Hairy Legs and the Kingdom of God

I was at an event this past weekend called, Jesus in the Quran, and was caught off guard when I heard one verse read from the gospel of Luke. I actually looked it up to make sure he wasn't making it up. Check this out:

The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.
Luke 16:16

This is Jesus speaking here, and he is speaking to the Pharisees. Think about this...the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. This is quite amazing. This idea of "forces" is also seen as someone pushing themselves into the kingdom in a forceful manner...like they can't wait to enter because of what they have heard preached. Now, I am not denying God's sovereign rule here, so don't read that. But, the question has to come, "Why aren't people around you (me) forcing their way into the kingdom?"

Some will say that is because they are like Jeremiah, who brought the oracles of God and it was just God's will for him to be "unsuccesful" in the eyes of the world. But what if it isn't? What if what we are preaching is causing people to be turned off to the gospel? What if we have created our own Gospel, that isn't good news at all? Think of this. Just after this Jesus brings up that not one jot of the law will be destroyed, yet people will force their way into the kingdom. Meaning, the only way the Pharisees were going to keep people out of the kingdom is if they ADD to the law and the prophets, which they did plenty of.


I remember when I was in middle school, or somewhere around there, and I learned that some women around the world didn't shave their legs or arm pits. I was honestly disgusted. I couldn't believe it. How could women not understand that in order to be beautiful, they needed to shave? Not only that, but the dudes didn't mind if their women had hair all over their bodies...seriously?

Throughout my life, the more I learn about other cultures, the more I learn what is truly Western, or cultural, and what is actual truth. As I read something like this in Luke's gospel, I wonder if people aren't pushing, or forcing their way into the kingdom of God because we aren't making Jesus look as glorious as he should be? What if we have created such a Western, consumeristic Jesus that he looks disgusting instead? What if it is more about accepting a certian cultural standard than what the gospels actually speak about?

Not only that, but what if what we preach, we don't live? So, not only do we preach a Western Jesus, but we aren't even willing to follow that Western Jesus? How much of the gospel do we need to bastardize before we wake up and see the lives we are ruining?

Jesus said this:

My yoke is easy, my burden is light.

Seems like we are creating some sort of quasi secret club, where you need to climb the levels of understanding and culture to be redeemed.

What is amazing about this, is that the gospel is so simple that the theif on the cross merely believed and was said that he would see Jesus in paradise.

We have lost our first love...belief in Jesus and his power. Not only that, but we refuse to live like he calls us to. We don't love our neighbors, we don't love, pray for or bless our enemies, we aren't peacemakers, we aren't humble, etc. etc. etc.

Return to the gospel and look to see where you have Westernized the good news and get rid of that as a requirement to enter the kingdom. If it is your conviction, that is fine, but don't put your conviction onto others, or they might never force their way into the kingdom.

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Atheists Know More About Religion? Not Surprising

In a new survey it has shown that Atheists and Agnostics know more about religion than the average Protestant. If you want to read a short story on this, check out this news story here. But, if you think about it, they probably should. The reason I say this is that those who have a deep knowledge of religion and see its affects, no doubt will they become unbelievers of religion itself. This isn't surprising, nor is it troubling. When one looks at religion, specifically Christianity as a whole (putting both Catholicism and Protestantism in the same breath), it is pretty grotesque to look at and see any resemblance of Jesus. Why wouldn't those who have done a ton of study on religion become unbelievers? I honestly don't believe that many who call themselves atheists or agnostics have heard the true story of Jesus or those who actually follow him. What they have received is a look at what religion does to a people, instead of seeing those who are actually transformed by the good news of Jesus. One could call me an atheist to this kind of religion as well.

In the movie, The Book of Eli (a movie about a post apocalyptic world), one of the villains desperately wants a copy of the Bible because he desires to control the minds of others. He said, "it's happened once, it can happen again." What we see is that it has nothing to do with the Bible that causes people to sin and reign over people, but the person who uses it for their own gain. It's like a knife. It can either be used for open heart surgery to save a life, or used by a murderer to kill someone. The knife isn't the problem, the person is.

The main character in The Book of Eli, played by Denzel Washington, states this (talking about the Bible):

In all these years I've been carrying it and reading it every day, I got so caught up in keeping it safe that I forgot to live by what I learned from it.

If you have seen this movie, you will notice this is a very profound and timely quote.

When one then reads that atheists know more facts about the Bible than a lot of Protestants, many pastors will use this as sermon material to challenge their people. But, is this the point of the good news? Are we supposed to know facts about the Bible, or are we to be living examples of the Bible and point people to Jesus? The survey shows that some Protestants didn't know basic things like who Martin Luther was, or about what transubstantiation is truly about. Although these things might add to someone's faith, is this the most important things about our faith? Not at all. Our faith in Jesus shouldn't be about merely knowing facts about Jesus (which is important), or facts about the Bible (which is important), but our faith should be in the understanding that no matter how smart or how dumb we are, we are all in the same position of wrath because of our sin. We are in need of a Saviour. We are in need of Jesus.

I would rather see us, who believe in Jesus, show who the real Jesus is by loving our neighbors, by loving, praying for and blessing our enemies, instead of going to war with them. I would rather someone say to me, "your the dumbest person I have ever met, but one thing I know, you are a lot like Jesus." This isn't to show that I am some great person, but that I merely serve the greatest person to ever live, die and live again...the God/Man...Jesus.

This is exactly what the people said of some of the disciples in the days after Jesus ascended to heaven:

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus
Acts 4:15

Maybe instead of trying to be the smartest guys in the room, we should desire to merely serve the smartest guys in the room. Maybe instead of trying to do good on a test about facts about Jesus, we could show people up close who Jesus is and what he is about. Maybe instead of being a functional atheist, living like there is no god, we could live like we actually believe what was written to us by our God.

Maybe.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13:34-35

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Why People Hate Christians.

I know this is a bit odd to put up this kind of post, especially since I am one that is a Christian, or what I would rather be known for, which is a follower of Jesus. My intent is not to merely beat up those who are my brothers and sisters, but to call them, and myself, to repentance. This post isn't exhaustive as there are many reasons historically and currently why people hate Christians. There are some solid reasons for hating us as a group, and there are some nonsense ones as well. My reason for writing this post is simply for those who call themselves Christians to contemplate what I have to say, pray on it and seek to see if there are some changes that need to take place within each of our hearts.

I believe that one of the main reasons that people hate Christians is simply found in our pride of self and lack of concern to hear other's speak. We love to hear ourselves speak, and we love to be right. We cover this with a facade of "there are absolutes and I am God's messenger." While there are absolutes, let me remind you...your knowledge isn't one. You, and I, are finite in both life span and wisdom. God is the one who is infinite in both time and wisdom. It becomes so bad that when speaking to people about honest concerns over how we show people Jesus, my own brothers and sisters would rather make "sound bytes" and "be right" than try and learn from one another and truly glorify God in our humility. Humbleness and meekness have lost it's luster in the Christian walk and have been hijacked by American pride and self promotion.

Yesterday, I put up a quote that most Christians have heard before and one that always gets a reaction. This time, instead of making any commentary on the quote, I simply put it up to see what kind of reaction I would get.

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." -- Mahatma Gandhi

The reactions were mixed, but I knew I would get some of the reactions that we are known for. Instead of being torn up to see that maybe we need to follow Jesus more and love others more than ourselves, people decided to attack the beliefs of Gandhi. What Gandhi had to say about us should make us stumble, should make us a repentant people ready to show of Jesus. Instead, we point the finger back at the accuser. Poorly done friends.

The reality of the quote from Gandhi is just that...it is reality. We, those who follow Jesus, do a poor job of it. We should OWN this, not dismiss this. I, personally, fail so many times it is ridiculous and that is the very reason I should be the most humble, repentant person on this planet crying out for the perfection of Jesus, not the perfection or accusation of the one accusing me. We need to understand that "making a point" or "trying to find loopholes in an argument" or "being right" is not what is important. The important thing is that we need to show off more and more of the one who saved us and is continually saving us, which should cause humility, not boasting or pride.

I also wonder what right we feel like we have in the West to have these thoughts of pride and entitlement. I heard from a missiologist that out of everyone in the world, there are two places where the gospel is not growing among the people...

