POC Bundle - 10.7.2006

A small buffet of quick reading. 

The Church 

• Darryl Bock on Emergent - It would great if Dr. Bock would learn some basic HTML like: <ol><li></li><li></li></ol> - you'll see what I mean when you read his post.  Even though it is presented as a big blob of text - he has very good things to say here.  I would only say that we should not shy away from sin/wrath when sharing Jesus with others.
  
• Taylor provided several quotes on anti-intellectualism in the evangelical church - these quotes are awesome.  Continuing the crusade to convince young Christians that being stupid is not a virtue!  Thanks to the peeps at Inversion who are bucking that trend. (HT on these two - Justin Taylor)
  

 
Mars Hill Church in Seattle will begin its series on Jesus tomorrow. My guess is that it will be a series will with Christological rigor, apologetic value, reverant adoration of Jesus, and probably some red neck jokes. Additionally, Mars Hill is launching a new web site - you want to see what can be done on the web when you have a bunch of Microsoft geeks in church?  Go here.

Technology 

Finally, there is a cool Zune page out there now Not that I am interested personally, but the Zune looks like it may have something to offer.

Thoughts on Philippians 1:1-18b

The following are some additional notes which given out along with the sermon "The Mission Continues" given at the Inversion Fellowship on September 7th 2006.

A Simple Greeting?

In the first two verses of Philippians Paul tells us some significant things about our life together in the gospel. A few thoughts I thought would be helpful:

• Paul writes first of all to the saints at Philippi. The word “saints” (hagios) literally means holy ones, set apart ones, ones that are different because of God’s action in their lives.All believers in Christ are therefore identified as saints in the New Testament. Even when we don’t feel so saintly, we need to remember that God in his grace has set you apart as his own.

• With/Including/Along With the Overseers (episkopoi) and Deacons(diakonos)

Episkopoi— Who are these Overseers? The term we are most familiar with in our current culture is “Pastor.” We use the term “Pastor” a lot, in fact if you have THE MESSAGE, a useful paraphrase of the Bible, Eugene Peterson’s version of this passage translates the terms “pastors” and “ministers. ” This can be misleading because “Pastor” this is not a common New Testament title for church leaders. Pastoring/Shepherding (the word poimnen) is used mostly as a verb, the action of shepherding. This calling is usually given to men who are called “Elders/Overseers.” In fact, we know that the same people are called elders and overseers in the same context in both Acts 20 and 1 Peter 5. The New Bible commentary on Philippians has an insightful summary of who elders/overseers were and their function:

Eldership was their place in the community, oversight their responsibility.1

Note – A man named Polycarp wrote a letter to this same church about 50 years later which was addressed to a group of leaders he called “elders.”2

Deacons – Many are confused today as to what “deacons” are and what they are to do in the church. To put very simply, deacons are those who have been called upon by the pastor/elders to serve all sorts of needs which arise in the church. The word simply means “servant” or “minister” - Both men and women are called deacons in the New Testament. A church can call out deacons to serve in many areas of need. There can be deacons of administration, serving needs within the congregation, serving the poor. There can be deacons who assist in worship, deacons of technology, communication, design and just about anything that serves a need for the people of God. Deacons are ordained and function at the discretion of the elders of the church. In our church many team leaders and community group leaders effectively function as deacons. But we don’t use the word “Deacon” - it could freak some people out and bring misunderstanding.

One key thing to notice about those in the church called to be leaders. They are servants and they are to be alongside and with the people. The are not to be lording power trips in the church. The one person who is called a senior pastor in the New Testament is Jesus. Church leaders must see themselves as part of the congregation with specific, God-ordained, responsibilities. The Issue is Responsibility not lofty positioning or power trips.

I think there is nothing as offensive as arrogant, prideful, self-serving pastors, flying around the country in their own private jets. Pray for your Pastors that they would be servants and slaves of Jesus, neither serving money or the glory of our own names.

The Day of Christ Jesus 

There is a theme throughout the Bible which reoccurs in both Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament it is called the Day of the Lord and in the New Testament simply called the Day of Jesus Christ. We must never forget the great promise and warning of the Old Testament that the Day of Yahweh was seen as a day of dread for the enemies of God and consummation and rejoicing for God’s people. It is spoken of by almost all the OT Prophets (See Joel 2:1, Amos 5:20) as a coming day of complete ruin and judgment for those who oppose the reign of God in the earth and the time when the salvation of believers – already inaugurated, already started, will be complete.3

There remains a theme throughout the New Testament that we must find refuge in God’s provision for salvation. That we must escape the wrath coming upon us for our sin by trusting, finding grace, mercy, forgiveness in the good news of Jesus’ death for our sins. In the New Testament the “Day of the Lord” is reflected as The Day of Christ Jesus and fills out the meaning of the phrase further. God’s good work in his people will be complete and we will be perfected. We will no longer be weak, lazy, prideful, selfish, broken, dying people. We will be changed – we will be like Jesus, forever with him in his Kingdom, serving, working, creating culture, living in an undying, unbroken world forever. And that my friends is cool.

The Day of Christ should be a joy we look forward to and a sober reminder of our friends’ all around us and the need for the forgiveness of Jesus. There will be a day where it will all be finished. While it is still called today, follow Jesus, trust him, and share his gospel with your friends.

The Defense of the Gospel 

There is a word found two times in Philippians chapter 1 which is translated as “defense” - in both verse 7 and 16 we see that Paul’s imprisonment is for the “defense” of the gospel. What does he mean? The word translated defense is the Greek term apologia—and it means to make a speech or case or a defense for a person or idea. Paul uses it here to mean that part of his ministry was to provide a reason for belief in the good news to the unbelieving world.

The word is where we get the term Apologetics—the discipline of theology which provides a case for the truth of the Christian faith. Unfortunately, Apologetics gets ripped from its context in mission and becomes simply an intellectual mind game between really smart Christian guys and really smart Non Christian guys who write books against each other. In Paul’s life, he used a defense of the faith in his proclamation of the good news. He would share it and defend his position when God called him to do so.

In our world which is increasingly both spiritualized and secularized, we need to be good apologists for the faith. We need to understand what we believe and why so we can understand people with whom we desire to share Jesus. A good start in preparing yourself is reading some of the really smart guys and gals’ books. But more importantly to talk to people you know who need Christ. What are their Questions? What are their struggles with believing in God and Jesus work on the cross for them? Once you have questions, then you can lovingly walk with a friend towards satisfying answers.

