Hey Guys... Thought I would share a practice sermon with you... this one is about adding things to the gospel... it was preached to a bunch of old folks at ACV an assisted living home in Johnson city.... it is practice (thank God! ) so laugh with me and cry with me... there is a pretty funny verbal blupper... and a supprise ending! Let me know what you think... I have a lot to learn and I'm all ears.
Came across this video... I think John Addresses this issue well. He moves past all the cliche discussion on porn and sexual sin and cuts to the heart of the matter... listen closely to the part were he addresses the matter with respect to the number of God given dreams that are shattered from guilt... This is the real tragedy.
I think the phrase “one of the best book’s I’ve ever read” is sometimes grossly over used, I know this because I have personally used it more than I should (this might be because my library is so small and inadequate). So I find myself in a quandary of sorts when trying to relay my enthusiasm about Henri Nouwen’s book entitled “In the Name of Jesus.” In every way this is one of the best books I have ever read, yet by me saying that I know I don’t do it proper justice. Therefore urge you to take my ( though slightly tainted) word and add this to your reading list: ESPECIALLY if you are a Christian leader or aspiring Christian leader of some sort!!! This is a must read for anyone participating, or planning to participate in any kind of ministry. Regardless it would be extremely beneficial to read in order to understand the call of your minister more thoroughly, so that you can nurture him or her accordingly. This is a great book, it will always be on my shelf, and will habitually be on my reading list. What follows is my personal “commentary” on Nouwen’s thoughts. For those who want the skinny enjoy….
It makes perfect sense that the most devastating temptations in the arsenal of the enemy are aimed towards Christian leaders. What Henri Nouwen does in “In the Name of Jesus” is address some of these temptations by cutting to the heart of Christian leadership (specifically those virtues that transcend time, and trend). By doing so he uncovers what it might look like for Christian leaders to lead in the future. He accomplishes this by addressing the temptations (which are characteristic of the temptations of Christ) to be relevant, spectacular, and powerful. In doing so Nouwen calls leaders of the future towards prayer, ministry, and leadership by being led.
The first of these temptations is the temptation to be relevant. This is alive and not-so-well in our world today (in and outside Christian leadership). With many respected leaders of the church singing the “be relevant” mantra with good intentions. This of course is not all bad, but the danger, as Nouwen explains, is when the desire and aspiration to be relevant drowns out a life of prayer, and ipso facto a deepening relationship with God. As I was reading this section of Nouwen I was refreshed because my mind kept continually returning to the phrase “you live for an audience of one.” This is painfully and powerfully true. We are first and foremost called to be relevant (real and in-tune) with Christ and his story. Then and only then can we be truly relevant to our world. What can be more relevant that the work of the Holy spirit and Christ building his church? If we are not in-tune with this we will be spiritually sick and in hindsight ineffective.
In close relation to temptation to be relevant is the temptation to be spectacular. When an aspiring minister (especially an evangelical) looks at the scope of Christianity today it’s nearly impossible not to get distracted by the “superstars” of the church. I am as guilty as the next dude of this. It seems I can’t go through a season of my Christian walk and progress in ministry, without a subtle infatuation with a particular preacher, pastor, or scholar. The trouble in practically minister then is that this creates an unattainable “super pastor/ Christian leader” ideal (and maybe idle). Sadly this “super pastor” ideal has become a watermark on every pastoral job description in the church today. It’s because of this that ministers shy away from real authentic relationships with the people they are ministering to, avoiding real ministry all together in the process. The fear of being discovered as something short of spectacular nudges any possibility of confession and forgiveness out of the pastoral equation.
This sort of leadership has an insecure foundation. It’s out of this insecurity that the thrust for power is cultivated. This is an issue Nouwen addresses by illuminating our sinful desire to be power packrats. We want control of our ministry for our own ends (in most cases this means for our own Glory). Nouwen’s (and really Christ’s) solution is manifested beautifully in this idea of “downward mobility.” When the sections argument came to fruition in this phrase it stopped me in my tracks, mostly because seemingly everything in my life pushes me towards upward mobility: success, affirmation, accolades, splendor, relevance, and power. Nouwen personally demonstrates this in his story of moving to the handicapped home, yet he is quick to point to Christ ultimate example in his incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.
This book will be one to which I continually return. It will be a trustworthy whisper in my sinful ear. This is not because they are just great words form a great man (though they are) it is because those words are just intimations of scripture, and of Christ’s example, and this is key.
