The Marks of a Church

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What makes a church a church?  There are all kinds of things that we can use to describe the ways that we prefer our churches to look, sound, smell, or feel, but what are the things that define the Christian Church?

Martin Luther described the church simply when he said, “A seven year-old child knows what the church is, namely, holy believers and sheep who hear the voice of their Shepherd.”

From preaching to the band, from membership to sacraments, from worship to the parking lot, the practices that shape the life of a congregation are endless.  So what matters most?

What are the marks of a Christian Church?

Martin Luther listed seven marks that we can recognize the church by.  His list is incredibly helpful and I thought it would be helpful to re-state many of the themes that Luther suggested but to say it in different words and add some nuances that are helpful for our own conversations.  At the heart of my list is what you could find in Luther’s work “On the Councils and the Church, 1539."

Word.

There is no church without God’s word.  God works through his Word and God’s church is formed by this Word.  Our churches should be places that are shaped by the word and who love and cherish the word.  In addition to the scriptures, this also would include the “visible word” or the sacraments.  God is at work in bread, wine, and water giving the gifts he promised to give just as he does through the preaching, teaching, and reading of Scripture.

*in Luther’s list, this would include the marks of God’s Word, Baptism, and Lord’s Supper.  

Mission.

God’s church is given a mission.  And that mission is to proclaim the message of the forgiveness of sins.

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” John 20:22-23

The church isn’t the place for good advice (although it might have some great advice), it is a place for the Good News.  The church proclaims God’s promise of forgiveness. It does this publicly and on behalf of the congregation in the vocation of the pastor and it does it daily in the personal lives of the church members in their homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces as members are given opportunities to speak God’s word of Law (binding sins) and God’s word of Gospel (forgiveness).

*in Luther’s list, this would be the mark of the Office of the Keys

Suffering.

The most surprising in Luther’s list of marks of the Church is suffering.  For Luther, the Christian is formed in his suffering and the Church is defined by its understanding of suffering.  The life of a Christian as a disciple of Jesus is a life that centers on suffering.

The disciple is called to “deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  Perhaps that mark of suffering might even be more simply considered the mark of disciples.  After all, is there such a thing as a disciple of Jesus who doesn’t suffer?

But to be clear, this isn’t about finding a cross to bear.  Suffering is inevitable.  We don’t need to go looking for our crosses.  The disciple of Jesus will find suffering in the midst of the daily struggles of life.  This often might be found in the depths of pain, hurt, and tragedy.  And it at times will come in the midst of the smaller struggles of daily life.

It might be better stated that suffering in and of itself isn’t the mark of the church, but the way in which the Church suffers that is the mark.  The disciple of Jesus suffers with eyes fixed on the one He follows.   The sufferer focuses on the one who suffered for us.

Shepherds.

Every church has a pastor.  The pastor is the person that God has called to the congregation to shepherd the people.

As a friend of mine said, "That’s a strange word. Sounds so archaic. Unsophisticated. Definitely not as impressive as Chief Executive Officer."

The shepherd cares for the flock.  He feeds the sheep, keeps them where they are safe, and he shoots the foxes.

My friend also described a “good” shepherd as one who knows:

what it’s like to be lost,

what it’s like to be rescued,

what it’s like to be strengthened, healed and bound up,

what it’s like to be fought for, defended, protected,

what it’s like to trust and follow,

what it’s like to listen for “the voice”.

*in Luther’s list, this would be the mark of the pastoral office

Family.

As a family of believers, we don’t just go about our individual lives as Christians but we must gather together.  A church is marked by the family gathering together around the Word.  The church should not just be individual family members worshipping privately, but the family gathering together to worship corporately.

Luther suggested:

“However, we are now speaking of prayers and songs which are intelligible and from which we can learn and by means of which we can mend our ways. The clamor or monks and nuns and priests is not prayer, nor is it praise to God; for they do not understand it, nor do they learn anything from it…”

The family gathers.  The family learns together.  The family praises together. The family prays together.  As the family gathers together, they are served by the God who promises to be present.  The family gathering in a sense is the “work of the people” in which we receive from the gifts that God has promised to give and respond to those good gifts he has given to us.

*in Luther’s list, this would be the mark of prayer, public praise, and thanksgiving to God

Ordinary Radicals

We need more ordinary Christians.  I know that sounds boring and will hardly start a movement, but I’m serious.  We need more Christians who live their everyday lives, doing their work, loving their families, and being a good neighbor.

The problem with this is it’s not very sexy.

People don’t like the stories of the people who are engineers working hard to provide for their family and come home to care for their wife and children both physically and spiritually.  People like the stories of a radical giving up of something to follow God’s call.

People want radical obedience and extraordinary stories of people selling their house and giving up all their belongings and moving their family across the world.  And that might be what God does indeed call certain people to do, but not everyone.

Please don’t misunderstand me.  I’m all for people finding new, extraordinary ways to sacrificially give of their times, talents, and treasures to go to places across the world in all kinds of different ways.  But I’m also concerned that we can easily celebrate God’s calling in the extraordinary, while ignoring God’s calling to the very ordinary, average places that you and I often find ourselves in.