Paul was put in jail for his apologetic, will you love and engage those around you who need to understand the grace and love of God in Christ? For a little more reading on the topic, check out my entry Aplogetics in Contemporary Culture.

How Much Do You Love Them Paul?

It is fun to play a game with my daughters where we use fun analogies to tell how much we love each other. I love you all the way to the moon and back!!! Or Kayla’s final trump card—I love you all the way to the end of the Universe, to the heart of God, and back. OK, you win!

In Philippians 1:7,8 Paul uses some interesting language to describe his love for the Philippian Christians. In verse 8 he tells them he yearns for them with all the affections of Christ Jesus. This last part of the verse is quite interesting. The language actually reads I yearn for you with all the bowels of Christ Jesus. Bowels? Innards? It really means I love you with the guts of Christ Jesus. What a great picture to have for us. Paul is telling them that he loves them with a deep, deep, inward affection. To the depths of the bowels of Jesus.

Kayla, my girl born in September of 2001, told me once that she loved me so much she could explode from her insides. I think this what Paul is getting at. He loves them with the deep love from the depths of Christ.

How much do you them Paul? To the depths of the guts of God. Got it...you really do love those Philippian folks. This is the love we can have for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Don’t try to muster this kind of love up on your own. Allow the Spirit to put it in your heart. After all, it is his affection which helps us to love others. Especially the difficult people like ourselves!

Notes

1. D. A. Carson, ed., New Bible Commentary, 21st Century Edition, Rev. Ed. of: The New Bible Commentary. 3rd Ed. / Edited by D. Guthrie, J.A. Motyer. 1970., 4th ed. ed. (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).
2. FF Bruce, New International Biblical Commentary on Philippians, page 28.
3. Bruce, 32.

Philippians Commentary

Over the next few weeks I will be rolling out some commentary notes on the book of Philippians that I have been writing for my friends at the Inversion Fellowship.  I pray that they may be useful for your study of this great letter in the New Testament...

These notes are not my verse by verse commentary and teaching (that can be found in the message audio) but rather extra material which arose in study which I thought would be beneficial for others to see.

Christian Bestsellers

Kairos Journal has an interesting little article about what people in evangelical churches are reading today...not encouraging stuff:

What Do the Christian Bestsellers Say about Christians? Christians have always supplemented their reading of Scripture with helpful books. The earliest believers, for example, read Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp; authors who wrote about the importance of the gospel, the value of piety, and the danger of heresy. They presented, according to one historian, the “great saving truths of the Faith . . . as vital realities, urgent in their relevance to life, and not as an academic exercise.” However imperfect, their writings provide a window into the values of a young Church. If the Church fathers could read contemporary Christian literature, what would they learn? An examination of Christian bestsellers leads one to several, disturbing, conclusions.

Theology has nothing to teach us.

Looking, for example, at the fifty top bestsellers in June of 2005, it is easy to infer that Christianity is a mile wide but only an inch deep. Christians are interested in marriage, depression, politics, and pornography but are not inclined to read about the character of God or explore the contours of theology. Simply put, believers do not buy works that plumb the depths of doctrine. Only Randy Alcorn’s Heaven (13) is a purely theological work. As it stands, the evangelical world is anxious to read The Purpose Driven Life (1) by Rick Warren. His book introduces Christians to the most basic elements of the faith: worship, discipleship, fellowship, etc. These elements are more than important, they are essential. But they are only a start. The Christian should seek more than to understand the Christian life; he ought to pursue the Christian God! Unfortunately, millions of believers are content to drink spiritual milk—unaware of the feasts that will probably never make the bestseller lists.

Self-denial has nothing to teach us.

Ignatius wrote, “I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.” How foreign this statement is in today’s Church. The bestseller lists promote self-reference not self-denial. In Approval Addiction (9), Joyce Meyer wants to help readers accept their faults. In Come Thirsty (10), Max Lucado writes to believers feeling ineffective. In Your Best Life Now (4), Osteen teaches the masses how to have daily satisfaction and victory. “It’s all about ‘me’” is the unspoken mantra of evangelicalism. Personal growth is a worthy goal; every believer ought to strive for sanctification. Still, these bestsellers (and their readers) are missing the main point. Jesus called His disciples to deny themselves, carry their cross, and follow Him (Matt. 16:24). Where is self-denial today? Absent without leave.

The past has nothing to teach us.

One looks in vain for a word from Christian history on the bestseller list. There is more interest in a fictionalized future like The Rising (14) by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins than knowing how the Spirit has grown the Church in the past. The only biography (a great way to learn history) on the bestseller list is Broken on the Back Row (31), Sandi Patty’s account of her divorce. There is no virtue in romanticizing the past. Still, there is no wisdom in ignoring it either. A Church that forgets the past runs the risk of forgetting the Lord (Judges 3:7). Much more could be said.

Thankfully, the bestseller list is not without its bright spots. Three apologetics works, for example, made the list, proving that readers are anxious to defend the faith. Nonetheless, overall, the books Christians read indicate that they believe the Bible is there to teach us how to live well-ordered, peaceful, meaningful lives. This is a shallow half-truth. The pious mind knows that every Christian ought to have a higher priority: “to observe His authority in all things, reverence His majesty, take care to advance His glory, and obey His commandments.” Books that carry these weighty themes and promote these worthy goals are out there, but one has to walk to the back of the bookstore to find them.

To do my part, I have a reading list on this site...both a short and long list of books...Continuing my crusade in favor of reading!  Also, my post, A protest in favor of books, might be worth checking out.

SimChurch

New Video Game is putting Sim City and Sim Earth to shame.  Why build a city when you can build a megachurch.  Check out this new offering online.

Reid's disclaimer: Megachurches are not bad in and of themselves...but this link is funny.   And there are some megachurches that are doing goofy things.

POC Bundle - 10.03.2006

The Church Audio from the Desiring God National Conference is now up at Desiring God's new web site.  The page is ready - the "exerpt" by Piper is great.  DG is also podcasting John Piper's Sunday sermons. 

Biblical View of Women - Grace Driscoll has an article at the newly designed Acts 29 web site on the Biblical view of women and its application in our culture

Quote Fest - Quotes from David Wells, Voddie Baucham, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, DA Carson...very strong quotes from men with chests.

9 Missional Marks Desiring God

Now that John Piper has declared publically that he does not like the term missional because it sounds trendy...too funny.  It is good to see there is a robust discussion of the missional church/life in this month's 9 Marks News Letter because more than trendiness is at hand.