United States and Europe

Is this really a surprise with our pride and the love of self promotion? People are seeing right through it. One pastor put it like this:

“The Gospel came to the Greeks and the Greeks turned it into a philosophy. The Gospel came to the Romans and the Romans turned it into a system. The Gospel came to the Europeans and the Europeans turned it into a culture. The Gospel came to America and the Americans turned it into a business.”

Even Madonna is seeing through the facade...she is known for saying:

Christianity is becoming more of a currency than a belief

For those of us in business it is very easy to spot the marketing techniques churches use to promote their name, to promote who they are, to build up their followers. I continue to hear pastors brag about how much they are giving away, how much they are serving the community, how much their church is growing, etc. Then during their sermons, they rip other churches apart as though they were trying to put together a trashy political ad campaign.

Why don't we go ahead and promote Jesus, live like he did, be ready to listen first, and when we screw up admit it and ask for forgiveness from those around us?

When Gandhi tells us that he doesn't like Christians because we are nothing like Jesus, we should really take that in. We should contemplate ways in which we can change. We should look for ways in our lives that we are not living more like Jesus, instead of ripping someone else apart. When I read what Gandhi says, I should hear it like this:

I love your Christ, it's you I don't like, you are so unlike your Jesus

Then...I should first repent and look for ways to be more like Jesus and then point people to Him, not me.

When we speak first and don't care to hear the rest of the world, we are a prideful people who doesn't think we need learning. We are to be humble.

So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased,
The eyes of the proud also will be abased.
Isaiah 5:15

For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word. Isaiah 66:2

Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
Matthew 23:12

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:8

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
James 4:6

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A Muslim Writes on Islamic and American Hypocrisy

'Pandemic of hypocrisy' dominating Muslim faith and American life

By MUQTEDAR KHAN

Yes, we Muslims are hypocritical. We demand equality under the law wherever we live as minorities and practice systematic inequality wherever we are in power. In most Muslim societies men and women, Muslims and non-Muslims, are treated unequally by law. Sometimes culture and sometimes religion is used as cover to privilege the rights of Muslim men over all others. Even in societies where there is no democracy and absence of rights is a chronic condition, Muslim men still suffer less than others.

We thought we could get away with it. But, unfortunately, the age of globalization and its pervasive media has exposed us. In the West, we say Islam is a religion of equality, but in the Muslim lands, we say equality is not justice. Justice is to give (or withhold) rights to others as determined by God. So, in Egypt, Baha'is are denied their religious identity. In Malaysia, men can divorce but women cannot. In Pakistan, Muslims can preach but others cannot. In Saudi Arabia -- the Mecca of Islam -- no one except Muslims can publicly worship.

Today, we are engaged in a battle to define Islam. Islamophobes are trying to paint it as a creed of intolerance and hatred and as an ideology of terror. Muslim extremists are defining it as an exclusivist and narrow ethos that has no tolerance for difference and no appetite for self-criticism. But even in this battle, we are hypocritical.

We talk of rights when we speak for Palestinians, we indeed scream in agony for justice for Gaza, but we are relatively silent -- as if our consciences are dead -- when the houses of worship of Ahmediyas (a Muslim sect) are blown up. We hear of Muslim youth going from New Jersey to Israel to struggle for Gaza, from Virginia to Pakistan to fight against the Americans, from Minnesota to Somalia to fight against God knows who, but no one ever goes to fight against al-Qaeda.

When we talk of Islam, we are quick to assert that God made Muslims the best of communities for the rest of the world (See Quran 3:110). But we live our lives as if we are a community against the rest of the world.
So, that is that. We Muslims are hypocrites, but what about Americans? What about the city on the hill?

Buses in New York City today are carrying hateful advertisements promising to help Muslims who leave Islam. Six hundred residents of Rutherford County in Tennessee came out to object to the proposed construction of a mosque. They want no mosques in their state. A woman in Oklahoma places a yard sign opposing a Muslim neighbor she never met. GOP congressional candidate Lou Ann Zelenik sees Muslim places of worship as a threat to Tennessee's moral and political fiber. Sen. Jeff Sessions displayed his latent Islamophobia on the Senate floor while criticizing candidate for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan as a Sharia sympathizer. And the state of Oklahoma, where Muslims are less than 1 percent of the population, wants to pass a law forbidding the implementation of Sharia.

This is just a sample of the Islamophobia manifest in the past two weeks in America as Muslims increasingly become targets of rising prejudice in American society.

When Muslims object to mockery of Islamic symbols, we scream freedom of speech. We call it an important institution of our culture and of democracy itself. But when Helen Thomas expresses her opinion, we destroy her career and her legacy.

We preach to Muslims the virtue of democracy and peaceful opposition. But when the Muslim students of the University of California try it by demonstrating at a speech of the Israeli Ambassador, they are promptly punished.

We take pride in our democracy. We are especially proud of our protection of freedom of religion. But when it comes to living up to our values with regards to Muslims, we are falling woefully short.

If we cannot practice our values when Muslims are involved, then we also do not have the moral ground to lecture them. We wage wars abroad to defend "American values" and wage campaigns at home to eviscerate them.

Today, Muslims and Americans stand united as victims of this pandemic of hypocrisy.
Muslims are inheritors of one of the greatest value systems of human civilization, Islam, but we are losing it by not practicing what we preach. Americans have developed one of the greatest systems of governance, democracy, and now we are jeopardizing it by allowing our prejudice to overwhelm our decency.

I would rather we compete in realizing our values in real life than racing to become the champion of hypocrisy.

Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Associate Professor in the department of political science at the University of Delaware and a Fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

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Pranav Mistry: The thrilling potential of SixthSense technology

This is simply amazing where this is headed.

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I Am Second: Ken Hutcherson

Back in the day, before we moved, we went to Antioch where Ken Hutcherson preaches. He is a very good preacher and this Antioch is where Driscoll and Gunn first met and started dreaming up Mars Hill. Currently, he is battling cancer...like a man. From what I have heard, he is sharing his struggles, yet continues to trust in the sovereignty and will of God. Speaking of his cancer he said:

"Don't pray that God would heal me. Pray He would make me like Christ."

Pretty powerful dude. But he follows an even more infinitely powerful God.

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John Calvin Was Missional: Truth and Culture

I've been looking for this quote for quite a while. I finally found it in Gunn's book on gospel and culture. This quote shows Calvin's understanding of how truth can be found in even profane authors. That God is so permeated in all areas of life that he is bound to be found in even the most profound places. So, when we see different cultures and different illustrations of that culture, examples would be in art, music, design, poetry, stories, etc., we should seek how we can speak to those things looking to cultivate the Gospel out of them. We don't take God to the culture we go to, God is already there. Our job is to redeem the aspects of the culture that show off who God is and reject those areas that cannot be redeemed.

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Celtic vs Roman Way of Evangelism

I'm currently reading one of my pastor's (he's becoming a good friend just before he leaves the country) books. The book is authored by Mike Gunn and it's called, "Gospel and Culture: Reaching the Nations With God's Glory." Once he gets it edited and made ready for sale...I'll give you more information. But, I have to say, it is very good, and like Mike's sermons, packs a lot in a few pages. I wanted to give you a quick taste. This is part 3 in a header called, "How Do We Change?" from the chapter, "What is Culture?"
__________________________________________________________________

We must be "all things to all people" (1 Corinthians 9:19-27; Acts 16:3; 18:18, Galatians 2) and see ourselves as Leslie Newbigin described us as the "hermeneutic of the Gospel." Meaning that it is the people of God that ultimately interpret the gospel to others that do not understand the Gospel (Matthew 5:16). When we approach the Gospel the "Celtic Way," verses the "Roman Way," which sees people not as "marks" to convert, but as "pre-Christians" waiting to be revealed to by God, we will become servants of the culture instead of its enemy.

Working like this helps us work hard not to import our culture, but it is our story that lifts up the name of Christ, the only name under heaven by which men are saved (Acts 4:12). When we love and serve the people, then they will begin to understand the grace of God, and witness the truth of forgiveness and sacrificial love in the people of God. As we apply the "Celtic Way" of evangelism, "People are called to come and see the transformed lives of God's people before they are called to repent of sins and to trust in God."(1) Literally, aspects of the culture can be redeemed as the people of God share in them, and utilize them for the glory of God. The following chart is adapted from George Hunter's, "The Celtic Way of Evangelism" and Mark Driscoll's "Radical Reformission" helps us see the process.

Traditional Evangelism

(Believe in Jesus then belong to the church)

Gospel info is presented

Hearers are called to make a decision about Christ

If an affirmative decision is made, the person is welcomed into the church.