There is great appeal in pursuing exotic or “extraordinary” mission. But the Bible calls us to look a little closer as we live out Jesus’ mission: those in need and our neighbors. - Ben Connelly

In our desire to serve other people, we can’t ignore the simple fact that we are called to love people radically in the context of our ordinary, everyday lives.  We don’t have to travel across the ocean to love our neighbors, we just need to walk outside.

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. - 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

What’s an ordinary radical?

They are ordinary in that they embrace their God-given vocations.  This means they embrace that God has called them to the places he has placed them.  For some this means that God has called them to be a missionary in Africa.  For others that means that they have been called to make pizza at Little Caesars.  For others that means being a stay-at-home mom.

And here’s the thing about these callings, they are all important and equally sacred.

An ordinary radical embraces the ordinary.  He sees that while changing a diaper might not be sexy when compared to somebody else who does something “extraordinary” for God, it is an important and spiritual act of service.  She sees that while she might not be called to go across the world, she has been placed in a mission field in her own neighborhoods.

The temptation in our modern world is to do what was fought against in the Reformation.  In seeking to do something radical for God, we ignore the sacredness of the ordinary.  In Luther’s day, it was the priests who had a sacred, spiritual calling and not the average person.  But Luther embraced an understanding of vocation that understood everybody had a sacred calling whether that be in the church, in the home, or on the farm.

When we measure the importance of a person’s calling based on our pre-conceived notions of God’s calling, we can easily be tempted to ignore the importance of ordinary callings.

"For him who heeds his vocation, sanctification is hidden in offensively ordinary tasks." - Gustaf Wingren

And ordinary radical cannot simply focus on being ordinary, however.  There is a radical component to the ordinary radical.  An ordinary radical, while perhaps having a very average, ordinary vocation, they have a radical calling in the command to “Love your neighbor.”

The ordinary radical embraces the ordinary.  But they also embrace the call to love their neighbor.

And because of their understanding of their calling, they do it exactly the way that God created them to do it and with the gifts that God has given them to do it.  The ordinary radical radically loves their neighbor in very ordinary ways.  They love their kids by providing and taking care of them.  They love their co-workers by showing up for work on time and by speaking well of them.  They love their neighbors by inviting them over for meals.

Ordinary radicals show the radical, scandalous love of God in all the places God has placed them in their normal, everyday lives.

God's Calling When You Hate Your Job

It’s fun to talk about God’s calling when we are talking about a career we love or even our future dreams.  But what about when you don’t like your job?  What is there to talk about when you are stuck in a job you hate, that seems menial, or that you makes you want to stab yourself in the eye with a fork.

Does the doctrine of vocation still apply?

Can you be called to a place that makes you miserable?

Yes.

God can and God does call us to work in places that might not be the best places of employment.  Does that mean we should put up with being treated horrible or that we shouldn’t consider employment elsewhere?  By no means!  But it does mean that until we find a different job, we are called to the one we are at.

In Genesis we learn that after the fall, the earliest vocations of man and woman become difficult.

“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken.”  - Genesis 3:17-19

Work was created as a good thing.  God gives Adam and Eve callings even before sin enters the world.  But once sin enters the picture things change.  There isn’t a job in the world that is stress-free.  Even the best job in the world will be accompanied by days of pain and toil.

This is evidence of the broken world that we live in.

What Do I Do if I’m Called To a Job I Hate?

So you didn’t get that dream job that your fancy college-degree and a butt-load of debt promised to get you.  What does that mean for God’s calling in your life?  Do you have one?  Is it not what you thought it would be?  While you may not like your job and it may not be what you hoped it might be, there are some helpful things to consider when the calling you have today is not the calling you hope to have someday.

There is a myth floating around these days that has some folks feeling down—particularly those twenty or thirtysomethings who expected to find themselves settled in a job that makes them wake with the dawn and leap out bed grinning because their work completes them. - Read more

Your job isn’t your only vocation.

Your job is a calling from God.  And it is a place that God’s desires to work with and through you.  But if that job does not utilize all your gifts and passions, it is important to also realize that your job isn’t your only vocation.

In fact, in our world of entrepreneurship, people frequently make a point that we shouldn’t quit our day job in order to pursue our dream job.  Your dream job that you work on at night and on weekends might be a calling that you pursue alongside your day job.  Or your volunteer work for the local non-profit might be the place that utilizes your gifts and passions in a way that your workplace can’t.

You might not be passionate about your job or even feel like it is the place that you should be at long-term, but their are other significant areas in which God wants to use you and your gifts.  And these other areas are important callings to consider.

Your job might be primarily about your calling to your family.

Luther in his conversations about vocation actually primarily categorized the workplace within the vocation of family.  In Luther’s understanding, the job you had was primarily about fulfilling the vocation of providing for a family.

It wasn’t until more recent history that jobs were seen as a place to pursue your passions and find fulfillment.  It used to be that your job was what you did to put food on the table.

You might not like your job, but it pays the bills.  And if it is your responsibility to provide a home for your family and put dinner on the table, you might have to work a difficult, unfulfilling job for the sake of the people you love.