To put it bluntly there is a bunch of bad schmack out there running under the bannder of "missional" - you'll find that over at the Emergent Village.  However, the term is also an adjective, to describe something to do with being on mission.  The important issue then is just what mission we are on.  If it is to connect and communicate a biblical gospel and the saving work of Jesus Christ to people in a way they can hear it...To proclaim the unchanging word in a changing cultural setting...then jump on the missional bandwagon for it is indeed the Biblical mandate for the sent people of God.

In the 9 Marks Letter Eric Simmons does a great job giving pastoral advice for leading people in a missional life.  Additionally, Jonathan Leeman, offers a  good history and helpful critique of the missional movement because, in his words:

I have offered the five critiques above not because I think he (referring to Dr. Ed Stetzer) and others are on the wrong path, but because I think they are on the right path. They inspire me. My critiques are offered in the attempt to help the cause.

I would only say Amen - this is the right path.  Theologically driven, gospel (meaning adoption through propitiation, atonement type) centered, culture engaging, justice seeking, in the world not of the world, set apart people of God on mission type of path.   

The conference this weekend held by Desiring God was a great step to uniting the clans to this end.   The audio from the weekend is now up at Desiring God and Justin Taylor has direct links to each session.

Have a Salad...but hold the "God"

 

A friend of mine here in Franklin sent me a few links about the recent controversy with his company.  Yes, the friendly world of Bob the Tomato has caused some buzz.  Why? Well, Bob likes to tell the good folks at home that "God loves them very much" - Realizing the scandal of such statements in the religiously neutral public square, NBC decided last minute to begin the Gagging of the Tomato in order to keep the Gag on God.

You can read the story on Yahoo News here.  Or watch a local Nashville newscast here. 

The Postmodern Worldview and Dr. Bauchman's lecture

This morning at the Desiring God National Conference, Vodie Bauchman gave a great message entitled The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World.  It was very compelling and passionate plea for the truth of the Christian gospel in contrast to a secular view.  Tim Challies summarizes the message here.  

Though I thought this message was very good, it should have
been titled "The Supremacy of Christ and the Truth in a Modernistic World" - Bauchman clearly represented a humanistic/nihilistic worldview that he called "Postmodern secular humanism" - this view was not a postmodern one. 

Just for interest, Bauchman asked four questions of worldviews which I find helpful: 1) Who am I? 2) Why I am here? 3) What is wrong with the world? 4) How to we make that wrong right? Seeing how Bauchman answered these for "postmodern secular humanism" it will be evident that he was representing a modernistic view not a postmodern one:

Secular Humanist Perspective

Who am I? You are nothing! You are an accident, a mistake. You are a glorified ape and that is all you are. You are the result of random evolutionary processes. There is no rhyme, no reason, no purpose.

Why am I here? To consume and enjoy. No amount is ever enough as we always want a little bit more. All that matters is power. The answers to the first two questions bring about the social Darwinism that has caused such harm to the world.

What is wrong with the world? People are either insufficiently educated or insufficiently governed. People either don't know enough or they aren't being watched enough.

How can what is wrong be made right? More education and more government. Teach people more stuff. The problem is that if you take a sinful human being and teach him more, you create a person with greater ability to destroy. Then we govern them more, but who governs the governors?

This is a good critique of the worldview that flowered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but I do not see this being a view held by postmoderns.  To illustrate, I am going to track through the four questions as they might have been answered by that view.

Who am I? A postmodern reply would be along the lines of the ecclectic self.  A person is how they are self-defined through their choices and cultural proclivities.  One may choose to self-identify with certain groups, causes, styles, beliefs, brands, music, film etc.  The postmodern person can build their self how they see fit.  It is a fundamental denial of an ontological and universal human nature...in its place is substituted a constructed self made in the image of the choices of the autonomous man.

Why am I here? We are here...there is not an ultimate explanation for this fact.  Due to this reality, and my felt need for meaning, the postmodern desire is to create this meaning in community and live it there.  Ultimate metanarratives are replaced by mini narratives which we create (with language) and enjoy our together.

What's wrong with the world?  Human beings have for millenia had the perchant to absolutize the views of their tribe.  As a result peoples have sought to conquer, destroy, and oppress others with their absolutist ideologies...many times using such elegant tools of persuasion such as tanks.  This in the postmodern mind is very bad [don't ask if it is absolutely bad - that would be obnoxious of you]

How can this wrong be made right? Human beings should embrace a tolerant view of the world where all views are equally valued, even celebrated, and human beings are thereby free, without fear, to create meaning and enjoy the creation and enjoyment of their selves.

I think thinking through how the gospel Truth confronts these issues and fulfills the longings behind them, would be an interesting talk to hear Dr. Bauchman address.

On a final note - Tim Challies is summarizing the sessions on his site - they are very good summaries of the messages given.  Additionally, Desiring God will be providing the audio for download, free of charge, later in the week.  Isn't free a good thing?

ESV Milestones

JI Packer made a striking statement:

I find myself suspecting very strongly that my work on the translation of the ESV Bible was the most important thing that I have done for the Kingdom, and that the product of our labors is perhaps the biggest milestone in Bible translation in the past fifty years or more.

The Crossway has an update on the ESV on its web site. Five Years, 3 million Bibles, online excellence, international traction, adoption by churches and ministries, etc.

I certainly am thankful for this translation of the Bible; it has been a pleasant grace to my life for several years and was the only text which was able to pull me out of the NIV of my conversion.  If you have not purchased one - I recommend the ESV Journaling Bible - mainly because it is just so cool. 

Going to read mine now. 

iWoz - Curiosity, Pranks, and the Making of the Computer

iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It
W. W. Norton - September 25, 2006

I just finished reading the new autobiography of Steve Wozniak, the man who is credited with launching the personal computer revolution in the mid 1970s.  The book was a fun read which flowed pretty fast.  Seeing the early days of a huge cultural story develop is very interesting to me.  Normal people, who dream, care, try, and develop their God given abilities (even if they deny God gave them) are always those who change the world.  The very fact that I sit here typing on a keyboard, looking at characters on a screen is due to this man's labor to understand how electrons move through logic gates to make calculations.  Reading this book brought me back to my undergraduate days where I took digital electronics, laid out cricuit boards, created finite state machines, and even dabbled a bit in Motorolla assembler.  It reminds me that large problems, broken down into their smallest parts, and then executed at incredible speeds can simulate all matter of things.  Most people see computers as exceedingly complex.  The men who invented them saw them as very simple.  Simple in that if you got one part of a system to work logically, knowing its inputs and outputs, you could add complexity to do amazing things. 