Reflections on the call
The crux of John Pipers hit book ~Desiring God~ could be summed with his statement, "God is most glorified when you are most satisfied in him." I believe this to be the case, in my life and my calling into ministry thus far. From the subtle beginnings of my calling in BAYNET (the local church youth ministry I participated in) some of my most satisfying times in my relationship God have been in the midst of ministry. Similarly, John Eldridge states in his book entitled ~Wild at Heart~ "find what makes you come alive, and do that for Christ's Glory." My youth minister Joe Mousseau had a similar saying that he always raddled off in discussions about vocational direction (especially before I left for college), he said "make your passion your profession, and you'll never work a day in your life." All these statements have become validated in my journey in ministry. Yet despite these statements from people I respect the question still looms "why go into ministry." My answer to this question is threefold: a biblical calling, a character calling, and a passion driven calling.
To address the question we must first ask a similar question "why, should anyone, go into ministry." The answer to this question must first be found in scripture. When we search the scriptures examples of arguments for going into ministry abound. One common example is the great commission(s) (Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 1:8). This alone would be grounds for giving ones occupational (and really whole) life to ministering to others for the sake of Christ and His Gospel. There is of course also Matthew 9:35-38 marked with the famous words of Jesus "the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." Another that calls us to minister is Romans 10:14-15 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"Its verses like this that stir my heart towards actions.
Another verse often referenced in regards to ministry is Ephesians 4:11-13. Chapter four is a fantastic chapter in regards to a calling into ministry. What I particularly enjoy is that paul tells us that God has enabled each of us to do a work to bring his church to unity, which includes some (I emphasize the some) apostles, profits, evangelists, teachers, and preachers. God has given all of us gifts, and ongoing discovery of his doing so in my life, has confirmed my calling into ministry, let me explain. When we look at the qualifications of an elder in 1 Timothy and Titus (which in my mind doubles as the best prototype for anyone in active ministry as well as an elder or pastor) we see a certain skill set, gifting, and Character come through Paul's pen. By God's Grace I look at those descriptions and see the man God is calling and making me to be. In my life with Christ I have begun to gain insight into the gifts God has given me for the use of his purposes. Gifts like leadership, teaching, encouragement, faith, and compassion. It's reassuring to me to notice that these are qualities that Paul sees fit to characterize for a minister (qualities from Christ, and not from myself).
In a spiritual gifts assessment tool called "Networking" published by the willow creek association, the creators argue that to focus on ones gifts without consideration of one's passions is irresponsible and an incomplete assessment. They would go so far as to say that to better understand our vocational direction we must first define or understand your passions. From there they suggest finding an outlet in ministry where one could use these gifts in accordance with where one's passions lie (this is in much the same mindset as John Eldridge and My friend Joe Mousseau). I agree completely with this approach, and it's in this search to understand my passions I have seen my calling become ratified most vividly. My heart longs to see the local church in unity, and alive in Christ. My passion is transformation; to see someone who is far from God be pulled close to him in a metamorphosis of sanctification because of the sacrifice of Christ, and through the work of the spirit, has become my obsession! My Father once told me "JD, there are three things that last in God's economy; Him, His word, and the people He has created." It is for this reason my passion lies with God, his word, and his people. This Passion is what drives me to tears, it's what drives me to my knees, it's what drove me to Milligan, it what will drive me to ministry (in whatever capacity), and it's what will ultimately drive me to eternity with my maker, and with those whom He loves. God is on the move, and in my life time He will do something Great, that's just who He is. I pray often that God would so humble me that I might be used in whatever way he chooses, to see his kingdom come.
