Tebow, Bethke, DeYoung & humility

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There is so much about the world I grew up in–the world I live in now–that feeds the cursed notion that I have the right to live as Leo shouted from his perch atop the soon-to-sink Titanic: “I’m the king of the world!”

No, I’m not. And neither is any one else who writes, rules, makes money, disciplines children, performs, teaches or leads. Jesus Christ, alone, is Lord. Paul wrote that “…God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11) revealing that “…everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory…” (Romans 11:36).

Downstream of this truth are a bundle of practical implications, agendas of obedience for all of us who would follow Jesus. As we submit to the loving rule of an all-powerful God we cannot justify any form of pride. And we are set free from the equally constraining shackles of fear. Both emanate from confusion at our core, where Jesus’ Lordship must be transformational. Humility, not pride; bold love, not fear.

Like over 11,128,742 others, I watched the YouTube video recently posted by Jefferson Bethke that was provocatively labeled, “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus||Spoken Word”  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=1IAhDGYlpqY). I was grateful for how this young man recited an earnest, artistic poem, capturing aspects of an important distinction between false religion and Jesus. The viral popularity of the video likely indicates that it struck a responsive chord with many. The same forms of church that have preserved the message of hope through Christ alone are in need of constant revitalization. Jesus taught that brittle wineskins will burst when new wine is poured into them (Matthew 9:17). Our structures, always temporal, must be regularly evaluated and improved for how well they deliver the life and truth of the Gospel.

In the same way that I celebrate the provocative witness of Tim Tebow I praise the Lord for Bethke’s video. Our God wants and deserves our full-hearted worship. There are too many people who, like I once was, are lost and blinded by sin, clueless to the truth of Christ. These popular culture moments can make a huge difference on the front end of their journeys as they give Jesus fresh consideration.

Kevin DeYoung is a sharp young pastor who is both a careful scholar and culturally savvy. I’m glad for his gifts. He wrote a blog about Bethke’s video that offered careful analysis. At first I thought it was too much, in part because I don’t hold artistic pieces like poetry, film or fiction to the same high standard as I would for a sermon. But teachers teach, and Kevin leveraged a wildly popular experience to unpack biblical truth with skill and grace. His blog on Jan 13 led to a sweet exchange between DeYoung and Bethke, written about on Jan 14 (http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/).

A marvelous example of what happens when two Christ-loving brothers practice humility together, eager to understand and submit to God’s word. Such humility reinforces my hope that diversity of perspectives will ultimately be converged as story lines for unity, a display of God’s power that will surely result in his glory.

at first…

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I love Thanksgiving. For whatever reason it seems to afford me a little more space to reflect than I get from other holidays. It seems like any good solo time with the Lord begins with counting my blessings, expressing my gratitude to the Father and then turning my heart towards what is going on in my life that needs my attention and his intervention.

So this morning’s space before the frenzy of food preparation and getting ready for guests was rich and fruitful. My remembrance was a journey with a longer arc than normal, reaching all the way back to an after Christmas retreat at the end of 1970 when, as a junior in high school who had made a decision to begin following Christ 9 months earlier, a new awareness dropped into my heart. The tangible expression was simple enough: I had prayed aloud for the first time with friends. But something much more far-reaching had shifted in my soul on this retreat. I realized that following Jesus meant that I had to be “all in” and I resolved to live under that new baseline of commitment to God.

I can honestly say that I have never questioned that foundational decision, however poorly I may have lived it out.

The risen Christ accused the church at Ephesus of not loving him or his people as much as they did “at first” (Rev 2:4-5). Today I remember those days more than 40 years ago and realize that there was a simplicity during that season of life that afforded me a rich, fertile soil for my new dedication to take root. During the years that followed I have been blessed by college…marriage…ministry…grad school…two fantastic children…meaningful work…two fantastic spouses for my children…a grandson–many milestones along the way for which I am grateful. But each has also added their own complicating features to my life–good things that can disrupt the single-minded focus of being all in with Jesus.

Maybe that’s what happened to the Ephesians. Whatever their story line, I take seriously the admonition of the Lord this morning to love him again like I loved at first.

So now I have one more thing to be exceedingly thankful for this morning: a God whose persistent love for me knows no bounds as I work out my salvation with humility and deep gratitude. Thanksgiving! Maranatha!!

Friday’s research…Sunday’s reflection

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I had one of those rare weeks I have been privileged to experience on occasion during my career. After a month where research team members were deployed to the Bronx, Philly, Miami, Chicago, Columbus, San Antonio, Tacoma and LA to collect 81 different interviews seven of us huddled over four days to make sense of the data. This was a payoff week. It will help us understand the factors that make the greatest difference as urban young people come to Christ, grow in him, and move into ministry leadership in settings like those they were raised in. Indigenous ministry leaders…we could use more of them everywhere, but especially in our nation’s cities.

