Missional Ministry

Lately I have been trying to do a better job of "Missional" ministry. This is a new buzz word in church circles, and all it means is that we are living out the great commission, making disciples of the nations. Now this might not seem like a revolution, but it kind of is.

There are many reasons that this is a revolution, the majority having to do with the church nit doing its job. The idea is that for years the church has been inwardly minded, instead of outwardly focused.

I am not going to get into most of this though. What I want to talk about is how hard being missional actually is. If we are to believe the authors of books of this new movement, we just need to be missional, and stuff will happen. And while that is sort of true, it is sort of untrue at the same time.

What is true is that if we are reaching out to the community, hanging out with non Christians, and loving sinners, eventually people will come to know Christ. What is untrue is that all this will just happen if we change our attitude. We need to change everything- and that is why it is hard. I have much easier weeks when I am at out church building re-tiling or doing some other kind of task. It is just easier. There is a definite beginning and end. I can see the results of my labors in just a few hours. When I am done raking leaves, there are no more leaves. There is no guess work. The same can not be said if I am outwardly focused.

When I am at coffee shops engaging in the community, people watching, meeting with guys in our church, or meeting new people, the results are not quantifiable. Sure there are some obvious ways to tell if the work I am doing is baring fruit, people come to church, ask questions about the Gospel, become Christians, but these are few and far between.

And that is just the problem, isn't it. We like to check things off our list- I know I do So the church as a whole retires back in to the walls it has erected up for itself, and once again becomes inwardly minded. We call it going deeper, discipling, preparing, growing up our believers. But we should call it what it is- sin.

I can sympathize with the desire to look inward in stead of out. It is easy. Unfortunately we are not called to this kind of life. But at the same time, how fortunate for us that we are not called to that kind of life.

If you read my sermon, you will note that I talked about Paul telling us that we can share in the blessings of the Gospel when we become missional. There have been so many times in my life that being missional has filled me with joy. Three in the last year. There is nothing more rewarding than watching Jesus turn someones life around.

And this is the crux of the thing. What the missional guys have discovered is that there is joy in this burdensome, weary work. While it is not quantifiable as often as we would like, when it is there is nothing greater.


Being missional is extremely hard. We need to be intentional about everything we do. Whether we are watching the Sox with our friends, at work, or going for a leisurely walk around the neighborhood, the work is never done. Our entire attitude must change. We must forsake the American way of lie that says this is your works time, and this is your time, and submit to a Biblical way of thinking that says this is God's time- and that is all there is.

That is not to say that we don't have days off, or vacations, however we remember that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, and sometimes we are called to do this too. Th difference in our attitude must be a full heart conversion. Our whole perception of the world must change. And this is part of why becoming missional is so hard.


At the same time, and in contrast to everything I have said thus far, becoming missional is easier than many of us think. The reason is that we don't really have to do anything. If we call our selves Chirstian, then we have the Spirit of God with in us. What does this mean? It means that we are being Sanctified all the time. And the big deal about this is that the Spirit desires us to b missional, so if we just listen to God, slowly our entire selves will be transformed.

We will be able to be nothing but missional. Romans 12 :1 states it like this. Therefore, in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Our motivation is God. Our transformation id from God. Our lives become about God.

We can't do this on our own. we can;t force others to either. If we were to sit on our high horses and simply told people to become more missional, they would for about a week, and then the would stop hanging out with us because either they were ashamed that they were not doing what we told them they ought to be, or they just simply wouldn't want to be yelled at again.

As with every other epidemic in the church, this one has to be dealt with by the Gospel. Paul knew this, and that is why he tells the Romans to offer their bodies as living sacrifices. Notice the why. Why do we offer our bodies? Because of God's mercy. Because of Jesus. Because of the Gospel. It is not because we ought to, or God is owed it. Sure, we should, and God is owed it, but beating people over the head just doesn't work.


What has worked through the ages is the constant looking to Jesus. Getting people to be missional happens the same way that we stop someone form drinking, or having sex. Has an alcoholic ever stopped because someone told him he was screwing up? No. What happens, usually, is that he resigns himself to drink more to show that other person, and pulls away from them at the same time. What does work is the Gospel. What works is the reminder that Jesus loves them anyway. That God died for them while they were unclean, and through His death, they can be made clean. What works is reminders about God's mercy.


The same solution can be offered for mobilizing missionally minded congregations. We need to point them to Jesus. We need to remind them, not just that Christ demands that we make disciples of the nations, but that Jesus did the same for them. We need to remind them of how their lives have changed, and remind ourselves how Christ has changed our life. We need to remember the Gospel, look back on God's mercy, and fall back into the arms of our First Love.