Friendship is extended to the person

The convert is trained for service in ministry by being separated from culture

Celtic Way of Evangelism

(Belong to the church then believe in Jesus)

A genuine spiritual friendship between a Christian and a non-Christian is built

The non-Christian sees authentic faith and ministry lived openly and participates in it

The Gospel is naturally present in word and deed within the friendship

The non-Christian's conversion to Jesus follows his/hers conversion to Christian friendship and the church

The church celebrates the conversion of their friend

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Books Mentioned:

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Characteristics of a Missional Church: Tim Keller

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Mike Gunn's Response to Crosstalk and Ingrid Schlueter

Recently, the infamous Ingrid Schlueter got wind of our (Harambee) dialogue with a local Muslim community (MAPS) about "Who is Jesus?", and instead of calling us to speak to us she decided, along with many of her readers, to slander us on the internet calling us many names. I wrote a post on my response in regards to being called "dumb so-called Christians", "heretics", "a reprobate church", "denying Sola Scriptura", "Christian dupes", "den of thieves", "false teachers" and now, most recently, useless idiots. They say that this is just to warn others about what we are doing, although I am not sure how we are affecting them (like God needs to be defended?) nor did they ever actually call us or contact us to try and understand what the dialogue was all about.

Below, is Pastor Mike Gunn's full response to Ingrid's blog post and accusations. I want everyone to know my immense respect for Pastor Mike and how much he has taught me about the true understanding of the gospel and how it/we should interact with culture for the glory of God. If I were to give you a list of all the things he does locally and globally, and how much God has used him in ministering the word of God, it would sound like I was exagerrating and a little vain, since he is a friend of mine. Yesterday, we spent some time at lunch and spoke even more deeply about this subject of culture and the gospel (he has also written a book on the subject) and how much this type of attack does nothing but harm the gospel. This is why he felt it necessary to at least write a rebuttal of what was said, so that we could return to the most important part: The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Enjoy the post and ask any questions you might have.

Living In the World, But Not Of It!
By Pastor Michael Gunn

It saddens me that I have to write a rebuttal letter to those that have taken liberty to judge Harambee Church, Mark Driscoll and Acts 29 because Harambee hosted a forum for Muslims and Christians to get together to discuss the person of Jesus Christ from the two different perspectives.

First, I want to say that Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill nor Acts 29 had anything to do with this event. This event was born out of relationships and ministry in and among Muslims in the Seattle area. The fact is there are 30,000 Somali Muslims alone in the King County region, and there are 1.3 Billion Muslims in the world; many of who have never heard of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, it’s important to state that Harambee Church has always promulgated a clear, Christ-Centered gospel that is Reformed in its roots, and has never backed down from the hard theological entanglements that come with it. We have lost many people that do not agree with our theology, and our desire is not to “water down” the gospel so people will stay. These are major assumptions of our detractors. We do believe however that it is both prudent and biblical to preach a clear gospel that the people can understand. This tradition is taken from men like Peter, Paul and Jesus. When Paul was confronted with pagan believers in Athens (Acts 17), he departed from his normal strategy of “reasoning from the scriptures,” to utilizing pagan poetry to clearly communicate his message (Acts 17: 27-28). Gospel authors, such as John, used pagan terms, like logos, in redemptive ways in order to better explain Jesus to a pagan audience. The words the bible uses for God (Elohim/Theos) have pagan roots, yet they are redefined in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1: 1-3). Subsequently, using a biblical form of contextualization is true to the tradition of the biblical writers, and needed in order for the gospel to be understood by each subsequent generation and culture. Therefore using words like Allah (which is the Arabic word for God) is not any different than using the words Elohim or Theos. So many want to argue the fact that the root of Allah is from a moon god, whose name was Sin, but whose title was Al-Ilah (ie. Allah). While there are many linguists who would argue a different root for the name Allah, why does this matter? Our own Hebrew term for God is a plural, pagan term El – Elohim? Jesus’ words on the cross were “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, which is similar to Al-Ilah. Why is this an issue? If we were in Germany we would use “Gott,” which has its own pagan history, or if we were in Andra Pradesh India, we would be forced to use “Deywadu,” which is fraught with all kinds of pagan ideas. Yet, we would be forced to use these terms to communicate a clear understanding of the truth of the gospel. It is a biblical contextualization that takes these pagan terms and redeems them with the fuller truth of the gospel (See John 1:17).

Thirdly, it appears that many of those that hate Mark Driscoll and Acts 29, and decry dialogues, such as the one we hosted at Harambee, feel that if you aren’t immediately persecuted when you proclaim the truth of the “Good News” then you must not be preaching a true gospel. There’s an heir of self-righteousness that accompanies their assumptions, because not all of Jesus’ or Paul’s encounters with sinners and pagans ended in derision and persecution. In Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well (John 4), we see a somewhat muted story that the Holy Spirit uses for her conversion. While I believe Jesus was confrontive, it was done in a gracious manner, and was received well by the Samaritan woman. Jesus’ tact with the men on the road to Emmaus was explaining the story line from Moses, through the prophets to the present time, which is exactly what Mike Ly did when he explained the clear gospel of Jesus Christ to the non-believers who were present at the dialogue. But, it seems, that some think that the message of the gospel isn’t truly there unless persecution and hatred is the result. I believe Acts 17: 32-34 gives us insight into the reality when the clear gospel is heard clearly; “Some began to sneer, but others said, ‘We shall hear you again concerning this’…but some men joined them and believed.” Isn’t this the goal? To tell you the truth, there were definitely men, at our dialogue, who “sneered” and some that got a bit testy during the panel at the end, because we answered every question very clearly, and biblically. However, we also believe that we won an audience with many Muslims that night that have emailed Michael and stated that they never heard a presentation about Jesus in this way. It was counter to their understanding, and they literally want to “hear us again concerning this.”

There is no doubt that persecution will be a result of the gospel. I personally have been screamed at, spit on and punched, but not every encounter of the gospel results in people hating you. Jesus Himself, “kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). In order to cut through some cultural and political garbage, the gospel often needs to be heard well, many times. Our goal is to love our enemies, as we are clearly commanded in scripture, and to gain an ongoing relationship for the sake of the gospel, so we could:

“Speak forth the mystery of Christ…in order that we may make it clear in the way we ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned as it were, with salt so that you may know how you should respond to each person.”

Colossians 4:3-6

Christ and Christ crucified will always be the central focus of the preaching here at Harambee, as it was that night in March, but our goal is to “season our speech” with the grace and love of Jesus, and then allow God to work in the hearts of the people regardless of the consequences to our own lives.

Fourthly, the claim that MAPS (The group we worked with) has ties to CAIR, which has Hamas ties is irrelevant. Jesus commands us to love our enemies (Matthew 5: 43-44), and Paul exhorts us to “bless those who persecute you” (Romans 12:14). Even if all 150 Muslims in that room were Hamas (and that’s what I say is absurd, because they aren’t), so what! Aren’t we supposed to face our enemies, love them, and even bless them? Shouldn’t preaching to them Jesus be our goal? Aren’t we commanded to take the gospel to the “nations?” It seems as though many Christians are more interested in preserving their national identity than they are their identity in Christ. Their God has become a politically driven (Democrat/Republican, depending on which political side you choose), white American, which allows them to demonize those that don’t look and act like we do. Is that what Christianity has become? Isn’t our allegiance to Jesus, to live like Him, and not endorsing everything our political persuasion or our nation demands? Weren’t the early Christians persecuted (not for their message of the cross) for calling Jesus Lord, and not giving that title to the emperor? Yet, by all accounts, they lived exemplary lives and were loved by many in the culture.

So many comments in some of these blogs make claims that Muslims are the “antichrist,” thus justifying a lack of hospitality to over one billion people in this world. They use texts like 2 John 9-11 as their “proof text” for such a response. It amazes me that people who claim to be the guardians of the “truth,” can be so callous with the scriptures they claim to love. It was poor exegesis like this (not “Postmodern” relativity) that justified slavery and genocide by the church in the past. This verse has nothing to do with reaching non-believers and having them in your house, and it is contradicted by many actions of both Jesus and His disciples. This verse is speaking of false teachers within the church, not outside non-believers. Paul iterates a similar idea in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.