During our interviews we explored three stages of the story line for these ministry leaders. After wallowing in the data this week and staring at our first draft collection of graphs, charts, numbers and transcripts I am particularly impressed by some of the more obvious findings:

  • family factors and getting the chance to see examples of those who follow Jesus well seemed to be most important as persons came to Christ and grew in Christ
  • mentors built on exemplary relationships and became more prominent during the growth and ministry leadership phases of these indigenous leaders’ journeys
  • urban ministry leaders overcame significant life hardships as they were growing in their faith…mentors often helped them to not be waylaid by these obstacles
  • what happened within a leaders’ heart and mind–where attitudes, motivations, Biblical insights and convictions are formed–became a much more common story line as respondents described their move from growth to leadership
  • more opportunities to lead made all the difference in the formation of leaders

Today I’m thinking a lot about how to better multiply mentors who can a) help growing Christians persevere through life’s pain and suffering, b) open doors for tangible leadership opportunities, and c) help forge strong ways of transformative thinking (Romans 12:1-2) that encourage leaders to find their special assignment in the mission of God.

How does your story seem to square with these observations?

How is passion different from being bold?

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I grew up with the notion that evangelism required boldness. The first church experience I had as a novice Christian, a 17 year old, pumped me up over every effort I made to witness to my friends. In many respects it didn’t matter if the friends with whom I shared Jesus were responsive to my outreach. It only mattered that I was faithful at making the Lord known by my life and words.

In 1970 Ron Hutchcraft introduced Youth for Christ to six biblical principles of evangelism that captured the heart of how we wanted to go forward. One of the principles was “Spirit-led boldness.” As I replay how the Father used me to reach many high school friends for Christ I can testify to how this approach was an important guiding principle. Not surprising, since I was a child of the “Jesus movement.”

Over the years I winced at evangelism efforts that seemed to be bold without much evidence that the Holy Spirit was leading. I remember a church’s Evangelism Explosion visitation team coming to our house and their slavish commitment to follow their script by “asking the question”…even after it was clear to everyone that Susie and I were leading YFC’s local high school outreach and loved Jesus very much. The Spirit does not lead us into mindless disregard for the dignity of others.

Our current YFC mission statement says that we want to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who have a passion for sharing the love of Christ. What’s the difference between being a person known for such passion and one known for being bold?

I’ve been chewing on this thought for a few days and here’s what I think. Passion is more acceptable than boldness. Passion seems like an admirable quality.  Boldness feels like a forerunner to fanaticism, can lack sensitivity, ushers many people into the land of Awkward Uncomfortability.

But “Spirit-led boldness?” Seriously. What’s wrong with that? I think I’m inclined to go a bit retro on this. I’m ready to upgrade my current passion for sharing Jesus to Spirit-led boldness and see what comes from going old school.

Would love to hear thoughts from anyone else on this distinction.

Authentic?

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The word “authentic” has captured the attention of our YFC national ministry leadership team. We’ve come to believe that the tightest focus of our mission is to work for more authentic, Christ-sharing relationships with–and for–lost kids. Against the backdrop of a culture that perceives Christians as plastic, empty-headed, unconnected to reality and overly conscious about outward appearances it seems considerably important to earn the label “authentic” in our relationships with young people who don’t know much about God.

Can’t seem to locate the word in the Bible…at least not exactly. English synonyms like “genuine” or “real” lead to the Greek word alethes (English transliteration), and I like how this derivation of the word truth enriches my understanding of what an authentic, Christ-sharing relationship might look like. Without commentary except for my inserted titles and bold highlight of which translated English word is alethes in the Greek, I’d like to offer four passages of scripture (NLT) for some good, Saturday morning, slow-cooked reflection.

2 Corinthians 6:3-11…Authentic –> Transparency
We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry.  4 In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.  5 We have been beaten, been put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food.  6 We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit.  7 We have faithfully preached the truth. God’s power has been working in us. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves.  8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors.  9 We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives.  10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. 11 Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you. Our hearts are open to you.

1 Peter 1:6-9…Authentic –> Resiliency
So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while. 7 These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inexpressible joy.  9 Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

1 John 2:1-12…Authentic –> Integrity
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely.  2 He is the sacrifice for our sins. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. 3 And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments.  4 If someone says, “I belong to God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth.  5 But those who obey God’s word really do love him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in him.  6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did. 7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment, for it is an old one you have always had, right from the beginning. This commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.  8 Yet it is also new. This commandment is true in Christ and is true among you, because the darkness is disappearing and the true light is already shining. 9 If anyone says, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.  10 Anyone who loves other Christians is living in the light and does not cause anyone to stumble.  11 Anyone who hates a Christian brother or sister is living and walking in darkness. Such a person is lost, having been blinded by the darkness. 12 I am writing to you, my dear children, because your sins have been forgiven because of Jesus.

3 John 9-12…Authentic –> Humility
I sent a brief letter to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, does not acknowledge our authority.  10 When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the wicked things he is saying about us. He not only refuses to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church. 11 Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.  12 But everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, even truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.

