's the deal: last night, inspired by my friend (and I mean that in the real-life sense of the word), Kenneth Maresco, I signed up for a Facebook account. This is the first time I've ever tried one of the social-networking sites before and I'm pretty lost but enjoying the novelty of it all.

And he went on with some thoughts and questions about the whole phenomenon of Facebook. But his entry ended with :

Oh, one more quick thing. If you're on Facebook, will you please, please, please be my friend? Thanks. I'm tired of being a friendless loser.

So guess what I did...I went onto Facebook, put his name into the search, eventually tracked him down, and Friend Requested him, thinking, "Wow...that would be great if I could connect with Joshua Harris...he's famous...he's an important person...etc." On my friend request, I wrote, "I read your blog, and so I am Friend Requesting you. I met you at OIL a couple of years ago, and am a pastor in the Chicago area."

Well, early Sunday morning before going to church, I happened to check my computer and there was a notification on my Facebook saying, "Reggie and Joshua Harris are now friends." I must say, it got the day off to a pretty good start! But it got better...

Because in light of reading some books about the cross recently, I started thinking about Facebook, the Gospel, and the Cross. And God blessed me with the following thoughts :

1. A Friend Request is an invitation into relationship. Therefore, if you really think about it, the Cross is God's Friend Request towards us. It is not just how we get saved, but it is His invitation to relationship with Him.
2. I was excited to Friend Request Joshua Harris because I thought it would be cool to be connected with a famous person. The Cross is a different in the sense that the Divine, the Almighty, the Creator and Sustainer of the whole universe is the one who gives the Friend Request (through the Cross) to little old (and sinful) me. The direction is opposite. I was "reaching up" to connect with Joshua Harris, so to speak. If I didn't do that, there would have been no chance for relationship. He doesn't know anything about me. The initiative was all mine. On the other hand, through the cross God reaches down to us. If He didn't do that, there would have been no chance for relationship. The initiative was all His.

Thinking about all of this, I was greatly encouraged to think that through the Cross and through the Gospel, I am a friend of God. What an amazing truth to embrace!

Remembering The Call Of A Leader

What is a Christian leader? How can we judge the success or failure of a leader? The gospel itself gives us the standard for Christian ministry, and it often is found to be a different standard than we often use. As much as the gospel is in us, as much as we are living it out, we will be able to lead others. In his book, The Cross and Christian Ministry, D.A. Carson reminds us of the proper way to view leadership and to gauge our success or failure :

Those of us who want to be leaders in the church today, then, must begin by recognizing that there is no special, elitist qualification. This observation is entirely in line with the lists of qualifications for leadership given elsewhere in the New Testament. For example, when Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 sets out the qualifications for an overseer, the most remarkable feature of the list is that it is unremarkable. It contains nothing about intelligence, decisiveness, drive, wealth, power. Almost everything on the list is elsewhere in the New Testament required of all believers...
...So what we must recognize is that the demands of Christian leadership do not set a Christian apart into exclusive and elitist categories where certain new rules and privileges apply. Rather, Christian leadership demands a focus of the kinds of characteristics and virtues that ought to be present in Christians everywhere. That is precisely what makes it possible for Christian leaders to serve as models, as well as teachers, in the church of God.
...What it means to be a servant of Christ is to be obligated to promote the gospel by word and example, the gospel of the crucified Messiah. That is absolutely fundamental. There is no valid Christian leadership that does not throb with this mandate. We must repent of our endless fascination for "leadership" that smacks much more of hierarchical models (I am the boss, and, for all below me on the ladder, what I say goes) or of democratic models (give the people what they want; take another poll, scratch where they itch). All valid Christian leadership, however varied its style, however diverse its functions, must begin with this fundamental recognition : Christian leaders have been entrusted with the gospel, the secret things of God that have been hidden in ages past but that are now proclaimed, by their ministry, to men and women everywhere. Moreover, they must beware of politely assuming such a stance, while their real interest lies elsewhere. This will not do. The servants of Christ have a fundamental charge laid on them : They have been entrusted with the gospel, and all their service turns on making that gospel known and on encouraging the people of God, by word, example, and discipline, to live it out.

How Inadequacy Can Be A Good Thing

The other day, I was asked by a budding church leader, "Do you ever feel overwhelmed?". And, not trying to be overly dramatic, I replied, "ALL the time!" As a church planter facing the task of leading a new church, that's exactly how I feel. I feel the task is huge. I feel my abilities are inadequate. I feel people will be impatient with me. "ALL the time!" Somehow, my feeling overwhelmed in and of itself seemed to be encouragement to this leader -- perhaps because I could empathize with their own feelings of being overwhelmed. But is that encouragement enough? I think it helps a little, but it is insufficient in bringing about the necessary perseverance in this leader during times of deep trial and testing. So then what? I came across the following while reading a book on Gospel-Centered ministry :

Do not fear weakness, illness, or a sense of being overwhelmed.
The truth of the matter is that such experiences are often the occasions when God most greatly displays his power. As long as people are impressed by your powerful personality and impressive gifts, there is very little room for you to impress them with a crucified Savior. "I came to you," Paul confesses, "in weakness and fear, and with much trembling," (1 Corinthians 2:3) -- so much so that he needed special encouragement from God himself (Acts 18:9-10). But Paul knew that God's strength is most greatly displayed in connection with our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:1-10). Although he suffered fears, illness, weakness, and a tremendous sense of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, he did not fear the fear; his weakness was not compounded by focusing on his weakness. Far from it! He could write, "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong," (2 Corinthians 12:10). That is the testimony of a man who has learned to minister under the cross.