This kind of legalistic nonsense reminds me of a quote from Westminster Professor, Michael Horton who said,

Christians are supposed to be in the world but not of it, but the problem is many of them are of the world, but not in it.

Unfortunately, I find this all too true. While they wear a badge of separation, they act no differently than the world. They use human effort and methodology to effect change, political power, division, slander, and lack of love for all people, which seems to color their repertoire. They act as the older prodigal son, who bitterly opposed his father because of his own claims to the throne. It’s easy to vilify the “enemy” as antichrists when you see yourself as “righteous.” It is only when the gospel penetrates your heart and reveals the ugliness of your own righteousness, that are we able to act in grace toward others, as Christ has done to us.

Our intent for the Muslim dialogue was not to water down the gospel. As a matter of fact, the leader of MAPS told our pastor that we are the first church they have dealt with to present a gospel that is clearly contradictory to the Muslim idea of truth. But the aim of MAPS, and the reason they felt it was a “success,” was that we both could state those differences, with reverence and grace, and though we vehemently disagreed with one another, we will continue to discuss Jesus. We will continually work out our disagreements with love and respect for one another, and I just don’t see how that is contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Illegal Immigrants Cartoon

Why Not follow up my last post with this?

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Tim James is Muy Loco

I am going to be very careful with what I say based on this election ad in the above video. I went to Mr. James' website and he contually speaks about "Biblical Values" and then the video above is put forth. Really? Is this video showing biblical values or is it speaking to a certain political leaning of some very conservative Christians that can't separate Nationalism from following Jesus and understanding the vast difference? We are a new creation with a new home. We are aliens, sojourners that love this earth, because Jesus loves this earth, but we should be homesick. We should be so homesick that we want to proclaim in both word and deed to all nations, cultures and peoples the greatness of the INCLUSIVE Gospel, not the segregated nationalism that Mr. James desires to spread. If we are to imitate our Christ, then we need to desire to imitate our Christus Exemplar and love all nations and spread the fame of God through the Gospel to everyone, even in business.

I also thought it would be funny if I translated Tim James' video into Spanish for all the people he's dissing. I also put below that, my post in Spanish.

Video James Tim 'en español

Soy James Tim. ¿Por qué nuestros políticos nos hagan un examen de la licencia de conducir en 12 idiomas? Lla es Alabama, hablamos Inglés, si quieres vivir aquí, a aprender. Sólo estamos dando esa prueba en Inglés si soy gobernador. Tal vez sea el hombre de negocios en mí, pero vamos a ahorrar dinero y tiene sentido. ¿Es para usted?

Mi mensaje en español

Voy a tener mucho cuidado con lo que digo sobre la base de este anuncio electoral en el vídeo de arriba. Fui al sitio Web del Sr. James y él contually habla de "valores bíblicos", y luego por encima de la de vídeo se presenta en una. ¿En serio? ¿Este video que muestra los valores bíblicos o se trata de hablar con una cierta inclinación política de algunos cristianos muy conservadores que pueden nacionalismo no está separado de seguir a Jesús y entender la gran diferencia? Somos una nueva creación con un nuevo hogar. Somos extranjeros, advenedizos que el amor esta tierra, porque Jesús ama a esta tierra, pero debemos ser nostálgico. Debemos ser tanta nostalgia que queremos proclamar en palabra y obra a todas las naciones, las culturas y los pueblos la grandeza de la INCLUIDO Evangelio, no el nacionalismo segregados que el Sr. James deseos a extenderse. Si hemos de imitar a nuestro Cristo, entonces debemos imitar a nuestro deseo de Christus Ejemplo y amor a todas las naciones y difundir la fama de Dios a través del Evangelio a todos, incluso en los negocios.

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Translating the Bible From An Idiot's Perspective

If you have read this blog for any amount of time, you know one thing: Seth isn't a theologian. I have no formal training in the Greek or Hebrew, I have no formal training in Christian History, I have no formal training in Preaching or teaching and I have no formal training in writing. I am your average idiot when it comes to these things. The other thing you know about me if you have read this blog is that I have never allowed these things to hinder me from learning or stating my convictions on a lot of subjects. In many ways, I am like most of my readers. Just a regular American citizen, who loves Jesus trying to figure out how Jesus should impact me every day through my reading and research in the Bible and culture. I think one thing I have that some don't is that I get that I am an idiot in these things. I get that those who have studied the things listed above are far more qualified to speak on these subjects than I am. I am merely a Berean.

The reason I get this is because the one thing I am trained in is investments. I would bet that compared to those reading my blog I am far superior in my knowledge of how to make money in both investments domestically and globally and in business. It's funny when I hear people try to speak about investments as though they know what they are talking about and they sound like a toddler giving their dad directions in the car.

Because of this understanding, I go to those I believe are experts. This doesn't mean I trust all the experts, but I try to discern from the experts, which ones I believe are true and which ones are just plain wrong. Recently, because of my friendships with people from different perspectives and cultures it has got me thinking of our English Bibles and the way that they are translated. I have spoken to Arab Muslims, today I spoke to a Westerner who just got his MBA in Turkey and is going back to start a business there, I also have a friend in my church who is a linguist (so is his wife). He is with Wycliffe Translators and actually built a written language for an Indonesian tribe where he translated two New Testaments from the ground up. He literally invented an alphabet for these tribes. It took him and his wife 15 years, which he said was quite fast for what they did, but the people were really hungry for a written language and specifically a New Testament in their language. As a side note, he pointed me to a book I am excited to read called, "Voices From the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World"

As I spoke to him, some of my "worries" or insights were confirmed about our translations of the Bible into English. This is what I mean. Ask yourself this:

What is the most important issue when dealing with translating the Bible into one's language and culture?

Think about it. Honestly, ask yourself, what is the most important thing about translations and the Bible?

The most important is simply this: To get the intent of the author across to the reader so that they can understand what is being said. That's it. It's not about certain terms or which words should be used or not, but about the author's intent to be clearly represented to the reader so that they can either clearly submit to the word of the Lord or reject it. What we shouldn't hold on to is making sure that certain terms are used, but making sure that certain terms are given over to clearly represent their meaning in their language and culture. Let me give you an example from the field.

My buddy, who is a linguist, said that the term "charis" or "grace" didn't exist in the language of the tribe he was working with. Not only that, but most tribal cultures don't have that term. Historically, what translators have done is been so forceful to make sure that the "charis" be coined as the western thought of "grace" that they miss the point. What my friend found out is that as he explained the term to the natives, they had the concept in their culture, but not the term. So, from that, he was able to translate the term "charis" into a concept that they would understand in their New Testament. Isn't that the point? We sometimes feel in the Western world that some terms are untouchable and should be literally translated. Some of these would be: Christ, propitiation, atonement, redemption, sin, Son of God, Son of Man, etc.

Let me ask you this. When you read the Bible with someone who has never sat under the reading of the word and you come to one of these words, do you just read it and expect them to understand it? Or, do you explain it to them so that they can understand what the term is speaking of? Just to give you another example. My buddy Michael, who presented Jesus at the dialogue with Muslims, had someone tell him that Michael's explanation of Jesus being the Lamb of God was transforming. He said before the explation, he thought that the reason he saw so many pictures with Jesus holding a lamb was because Jesus liked animals. Showing, once again, WE HAVE MISSED THE POINT OF PRESENTING THE GOSPEL CLEARLY!

I have preached and taught for the past 7 years, not long I know, but one of the first things one understands as a Bible teacher is that you must get the intended message to the hearers in a way they understand. It is not my job for them to respond, that is the Holy Spirit's job, but my job is to clearly articulate to whatever age group, culture, sex, that I am speaking to.

Why shouldn't our translations be the same? We are so worried about word for word translation that some don't even really understand how translations happen. Usually, what happens is that if a Greek word has multiple words in the English that can be used, the translator picks the one he believes is the best and then uses that English term throughout the entirety of his translation. But, what happens if Paul meant something different than Peter with that term. Or what if Paul meant something totally different depending on the context? Shouldn't we desire to get Paul's intended message across to the reader to make it easier to understand? If you want an example, just look at Romans 8 where Paul uses the term "flesh" 13 times yet the term isn't meant to be taken the same way each time. What if instead of translating the term as "flesh" it was translated so that we could actually understand it? This would be a far greater translation. The problem is that we are too bent on word for word translation instead of bent on getting the correct concept to be presented so that the reader clearly understands. Some say that if we allow this type of translation then the translator has too much room to be a "commentator" on the passage. But that is exactly what happens when someone picks from 15 different English terms to translate a Greek term. He chooses the one he feels fits the best. Plus, this is how good translations in tribal settings are put forth, they give the meaning, instead of merely a term. This is also exaclty what we ask our pastors to do every Sunday when they preach. We ask them to exegete Scripture. Meaning, we ask them to tell us what the passage means!