Your job is an opportunity to serve.

In that same light, you’re work becomes an opportunity to serve.  God doesn’t need our works.  We don’t seek to fulfill our vocations because God needs it or it is going to earn us some spiritual points.  We do it because our neighbors need it.

Even if you don’t like your job, you are serving someone.  You are serving the customers that drive you crazy.  You are serving the boss that makes you miserable.  And if all else fails, you are serving your family by working hard at a job you don’t look forward to doing.

So you may not like your job.  Most of us at some point in our life have a difficult, miserable job.  But even in the midst of a job you hate, God’s calling is still present.  And he has called you to the place you are to serve those are you in and through your workplace, he has called you to serve your family by your job, and he has given you all kinds of opportunities to have other vocations alongside of the work you get paid to do.

2 Biggest Lies About Homosexuality that Threaten the Gospel

In our culture, the biggest problem and threat to the Gospel being preached to the homosexual community are the false beliefs that are perpetuated by both those within the community and those outside it.  People within the homosexual community and outside of it often falsely belief that “they are not like us” and that “our sexuality is our identity.”

This is dangerous for us as we understand the message of forgiveness.  This is dangerous for all the people throughout our country who come out to friends and family and falsely believe things about themselves and their identity that are simply contrary to what the Gospel proclaims.  And I write this not to point out what those who struggle believe, but to primarily point out what many of us who don't struggle with this issue falsely believe. 

The Two Biggest Lies People Falsely Believe

1. They are not like us.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.  They are just like us.

In 1 Timothy 1:8-10, Paul describes the lawbreakers and the rebels:

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul makes another list.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

But here is the point; we are all on these lists.  Paul’s point in the list isn’t about calling out only homosexual behavior, but in calling out all of our sin.  We are all the lawbreakers and the rebels.  We are all guilty.  And just for good measure, in case you don’t think you find yourself on the list, Paul even says “and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.”

That means anything that go against right belief.

So even if you are arrogant enough to think you aren’t on the list, he still adds the kicker to make sure you’re still counted as:

Lawbreakers. Rebels. Ungodly. Sinful. Unholy. Irreligious. Wrongdoers.

This is why Paul says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Because the Scriptures description of human nature makes it clear that we are all broken.  It is clear that we are all guilty of sin.  And that brokennness expresses itself differently in each of our lives.

For some brokenness gets expressed in our sexual behavior.

For others that brokenness gets expressed in greed or gossip.

In others, it happens in drinking.

Homosexual behavior is not a worse sin, but a different one.  It simply expresses the same brokenness that is true of all of us differently.

This means that anyone who believes that they are a sinner in need of a savior can with confidence trust the words of Psalms 103:11-12 when it says, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

When Ephesians says we are saved by grace through faith, that goes for all of us.  We are all in the same boat.  Our root problem is the same.  And the grace we receive through faith is the same.

2. Our sexuality is our identity.

Sin is not our identity.  It is not the identity of those who struggle with homosexual behavior, it is not the identity of those who support it, and it is not the identity of those who oppose it.

When your sin becomes your identity, you desperately need to hear the Gospel.

You are not what you do.  You identity is not found in your own behavior, but is found in Christ who gave of himself on the cross.  Your sin should be your identity, but because of the crucifixion your identity becomes that of a saint.

This is why 1 Corinthians 6 says, “That is what some of you were…”  Because in Christ, no matter where you fall on that list, you are given a new identity in Christ.  No matter who you are or what you’ve done, by faith your identity can be found in Christ. You are called a child of God because Jesus took on your brokenness and sin and made it his own.

You are not what you do.

You are not your sins.

You are not your relationships.

You are not your addictions.

You are not your sexual preferences.

You are not your career.

"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:28

Your identity is not found in any of these things.  By the grace of God, we can find our identity completely outside of ourselves and in Jesus.

Because it can be hard to capture this in a short blog post, I encourage you to listen to a recent sermon I did on the subject.  Even that leaves a lot that could yet be discussed, but I feel it is helpful in getting a fuller picture.

Drifting East of Eden

Our family often goes on a vacation with a number of our friends to a cottage up north.  One of the activities our families enjoy is taking the ridiculous number of kids we have and piling them onto a pontoon boat.

And then we hang out on the water.

A couple of times this ended up with our families beaching the boat at a sand bar so we could let the kids out and play.  And inevitably, because the boat was beached and not anchored, one of us would look over at the boat and see the boat was beginning to drift away.

We always caught the boat thankfully.  But what is fascinating is that the people on the boat never realized it.  They were eating, hanging out, and relaxing and drifting away from shore without every noticing.

This is how drifting works though.  It’s subtle.  It happens slowly and it’s not until somebody points it out that you even realize it is happening.  This happens on beaches all the time; you are hanging out in the water and swimming when all of the sudden you look up and realize you’ve drifted down shore without even noticing it.

The Drift Away from the Garden

In Genesis 3:24, there’s an interest observation that has significant implications for us as Christians.

“After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden a cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”

East of the Garden.