If we have truly done this, how will we be able to do anything but share the Gospel, become Missional. We need to constantly remember that Jesus saved our life, and take that wherever we go. We need to truly believe the Good News, and after that, God will do the rest.

Radio Woes

If you read m sermon, then you will know that I talked a little about the recent school shooting and the subsequent radio discussion that ensued. I actually got fired up enough that I tried to call NPR, specifically the show "On Point", but as you can imagine, the lines were awfully busy, and so I didn't get through. What made me want to cal, you may ask. Well, lucky you, I am going to rant about it.

The show had all kinds of experts on, child psychologists, sociologist, etc. They also interviewed regular teachers and kids in high schools across the country. First, they found that students and teachers are not afraid to go to school everyday- for the most part anyway. There were some home-schooled kids and some kids with anxiety disorders that were afraid, but this is not the norm. I just want to throw that out there.

Clearly that is not why I almost called. So what got me ired up. Many things, and I hope to get to them all in a somewhat logical manner.

First, I want to address most of the callers concerns. What I heard for 1 hour this morning were worried mothers calling to tell Tom Ashbrook how awful violence is. I heard them blame the violence of society on video games and TV and movies. And these things may be bad. We are told by Paul in his letter t the Philippians to meditate on things that are good, and beautiful and pure. And I think there is a reason for this. What we think upon does become us. If we are constantly looking at porn, then we are apt to think of women as objects. So, for me, it is not a large jump to say that if we are always looking at murder and violence, it affects us.

My problem though, with blaming the TV and video game makers is three fold. First, it seems to take some responsibility off the individual, second it assumes that with out these games these kids wouldn't have done what they did, and third, it assumes that these games are driving society and not commentaries on it.

Now, maybe these games and such are to blame, but I am not so sure. I tend to believe that these games are getting more violent because society is violent, and not the other way around. We are a broken people, and all we set up leads toward degeneration and sin. The longer something exists, the more broken it becomes. I feel that this is what we are seeing with the rise of violence in America. TV, movies, etc are commentaries on this. That being said, they may drive it after, but I would say they are a symptom of our brokenness and not the cause.

Here is the next issue not mentioned on the radio. Sure these few kids may have played violent video games and then really killed people, but how are we to know if they would do it regardless of their video game play? I am of the mind that they would have killed regardless. We didn't have video games in the 40's but there were still murders.

Of course the type of murder was not the same. weapons are different, times are different. But that doesn't mean people didn't snap. Also, what about all the kids who play these games and don't kill people. Are they the exception? Are they any less shocked when someone else does decide to take another humans life? The answer to both these questions is no. We value human life more than any other time in history. We have raised health and living to the position of a god. Death is the worst thing that can befall someone today, and a quick glimpse of history will tell us that this is a recent invention.

SO if we value life more than any other time, how can we say that video games are at the same time causing us to devalue life.

Again, I am not saying that these games are good any more than I think porn or drugs are good. But are we to say that it is porn's fault that a marriage fails, or drugs fault that a person robs? Of course not. We are humans, and as such are free to choose. Unfortunately we are also sinful and broken and chose things that are bad for us. We become slaves to them, and save for Jesus, are doomed to live in darkness. But that doesn't free us from our choices. It is never a games fault that someone kills.

Though there was a lot more I took issue with, I will write about just one last item. One of the high school students said, and I quote,"Monsters don;t just exist. Society creates them." Now, I am not necessarily disagreeing with this young man, but there is a larger theme here that runs through his comment, as well as though well intentioned mothers. Everyone, from the panel, to the high schoolers, to the callers ll believed the greatest lie of this century. What is this terrible fallacy that is driving most of the people we meet in a day? It is the assumption that people are good, in general, and do bad things occasionally.

See, if we believe that people are good, then we need to look for reasons that they did this. But we are all capable of what these kids did. We are all evil, sinful, and rotten. In the book of Isaiah, God looks down at His creation and says "there is none who do good, no not one." Jesus himself teaches that no one is Good but God, and we are told in Romans that all have sinned. See we are broken and sinful. We are all high school shooters. It becomes a different problem when we look at it like this. The founding fathers set up this country based on the fact that we are wicked and wretched little creatures. Now I don't buy onto the new "proof" that we were a Christian nation, we weren't, but they drafters of the Constitution still knew enough of human nature to call black black.

The problem isn't games, or movies, or porn, or anything exterior to man. The problem is Man himself. I would say we are all monsters and society tempers us. We would all be killing everyone if it wasn't for fear of jail or execution. Society is not the root of this problem. Society didn't create these kids.