To put into perspective some of the things "Woz" did is pretty amazing. 

• First, he was able to create video games in hardware - to wire up electronics to create arcade games which would play on your TV. 
  
• He was the first ever to have add a typewriting keyboard to a computer and have its input reflected on a monitor.
• He created the code to operate these devices
• He created the version of the Basic programming language to run on the first Apple PCs
• He designed a system to integrate the newly invented "floppy disk" drive into PCs allowing them to store programs to run again at a later time.  This may not sound huge, but many of us do not realize the way it used to be.  You would turn on your computer and have to type in the entire program (could take an hour or so) before running it.  After turning it off...it was gone and you would have to type it all in again to run it the next day.
• He added comptuer graphics to the PC with the Apple II - a run away success in the early 1980s
  

Woz is shown as a playful man with a heart for humanity - always thinking technology is there to help humanity.  He is a bit too optomistic perhaps about technology, saying early in the book that he thinks technology is "always good" for people.  I would want to qualify that statement quite a bit in light of some of the technological tragedies and atrocities (chernobyl and the atomic bomb come to mind).  He is the consumate prankster always desiring to make others laugh. I have heard him a few times on TWIT finding him to be very fun to listen to.

His highest pursuit in life seems to be "being happy" with true happiness being doing what you love to do - no more, no less. This seemed a bit simple in light of the fact that most people in the world  just try to eat each day...to say nothing of "doing what you love."  Themes of religion and meaning to life are touched periodically yet superficially, but the big questions of life and the universe are skimmed over.  

All facets of his life are covered.  School days, science fair rock star acclaim at a very young age, high school ingenuity and electronics guru, forrays in and out of college, marriages and divorces, Apple successes and failures, a plane crash, the creation of large concert events, early ideas on a universal remote control for media devices, and time as a school teacher.  As much as happiness is exalted in this book, I always sensed that it was eluding Steve Wozniak.  It always seemed to be something external to him causing him problems.  Decisions at Apple, wives who don't get him, and relationships which don't resolve. 

Overall Wozniak did see his work as having a huge significance, as one who understood he was changing our world.  There is almost a tone of providential leading under the surface, though I do not know if he would acknowledge as such.  The sheer wonder of all that has happened in the world of computers is due in part to a community of curious American kids.  I do pray that the youth of our country would find science, knowledge, and learning interesting once again; I was attracted by his voracious desire to understand how certain things work. 

During his college days he mentioned his association with a guy who was a Christian; he seemed attracted to how this guy lived the gospel.  My prayer for Woz is that he would again look at Jesus, the one who created the electrons which conduct and tunnel around the circuit boards, and see that there is much more going on under the surface of this universe and have the desire to ask some probing existential questions about the nature of his own soul.

I highly recommend it - especially if you have any background in computers.

God's Computer Program - This is weird, but creative...

Found this on the web tonight - this took some thought, and probably motivated by unbelief, but I enjoyed the creativity...I would add a few more programs to the file to complete the story:

C:\RUN DECREE
Covenant Program initiated
C:\SEND JESUS
Parameter Missing
C:\SEND JESUS, t=FULLNESS OF TIME
Command Successful
C:\RUN REDEMPTION
Command successful
C:\RUN JUDGE_EVIL
Command successful
C:\RUN KINGDOM
infinite loop...
no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King,, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King, no sin, no death, no disease, no suffering, glory, love, joy, peace, Christ is King

Multiple Intentions View of the Atonement

This weekend I was discussing with a friend limited/definite atonement, unlimited atonement, and the third option, the have your cake and be happy to eat it to…yes, its all in the Bible, multiple intentions view.

Dr. Bruce Ware articulates the multiple intentions view well, so I am linking to a pdf of his brief outline here for my friend.  I think this is better positioned as a “multiple intentions of the cross” rather than multiple intentions of the atonement…but maybe I am being too picky :)

On the Spiritual Disciplines

Redeeming the D-word in our Time

A Complete PDF of this paper is available

 

Discipline – why bother?

Discipline. What to make of it? We know its value, but seldom like to submit to her rule. The cyclist who wins multiple titles in the Tour de France knows her well. The artist who has taken years to develop his craft is a sure acquaintance. Whether a Lance Armstrong or a Leonardo Da Vinci, discipline is the constant companion of human progress wherever it is found. Yet there is a mood in our generation which despises the mere mention of the word discipline. We are a “me-centered”, get it now, don’t want to wait, self-obsessed, hope it all comes real easy sort of people. This is the cultural air we breathe and the water in which we swim. Some of you reading this may think this essay is too long to read; you may become lazy and quit a few paragraphs in. Don’t. For a lack of discipline creeps into our spiritual lives as followers of Jesus and the result is a dead and boring faith. Knowledge and relationship with the infinite God and just bored; well that just sort of sucks, so please keep on reading.

It may be a little obnoxious to say, but it is real easy to forget that the word discipline and disciple are very close relatives. They actually both come from the Latin word disciplina which means teaching or learning. To be disciplined means to be dedicated to learning and a disciple is a learner, a follower, one who believes his teacher knows what the heck he is talking about and then gets in line accordingly. To follow Jesus, to follow our teacher, to be his disciple, requires what we sometimes would rather avoid – it requires discipline. To say yes to him, to love him, to choose him daily, to not be swept away by the currents of the world is a pretty big mountain facing us. In fact, without his power in us, we dare not start the ascent. Jesus wasn’t kidding when he said “Follow me” or “If you love me you will keep my commandments” or “He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for service in the Kingdom of God.” This requires us to be disciplined followers.

Paul, an early Christian leader, once told Timothy, a young man he was mentoring, that he was to train himself for godliness (1 Timothy 4:7,8). Training requires discipline. It involves following Jesus; it requires walking the paths God has given us which lead towards his purpose for our lives. Why? God really desires to transform our lives, to change us for the better. He really does. Christian philosopher Dallas Willard articulates this well.

It is we who are in danger: in danger of missing the fullness of life offered to us. Can we seriously believe that God would establish a plan for us that essentially bypasses the awesome needs of present human life and leaves human character untouched? Would he leave us even temporarily marooned with no help in our kind of world, with our kind of problems: psychological, emotional, social, and global? Can we believe the essence of Christian Faith and salvation covers nothing but death and after? Can we believe that being saved really has nothing whatever to do with the kind of persons we are? In order for us to change, we must enter his school of training; yes, our joy depends on it.

Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy : Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God, 1st ed. (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998), 38.

Training to be like Jesus

Christians are people that through faith in Jesus and his death on the cross have come to know God. One would guess that such an encounter with someone like…GOD, would change us. And such is reality; he really does a work in and through us. We know that God’s purpose with us is to transform us to be more like Jesus. To make us more like him in character, more like him in what we love, more like him in the way we go about our business here on the earth. Yet many just want to say a prayer, have an experience, get a spiritual buzz and “poof” – we become instant, mature, spiritual people. No sweat, no work, no struggle. After a while we find out that this just doesn’t work. The Christian faith is not a magic trick; it is daily discipleship to our Lord.

When we begin to ask some questions: How do we change? How does God train us, transform us, and make our lives different? The end of the journey we know is to love Jesus, be in relationship with Jesus, worship Jesus and end up becoming like Jesus. It is joy in a relationship, a dynamic love affair with the living God that we are after. Yet the path to that end is often not known, at the very least it is a road less traveled. So in this paper I am going to recommend something very old, very simple, which has been around for a long stinking time. That God not only ordains the end for our lives, becoming like Jesus, but he also has designed the means to that end. He has designed the very paths which we walk towards that reality.

If we neglect these paths we will be robbed of joy, robbed of God while looking for him in all the wrong places. It is easy to see that you don’t go out into the dessert to go surfing, you don’t drink light beer to quench your thirst, you don’t go to the NASCAR race to hear a reading of poetry, and you don’t go looking for God in a choose your own adventure book version of spirituality. You can bang your head into a brick wall thinking you will become spiritual; you’ll just go home with a headache and a little uglier than you were before. So just what are the paths marked out for us to train to be like Jesus? Historically, people have used different descriptions. Some have chosen to call them the means of grace, others the spiritual disciplines. Either way, they are the biblical patterns of life by which God moves upon believers to transform them into the image of Christ. They are the aqueducts by which the water of the Spirit flows into our lives. And it is to those disciplines we now turn.

The Spiritual Disciplines

Much could be written about the different ways God has designed for us to grow; many are so simple, so well known, that to some it may sound like an oversimplification of things. Yet God has not made knowing him and pursuing him to be exceedingly complex. It is not an easy path to walk; but it is not like trying to solve some obscure puzzle. Yet unless the Spirit of God himself moves you, empowers you, gives you a love for Jesus, even these disciplines can become a dead work leaving you empty. But when God grabs you by the neck, lovingly embraces you, smacks you around a bit so you come to your senses, puts your feet on a rock and puts you in a new race, you’ll find that these disciplines will place you in the direct flood of the work of God. There is no better place to be. Yet just before we check out a few of the disciplines, let me first comment on the nature of the disciplines. Are these disciplines for the individual, FOR ME, or are these paths to be for the corporate body, FOR US?

Our culture is overly individualistic; we focus on self at times almost exclusively. We are concerned with self-worth, self-esteem, self-image, self-actualization, self-help, blah, blah, blah. Yet in the Scriptures we see that God works in and through a people, a community, not simply individuals. Yet we cannot throw out babies with our cultural bath water. God has indeed made us unique, distinct, individual souls. Designed for community, yes, but we are created as individuals no less. God neither wants us to exalt our individuality at the expense of others, nor to obliterate it into some blobish oneness of being where no one is valued as unique. So it is no surprise that God has marked out some disciplines for the individual, for me, and others for the community, for us. Let us a look at a few of each. Some of these rightly overlap; others more often to happen in the solitude of your soul before our God.

Disciplines of the Soul

The psalmist once echoed a cry uttered by followers of Jesus throughout history. When can I go and appear before God! (Psalm 42:2) God calls his people to an audience with him. We are called into a relationship with our maker; where God speaks to us in his Word and calls us to interact with him in the place of prayer. Many of the spiritual disciplines are given by God as means to be fed by him, spiritually commune with him, to come to have the soul fixed upon God in worship amidst the rat races of the world around us. Some of these are simple; but their practice often left undone. The Holy Scriptures Much can be said about the Bible, the Word of God, and the importance it has in our lives as followers of Jesus. Author Donald Whitney is blunt and to the point in stating:

No Spiritual Discipline is more important than the intake of God’s Word. Nothing can substitute for it. There is simply no healthy Christian life apart from a diet of the milk and meat of Scripture. The reasons for this are obvious. In the Bible God tells us about Himself, and especially about Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God. The Bible unfolds the Law of God to us and shows us how we’ve all broken it. There we learn how Christ died as a sinless, willing Substitute for breakers of God’s Law and how we must repent and believe in him to be right with God. In the Bible we learn the ways and will of the Lord.

Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1991). 

Jesus tells us the importance of the Bible in quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 – “Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” The Psalmist eloquently tells us about the treasure of the Word of God:

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Psalm 19:7-10 ESV

The most desirable possession we have been given are the very words of God. The Bible is the solid food for our lives which align us with the heart of God. He speaks through the Scriptures, which the author of Hebrews describes as “living and active sharper than any double edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12) Paul told Timothy that the inspired Scriptures are useful for “teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness” to prepare our lives for everything God will call us to do. The importance of the Bible cannot be overstated. If we love God, we will love his Word; we will realize that without a word from God we would wither away spiritually and die.

The believer therefore will desire to be intimately involved with the Bible. She will want to hear it taught and preached regularly. She will want to memorize it, hiding it in her heart. She will want to meditate, think deeply upon, and ponder the wisdom of the Word of God. She will want to read it daily for encouragement and study it deeply so to grasp its truth. She will want to know the Word in order to know God and thereby be able to lead others to the same fountains to drink. The Word is foundational in the life of the believer and is intimately connected to other discipline and paths God has for us. In God’s Word he speaks to us, in our time in prayer we enter an intimate conversation with the Almighty. To prayer we turn our thoughts

A Life of Prayer

Perhaps the greatest privilege you have as a believer is that of prayer. The fact is the creator of the universe desires for you to intimately communicate with him each day. Prayer can be viewed as simply talking with God, sharing with him your thoughts, concerns, and desire to walk closely with him. In prayer we can find help, guidance, and strength to face life’s many tough challenges. In prayer we also find that the very one who made all things desires an audience with you; for you to worship him, to confess your sins to him, to thank him for all things, and to petition him with your needs.