After Adam and Eve sin, they are moved eastward.  Out of the Garden and away from God.

And then in Genesis 4, we read about a story of two brothers.  A story of a brutal murder.  And then at the end of this story, the writer makes a simple note about the murderer-brother.

“Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.”

There’s a drift that is taking place.  And Cain not only drifts eastward, but he settles there.  He puts down roots and builds a city; he makes his home in the east.  There’s this feeling in the first four chapters of Genesis and throughout the entire history of the Israelites that they are going the wrong way.

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We are all east of Eden.  We all drift eastward.

“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished. So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?” - Hebrews 2:1-3 (NLT)

This is the tendency of the human heart, there is a slow drift away from the truth we have heard.

We see it in Adam and Eve, we see it in Cain, we see it in the Judges, and in a man like David.  All of us are blown about by the wind and the waves of this world and are pulled by the currents of our own hearts.

And Hebrews makes clear what it is that we drift away from when he says, “We ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself.”  We drift away from the promise that Jesus proclaims to us.  We move eastward and begin building cities for ourselves instead of building our lives on the finished work of Jesus.

And our eastward drift is only stopped by the promise of the cross.

The cross jumps into the middle of this mess with a message that brings us back home.  The Good News comes to us as we’ve gone eastward and re-orients us.  It curves our me-centered hearts outward.  It declares to us our sins are forgiven and jolts us out of the drift and makes sure we cannot “ignore this great salvation.”  Jesus jumps into the storm and despite the currents of our own hearts, he changes the course and brings us back home.

The Power of Words

While most of us have grown up with the rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will never hurt me,” we know that words have far more power than that simple childhood rhyme led us to believe.

Words have the power to create and destroy; to kill and give life.  God works through words.  In the beginning, the Word created the world and everything in it.  In our daily life, our own words have the power to create and destroy the lives of our friends, family, and coworkers.  Our words have the potential to give life or kill the life of the people around us, just as God’s own words do this in our life.

God’s word “kills us in order to make us alive.”  He speaks his word of condemnation to shatter our self-made delusions about the kind of people we think we are.  He reveals us for what we are in his sight and once we have been shattered, he reminds us of who he is.

God’s Word is made up of two words: Law and Gospel.  The Law is the Word that kills.  It kills the self-righteous, breaks the arrogant, and destroys the legalist.  The Law reveals our sin and kills us so that we might be resurrected.  The Gospel is the Word that gives life.  It rescues the person who cries, “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.”

As Christians, we are given the sacred calling to speak God’s words in the places he has placed us.  In our homes, in our families, in our neighborhoods, and in our workplaces God has called us to be people who speak his word in the unique places we have been placed.

In the words of Uncle Ben, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

We have a responsibility to use our words wisely.  Our words have the power to correct those who live licentiously and falsely believe there is no law.  And they have the power to set free those who have been enslaved by sin.

The Law will inevitably drive people to guilt and shame.  These aren’t bad feelings when they drive us to repentance.  But without the Gospel, they leave a person destroyed.

Guilt says, “I’m sorry, I did something wrong.”  Shame says, “I’m sorry, there’s something wrong with me.”  The Gospel speaks words of hope to both of these experiences.

It speaks to our guilt when it declares, “Your sins are forgiven.”  The guilt has been removed.  And it speaks to our shame, when it says, “You are not who you were.”  Our identity is found in Christ, not in our shame.  We are not only sinners, but we are also saints. And these are the words that we have the privilege to speak in our conversations, in our preaching, and in our writing.

How Do We Understand What Laws We Follow in Leviticus?

Why do Christians pick and choose which laws to follow in Leviticus?  How can someone wholeheartedly affirm one passage that says declares one sin an abomination and then flat out ignore another that forbids eating shellfish.

One of the misconceptions in understanding how to read the Bible is that people often simply say, “I read the Bible literally.”  That’s not true, even by the people who claim it.   Most of the people who might say something like that actually don’t literally believe that the poetic language of Psalms should be taken literally.  Or when Jesus claims “I am the gate,” believes that Jesus is literally a fence that opens and closes.

A better description for the proper way to read the Bible is: read the Bible as it was literally intended to be read. This means that some books are intended to be read as history, others are intended to be read as poetry, others as apocalyptic and so on.  When we read the bible we have to consider, who wrote the book and what was the author’s intention behind what we read.

So how’s this translate to the book of Leviticus?

The book of Leviticus is a book full of laws.  And as we read the book of Leviticus it is important to understand how we should understand the book we are reading.  Because the book is full of so many laws we have to consider, should we be following these laws?  And if not, why don’t we follow them?

When you read the book of Leviticus you cannot automatically assume that every law you read still applies today.

But at the same time you cannot automatically ignore every law that is found in the book of Leiviticus.

You have to discern, is this a law that was for a particular time and place or was it timeless?

The 3 Types of Laws in Leviticus

1) Ceremonial

The ceremonial law was given to the nation of Israel for a particular purpose.  These are the laws that were given to the nation of Israel for the purpose of separating them from their Gentile neighbors.  These laws are for a specific nation, at a specific time, and for a specific purpose.