"Oh that we shall see the great Head of the Church once more raise up unto Himself certain young men whom He may use in his glorious employ. And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. They will be men who have learned what it is to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions; men who are willing to be 'fools for Christ's sake', who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labor and suffer, and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth's accolades, but to win the Master's approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat. They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness 'signs and wonders following' in the transformation of multitudes of human lives"
George Whitefield
May it be so…
The Subtle Awakening
A part of wisdom is reflection. Reflection awakens us to understanding, particularly the understanding of the narrative that is our life. This endeavor of reflection is one of subtle awakenings. As Douglas Foster explained in his article entitled Ignorance is not bliss, “To Know how we were formed… is liberating! Such an understanding frees us from the notion that we are self-made-- that we arrived at the ways we act and think apart from a long chain of Influences.” In the midst of reflection we are awakened to the fact that our personal theology is not the product of merely our own intellectual conclusions. We are never more (actually more often less) then co-authors in our own life narrative. Of course this is equally true in my life in regards to my theological and ecclesiological heritage. The foundation for my theological and ecclesiological heritage, ironically, is found in Cornerstone Community Church of Redwing Minnesota. Born a preachers kid (or PK for short) in 1988 I was ushered into a life and household that revolved around Christianity. For the first thirteen years of my life I grew up in a Christian community that promoted a personal relationship with Jesus Christ the Son of the living God. The Bible was used in many areas of my life: home, Sunday schooling, VBS in the summer, and preaching on Sunday. From my beginnings I was taught of its importance. Cornerstone was a non-denominational congregation with strong ties to the BGC (or Baptist General Conference out of Minneapolis/Saint Paul). Cornerstone was an exciting Place to be as a young child, it was characterized by creative and vibrant teaching, dancing, Baptism, communion (though not weekly), church picnics, emotionally charged church camps, and sometimes even the rear occurrence of speaking in tongues (which was memorable for a young child). Out of this experience I constructed a frame work for how “church” was suppose to happen. Also, though I did not know it at the time I had developed a strong cornerstone, if you will, for a theological belief system.
When I was thirteen my father, who had sense moved from being a youth minister to adults pastor, took a senior minister position with Salem Baptist Church in Ashland Wisconsin (the Church of my grandparents and the Church he had grown up in). The Transition from Cornerstone to Salem was smooth. Salem and Cornerstone were alike in many ways, and in others they were different. Salem comes from a stoic Swedish background. The church has since undergone reformation. Initially on arrival Salem was characterized by hymns, a tie in first service, preaching, Sunday school, baptism, potlucks, and monthly communion. Over the 6 years I attended there Salem has changed in the direction of a contemporary church, much like Cornerstone (minus the dancing and the tongues… you can hardly get sweeds to clap their hands let alone mover their hips). My time at Salem built upon the foundation I was given through the community at Cornerstone, both theologically and ecclesiologically.
The X factor in the development of my heritage during this time was BAYNET (or Bay Area Youth Network). BAYNET was turning point in my theological and ecclesiological development. Joe Mousseau, a youth for Christ worker in the area partnered with Salem’s youth and meet in Salem’s facilities and acted as our youth minister, and also a youth minister to the bay area as well. Because of the semi ecumenical (meaning mostly Baptist and Assemblies of God, and some Catholic, Lutheran, and Presbyterian) nature of BAYNET I was exposed to other expressions of the Christian faith. This most vividly came through my attendance to Assemblies of God hosted youth conventions. To a boy who had become accustomed to the “hands in the pockets worship” of Salem it was eye opening. The mix (ironically the name of our Wednesday night gathering) of traditions quickly became a part of my ecclesiological identity. BAYNET also provided for me a place of theological learning. Because of the ecumenical nature of BAYNET Joe was careful to enlighten us on as many angles of any issue as he could. This forced me into reflection and study. It was the beginnings of my theological independence (of course complete theological independence can never be attained, but what I mean here by independence is a ownership of my theological positions, weather they were inherited from my heritage or not. This process is still underway). In my time with BAYNET I was also empowered to lead, and I loved it. This was the birth place of my calling into ministry. Out of this calling I became mildly obsessed with the study of the “the Church” today. This calling and obsession lead me to enroll at University of Wisconsin Eau Claire with the intention of pursuing a business degree and going on to seminary and then possibly a Executive Minister position somewhere in a church setting following my studies.
For two years I pursued this path, and it was filled with personal study of theology and ecclesiology. My personal ecclesiological study consisted of reading books such as Rick Warrens “Purpose Driven Church” and scrutinizing every congregation I attended to squeeze every ounce of knowledge I could from the experience they provided. As in these years I was a part of four Christian gatherings and fellowships: Campus Crusade for Christ (or Cru), Valley Brook Church, Jacobs Well, and a South Korean house church. Valley Brook Church and Jacobs well served as a continuation of my ecclesiological observance from birth. Each varied slightly from the other in worship and preaching style, but they were in much the same strain theologically and ecclesiologically as Cornerstone and Salem (and both were Baptist: BGC (VBC) and SBC (JW)). Campus Crusade built mostly upon my theological heritage. I remember one of the first exercises I did in my involvement with Cru was a bible study called “Essentials.” The nature of this exercise was to review the foundations, or essentials, of Christian theology. This was nothing new to me but in strengthened the pillars of my faith as I went through it and eventually lead others through it as well. A key theological position that I inherited form them was my theology of evangelism. I should state more clearly that I did not entirely inherit their evangelistic methodology but their theology. I grown in the knowledge of the need for evangelism and developed a heart to do so. Yet I did not come away with their tangible methods (i.e. the “door to door evangelism” or otherwise known as non-relational evangelism). Though the residue of cru that still resides in my life is in nature mostly theological, there are some hints of ecclesiological rub off. For Example, in cru I learned the idea of a winning, building, sending ministry as a model for discipleship in the church. This is still very foundational aspect of my personal ecclesiology.