I think with our translations, we are so bent on getting the word right, we miss out on it's actual meaning. One that is clearly misunderstood is the term "Son of God." Ask an average Christian, they have no idea how to unpack this term and revert to merely saying that Jesus had no earthly father, but his father was God in heaven. That isn't the entirety of the meaning of this term. This is NOT what was meant primarily with this term. Most of the time, you'll see the term closely related (usually in the same context) to the term Christ, which means to those Jews in the 1st Century as one who will come to redeem them from oppression. Why not use that explanation instead? Because Westerners are so bent on word for word translations and then don't even understand the actual words used because they are from a different culture and vernacular. (there is much more to unpack with the terms Son of God and Christ, but hopefully you get the point)

If we desire to see people hear the Gospel clearly, we need to ask ourselves if we care more about the terms used, or the concept that was intended by the author and by God himself. I believe most of the time, people care more about dying for a term than for the concept. It is actually killing opportunities to speak to other cultures about Jesus as America is becoming more and more global.

We should seek out to explain the concepts of terms instead of getting too concerned with the term itself. If the term itself is too loaded with controversy just because of how it has been misused, then why not explain what the term means instead of getting stuck on the term itself? Why get mad when someone hates the term Christianity or Son of God because it has been so abused? Why not explain the terms instead? You are not watering down the Gospel when doing so, but you are actually making it clearer to the hearers.

Honestly ask yourself. Are you more concerned with being able to clearly articulate who Jesus was, is and what he accomplished, or are you more concerned with holding certain terms "dear to your heart"? If someone rejects what you are saying because you can't articulate, maybe they aren't rejecting the Gospel, but rejecting you.

Just some thoughts from an idiot who loves to interject his opinions.

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Cry Out! For the Fatherless

Two of my friends, Celestine and Tara Ezinkwo, have started a mentorship program called Cry Out! I have written about them before, but now our community is starting to get wind of their efforts. I am really proud of what these two are doing for the sake of the glory of God. The following video and article was written by the Renton Reporter. Enjoy.



Renton recording studio looks to get kids off the streets and lead others to do the same

By CELESTE GRACEY
Renton Reporter Staff Writer
Apr 08 2010, 9:42 AM · UPDATED

Renton's youth are finding their voices and learning how to shout out on behalf of others.

"We complain that there is a lot of violence in the streets, but we don't do anything about it," said Celestine Ezinkwo, a 26-year-old rapper.

Working alongside wife Tara Ezinkwo, he opened a recording studio in downtown Renton called Cry Out to not only get youth off the streets but to teach them how to lead others in the same way.

The couple comes from Los Angeles with a passion for inner-city youth and a heart for social-justice issues.

"If we start talking to these kids and treat them like human beings, they're going to change," Celestine said.

Renton High School is just a few blocks away, so teens walk to the studio after class to hang out.

Cry Out has an open-door policy, but most days Tara, 29, gathers the teens for discussion and attendance.

The teens squish together on a corner sofa. Photos of Third World children hang above their heads. There are about 80 kids on the roster with about 27 regulars, Tara said.

"They would be here 24 hours a day, if we let them," Celestine said.

Some days the teens just hang out, and others they write and record music together.

In a freestyle session, Celestine plays a new beat loud enough to silence out distractions. Three of the group's rappers sway with the rhythm.

Music unfolds from one rapper’s mouth like a prayer that takes time to form its meaning. Ironic self-praising remarks intermix with deep thoughts and poetry.

Then like a man cutting into a dance, another rapper begins his verse. Messing up here is a cause for laughter, not criticism.

"Everyone is welcome here," said 17-year-old Chris Robinson. "No one is judged like that stuff out there."

Regular attendees are invited to weekly workshops that either offer practical skills for producing and creating music or develop leadership qualities.

Celestine is planning to produce an album with the teens that focuses on their stories and social-justice issues.

"Our whole vision is to have them (students) cry out their story and to cry out for those who are oppressed," he said.

Understanding how much time kids spend at the studio, Cry Out balances the distraction by requiring students with bad grades to attend tutoring sessions twice weekly with a teacher.

The students also work through relationship and sometimes behavior problems.

"We do a lot of life-on-life mentoring," Celestine said.

To enforce life lessons at home, the Ezinkwos try to meet all of the teen's parents, Tara said.

"That way we're working in the same direction," Celestine said. "Sometimes the parents can reverse what we do."

The name Cry Out comes from Bible verses, Proverbs 31:8-9.

"It says basically be a voice for those who can't be a voice for themselves," Celestine said. "Be a father to the fatherless, a mother to the motherless."

For Celestine, Cry Out is the fulfillment of a prophecy.

He was raised in Nigeria, where immigrating to the United States seems an impossible task for most.

At a church event a prophet called on him and told him he was going to make music in the United States.

"I didn't believe it at all, I thought it was crazy," Celestine said, adding that he decided to write the prophecy down for the sake of curiosity.

About six months later, his name came up in a visa lottery, and he was on his way to stay with an uncle in New York.

Studying international business in Los Angeles, he met Tara at a Bible study. The two both had a passion for working with inner-city youth.

Tara worked for Athletes in Action; but as they discussed their marriage, they learned the youth program only accepts marrieds as a couple.

Celestine wanted to pursue his passion for music, he said. "We wanted to start something of our own."

At about the same time the couple met Mike Gunn, pastor of Renton's Harambee Church, which runs a popular after-school program called The HALL.

Gunn heard Celestine rap at a conference in LA, and invited him to perform in Renton.

After the show, Tara and Celestine had found their next ministry. They moved to Renton in September 2009.

Eventually Gunn offered the basement of his church to open the studio.

At the time it was filled with abandoned boxes, food and books from the building's former tenants, but it came with its own entry.

The volunteer-led remodel was done on a tight budget, but hard work made up the difference.

The studio has two meeting spaces and a small office linked to a recording box with a separate entry.

They opened in February.

Like Harambee, Cry Out isn't a bait-and-switch tool for proselytizing. The Ezinkwos do invite the kids to Friday night Bible studies at their home, provided they have parent permission.

"Our goal was too keep kids off the street," Celestine said. "Our goal is to provide kids with a place they could go and be themselves without feeling pressure whatsoever to be a certain way."

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Incarnational Ministry and the Unique, Incarnate Christ: Part 2

Here is the second part to yesterday's article put out by Modern Reformation.

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While I share Lingenfelter's practical missiological concerns, I think that his close analogy between the Incarnation and cross-cultural ministry is not the best way to address these concerns. It depends upon a questionable interpretation of Philippians 2 and a reduction of Christology to a problem of math. (How exactly is a "200 percent person" one person rather than "two sons," as the ancient heresy of Nestorianism claims?) But for our present purposes, I will focus upon two observations.

First, Lingenfelter's portrait of the Incarnation tends to conflate the unique Incarnation with our own process of learning about another culture. The deity of the Son is seen as a "culture" and the taking on of humanity as a second "culture" taken on in the Incarnation. Thus, Jesus, as the pioneer of our faith, shows us how to take on a second culture as well. But here is the problem: the divine nature is not a "culture," and we cannot (and should not) see ourselves as analogous to the pre-incarnate Word that then takes on humanity. The deity of the Word won't fit into the box of "culture" because God is not a creature-and culture is a characteristic of creaturely existence. Instead, God is the transcendent and mysterious creator of the universe. The truth of the Incarnation is that in the eternal Word, this same transcendent God takes on the flesh of human beings for the sake of our salvation.

Second, this doctrinal conflation can lead to a significant problem in practice: it can conflate the mission of Jesus with our own mission. While Lingenfelter certainly would not want to be promoting a messiah-complex among missionaries, the close analogy between the incarnational as a culture-crossing action and our own culture-crossing action makes this a constant issue. I recall times in which missionaries schooled in incarnational ministry told me they were "cheating" from the model if they gave something away to persons in need, or if they presented any ideas that were not already inherent in the culture of reception. Behind this sense of "cheating" is the assumption in that our identification with the culture is enough-that is our mission. Yet, while I agree that missionaries should seek to identify with the receiving culture, our identification with that culture is not inherently redemptive. We should identify with the culture so that our lives offer an intelligible witness to the one Redeemer of peoples from all cultures, Jesus Christ. It is not enough to bear witness to Jesus as the model for crossing cultures. Jesus is much more than a model.