And so for the sake of separating Israelites from the Gentiles, you will read about laws like dietary regulations (don’t eat shell fish) and other regulations of cleanliness. These laws are not meant for all people or all times.

2) Civil

The civil law, like the ceremonial law, was given to the nation of Israel in their particular culture.  The civil law had a different purpose than the ceremonial, but like the ceremonial it was not meant for all people or all times.

The civil laws were the laws given to the nation of Israel for managing the civil affairs of the people. It gave laws that suggested how to run business, punishment for crimes, and even the treatment of slaves. These laws do not apply to us in our culture.

3) Moral

The moral law is unlike the other 2 types in that the moral law is not to a particular culture or for a particular time period.  The moral law can also be described as the natural law.  This isn’t because it is natural to obey the law, but because it is the way God created the natural world to function.

The moral law is timeless.  It exists before, during, and after the culture in which it was given.

For example, murder.  When did murder become a sin?  When Cain killed Abel, there was no commandment against murder.  But it was still wrong.

Why?  How can something be a law without having been given as a law?  Murder, I would suggest, is a part of the moral law.  It existed even before the giving of the ten commandments and is still important in our day and age.

This is why we often place such high importance on the Ten Commandments as Christians.  It’s not because the list of 10 is more important because it’s from the book of Exodus instead of Leivitucs.  It’s simply because it is the best summary of the moral law.  These are laws that are timeless and that we should hold dearly.

And so with laws in Leviticus, we must consider what kind of law is this?

Comforting Bible Verses for Times of Death

If you are anything like me, tragedy causes you to question everything you say to the people you care about.  You question whether or not to say anything at all.  In order to help myself in these situations, I’ve decided to think about it ahead of time and write down some bible verses that are helpful for a variety of difficult situations in which I want to be careful no to say something stupid.

Now, doing this, remember that even when you are nervous about what to say, your presence speaks loudly.  Be present for the people you love even when you don’t have the words to say.

But given that you are like me and you want to know what places to point people to in these moments, I thought it would be helpful to consider what we can say when someone dies.

Scriptures that are comforting when someone dies:

Psalm 23, which speaks to the God who walks with us and cares for us even in the darkest valleys and in the shadows of even death itself.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Isaiah 25:6-9, which speaks to the important reality that death doesn’t get the last laugh.  Death stings, but it doesn’t win.

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples,a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines.  On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples,the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever.The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.The Lord has spoken.9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us.This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

John 11:35, which is the shortest verse in the Bible and reminds us that in our moments of grief, Jesus grieves with us.

Jesus wept.

Romans 8:31-35, 37-39, which speaks to God being on our side.  While death and the devil are raging war against us, God is for us.  While we suffer and are in pain, we can be reminded that God is fighting for us and nothing is going to stop him.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us…No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Death is always hard.  And often more important than being able to remember these scriptures is going to be you being present in the lives of the people you love.  As Christians, we can put our hope that death is not the end.  And because of that, while we might hurt, we also can hope.

A teacher of mine once suggested about death that, “Resurrection makes dying hard.”

This might be a bit odd at first glance, but consider it.  The fact that Jesus rises from the dead and the fact that we are promised a resurrection proves that death is not the way God intended things to work.  And so while we have the hope of eternal life that comes with dying, dying is still hard.  And it’s hard because it’s not the way God intended for this to work.  Death isn’t just an escape from the awful, worldly life.

Death is the enemy and it still stings, but it doesn’t win.

What's your worship style?

Imagine the disciples if they were encountered with a discussion of “worship styles.”  I can only imagine their reaction to somebody suggesting they prefer contemporary worship or traditional worship as being, “Huh?”  Or consider their confusion when worship is a genre of music and not what one does with all of their life.

There are only two styles of worship - true worship and false worship.

“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” - John 4:23-24

Despite our best efforts to categorize worship into hundreds of categories, there is really only two.  It’s either the worship of God or the worship of something else.  Contemporary, traditional, contemplative, experiential, post-modern, liturgical, confessional, attractional, missional, contemporvant…

[tentblogger-youtube giM04ESUiGw]

The same confusion continues when worship is an adjective to describe something.  Worship music, worship album, worship artist.  Is there a kind of album that is not worship?  After all the person creating the music, album, or art had to be worshipping something.

So what is true worship?

Jesus suggests true worshippers worship the Father "in spirit and in truth."

What does this mean?

Worship is always about receiving and responding.  This is true of our gatherings when we worship corporately.  This is true of our lives as we worship in our vocations.  A worshipper is a worshipper because of what they’ve received.

This is why it is so important that we worship “in spirit.”

This isn’t suggesting that our worship must be emotional (although that is not necessarily bad), it is suggesting that we approach God in worship by faith which is given to us from the Holy Spirit.

We can call God Father because of the work of the Spirit which puts faith in the person and work of the Son.  In other words, the Spirit clings to the truth.  The Spirit teaches us the truth about ourselves and the truth about our God.

We are faced with the harsh reality that we have nothing to offer when we come in worship as we are exposed to our sin. And the Spirit also reveals to us the truth about our Savior.  This is the very truth we hear and we sing and we read as worshippers.