Twitter Fun

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I really enjoy Twitter. It’s fascinating to try to say something worthwhile in 140 characters or less. And I do the slow hand clap when I read how someone else turned a phrase that’s both meaningful and memorable.

There’s tangible feedback when your tweet captures the attention of others. One of my recent offerings has been picked up and pushed around by a lot of people I don’t know into circles where I’m don’t hang out. Here it is: Small holes in our theology produce the pebbles in our shoes that eventually hobble us on our journey. It was fun to think about and imagine how it would look on a poster hanging in my old college dorm room.

And now for the true confession. One guy retweeted my offering with the following question in his preamble: Cute request for blind obedience? I loved it! While I don’t know or follow the dude I would love it if we could get after a little back and forth around his legit question. My first response is that I was making an appeal for folks to think well (rightly) about God by asserting that there are consequences when we don’t. I’ve sure seen plenty of evidence to support this notion in my own life and those around me. So–far from blind obedience–I think we ought to be thoughtfully obedient…without being so impressed by our own brainpower that we let our minds get in the way of actually submitting to the one true God. As Solomon wrote: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7)

Seek, See & Submit

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There are many who have gone before me to do what I’m attempting over the next six months. I hope to inject some energy into the Youth for Christ mission in Toledo, OH. Once a thriving ministry, they’ve fallen on hard times and my impression is that they’ve been hanging on by their fingernails. I hope to encourage their hearts and boost their operations. Executive directors in YFC cities throughout the nation live within this challenge every day.

Wait. On the one hand I want to focus on the mission of YFC in Toledo. Every fiber in my being believes that God wants his people in the area to embrace the cause of reaching lost teens and raising them up to join them in the journey of following Jesus. To be sure, I know it’s not the only concern our Lord wants his Church to embrace. But insofar as this agenda makes a unique and essential contribution to a “farm system” that produces missionally faithful leaders for the Body of Christ it’s ranked pretty high on the value list. The Great Commission meets the Great Commandment with a mix of 2 Timothy 2:2 and Ephesians 4:11-13 leadership development strategies aimed toward teens. We’re not talking about carpet colors in the sanctuary here–this is a cosmic and timeless mission.

As pure as this mission-catalyzing assignment is in the economy of God, I recognize that I am paid and deployed into Toledo as an emissary of an organization. Youth for Christ has a vested interest in seeing the board become energized, ministry renewed and God’s people attracted to what we do. Last week’s conversations at a few different Panera Bread locations dropped a bothering question into my soul: “If the mission is advanced but YFC’s organization in Toledo evaporates, is that OK?”

As soon as the question entered my mind it seemed to activate like a viral probe, racing with free reign throughout the nooks and crannies of my heart. It exposed the mixed bag of motives I carry into this task. I confess that part of my desire is that I want to succeed for my team.

And now that I see how baldly my ego is attached to this work I am deeply fearful that by elevating the organizational stake I could misstep as a faithful servant in God’s Kingdom. If you’ll forgive my alliteration, here are three prayers I’m targeting at my own heart, head and hands for the work ahead:

  • Seek. Am I looking mostly for donors? new board members? open doors for ministry? adults who could make a phenomenal difference if they would invest in Christ-sharing relationships with teens? All are worthy…but all are secondary. “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33 crisply articulates the same single-minded focus that Jesus called every would-be disciple to (see, for example Matthew 16:24-25). If it’s necessary for individuals to die to themselves there is most certainly an organizational corollary to guide my work in YFC. My heart prayer.
  • See. As my motives become more pure my eyes are drawn to notice what the Lord is already doing…and wants to do. Until that happens–like a little kid concentrating on an ice cream cone during a meteor shower–I will miss the big thing that is going on. Prayer positions my pupils to be alert for how the Lord moves and attentive to what he wants me to see. On the heels of teaching the disciples about what God will do in some of the cities they knew so well Jesus prayed: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike” (Matthew 11:25). There are times when my automatic, best practice responses in the face of ministry challenges clearly thrust me into the category of being “wise and clever.” Not good. This is the prayer I’m leveling at my head because I realize that even after 40 years with Jesus I still need to be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2).
  • Submit. Action is what’s required for any good intention to bear fruit. What I noticed last week is how tempted I was during many different conversations to sell somebody on what I was doing rather than try to understand what they are up to. Pressing my point has a time and place, but if I’m always and only looking for the opening to score for my team I will surely miss opportunities that I did not anticipate. Peter, who knew something about getting in the way of what God wanted to do, wrote words to live by when I work in Toledo: “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor” (1 Peter 5:6). That’s how I’m targeting my prayer for my calendar and conversations.

I love this adventure of following Jesus. It’s always challenging…always worthy. And those of us who get to spend our time in full-time Christian ministry must beware of how easy it is to elevate our important work above God’s Kingdom mission. Vigilance, my friends.

I’d love to read your thoughts on this rambling post. And I’m hungry for your prayers as I seek, see & submit to God’s purposes in Toledo.