Instead, in our teaching about the Incarnation, we must be crystal clear about the fact that this is a unique event. Jesus Christ is central to the gospel because the Incarnation is not something that happens in various forms to various persons. Jesus Christ is the one and only incarnate Word. There is redemptive power in the Incarnation; apart from the Incarnation, Christ's obedient life, death, resurrection, and ascension would be of no use to us. Because of the Incarnation, we know that it is none other than GOD who has sought us out and cleansed us from our sins. "In Christ" we know and have fellowship with God. If God and humanity were not united in Jesus Christ, then being "in Christ" would not be a locus of our communion with God.

Indeed, if we are to make analogies between the Incarnation and our own lives, it should point us to the reality that Jesus Christ is not a "200 percent person"-in which deity and humanity are framed competitively, two persons smashed into one. Instead, the Incarnation shows us how God's action in our life does not mean the evacuation of human agency, but the empowerment of it. Augustine points this out in his debate with Pelagius about grace. Augustine writes, "This birth [of Christ], which joined the human to God and the flesh to the Word in unity of one person, was undeniably gratuitous; Good works followed; they did not earn this birth." In other words, just as the divine Word takes on flesh in the Incarnation-before the flesh could merit anything on its own-so also God's work in our lives is received as an unmerited gift, with good works following.

Christians often struggle with spiritual pride-we find it difficult to take a compliment in a way that does not give ourselves "spiritual bonus points" for our own faithful acts. We know we should give credit to God-but really, I was the one who performed that act of service and love, right? Ultimately, a competitive, non-incarnational view of divine and human work underlies this ambivalence. In the Incarnation we see that true God and true humanity are brought together in one person, Jesus Christ. When we perform an act of love and service, we can give the Spirit the credit while still recognizing that this act is our own in a secondary sense. Why? Because as we become more like Christ by the Spirit, we are not becoming "less human" by becoming more like God. Our true humanity is being restored as the Spirit unites us to God in Christ.
The Unique Incarnation and the Work of the Church

If it is misleading to see the Incarnation as an example of culture-crossing or to conflate Christ's mission and our own, what can we say positively about the ways in which our lives and ministries participate in the incarnate Christ and his mission? The Holy Spirit has united believers to the living Christ; thus it is important to think about the positive ways in which we participate in Christ. I think that the Heidelberg Catechism (HC) is very instructive on this point. Rather than taking the Incarnation as the point of departure for how we participate in Christ, it speaks in terms of the three offices of Christ:

Question 31. Why is he called "Christ," meaning anointed?

Answer. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our redemption; our only high priest who has redeemed us by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the redemption he has won for us.

Question 32. But why are you called a Christian?

Answer. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

Note how the HC does two things simultaneously. First, it speaks about a profound union between believers and Jesus Christ-we are not lone-ranger Christians; we are profoundly connected to the living Christ: "I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing." Its language is strong and unequivocal on this important connection.

But secondly, note how our "membership" in Christ and "sharing" in his anointing are derivative and subordinate to the living Christ. Christ alone is the "chief prophet and teacher," our "only high priest," and our intercessor to the Father. In our own person, we can do none of these things. The Son is a child of God by nature, but we are children of God by grace. This difference has profound consequences for ministry.

The consequence of this distinction is that we should not seek to simply "copy" Jesus as the "missional blogger" advocated at the beginning, or as some other advocates of incarnational ministry suggest. We belong to Christ-"in body and soul, in life and death," as the first answer to HC states. But we are not Christ. And, in spite of a potentially misleading claim in the "mission statement" of my own denomination (the Reformed Church in America), we should be cautious about seeing ourselves as "the very presence of Jesus Christ in the world." We belong to Christ, but the only Savior is the living Christ himself-the Son by nature, not simply by grace. Our ministries should point to the Head of the body, the One to whom we belong. Paul brings together these teachings of union with Christ and yet pointing to Christ when he writes that God has made known his riches among the Gentiles in the mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory." But rather than follow up with this stunning affirmation of union with Christ by focusing upon our own redemptive action, Paul continues: "It is he [Christ] whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ" (Col. 1:27-28, NRSV). We are united to Christ in a profound way, yet we do not simply copy the action of the one Redeemer. We bear witness to Christ the Redeemer rather than ourselves; we find our maturity and identity as ones united to Christ but also as "servants" of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:1), the one Incarnate Word who reconciles us with God.

The answer to HC 32 above is also instructive for thinking through the implications of the three offices of Christ-the difference between Christ as prophet, priest, and king and our own lives that participate in the one prophet, priest, and king. We are "anointed" by the Holy Spirit to bear witness to Christ, to "confess his name." We are not the great prophet and teacher, but we confess the One who is. Secondly, we offer our entire lives as "a living sacrifice of thanks" to "strive" against "sin and the devil." Christ alone offers the perfect atoning sacrifice. Our own sacrifice is one of gratitude and thanksgiving-done with a "good conscience" because of the complete work of Christ our high priest. Finally, we "share" in the kingship of Christ by sharing in his resurrection and exaltation, looking to the day when we will "reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity." Christ is prophet, priest, and king. We are united to this same Christ. But as members of the body serving the one Head, we participate in Christ through acts of professing Christ and his truth, loving God and neighbor in gratitude, and living in hope of our final resurrection, exaltation, and reign with Christ. We do participate in Christ's "mission," in a certain sense. But precisely because Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity-the only perfect prophet, priest, and king-our "mission" is distinct from that of Jesus Christ himself.
In terms of Christian ministry, the result of this approach is one that gives a central place to the church's ministry of Word and sacrament. Negatively, this means we are not sent to go out and "take over the culture," or to seek to be the Savior to those around us. Positively, it means that we point to Christ, the Head, through the word of the gospel held forth in both Word and sacrament. There is no human set of activities-no matter how loving or revolutionary-that can bring redemption. Redemption comes through Jesus Christ alone, made possible by the Spirit's work in uniting us to Jesus Christ.

This approach toward Christian ministry overlaps, on some key points, with some visions of incarnational ministry. As Lingenfelter suggests, we need to seek out relationships with those to whom we minister, displaying our faith in lives of humility and service. We need to approach ministry as learners of the culture and history of those around us. Yet, it is not necessary to draw upon the Incarnation as a model for culture-crossing in order to promote these virtues in Christian ministry. These norms coincide with the humility and gratitude of those who know they belong to Christ but are not Christ themselves: we present our lives as "a living sacrifice of thanks," serving God and loving our neighbor in humility and gratitude. A life of gratitude humbly recognizes that we are not our own, but that we belong to Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the fact that we are "not our own" should call into question our allegiance to national or cultural priorities that fuel our ethnocentric tendencies that compromise our witness to the gospel. As a way of giving thanks to God, we are called to seek out relationships with those in need and move across cultural barriers that threaten to block our grateful witness to Jesus Christ, the One to whom we belong.

Moreover, in contrast to seeing incarnational ministry as the model for culture-crossing, the Heidelberg Catechism's teaching directly counters our own messianic tendencies: we are not the Redeemer-we belong to the Redeemer. We are freed from manipulating those to whom we minister because we do not need a list of spiritual accomplishments to please God; and it is with "a good conscience" that we strive "against sin and the devil." In the unique Incarnation and the once-for-all sacrifice on the cross, we have been cleansed from our sins and filled with the Spirit who brings new life. Precisely because the Incarnation is unique-and we do not need to copy it -we are freed for humble, non-manipulative witness and service for the sake of the gospel.

