Reach the lost… or love your neighbor?

I’ve found myself wondering in recent days which is most important – evangelism that focuses on eternal salvation or matters relating to social justice. I’ve always known they aren’t mutually exclusive, but their relative priority has remained a mystery. God works the details of each individual’s calling out, but all share a common call. Is it primarily about reaching the lost or loving our neighbors? Which is more important – the second greatest commandment or the great commission?

I’ve been reading The Hole in the Gospel, which is authored by the president of World Vision. He didn’t seek the role; in fact, he tried to run from it. In chapter after chapter, the author addresses the questions I have. What does God require of every Christian? What does he require of me? To answer those questions, I intend to study the related teachings of Jesus. Meanwhile, the book has already given me that study in a nutshell. He reminded me of the way Jesus summed up what God requires of us all:

• Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind
• Love your neighbor as yourself

But then he addresses what he says just might be the third greatest commandment – the great commission. The way he ties the greatest commandments to the great commission is enlightening. The Great Commission calls us to make followers of Christ who do what Jesus commanded: “Teach them to obey everything I have commanded.” And God has commanded that we love God and love people.

If we are obedient to the Great Commission, we are influencing people to take care of the poor and fight for justice for the oppressed. If we love the poor, we find that they also often becomes followers of Jesus who share his message with others. It’s not accurate to only say that these two aspects of the Christian message – salvation and social justice – aren’t mutually exclusive; we have to realize that they are simultaneous, even synergistic, working in perfect harmony together to create more than they could alone. We are to teach the nations to obey everything Jesus commanded. And if they do, the injustices, poverty, and disease rampant in the world will be addressed, because the people obeying Jesus’ commands will be loving their neighbors.

Perhaps that is the essence of missions today. We must make disciples of every nation, teaching them to love God and love their neighbors. Where there are Christians, we serve with them in loving neighbors and discipling believers. Where there are no Christians, we spread the message of the Kingdom of God through word and deed, teaching the people to obey everything Jesus commanded.

Missions should be about fulfilling the Lord’s prayer, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.” Share the good news everywhere, and the goal of missions is met. And as you share that good news, teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded – love God, love others, and teach everyone to do the same. That’s the goal and the method and the sustainable cycle of missions.

Too Easily Satisfied

A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-aged methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.

The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit…

We have all contributed directly or indirectly, to this sad state of affairs. We have been too blind to see, or too timid to speak out, or too self-satisfied to desire anything better than the poor, average diet with which other appear satisfied. To put it differently, we have accepted one another’s notions, copied one another’s lives and made one another’s experiences the model for our own. And for a generation the trend has been downward. Now we have reached a low place of sand and burnt wire grass and, worst of all, we have made the Word of Truth conform to our experience and accepted this low plane as the very pasture of the blessed.

It will require a determined heart and more than a little courage to wrench ourselves loose from the grip of our times and return to biblical ways. But it can be done.

- A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

The Scandalous love of God

At a recent chapel service, the speaker asked us to share adjectives we would use to describe the love of God. Amazing. Indescribable. Pure. It took me a minute to work up the courage to share the word bouncing around in my head. I didn’t know how my colleagues would respond. Scandalous, I said.

The speaker asked I what I meant, and I rambled incomprehensibly about how God’s love is so undeserved and often un-returned that it is scandalous. The Biblical picture I had in my mind, but didn’t have time to share, was of Hosea and Gomer. It was scandalous for Hosea, a prophet, to love Gomer, a prostitute, because his love wasn’t deserved or returned. He wasn’t supposed to love her! A preacher marrying a prostitute today wouldn’t be acceptable; it would be a scandal.

That is what God’s love for me is like. I don’t deserve it; I often don’t return it. I’m frequently unfaithful. Like Gomer, I chase after the gods of this life, offering them the blessings my Lord gave to me, and yet He says:

I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.

I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.