But to be honest, most of us get too spazzed out in life to have any real prayer life. The cell phones ring, TVs buzz, instant messenger, e-mails, reading blogs, etc. make us a rather distracted people. I know I personally struggle to carve out time to pray during the day. Peter reminds us of a very important aspect for a life of prayer when he writes, “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). We must be self-controlled, mindful of eternal realities, and focused on the coming of Jesus. This is precisely why we so need to sit our butts down to be alone and pray. How it dries up the soul to run around all the time without quiet, peace, and the company of God. In prayer we can find the mercy and help we need in every struggle (Hebrews 4:16), we see God align our wills to his own (Matthew 6:9-13), we find grace and forgiveness for sin, and we enjoy the presence and nearness of God. Oh how we all need to make time for prayer.

Finally, there may be times when you just don’t feel like praying. In these times I have found an acrostic from John Piper to be greatly helpful. First, we ask God to “Incline” our heart towards Him (Psalm 119:36,37), then to “Open” our eyes to his truth (Psalm 119:18), to “Unite” our passions and desires in Him (Psalm 86:11), and to “Satisfy” our hearts with good things (Psalm 90:14, Psalm 107:9). Beginning prayer with these I.O.U.S. can kick-start your conversation with God. (I found this helpful acronym in John Piper, When I Don't Desire God - How to Fight for Joy (Wheaton: Crossway, 2004), 151-153.)

One final note on prayer; it is amazing how many Americans know the Lord’s Prayer. I knew it growing up, not from the Bible, but because our public High School football team used to say it before going to battle on Friday nights. Right before we would scream “Lets kick their $#^@&#*!” we would bow the knee for the “Our Father” prayer. What we seldom realize is that Jesus gave us this prayer in answer to a request from his guys. It was a simple request: Lord, teach us to pray. If we want to know how to pray, we need look no further than the life of Jesus. In his prayer habits, in his words captured in the Lord’s Prayer, we find a modeling of the heart and posture of prayer for us…for all time.

So You Want me to be a Monk?

Some disciplines which are in the Scripture simply sound weird to us hustle and bustle people. For instance, when you hear the words fasting, solitude, and meditation, you may get pictures of hooded dudes chanting in Latin or Buddhist guys in orange garb going about with their begging bowls. But we may miss something if we ignore certain Biblical disciplines by dismissing them to the cloister. We’ll just look at these in a really brief way, but these ancient paths, combined with the Word and prayer, lead to a place of intimacy and much glory; even the throne of God.

Fasting

Fasting has long been a part of the lives of the followers of Jesus, but is many times it can be misunderstood or altogether neglected. Put very simply, fasting is the abstention from something for spiritual reasons. Richard Foster has defined it this way: Fasting is the voluntary denial of a normal function for the sake of intense spiritual activity.(Quoted in Whitney, 160) In the Bible people would abstain from food, at times water as well, and married couples from sex for times of prayer (really, see 1 Corinthians 7:1-5). Fasting is a way to express the worth of God over temporal things, to seek him in concentrated prayer, to confess sin and show contrition of heart. Both the Old and New Testament show believers fasting. We’ll take just a quick peek.

In the Old Testament Moses fasted before receiving the law of God (Deut 9:9), the Jewish people fasted for Queen Esther before she went before a king (Esther 4), King David fasts and prays when his son is stricken ill (2 Samuel 12), and the nation of Israel fasts corporately on several occasions to show repentance, consecrate themselves to God and ask his favor (2 Chronicles 20, Joel 2, Nehemiah 9). Additionally every Jew would fast on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31) as the people went to God for atonement for sin. Even the Ninevites fasted to show repentance at the preaching of Jonah. In the New Testament, Jesus implicitly assumed his followers would fast when he said to them:

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:16-18, emphasis added).

Jesus expected us to fast in certain seasons for dedicated times of spiritual pursuit, where we say before God, “You are more valuable to me than my normal needs and schedule.” On point of emphasis needs to be made; we should always fast to seek God himself, not as a way to manipulate his hand to give us what we want. It is a declaration that what we desire is in fact our God, not the gifts he may give to our lives…be they food, drink, marital intimacy, or even television.

A good fast in modern times is to give up media (iPod, internet, movies, TV) for a period of time to intentionally seek the Lord. These things can be good thing for our enjoyment, but you would be surprised at how the Lord would speak to you if you set aside time to be alone, in silence, with his word, for prayer. I commend such fasts to you today. Many helpful books have been written recently to assist the church in fasting. I would recommend John Piper’s A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting. In fact it is available free online.

Solitude

Being alone is a lost art in our culture where we are constantly surrounded by noise and lots of people. But the example of Scripture is clear; women and men need be alone with God in order to focus on him, reflect on our lives, and being silent before him. Many know the injunction to “Be still and know that I am God,” (Psalm 46:10) but it takes intentionality to actually pull away from life. Many examples can be seen in the Bible of people taking the path to be alone with the Father. Moses spends time alone in the wilderness before God called him to service. Elijah is alone on a mountain top in 1 Kings 19:9-13 when God speaks to him in a still small whisper. The apostle Paul spends time alone in Arabia after his conversion; God preparing him for the journey ahead. Jesus is perhaps our greatest example of one who consistently sought solitude with the Father. Even a cursory read of the gospels will see that he consistently pulled away for time alone to pray (Matthew 4, Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35, Luke 4:42). One final thought on solitude – we do not seek to be completely alone, but alone before God. Before our maker with nothing to hide and without distraction; God is powerfully seen and savored in such moments of solitude and silence.

Meditation

Meditation today is a concept which has almost been completely hijacked by a conception of the word found in Eastern philosophies. Eastern meditation, of the Hindu and Buddhist varieties, is a practice in which a person attempts to empty the mind, even obliterate the self into the oneness of being. It is a looking inward towards nothingness with the mind completely disengaged. Biblical meditation is a completely different sort and it is lacking today in the lives of God’s people.

Meditation of the Biblical species is a contemplation of God and his works. It is a filling of the mind with wonderful thoughts of God; his work in saving us, his works in creation, his works in history and in the world today. It is allowing the Word of God to dwell, to linger, to simmer in our souls deeply. Colossians 3:16 encourages us to Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. The goal of biblical mediation is to arouse the Affections, to still the heart and to set it aflame. Mediation should lead us to prayer; something which meditation will help us find a little easier to do. Here are a few practical suggestions to incorporate Biblical meditation in our lives; I think we will see how the disciplines are beginning to combine together in our times with the Lord.