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1 [ Back ] See http://timothycowin.wordpress.com/2007/05/08/incarnational-ministry-the-way-of-jesus/.
2 [ Back ] Sherwood Lingenfelter and Marvin Mayers, Ministering Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Personal Relationships (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003). Lingenfelter also uses the analogy in Teaching Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Teaching and Learning, coauthored with Judith Lingenfelter (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003).
3 [ Back ] Lingenfelter and Mayers, 17.
4 [ Back ] For further analysis of the biblical and christological issues raised in proposals such as Lingenfelter's, see my article, "'Incarnational Ministry': A Christological Evaluation and Proposal," Missiology: An International Review 32:2 (April 2004), 187-201.
5 [ Back ] Augustine of Hippo, quoted from "On Rebuke and Grace" in Theological Anthropology, ed. and trans. J. Patout Burns (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1981), 101.
J. Todd Billings (Th.D., Harvard University) is assistant professor of Reformed theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He is the 2008 winner of the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise for his book, Calvin, Participation, and the Gift: The Activity of Belivers in Union with Christ (Changing Paradigms in Historical and Systematic Theology) (Oxford University Press, 2008).
Issue: "The Imitation of Christ" March/April Vol. 18 No. 2 2009 Pages 19-22
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Copyright © 2010 White Horse Inn

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Incarnational Ministry and the Unique, Incarnate Christ: Part I

I was sent this by a friend of mine, Mike Gunn. Mike is the director of Acts 29 International and also still preaches at Harambee and is one of our pastors/elders. The opening is his introduction to the piece and the actual article was written by J. Todd Billings for Modern Reformation. Enjoy.

I have used the word "Incarnation" quite a bit these past 5-10 years. My main intent in using it is to flush out verses such as John 20:31 in which Jesus says, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you!" It is to express the need to cross cultures, and barriers to reach others for the gospel much like Paul seems to claim in 1 Corinthians 9 when he says, "I am all things to all men in order to win a few." Obviously we are called to be "In the world...but not of it" (See John 17), but what does that mean, and can we truly "Be" Jesus to others like we hear so often? Is that possible? Yes, we are to love like He loved, and give like He gave, but is "Like" a good word? Do we love "Like" He did? Do we give "Like" He did? What does it mean to be "Incarnational?" Below is an interesting article from The Modern Reformation written by J. Todd Billings (March/April 2009). Read closely Incarnational Ministry and think hard, it just may challenge your thinking! Ouch!

Mike Gunn

Incarnational Ministry and the Unique, Incarnate Christ
By J. Todd Billings

The term "incarnational ministry," like "missional" or "Emergent Church," is used in a wide variety of ways. Sometimes "incarnational ministry" means ministry that crosses cultural barriers to be an embodied presence to people in need. At other times, it's used to talk about culturally relevant analogies for the gospel. In still other contexts, "incarnational ministry" has become shorthand for affirming that intellectual assent to faith is not enough-faith needs to become embodied and "incarnate" in acts of love and service, as in the earthly ministry of Jesus. It is understandable if you find these different uses of the phrase puzzling. For in its common evangelical usage, "incarnational ministry" often has surprisingly little to do with the unique Incarnation of the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. For instance, surely Muslim, Jewish and other religious practitioners would affirm that faith should be made manifest in concrete, physical acts of love and service. But these persons would not affirm the Incarnation of the eternal Word made flesh in Jesus Christ.

This leads us to a question underlying the coupling of the term "incarnational" with "ministry." What is the relationship between the one Incarnation, and the activity and ministry of the church? Should our ministries be guided by analogies between the Incarnation and our own Christian lives?

As Timothy Cowin-one missional blogger-suggests, the Incarnation is important for ministry because it teaches that "Jesus came to physically be with us" to show the Father's love to tax collectors and sinners, seeking not to retreat from culture but to "penetrate" it. The Incarnation applies to us because "the missional church sees its mission as the same as the Lord's." Stated differently, for Cowin, the Incarnation is about engaging in a set of inclusive and loving activities (like in the ministry of Jesus), since the mission of Jesus Christ is the same as our own.
Although Cowin makes some legitimate points about the church's calling to be in but not of the world, approaches like this one risk missing a profound truth of the gospel that the Incarnation is utterly unique. Whereas it may sound empowering for us to have the "same" mission as Jesus in the Incarnation, there is a subtle but profound danger in this incarnational analogy. It is God alone who saves, and God alone saves through the Word that takes on flesh in Jesus Christ. The Incarnation is not a pattern of activities that we copy. The Incarnation is unique-it is not simply a truth that Jesus lived a self-sacrificial life, but that the eternal Word became incarnate in this man Jesus who lived such a life. The Incarnation is a reality without which the ministry of Jesus, his death, and his resurrection would have no significance for our salvation. As such, the Incarnation is a central, constitutive truth of the gospel.

Yet, there is something right about those who seek to recover the doctrine of the Incarnation and its implications for our lives and ministries; there is something right about the sense that we should not enter into ministry in a prideful way that looks down upon others rather than serves others; there is something right about the calling to cross-cultural barriers for the sake of the gospel. In order to explore this further, I will examine how the incarnational analogy has functioned in evangelical missiological circles. After this analysis, I will point to one area in which I think analogies can be made from the Incarnation that do not compromise its uniqueness or centrality; finally, the article ends by drawing upon the wisdom of the Heidelberg Catechism in articulating the ways in which we participate in Christ and his mission, and the ways in which our mission remains distinct from that of Jesus Christ himself.

A common example of the use of "incarnational ministry" in missiological circles comes from a widely used textbook, Ministering Cross-Culturally: An Incarnational Model for Personal Relationships, by Sherwood Lingenfelter and Marvin Mayers.

In Ministering Cross-Culturally, Lingenfelter argues that the Incarnation has profound consequences for cross-cultural ministry. Jesus came into the world as a "learner," needing to learn about Jewish language and culture. Like a careful anthropologist, he studied the culture of his people for thirty years before he began his ministry. Key to the rationale for this position is the Christ-hymn in Philippians 2. In Lingenfelter's rendering, although Jesus Christ was "in very nature God," he identified with humanity and human culture, taking "the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (Phil. 2:6-7). In fact, Jesus not only completely identified with humanity but with Jewish culture in particular. Thus, Lingenfelter sees the Incarnation as the model for incarnational ministry, for Jesus was "a 200 percent person": "he was 100 percent God and 100 percent Jew."

Lingenfelter goes on to make a direct analogy with our own ministry: we should seek to become 150 percent persons, becoming less like persons of our own culture and more like persons of the culture to whom we seek to minister (thus 75 percent of each culture).

Lingenfelter has legitimate and pressing missiological concerns that underlie his use of the incarnational analogy. He has seen the tendency of Western missionaries to retreat to their safe missionary compounds, rather than approaching the receiving culture with humility and respect. He has seen how this action-of distance, rather than humble engagement-distorts the message that Christian missionaries try to communicate. Thus, the Incarnation seems like an attractive analogy to inspire missionaries to acquire a posture of learning and cultural engagement.

Copyright © 2010 White Horse Inn

(the conclusion to this paper will come tomorrow along with the end notes)

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3 Tips on How to Hate and Build Walls

Most wouldn't admit it, but many of us practically hate others by the showing of our actions towards them. Whether it is homosexuals, democrats, republicans, people of other races, Muslims, the guy next door who keeps borrowing your stuff and not returning it, or even for a lot of others...Christians. Personally, I am a white, totally Western, businessman, follower of Jesus, moderate and I am the guy who borrows every tool I can get my hands on from my next door neighbor (although I return them). I keep talking about how to love your enemies, but I figured today, I could teach you just the opposite: how to continue to hate your enemies and how to build walls instead of bridges.

1. Read Articles and Books From Others Who Hate Your Enemies

This is one of those things that makes it easy to continually hate your enemies. Just find things written by those with your same convictions, stick your head in those words and don't look up. I have never seen more hatred and prejudices happen than from those who just read from those with their same convictions. Let's be honest, if someone is published, they must be an expert on those that you hate. You can easily live out your hatred by living through someone else's experiences. Why go to Africa when you can look at someone else's pictures? Whatever you do, don't read the opposite view of your enemy, don't read from those who have actually learned to love and befriend your enemy, and don't read anything from those whom you would consider to be your enemy. If you do, you might actually start to understand where they are coming from and that would really suck because you might start hating them less.

2. Stay in Your Bubble, Don't Befriend

The one thing we know is that the more you get to know someone, the less likely the chance you'll hate them or be prejudice against them. So, whatever you do, stay away from them. If ignorance breeds fear, stay ignorant. Keep your face in the books, but whatever you do, don't get to know any of them. And, not only this, if you happen to know someone that is "them" and they were nice, tell yourself that was just an aberration. If you happen to know one of "them" that was evil, make sure you make that the norm for all those you hate. If one of them is like that they must all be like that. Friendships with other people groups, other faiths, other convictions on politics or religions, is just dangerous. I mean, what if you actually start to like them? What if you start to actually...uhhh...love them? Worse, what if you become one of them? You must protect yourself from them, because they are the enemy and can't be trusted. They should be like the lepers in the Old Testament who were commanded to scream "leper" as they went through the crowds so no one would be infected. You? You are always right and your perspective on things has nothing to do with your culture or with how you were brought up. The way you think and process information is because you are right. So, just to make sure, when you walk out to get the mail, or when you go to the mall to buy your hate literature, climb in your bubble and get a look on your face that would rival any dog with rabies.