Hosea 2:19-20

Run with perseverance

Last night, as I lay in bed, trying to sleep, I reflected on the day and casually prayed. The day had begun like many other Sundays recently. I spent the morning at the Inner City Church, alternating between the joy of doing something I love with the frustration of feeling inadequate and useless. I tried to explain Abraham’s faith to young kids while some of them fought with each other and I fought to believe God can use me to reach them.

That evening, I went to service at the Rock. I listened to a stirring sermon about having enough faith in God to propel me through the barriers I face as I seek to do His will. Someone has to believe it’s possible, the speaker had said; someone has to show the way. Yet as I lay awake in bed, one phrase kept coming to mind – run with perseverance.

I wondered where the phrase came from, why I couldn’t get it out of my head. It tied in with what the speaker had shared about long-distance runners and the “walls” they hit, but I didn’t think he used that phrase. Where is it from, I wondered as I tossed and turned. At the right time, God brough the passage to my mind: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

Running with perseverance. A few weeks ago, I felt as spiritually frustrated as I think I’ve ever felt. Between the demands of my job and the little I’m trying to do at Inner City, I felt drained, like I was giving more than I could handle. But I knew I wasn’t doing that much. I have plenty of time, and there was just no reason for me to feel so pressed. And yet I did, and I faced the realization that I knew so little of Christ’s power that I couldn’t sustain my relatively meager load with a joy-filled heart. While at Mardels, I browsed books, wondering if one of them could help. I was drawn at first to A Resilient Life. Using the analogy of a distance runner, the book compelled readers to run with perseverance. The book’s message to keep running, to get going when the going gets tough, appealed to me – until I saw another book, Running on Empty. That phrase, and the image of a runner bent over, gasping for breath, captured how I felt.

I bought the book, and I spent many hours alone over the next few days, ice-bound at a resort in Missouri. I read enough of the book to hear God telling me that my problem was that I was neglecting Him. I needed to know Christ, as a Person, not just one who would use me. The words on the back cover of the book – that it is time to live with God, not just for Him – rang true in my spirit. I turned from the book to my Bible and slowly read through the Gospel of Mark. As bad as this sounds, the gospels have been some of my least favorite books of the Bible to read. I have heard and read the stories so many times that they seem to have no life. Yet, over the course of those two days, Jesus came alive. Since then, I have often reflected on His claims in the Gospel of John, “I am the bread of life” and “I am the vine.” I’m finding that He is enough, if I only make Him my source.

These were some of the thoughts circulating in my head as I lay awake in bed last night. I thought of the week ahead with a bit of dread, knowing I can’t meet the demands I face, and yet also with an excitement that comes from knowing He is enough. Run with perseverance. Soon, other parts of the passage flooded my mind. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen… Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us cast off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith…

As all these things and more tumbled in my mind, God reminded me of two things. First, when my eyes are fixed on Christ, I can run this race with perseverance. Second, I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who show that it can be done. I can have faith, and that faith is the evidence of things not seen. I fell asleep, believing God could do what I can not.

I woke up, and I went in to work with a minor cold in tow. I had a lot of work to do, and the thought of having one less workday to do it in compelled me to get out of bed. I would have liked to have gone through the day proud of myself for coming in. Instead, God kept showing me the great cloud of witnesses I run with – at the Rock, at ICAG, at the IPHC:

• The young man who saved the life of three Sudanese children
• The ministry director, who after an arduous stay in another country, prepares to leave home again
• The young leaders of ICAG who, day-after-day, week-after-week, keep the ministries alive
• The minister who wouldn’t spend weeks on the road for a high-paying sales job, yet does it for Christ
• The missionary who, after a day ministering in an unreached nations, still has enough to give that his writings inspire me
• The minister who lost a spouse and the couples who lost a child, yet keep running

In the midst of all of this, a friend told me about his vision for an artistic piece he may title Cloud of Witnesses. I haven’t seen it yet, but in a way, I have, and my faith is renewed.