Practical Suggestions for Meditation

• Find a Place of Solitude and Freedom from Distraction – We should approach meditation with the goal of meeting with God
• We Need to be memorizing the Word of God – Work to memorize larger chunks, as well as individual verses. When you have the word in your heart, it is easier to meditate on.
• You Need Time…Take the time on Sunday afternoons to meditate on a passage of Scripture. Pull out the passage preached in your church to think about how it connects to your life. Take as long as you need.
• Use Good Songs and Hymns as material to provoke meditation. An old school hymnal may even be a great help in provoking meditation.
• Meditate on the Cross – Think upon what Jesus underwent for us, how he lovingly and joyfully endured shame and pain on our behalf to bring us to God forgiven.
• Engage in Soliloquy or Discursive Meditation – That is just some big words for speaking to oneself before God…we see folk in the Psalms do this sort of thing (See Psalm 42 and Psalm 43). Psalm 42:5, 6 is a great example: Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Talking to yourself before God does not mean you are nuts, yet it sometimes helps you remember the truth.
• Finally, ask God for Application to your life…

Evangelism – The Great Privilege of Ambassadorship

Evangelism is as neglected a Christian practice as any in our day. Sharing Jesus with others scares the mess out of folks for some reason. Yet, God desires to get our eyes off ourselves so that we might extend his love and grace to others. In fact, being a friend to someone who does not yet know Jesus is a great experience. Being used by God to lead another to the cross of Christ has been one of the highlights of my life. In 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle Paul uses a great term to describe our role in the world. He calls of Christ’s ambassadors, people who make an appeal on his behalf to others. What is our message and ministry? It is to declare that God has reconciled sinners to himself in Christ; to urge others to be reconciled with God. A great book in learning to talk to others about the Savior is Randy Newman’s Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did.

With the Scriptures ever in view, connecting with God in prayer, combined with periodic fasting, getting alone with God in solitude, mediating on God, his word, and his works, with a regular outflow to others in evangelism, we will live in the ways of God and find a great delight in our souls. Jesus is a very personal God who desires to meet with each of you; in fact he has arranged the date. Show up! Yet follow the directions so you end up in the right place. Through the Bible, prayer, fasting, solitude, mediation and evangelism…Show up, he will…and don’t be late.

Connective Disciplines for the Body

As we have looked at some paths for our personal lives, we now will turn briefly to the disciplines of the community. There are many regular paths and patterns which God has given to “us” – to the church, the local community of faith. These practices and disciplines we do together, knitting us in community as the body of Christ, and bringing all of us closer to our God. These are not to be neglected and are given by God for “our” edification, building us up together. Many of these are extensions of the individual disciplines which are now shared in a congregational setting; one is very unique and only can be celebrated as a family. We will begin with the most central of these, that of Holy Communion, the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper.

Communion

Jesus established the Lord’s Supper, or communion, for his people as a lasting sacrament and ongoing ordinance of the New Covenant. A covenant is a promise from God; the New Covenant is a promise sealed in Jesus’ own blood. It represents a promise that in Christ, God has purchased his people for himself, forgiven them, reconciled them to himself, and made the right in his sight. In Communion this promise of the gospel is celebrated and displayed in the church. In Communion we do many things together. We remember and celebrate his body and blood which were broken and shed for our sins. We also meet with Jesus is a special way, as he indeed is present with us at his table where he ministers to us by the Spirit. Communion is a time for confession, repentance, and rededicating our lives together before God. It is a time of declaring our allegiance and dependence upon Jesus for all things; it is also a visible picture to the world that the eternal is mingled with our present and that Jesus is still calling people to become his own. It is not to be minimized or sidelined in the churches as it is a central and unique aspect of Christian worship. It marks us as his people and is an intimate time for the bride of Christ before her Lord.

Hearing the Word

Just as the Word is savored in the life of the individual, the Scriptures, the very Word of God, are to be proclaimed, taught, heard and obeyed by the people of God together. The Bible is meant to be read publicly (1 Timothy 4:13) and heard as well as read by people in the church. The Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and will change us as we hear it. A preacher’s duty is not only to bring “how to” seminars to people with spiritual themes, but rather to bring God’s very word to their ears so that they are changed by it. Christians are exhorted to keep getting together regularly (Hebrews 10:24, 25) to gathering as the church. In part, this is for us to participate in the practice of Communion and hearing the Bible read and preached.

Corporate Prayer

Prayer is also something we do together as well as alone. Times of prayer and confession are appropriate for all believers. Life in Christ is full of celebration, but it is also full of trials and many burdens. A church which does not pray is a church that is operating without dependence upon God. Prayer truly declares that we need Jesus, love Jesus, and know that he alone is the source of our life and peace. The church ought to gather to adore God, confess sin, thank God for blessing and suffering, as well as ask him for our needs.

Giving to God

Finally, God has called his children to be stewards, people responsible for the resources he gives us. Giving is a central part of Christian worship by which we joyfully return to God a portion of what he has given us. Christian giving should be regular (1 Corinthians 16:2), in all circumstances (2 Corinthians 8:2), in proportion to our means (2 Corinthians 8:3), generous and patterned after Jesus’ self giving in the incarnation (2 Corinthians 8:9). By giving, a believer says that money/things are not his god. By giving a Christian declares God’s ownership of all things. By giving a Christian helps the poor and those in need. By giving Christians worship and rejoice in the giver of all good things. Giving is not to be done out of guilt, reluctantly, under compulsion, or in order to get something in return; the TV guys begging for money not withstanding. Rather the Bible teaches us that God loves a cheerful giver; one who gives without tension in his soul for he knows that in generosity he is worshipping his Lord. As we close this brief treatment on corporate disciplines, I wanted you to read something from a Justin Martyr, a 2nd (around 150 AD) century writer describing the gathering together of Christians. I do pray you see the family resemblance. We are called together in the same fashion today:

And we afterwards continually remind each other of these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy; and we always keep together; and for all things wherewith we are supplied, we bless the Maker of all through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.

Justin Martyr, The First Apology, Chapter Lxvii. 

Wait a Minute!!! – I Want to Love God, Not “Disciplines”

As we close I want to answer one objection. Some may say “I want God, I want relationship” I do not want disciplines. To that I say “Amen!!! Me too!” and I would only add one small secret. God desires that we have him, and love him, and be in relationship with him. And he has designed the paths, means, ways, and the disciplines to take us on the journey from our heart to his. These disciplines are great gifts of God to know him, to love him, and commune with him. If we neglect these paths we will not grow in our intimacy and love for God. The following picture is designed to show that there is an unbroken connection between knowing God and the disciplines. You do not have one without the other.