So what style of worship do I prefer?

I prefer true worship.  The one that receives all that God gives to me.  The one that receives what God promises to deliver in his Word. And the one that responds in faith to that truth with all of life.  Worship that is not just about the singing, but certainly embraces it.  Worship that is not just about a gathering on a weekend, but certainly sees the importance of it.  Worship, instead, is about the totality of life as it flows out of an understanding of who we are and who God is.

Worship is about receiving and responding.  It receive from God the gifts that only he can give to us in the ways that he promises to give them to us.  It receives these gifts by faith in the promise of God.  And it responds to this with all of life.  Our work life, our home life, our neighborhood, and our church life… all lived in response to what we have received from God.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” - Romans 12:1

Reclaiming the Word Evangelical

The word “evangelical" gets a bad rap.  It’s used to describe political agendas, a style of worship, or perhaps even a backhanded way to call someone a fundamentalist, a legalist, or out-of-touch with our current world.  It’s ironic that a word which is derived from “Gospel” or “Good News” can so easily send people running.  If an “evangelical” is really one who clings to the message of Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins, then evangelicals should be a group of people you'd like to be around.

But there's a reason why Rob Bell when pressed about his identification with the word evangelical once  responded, “If An evangelical is somebody who, when they leave the room, you feel better because you heard the good news [from them], then yes.”  Because this is not what people typically think of when they think of the word evangelical.  And while I certainly don’t agree with Rob on a lot of issues, he accurately perceives that most people don’t think Good News and Evangelicals belong in the same sentence.

There was a time when the word evangelical was used to describe the distinction from the catholic church.

“[Evangelicals] were also the first to emphasize the Gospel to such an extent that it became central to every level of their doctrine and practice.  This evangelical focus, made over against medieval Catholicism, opened the door to every other Protestant expression that came later.”  - Gene Veith

What Kind of Evangelicals Do We Need?

We need to evangelicals who are about emphasizing God’s words - we are sinners in need of a savior and Christ declares that “It is finished."  It’s not about political agendas or styles, but the centrality of the Gospel to every doctrine and practice of the church.

It’s interesting to note that even Luther himself didn’t want to call himself Lutheran but instead evangelical.

Christians have always been people who are about the message of the Gospel.  In the New Testament, in the early church, in the middle ages, and in the days of the reformation - it has always been about the Gospel.

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. - 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

There was a group of people who witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus.  They saw him alive after he had died.  And then they pass on that message as it is “of first importance.”

We have that same message.  A promise that sins are forgiven.  A promise that death has been defeated. A promise that you are made new.  A promise that Christ was victorious.  A promise that is good news for all people.  A message that is the most important message around.

This message is what makes an evangelical.

Evangelicals are those who seek to see the Gospel reach a dying, dark world.

"There is no saving doctrine except the Gospel; everything else is night and darkness." -Luther

This message is Good News.  It is not news that you need to earn.  It’s not news that gets you votes.  It’s not news that gives to you exactly what it promises, the forgiveness of sins by faith in the finished work of Jesus.

I am an evangelical.

And It’s not because of a political stance.  It’s not because of a style of music or the preachers or books I read.  It’s because what we have received I want to pass on as the most important message of all.

The Day I Became a Grunewald

In third grade I wrote a paper entitled, “Officially a Grunewald.”  And in the way that only a third grader could write, it recorded the events of a very important day in my life:

Last year on October 17, 1995, I missed a half day of school because I went to court.  When we were at home, my mom gave me a chain with a cross on it.  My brother, Corey, got a chain with a cross in the middle of a heart, and my sister, Molly, got a necklace that had a G in the middle of the heart because we became Grunewalds.

The judge asked my mom and dad a lot of questions.  While we were getting our picture taken, I banged the hammer the judge uses.  I got my picture taken with Corey, Molly and the judge.  Second, we got a picture taken with my mom, my dad, Corey, Molly, the judge and I.  The judge got to hold Molly every single time.

I officially became a Grunewald.  When we left we ate at the Clock. I had scrambled eggs.  Corey had Mickey Mouse pancakes, and Molly had French toast.

My mom brought me back to school after everyone finished eating.  Everyone asked me where I was.  I said, "At court." The kids in my class asked, "Do you have to go to jail?"  I was proud the day my stepdad adopted me and I officially became a Grunewald.

On October 17, 1995, in a courthouse, not because of anything I had done and not because of anything my brother or sister had done, but solely because of the love of my dad, I was declared a Grunewald.  It had nothing to do with my decisions or behavior, but simply because my dad said before the judge, “I will love these children as my very own children,” everything changed.

It would not be about stepson or stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister.  It was instead, “These are my kids.  This is my family.”  And so, on October 17, 1995, I was given a new name and a new identity; this was my family.  My dad said, “I love you, and you are my child.”

I was adopted and called son.

And all throughout the Scriptures this is the very same way that our relationship with our Heavenly Father is described.  We are described as sons and daughters who have been adopted into the family.  We are a family who has been made family.