Motivation for missions and ministry

I’ve been thinking lately about what motivates me to be involved in missions and ministry and how that compares to what motivates others. Part of it is professional (i.e., “How do we motivate people to give to missions?”). A portion of it is church-related (i.e., “How can I influence others to help with the inner city ministry?”) There’s also a very personal component to it (ie, “What really are my motives in all this, and are they Christ-exalting?)

For some time, a key motive for me has been God’s glory. I believe that the God I know and serve is so great, so good, so loving that He is worthy of the praise of all peoples. He deserves the praise of the people He created and died for. Moreover, if only people knew how great He is, they would gladly and joyfully serve and follow Him. That motivates me to make Him known, whether that is halfway around the world or just around the block. I’m compelled to make His greatness known.

Other people are motivated by other things:

• Compassion for the poor and hurting
• Concern for those who will spend eternity in Hell
• Obedience to the command and call of Jesus

What motivates you? Why do you give your time, talent, and resources to ministry?

My Personal Mission Statement

Knowing I’m struggling a little to discern what God wants me to do about work vs. an overseas assignment, one of the directors at work suggested I write down the long-range vision I believe God has for my life. Being the bookworm that I am, I bought The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and Life.

Working through the exercises in the first couple chapters, I managed to write a mission statement for my life that encompasses my personal and professional life. Here it is:

My mission is to communicate God’s great glory (ie, worth, goodness) to others in a way that compels them to advance the knowledge of His glory in all the earth and especially among unreached people groups.

That encompasses my professional life as it clearly explains my desires to help people see the goodness found in Christ and persuade them to take a more active role in sharing that Goodness with others.

It also provides direction for my personal endeavors, as I want my life and character to truly communicate who God is to my family and friends. And believing that making Him known and bringing Him glory (by life and deed) is the essence of Christian life, I most certainly want to have a part in encouraging those I’m in relationship with to do just that.

Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life

While the discussion on worship in our young adults group Wednesday night frustrated me because of its focus on particular expressions of worship through music, I had a great conversation with a friend afterwards about true worship. True worship is denying your self, submitting your will to God’s, and serving others. A deep reverence and fear of God that transforms how you live are critical to worship, not raising your hands while singing.

That conversation, and the Biblical study I’ve done since then, has made me reflect on the lack of daily emphasis I place on holiness, worship, and devotion. I’m a member of a conservative church and work for holiness fellowship, so right-living before God has always been a focus in what I’ve been taught and what I’ve lived. But I am not restrained enough in my daily actions in light of the holiness He requires.

I started reading A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law tonight after looking for some old-school material on the topic to read. This excerpt from the first chapter is helping in showing me how the devotion God deserves has to be evident in my daily, common life:

If contempt of the world and heavenly affection is a necessary temper of Christians, it is necessary that this temper appear in the whole course of their lives, in their manner of using the world, because it can have no place anywhere else. If self-denial be a condition of salvation, all that would be saved must make it a part of their ordinary life. If humility be a Christian duty, then the common life of a Christian is to be a constant course of humility in all its kinds. If poverty of spirit be necessary, it must be the spirit and temper of every day of our lives. If we are to relieve the naked, the sick, and the prisoner, it must be the common charity of our lives, as far as we can render ourselves able to perform it. If we are to love our enemies, we must make our common life a visible exercise and demonstration of that love. If content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing of evil be duties to God, they are the duties of every day, and in every circumstance of our life. If we are to be wise and holy as the new-born sons of God, we can no otherwise be so, but by renouncing everything that is foolish and vain in every part of our common life. If we are to be in Christ new creatures, we must show that we are so, by having new ways of living in the world. If we are to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of spending every day.

[...]

If our common life is not a common course of humility, self-denial, renunciation of the world, poverty of spirit, and heavenly affection, we do not live the lives of Christians.

Let that be the way I spend every day, Lord.