I am sure they had a lot of pain in life. I am sure we let them down. I am sure they were very broken and in need of extra love and attention. I bet they needed some sort of professional help. But that doesn't put the blame on us, or what they chose to watch.

They chose to play those games to get good at killing. They chose to feed their sin. Gods says to sin right before he kills Able that "sin crouches at the door like a tiger." But what did Cain do? He killed his brother when he thought no one was looking. Like Cain, these kids could have chosen not to feed their evil desires, but like all of us, they chose to do evil instead of good.

I am not saying there is not more we could do. Especially as the Church, there is always more we should be doing. But it is no ones fault but the individuals. That was never brought up. Everyone was blamed, but the killers. And that is what I take issue with.

If it were not for common grace working through society, we would all be dead. Instead of pointing fingers, let us praise God that most people are not good enough sinners to try for the really big things. Let us praise God that He created us with fear, so that, even if it is not of Him and eternal Judgement, we are afraid of judgment from our neighbors, friends, and courts.

I am saddened every time I hear that someone was so broken that they decide to take another's life, but what saddens me even more is that my surprise is that it is not more common.

Let us pray for the families and friends of both those shot and the shooters. Let us also pray for the next time, that there may be someone there to offer Hope and Life.

This Weeks Sermon

Here is my rough raft of the sermon I will be giving this week. I hope to post again tomorrow. Hope you enjoy.

I don’t know how many of you listen to or watch the news, but does anyone know what happened in Cleveland this past week? There was a high school shooting. It seems like they are common place now, doesn’t it. It is just another school, just another lost, evil kid.

Well, if any of you listen to NPR, you may be familiar with a show called “On Point” with Tom Ashbrook. I listen to this show almost daily. Wednesday the show was on this school shooting. They had experts on in child psychology, teaching, violence and the media, as well as interviews from kids around the country. There were a few main points that all these people had, some of them I agree with, and some I disagree with.

One of the common strands that all the experts agreed upon was that the school shooters were typically loners, and usually because they were a little different and therefore ostracized by their peers. Many of the people on the program were ready to blame society, violent video games, bullies, etc. I am not going to debate that here. What I want to call our attention to is that, regardless of the circumstances, these kids all felt alone. These kids were broken and depressed, and they felt helpless and hopeless.

What does any of this have to do with today’s sermon? A lot, actually.

We are taking a break form Exodus this week, and Robert has asked me to speak. FI we remember last weeks sermon, we are out of slavery, but now what. Over the next few weeks Robert is going to be answering that, but I have sort of a segue from there to where we will end up, which of any of you know the Exodus story is Canaan.

Let’s look at the text and see what school shooting and the Jewish Exodus have in common.

19For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Now before I go any further, I want to put these verses in context. If you were to go to 1 Corinthians 9 and read what the rest of the chapter was about, what you would find is a lot of talk about money. I am not going to talk about money, though. Paul is telling the Corinthians that he has every right to claim a salary for himself, but he chooses not too. Why does he choose not to? It is so that he may win more to Christ. This is why we do not pass an offering plate at MERCYhouse. If money is a stumbling block to the Gospel it is better to go without than to drive people away fro God. Paul goes on from here though, and I don’t believe that the whole of the chapter is about money. Paul uses the money issue as a stepping stone, an example per se, of a bigger principle.

And that bigger principle is what we find at the end of the chapter. We read that Paul became like the Jews to the Jews, and like a Gentile to the Gentiles.

Paul does footnote his transitions for us, though, and it is worth digressing to look at these briefly before we move on. We are told that to those under the Law he became as one under the law, though he himself was not under it. This is important. It was important then, and it is important now. In Paul’s day there were Judaizers who were going around telling new Christians that they needed to follow the Old Testament Law, a well as accept Christ as Savior. We know that Paul fought these guys tooth and nail. He even tells us that he wished they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves. This is referring their requirement that new believers be circumcised- a huge road block to the Gospel.

SO when Paul tells us that he became as one under the law, he makes sure to remind us that he is not under it. What he is saying is that when dealing with the Jews, he would adopt their way of thinking, although all the time knowing that it doesn’t affect his salvation. Is this seen clearly is Acts where Paul tells Timothy to get circumcised before going to Jerusalem. Timothy had already been doing ministry with Paul for years, so this outward mark meant nothing to Paul, or those whom he travelled. But Paul new that it was a huge deal to those whom they are going, and that it would be a block to their being able to effectively witness.

But it was not Timothy’s circumcision that saved him, but rather his faith in Jesus.