And just as a judge banged a hammer and declared, “This is who you are,” so also on the cross of Christ it was declared, “This is who you are.”  You are given a new name, a new identity.  You are called a child, a son, a daughter.  This is why throughout the Scriptures we see this adoption language coming up over and over again.

In 2 Corinthians it says, “‘I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me,’ says the Lord Almighty.”  How does this happen?  Because we have been adopted as sons and daughters.

In Galatians 4, when the Apostle Paul is teaching us what it means to be children of God, he says:

“But, when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons, that we might be adopted as sons.  Because you are sons, because you are daughters, because you’ve been adopted into the family, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts in the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’  So, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”

And in Ephesians 1 (NLT) it says, "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.  This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure."  By the death and resurrection of Jesus, you and I have been declared children of God.

On October 17, 1995, I was given a new identity.  You and I, almost 2,000 years ago on a cross, we were made new.  In the waters of our baptism we were given a new name.  We were called family as we have heard and trusted the promise of the Gospel.  We have been adopted into the family of God.  We are a family who has been made family.  No matter how far we’ve run, we’ve been called sons and daughters.

How Not to Say Something Stupid

“Doesn’t she look great?”

Every now and then I hear something like this at a funeral and I can’t help but think to myself, “Umm…not really, she’s dead.”  And then immediately I scold myself for being so mean in my head and remind myself that the person was well-meaning.

Whenever somebody I care about is in a season of suffering, I find myself worried about what I am going to say.  I find myself second-guessing every statement in order to avoid saying something stupid in this moment of pain.  When I go into these situations, there are a couple of things that I need to constantly remind myself of, so I don’t overthink how I care for my friends and family in these moments.

Your presence matters.

You’re not going to say something stupid.  And if you do, they most likely won’t remember it.  Because your presence is going to say far more.  This doesn’t mean that words don’t matter in these moments, but don’t underestimate the significance of simply being present and sitting with the people who are suffering.

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. - John 11:33-35

Listen, cry, talk about anything, look at pictures, pray.

All of these things matter.

Stick to what you know, not what you don’t.

In the need to say something in these difficult moments, the place we often find ourselves getting into trouble is when we start to find things to say that we perceive as comforting that we really don’t have answers to.

When you go to a funeral and somebody is comforting another because their loved is "getting their wings"; this is somebody who is trying to be comforting but is speaking about things they really don’t know about.

When I am in these moments, the thing I must always remind myself is that when I need words of comfort, the best place I can run to is the place that I know speaks truth to the hurting.  Instead of coming up with comforting statements in my own mind, I can find things that have already been said in the scriptures.

For example, a book like the Psalms can speak to the greatest moments of joy and the most agonizing moments of suffering.

"Psalms give voice to the praise of God in the depths of affliction and in the heights of human joy. We have confidence in praying the psalms for in the Psalter we are praying God’s own words.” - Lutheran Service Book: Pastoral Care Companion

When we use the words of God, we know they are true.  Rely on what you know is true.  Rely on the prayers, songs, and words of the Scriptures to provide comfort when you don’t have the words to say.

Prodigals, Pharisees, and Sons

Most of us don’t need to be convinced that we should pray.  Even the people who don’t believe in God, when faced with the worst of situations, often finds themselves in prayer to a god they don’t believe in.  The way we approach God matters  There are postures that we can take when we approach God that are appropriate in our relationship with Him.  And there are other postures that seek to make God more like a divine Genie or pair of designer jeans than a loving father.

When you pray, do you pray as a prodigal, a pharisee, or do you pray as a son or daughter? 

Prodigals.

Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. - Luke 15:11-13

The prodigal son wants the benefits of sonship without any of the relationship.  He wants to receive the inheritance, but he doesn’t want to be family.  This is the story of being a prodigal.  As prodigals, we look to do whatever it takes to get what we want, but we ultimately have no desire for any sort of relationship with our heavenly Father.  We might want the reward, but we don’t want to live out our faith.  We might want the benefits, but we don’t want any of the responsibility that comes with it.

When we pray like prodigals, we only pray when we want something.  We might pray as though there is some being up there that occasionally grants our wishes, but we don’t pray to a Father.  And we certainly don’t pray as though we have any kind of relationship with this God.

Pharisees.

When the Pharisees pray, they want to be seen.  They want people to know how holy they are.  They are in essence standing on the street corners shouting, “Everybody come see how good I look.”   The Pharisee follows the rules, but not because of their relationship with the father, but because of who might be watching them.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.  - Matthew 6:5

The pharisee prays to be seen and believes all their blessings are rightfully theirs.

When we pray like pharisees we falsely believe that we have done something to earn our blessings.  We pray, “Thank you God that I’m not like those sinners.”  Or even, “Thank you God that I’m not like those Christians.”  We find ourselves concerned and asking, “God I’ve done A, B, and C, why haven’t you blessed me yet?”