Answer #1 – I am corrupt

As soon as I turned away, I grabbed Piper’s book When I don’t desire God – how to fight for joy. I’ve read parts of it before, and I can’t stay up any later tonight reading more of it or the Bible. But the couple sentences I just read answered part of my questions.

Related to the question of how do I get a God-sized view of God that sustains joy in Him is the question, why don’t I already view God that way? God is infinitely beautiful and perfect and holy and worthy. I know that, but why don’t I know that? Answer? Because I am corrupt.

Delighting in God is a command (Ps. 37:4). I don’t do it enough because I don’t see his worth clearly enough. And I don’t see his worth because I am corrupt, blind. The part I see clearly is a gift from Him, grace to me. Only He can help me see more clearly, and only seeing more clearly will result in me delighting in Him in that way that sustains me, glorifies Him, and brings others into the knowledge of His greatness.

Alas, I begin anew

I want to start journaling more (again), and I might as well post my thoughts here. Hopefully, it’ll become a new part of my devotional routine.

My intention is to use writing as a way of mediating on God and His Word. I’ve taught a couple times recently at our young adults group at church, largely inspired by materials written by John Piper. The way he thinks about and writes about God sets my soul on fire with a different kind of passion. He is, in many ways, my C.S. Lewis. My hope is mediating on God’s great worth will help me better understand his value, bring him more glory, and bring more people into the enjoyment of knowing Him for who he really is.

I’m reading Piper’s Taste and See devotional these days. Today, the entry is about how Puritans, in contrast to evangelicals, put great importance on communing with God. Evangelicals discuss the work we are doing for God; Puritans discuss how they spend time with Him and how good he truly is. I never want to stop doing the work of a Martha, but I do want to become more like Mary, dwelling on the goodness of God instead of just doing work for Him.

I have ideas of things I want to teach at our young adult meetings, but the real message is beyond me because I don’t spend enough time really studying and mediating on God’s goodness. I don’t just want to teach a good lesson; I want to live a life that demonstrates what it means to enjoy God and bring Him glory in everything. God is good, and I want that to be the clear testimony of life, in word and deed, day in and day out. I want to have a reputation as someone who is… I don’t know what to call it. I want my heart to be completed captured by a love for God, and I want it to be apparent to everyone that he is my Source, my Light, My Joy. I want the message of God’s Supremacy to resound in my life like in does in Piper’s words. And, I want it not for myself, but so others will see God’s great worth – bringing Him glory and them great joy.

But how? How does that become the reality of my life? That’s the lesson I want to teach at church and in life. I’ve done having a passion for God’s glory and enjoying God lately, but they were messages focused on showing why it’s essential to have passion for God and to enjoy Him. But I can’t tell people how to become so caught up with amazement concerning God that they can’t help but display passion and joy in Him, because I haven’t found that all-encompassing joy in knowing Him yet either.

And yet, I know it begins with the inspiration from God to want to know him more. I’ve gotten a taste of how good He is, and I want more. I can give that to others. I know more comes from studying, meditating, and praying. I can engage in those actions more so my love of and understanding of God increases, and then I’ll have more to give others for His glory.

I’m loosely planning on teaching about “Fighting for a God-sized view of God” soon. I need to just write out my thoughts on that subject here, searching the Bible and meditating on what I find. Forget about teaching others – how do I get a God-sized view of God?

God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed

Under President Robert Mugabe’s leadership, Zimbabwe has went from being a country of relative prosperity to a nation plagued by extreme inflation, 80 percent unemployment, food shortages and one of the world’s lowest life expectancies. Unrest is growing, and the government has been brutally cracking down on opposition.

Enter the Easter message from Zimbabwe’s bishops. Entitled “God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed”, the message warns that an uprising is likely is Mugabe doesn’t step down. The bishops are calling for free and fair elections, trying to pressure Mugabe, who is a Catholic, into stepping down. The bishops are also calling for a day of prayer and fasting on April 14, 2007. Will you pray? Truly, we serve a God who hears the cries of the oppressed.