Amongst the three experiences of Cru, valley brook, and Jacobs well was an outlier, The House Church. The House Church was lead by Abraham Nahm, a missionary to the United States from South Korea (which was initially eye opening for me). Each week about 15-20 people gathered at Abraham and his wife Sarah’s (Their given biblical names) house to have a worship service. The worship service was held in the couple’s living room and consisted of hymns lead by a piano, and a weekly message given by one of the men in the congregation. It’s in this context that my ecclesiological heritage was inriched. Coming from churches ranging from 350-1000 to a worship setting with just 15 people was an enlightening experience. I learn the fundamentals of a Christian fellowship in the midst of the house church. Love, fellowship, and caring were central to a Sunday morning. “You knew everybody and everybody knew you” seemed to be the mantra. Here I saw a new kind of preaching: one from the members not just a preacher, and only expository (preaching through the bible). Communion was viewed in a different light as well. Instead of partaking in the juice and the bread every Sunday, we would have a meal together every Sunday, breaking breads of all kinds. The whole experience of The House Church was enlightening.
Fast forward to fall semester of 2008 where I found myself at Milligan College. At Milligan the subtleties of my awakening were brought to my attention. Prior to my attendance of Milligan I had never really engaged the Christian faith on a academic level it had always been devotional. This shift in focus along with new encounters in new theology conversations plunged me into reflection. Part of this had to do with the clash of things that had been brewing in my mind for some while. Earlier in my college carrier I dove in to theological exploration of Calvinism. I read and listen to voices like Mark Driscoll, John Piper, Tim Cellar, and Calvin himself. In this endeavor I found myself plunging and ascending to different levels of belief and subscription to the Calvinistic mindset (and the effects there of). This was challenged in some way in my studies at Milligan and plunged me deeper still in my theological pursuits in general along with an understanding of Calvinism.
The semester following my first semester at Milligan, I took an internship position at Mountain Christian Church (from the background of Christian Churches/Churches of Christ). My time at Mountain was life shaping and made a deep imprint on my theological and ecclesiological identity. There I learned about the current wake of the Restoration Movement. A movement deep in my heritage on my mother’s side of the family ( Grandfather Dan McCall a Christian Church minister, Counselor, Professor, and Chaplin; and my uncles Ross Brodfueher and John Sichting both ministers of Christian Churches and Milligan Graduates) but something I had never reflected on until then.
The past few months of my life are characterized by a progressing courtship with the ideals of the restoration movement. My theological and ecclesiological heritage is becoming ever clearer as I am subtlety awakened to the reasons why I believe what I believe. My Brother once told me when reflecting on his first months of marriage “you understand the family from which you came much better when you start your own family with someone form a completely different family.” I find that the same thing is becoming true as I am becoming awakened to the heritage of the restoration movement.
.... So whats your Theological and ecclesiological heritage?
hey guys just testing this out... maybe I'll use it some time. I've always been a better communicator than writer.
My response the question…"where in the world are you?... Emotionally, Interpersonally, Spiritually, Academically?" Emotionally: I'm like an athlete who blow out his knee a few years ago, virtually recovered, but occasionally pledged with the inconvenience of the frailty of his knee. Interpersonally: Developing: prideful, insecure, but willing and able to grow stronger in lover for others… "Love those who you feel uncomfortable around" is becoming my motto. Spiritually: Awakening…. Ever awakening: to my sin, and his grace, to my pride and his humility, to my selfishness, and his love, to my ignorance, and his omniscience. Academically: I can now (16 years in) truly say I am a student. By that I mean one who willingly pursues learning. "be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2) This is a great exercise… take time to assess your own inner Geography….Where in the world are you???