A Third Way

Instead, we should find ourselves responding like the prodigal son ends up responding.  The son has a speech all planned out:

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants. - Luke 15:18-19

He isn’t disowning his father this time.  Instead he realizes he screwed it up.  Unlike previously, this time he wants to come home, but knows he shouldn’t step foot in that house again.  Unlike the pharisee, he shows up knowing fully what he deserves.  His speech to his father is the equivalent to, “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Instead of praying without a relationship and a false view of ourselves, we pray with the words that Jesus taught us, “Our Father.”

We pray not as prodigals or pharisees, but as sons and daughters.  Sons and daughters who have been adopted into the family the work of the Son.

For All & For You: An Overview of Objective & Subjective Justification

For All.  For you.

There are two senses in which we can talk about the work of Christ.  First, what Jesus did on the cross he did for all people.  Second, Jesus’ work has saved you by grace through faith.  Both of these are important when we discuss the love of Christ because it reminds us that the love of Jesus is both universal and personal.  The fancy, theological language that describes this is called objective and subjective justification.

For All.

Who did Jesus die for?

When Jesus died on the cross, he did not only die for believers.  He suffered and died for the sins of all people.  When John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world,”  the word “world" includes everybody.  When we talk about the work of Christ, in the widest sense we always refer to that which Christ did for all people.

It’s what Luke records when he writes, “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)

And the Apostle Paul,

"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.” - 2 Corinthians 5:14

All people.

In widest sense, we could say that the work of Christ is universal.  In more technical terms, this is sometimes referred to as objective justification.  The atoning work of Christ is for all people.  Jesus didn’t just die for some people, he died for all sinners.  And this truth is objective; it’s not dependent on the person that Jesus died for.

For You.

But while this work is for all people, not all people are saved?

This is why it is important that we understand the work of Christ in both the wide and narrow sense.

Why aren’t all people saved if the work of Christ was for all people?

Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.”  Grace which was for all people is received personally through faith.  All people aren’t saved because not all people have faith.  In the narrowest sense, we can say what Christ did for all people he did for you.

This is what faith trusts.  Faith trusts that what Jesus did on the cross for all people, he did for you.  Faith makes the objective truth of the Gospel personal.  In more technical language, we like to call this subjective justification.  We receive the benefits of God’s gift personally through faith.  And it is only through faith that we receive the benefits of what Christ did for all people.

Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gospel

On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.  In the proclamation it was stated:

“All persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free."

In that moment, slaves all over the United States are free.  Men, women, and children leaving plantations for the first time as free families.  As the good news is declared to the country, slaves become free and leave their chains behind.

But imagine for a second, another slave.  This slave hears the good news and thinks, “It’s too good to be true; I can’t trust it.”

And then he continues to work on the plantation as a slave.

Does his failure to believe the message negate the general freedom that has been declared for all slaves?  Of course not! But his failure to believe does make this message of freedom ineffective for him personally.

*note: this illustration came from a classic book on Christian Doctrine

The Gospel, which has won freedom for all people, declares us free. It is by faith in that freedom that has been won universally that applies it personally.  Faith, which comes from the Spirit and trusts in the work of the Son, makes the universal love of the Father personal.

Failure to see the universal love of God falsely believes that Jesus only died for the elect.  It believes that God loves some but not others.  And failure to see personal justification falsely believes that all are saved regardless of their faith and/or by their own works.  It emasculates the Gospel as it eliminates the need for Christ in believing that grace works apart from faith.

It’s for all.  And it’s for you.

It’s universal.  But it’s also personal.

God Wears a Mask

In the daily living of life, sometimes it is difficult to see God at work.  We go about our morning routine, drive into work, go about our business, have dinner with the family, and put the kids to bed.  And sometimes in the ordinary living, God’s work seems absent.

But the problem is not whether or not God is actually present.  The problem is our failure to realize it.

Like Jacob once we notice God’s activity, we will respond, “Surely the Lord was in this place and I was not aware of it.”

When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, he taught them several petitions that many of us pray to this very day.  We’ll pray things like “Give us this day our daily bread” or “Deliver us from evil.”  And God answers those prayers for us daily.  But the way he does that is by doing his work while hidden in the work of ordinary people doing their ordinary jobs.  God gives daily bread, and he does it through farmers and grocers and pizza makers.  God protects us from evil through police officers and other public services.

We regularly pray for God’s healing, but often fail to notice that God is at work quietly healing when he is hidden in the work of doctors and surgeons and pharmacists.

Martin Luther described this way of working as the “mask of God.”

All our work in the field, in the garden, in the city, in the home, in struggle, in government-to what does it all amount before God except child's play, by means of which God is pleased to give his gifts in the field, at home, and everywhere? These are the masks of our Lord God, behind which he wants to be hidden and to do all things. - Martin Luther

Like an actor in a play, the actual person doing the work is hidden behind the mask at all times.  The actor is doing the work, but what the audience sees and experiences is the character playing their role.  To think of God as wearing a mask simply means that God is hidden in the work he does in the world.  And the mask that he wears when doing his work is His people.  God wears the mask of the police officer when protecting, the artist when entertaining, the parent when changing diapers, the blue jean designer when sewing a pair of jeans, and the barista when providing the morning shot of expresso.

Our work is a place where God does his work.  As we serve and love our neighbors, God is hidden doing his work and loving the people around us.