Figure 1: The integral connection of the disciplines with knowing God

There is another great risk that many of us run; that we would turn these disciplines into a “to do” list devoid of life and relationship. We do not need our Christian to-do list, we need God. We do not need a heart that says “just do it” when we read the Bible, but rather a heart which cries out, with full emotion, “I’m looking for Jesus.” We are not looking for gold stars to pin on our shirts to award ourselves for reading the Bible and praying everyday. No, we want nothing of that sort. We only desire to go deep with our Lord and be changed, so we joyfully walk in the disciplines he has given and designed to this end. To know Jesus, that is the point, to become like the one you worship, and to love him more deeply in communion, deeply spiritual communion. And this happens along the paths where God blesses. In summary, we do not know God apart from the disciplines, but the disciplines are only a means to the end of knowing God. They are married forever; God designed it this way. It is true that we can experience God in the every day, in every detail, in everything we do. But we cannot neglect food in life; and God has set the table before us with the Spiritual Disciplines. These paths are the way we waste time with God and find life and satisfaction in Him. (The phrase “Wasting time with God” is taken from the title of Klaus Issler, Wasting Time with God: A Spirituality of Friendship with God (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2001).)

One Final Comment on Community Groups

These disciplines we live as disciples together in community. As we live the disciplines in community, we might desire to walk more intimately with him individually. As individuals walk in intimacy with God they bring life to their sisters and brothers around them. This is how a body works…each its own individual part, all one unit together. Your time with the Lord will give life to our community; by God’s grace our community will spur you to intimate times alone with the Lord. In our community, we do not wish to slouch towards legalism, but love for one another under the gospel of grace. We reject a works based spirituality by putting ourselves under to flood of God’s Word because we desire Him. We also reject the idols of sloth, self, and egotism for a life of discipline, love of God, and service of others. Your joy depends upon it – don’t be stupid enough to think you will find life by obsessing about “me time.” That is being tried by countless masses of Americans in our day and the therapy bills, broken lives, and constant anxiety alone show that life simply ain’t there. Together, let us choose a different path; let us learn to waste a little time with God.

A Complete PDF of this paper is available

Bibliography

Issler, Klaus. Wasting Time with God: A Spirituality of Friendship with God. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2001.

Martyr, Justin. The First Apology, Chapter Lxvii.

Newman, Randy. Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did. . Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004.

Piper, John. A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting. Wheaton: Crossway, 1997.

________. When I Don't Desire God - How to Fight for Joy. Wheaton: Crossway, 2004.

Whitney, Donald S. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1991.

Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy : Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. 1st ed. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1998.

Hispace

No, that is not the title for a goofy Christian knockoff of MySpace - though there is not doubt one of those in the making.  Rather, VoxPop, a communication ministry of Mars Hill Church in Seattle has a helpful entry on representing Christ in digital spaces in our culture (blogs, wikis, myspace, facebooks, etc)

If you blog, have a space, etc. There is wise counsel found in this short post. 

The long debate in Western Culture

There is a brief discussion of science and faith over at Scientific American.  It is a bit facile, but nonetheless highlights some recent works in the debate. 

I plan to review a couple of books here soon which touch on the faith/reason, faith/"science" questions.  I am just so stinkin tired from lack of sleep and a full load in ministry, that it has been a bit tough to get to.

The two books are:

• iWoz: From Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It- the biography of inventor Steve Wozniak - I am 1/2 way done with this one
  
• Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant? - I have finished this one.

As expected there is a bifurcation between faith/science with the slant of the article towards materialism.  Anyway, I will believe in good science and sound doctrine...and I do think that keeping the two together makes a world of difference in understanding our human experience.

Godsmac.com

 

A friend of mine is working on putting together a regular podcast called Godsmac (not to be confused with Godsmack) featuring talk about technology, features on various ministries, as well as offering reflections on spiritual things.  It is fresh out the gate, finding its flavor, and beginning to get a little traction.  I did an interview with Gabe (the man running his mac) last night that will soon be up on the site.

You can check it out at www.godsmac.com -Although the name has to do with a "Mac" I think it is fun to think of it as talkin some GodSmack.

Response to Islamic Reactions to the Pope

John Piper has an excellent article repsonding to the recent "outrage" and violence at the words of Pope Benedict in a recent speech.

Piper does a great job putting the speech in context of what was said along side the fire bombings and the murder of a Catholic nun in Mogadishu.  His recommendations for our response to all of this is worthy of your time to read.

You may read it here. 

Let the Pope Preach

 

There are several articles out there on the recent Muslim response to a speech made by Pope Benedict.  Very interesting to see how the press and the editorials are reacting...

• Iranian Leader Urges For Papal Protests - ABC News
• Pope Says "Sorry" about Reaction to His Remarks - Washington Post
• Let the Pope Preach Times London
• Why the Pope was Right - Times London
• Benedict the Brave - The Wall Street Journal

Even in London, some people may be waking up.  I'll close with a quote from the article "Let the Pope Preach"

The Vatican has said he is very sorry his speech caused such offence to Muslims. That is fine but it should not go further than that. He should certainly not be pushed into withdrawing his remarks. As in the case of the Danish cartoons, Muslim zealots are trying to impose their restrictions of free expression on the West. Mindful as we should be of religious sensitivities, that cannot be allowed to happen.

Yet is it too late for a Postmodern, population imploding, cannot stand for anything Europe to change?  Only time will tell...

My Current Favorite Song

I have currently been listening to an album entitled "New Irish Hymns 4" with contemporary hymns sung by Margaret Becker, Kristen Getty, and Joanne Hogg.  I like it for a couple of reasons.

1. I am Irish and like a lot of things "Irish"
2. I love the theological richness and depth of the lyrics
3. It is a little different genre of tunes for me...
4. My daughters love it - enough said :)
   

Additionally, The Power of the Cross, a song on this CD, has just crushed my heart with overwhelming joy and thanksgiving to Jesus.  I can't think of another cut in our day which reflects the essence of the gospel in a more powerful way...

I will never forget singing this with 1200 men at the 2006 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors 

The Power of the Cross 

Oh to see the dawn
Of the darkest day;
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

This the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us,
Took the blame, bore the wrath -
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

This the power...

Now the daylight flees,
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as it's Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two;
Dead are raised to life;
Finished! the victory cry.

This the power...

Oh to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This the power of the cross:
Son of God, slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

The Power of the Cross
Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music