3. Don't Pray for Their Blessing

Jesus tells us the way to love our enemies. He tells us to pray. He didn't tell us to pray something like this:

Dear Lord.
Could you make Sally just like me? She is sinful and dumb. She needs to be just like me, and if she was, I know that you would love her more. Could you forgive her of her sins and open her eyes to how despicable she is? Can you turn her from her ways of ignorance into the light that I obviously always see? Show her the sin that is so apparent in her life and have her come to me and apologize, that way, we could be friends.

Thank you Jesus for loving me more than Sally...she is so blinded.

Amen.

If you keep praying that, you'll be able to continue to harbor hatred and build walls. So, keep praying that. Since you are right, and they are obviously wrong, they should become just like you. We know that they are the enemy and we are the chosen of God whom he is well pleased. Whatever you do, don't pray for their blessing. Jesus tells us how to love our enemies by specifically praying for their blessing. He knows that if we do this for our enemies and we truly mean it, it will be very difficult to hate them and we'll only want the best for them. That is just way too dangerous, and won't help harbor our hatred, so refrain from such prayers and thoughts.

I believe if you can take these three principles and stick to them, you'll continue to hate and continue to build walls. If there is a God, he must have an enemy. We call him the devil, Satan, Beelzebub. We know that whoever we are, that God is on our side and all others are of Satan. We know this because we love to read about them, continually refrain from engaging them and we love to pray that they would convert to look like us in every way. Keep this up and hatred will prevail.

One problem with this thought process:

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Joshua 5:13-15

Maybe we shouldn't be concerned on whose side God is on, but the question should really be, "Are we on God's side?" Are we breeding hatred? If so, God is not on our side, but we are on Satan's.

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
1 John 4:20-21

I implore you to look to do what Jesus called us to do:

Love, pray for and bless our enemies. To love God with all our hearts, souls and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God

Matthew 5:9

Peace.

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Teachings of Jesus That Christians Ignore

I am a follower of Jesus. The problem with saying this is that some might constitute this as me saying, "I always follow what Jesus says." Which isn't true in any sense. I, like the apostle Peter, fail miserably at following Jesus every day. But, like Peter, I believe that my power doesn't come from myself, but from Jesus and I also believe, like Peter, that God shows me grace when I fail and is merciful and compassionate and forgives me.

What God doesn't like is when one calls themselves a follower of Jesus and then just flat out ignores certain things that are expected from a follower of Jesus. This is the good thing about being a follower of Jesus. The fact that others can hold me to a standard of asking me, "Why don't you follow this teaching more?" or just, "Do you try to follow this teaching, or that teaching?" What I have found as I have been studying the Scriptures is that there are certain ones that we as American followers of Jesus just ignore because we follow culture more than Jesus. We have made the American culture our idol in place of God and have whored ourselves to them because they make us more comfortable in our sin and excuses for not following some of the hardest teachings of Jesus. The reason idolatry is so prevalent is because idolatry says that you are doing okay and you are allowed to live how you want to, instead of how God desires you to live.

I recently asked over twitter and facebook, "What is the hardest teachings of Jesus to follow?" and received numerous answers. What I want followers of Jesus to do is ask yourself if you are aiming in your life to follow these. I want you to pray that God would reinstate these commands in your life and remove the idol of culture from your heart so that God is king in your life. What is interesting is that the reason that most Muslims believe the Bible is corrupted is from teachings that came after the Crusades. The reason? They knew the Jesus in the Qur'an and knew that Isa al-Masih would never give credence to such actions. Because Arabic had no word for "crusade" before this time, it was given the translation as, "the war of the cross." So, knowing who Jesus is, through the Qur'an, and seeing the brutal actions found in the Crusades there was only one conclusion: These peoples' Bibles must be corrupted. I have to say, because of our actions as followers of Jesus, "Can we really blame them?"

As a follower of Jesus, I want to honestly repent to any Muslims who are reading this. I repent, in the name of all followers of Jesus, who have come before me or who will come after me that have not followed the teachings of Jesus, but have used the Bible as a means of trampling our friends of the Muslim faith. I am truly sorry.

I would also ask our fellow friends of other faiths, to please be patient with us. We are mere men and, unlike the one we follow, are not perfect but were born, just as you were born. Even saying this, I would also ask anybody from other faiths to comment or email me to let me know ways that we could follow Jesus more closely in your eyes and teachings you see that go most unfollowed by us.

As far as those teachings that people said were the hardest to follow, they are listed as follows (in no particular order):

1. And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Luke 9:23-26

Taking up our cross as followers of Jesus means that we are willing to die to self everyday for the sake of loving our God and loving our neighbor. Notice that these two come before loving ourselves. We must look to see how we can serve God first, through serving others. We have to die to our self in every way. We must die to our goals, to our self serving idols, to our thoughts, impurities, and temptations and follow Jesus instead. We do this, not because it earns us any favor, but because we love God and desire to follow Jesus.

2. “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:31

This was the command that was most often given as the hardest to follow. Notice that Jesus puts forth the understanding that we naturally love ourselves. Not only this, but we should love our neighbors, just as we love ourselves. Think of all the ways you love yourself, give yourself mercy and grace, feed yourself physical things, etc. This is the same as you should be doing for your neighbor. Jesus gives an example of neighbor in the story of the good Samaritan. Jesus shows that all people are our neighbor, including our enemies. Are we following what Jesus said here? Are we seeking out the needs and wants of those around us, as we would seek out the needs and wants of ourselves? Or, do we desire to give ourselves everything we desire and then our neighbor gets our leftovers?

3. Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Matthew 18:21-22

We have this idea in America that we will only forgive someone if they deserve it. Jesus never says this. We must forgive no matter and be quick to forgive. We must be ready to forgive neighbors, family and even our enemies. How can we not forgive others? We have been forgiven so much as followers of Jesus.

4. “...for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14

America is a very cocky nation. We love our sports players, actors and even politicians to be very arrogant. This is why so many people watch sports, watch award shows and listen to talk radio. It's brutal. We are so arrogant, that we believe that America as a nation should be the culture that the whole world should look like. Dumb. We must be humble as followers of Jesus. Humility is not denying the truths we know, but it does mean understanding how to have friendships, how to be respectful and not desiring to merely win some sort of debate. A lot of Christians love to watch religious debates. Why? Because they want to win. I have seen this done no matter the cost, even belittling an opponent or their religion. We are not to be this way. We are to be confident in truth, but loving in how we live out this understanding. Seek ways to be humble in all aspects of your life and destroy pride.

5. “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:27-36

In my mind, this is the most unfollowed teaching of Jesus. We pay back what is given to us. Someone mistreats us, we mistreat them. They steal something from us, we sue them. They gossip about us, we gossip about them. We are a culture that pays back what is owed. We not only don't forgive, we retaliate. Jesus is counter cultural. He tells us, to not only love neighbors, but to love enemies. To not only be at peace with everyone, but to bless and pray for our enemies and to loan them money without expecting them to pay us back. When was the last time you asked God to bless your enemy abundantly? When was the last time you gave your enemy money as a gift? This command is an interesting one. It is one of action. It is one to where we should be the ones who initiate love and blessing, not wait for our enemies to come to us. We should, as the followers of Jesus, be looking for opportunities to love and bless our enemies. Culture says to pay back what they are owed, we should be showing mercy and grace because we have been shown the greatest mercy and grace. Can you say that you love, bless and pray for your enemies? Or, are you like most Christians who have pushed this command aside for the sake of being a whore to your idols?

These are the five teachings that were given to me as the hardest to follow from Jesus. Do I fail at these? Yes, all the time. But, as a follower of Jesus is my desire to follow these closely? Yes. But, I do know that when I fail, grace awaits me from God. Pray that God would show you more clearly how you can be living these teachings. Know that when you make a mistake, it is because of your sin and you should repent. When you are successful, it is because of God, not yourself.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. "
Matthew 5:14-16

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