We must be clear on this point. Paul became “as one under the law”. He didn’t become under the law. He knew that his freedom was in Jesus, his salvation in Jesus, his faith in Jesus, and not in these laws.

In the same way Paul footnote his behavior toward those not under the law. He says

“21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.”

Here we have almost the opposite footnote. We are told that to those outside the law he had his own law. But again Paul is tempering his speech in light of heretical movements in Christendom. We know form other writings that a group called the Gnostics were growing and teaching wrong doctrine. They taught that it didn’t matter what you did in your body, because your spirit is what counted. This was a pass to sin and sensuality that allowed for total debauchery by the Gnostics.

Paul is here telling us that we are still under the law of Christ. There is still an ethic to deal with, a mortality that we are bound to, when dealing with those who are not believers. We must be pure, be light, be holy. Jesus doesn’t give us permission to sin simply to reach those who sin.

Paul is tempering his statements here is response to false doctrine that was around during his life. These restraints still hold truth for us today though. There is still legalism, there is still Gnosticism. We are still called to witness to both groups. We are still told to be like one under the law to those under the law, and like one not under the law to those not under the law. But we still need to know that when we become as one under the law that our salvation is I Jesus, and not these rules we have adopted, and that we are still bound to behave as Christ would have us, holy and blameless, when we enter the houses of decadence.

There are legalists today who pile on rules and regulations that they feel lead to salvation. What Paul is saying here is that when we bring them the Gospel we need to adopt those regulations too, or else how would we be listened to.

Let me give you an example.

There are certain sects of Christianity that don’t allow drinking alcohol. There are certain areas of the country that if one drinks alcohol, one is not a real Christian. Now these thoughts have arisen over generations, and because most people in these areas profess to be Christians, but really aren’t, an one way to tell is if they get drunk or not, etc. There are seemingly good reasons for this legalism, and form a human stand point, it can make sense. But even with in the church, there are people who are not saved.

If we were to go to these areas of the country and drink, even if we did it responsibly, out witness would be ruined. We would be seen as hypocrites and heathen and no better than any one else. How then do we reach those who are lost? Well we become as one under the law. We adopt a no drinking policy, not because having a drink is necessarily wrong, but because we would loose opportunities, reputation, and souls. But at the same time, we know that it is not our abstention from alcohol that saves us, but Jesus.

The same can be said when we go to “sinful” areas. If we hold to the principle that all people who drink are bad and dirty nd not to be associated with we won’t be able to interact with them. If we hold tyhis moral superiority over them we will loose them. So we need to invade their culture, and become as one not under law. But at the same time of we just began doing as they did, getting drunk and sleeping with everyone, we ruin our selves and our witness. So we need to be under the Law of Christ. SO maybe we go to the bars and sing karaoke, but we don’t get drunk. We shine like stars in the darkness.

Paul then goes on in his letter saying to the weak he became weak, that he may win the weak. That he became all things to all men so that he may win some for Christ.

This then is the heart of this chapter. This is why he doesn’t take money, this is why he become under law, this is why he casts the law off. It is to win some. He doesn’t take on laws just to show how holy he is, or cast them off to show off his freedom, he does it to win people to Christ. This should be our attitude. If we do things for any other reason we are betraying our faith.

I believe Paul is footnoting his letter here for another reason. HE is not only combating the heretical teachings going on around this time, he is also trying to stop future heresies from arising in each believer. Martin Luther said that religion was the default mode of th human heart. I would amend tht saying either religion or irreligion is the default mode of the human heart. We have a tendency to add rules onto out faith to appear holy, either to ourselves or others, or, and this is the road I took, abuse or freedom and become slaves again to sin.

Paul is telling us here that if we cast of rules, or add some on, it must be out of love for the Gospel. If we do it for any other reason, we betray our Savior and our faith. We either become religious or irreligious. If, however, we do it to promote the Gospel, we are constantly looking to Jesus, either as our true freedom, or as our true law. We will be able to stay pure and holy, free and sinless.

There is another application that Paul would have us take away. We must become all things to all men so that we may win some for Christ. How do we know that he is calling us to be all things to all men? It seems from this paragraph that he is talking only about himself, and in this paragraph he is, but let’s continue in Paul’s letter. In the very next paragraph he states:

24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

The conclusion of the chapter is directed to the readers. This is a clue that the whole of the chapter may really be about us. True Paul uses himself as an example, but that is just to drive home the point. Paul also writes to follow him as he follows Christ. It is a discipleship chain. We learn how to do this by watching others do it.

We are to run the race so that we may receive the prize. In Hebrews we are told:

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The way we finish this race is to keep our eyes on Jesus. This is what Paul had been telling us in this last paragraph. The way to not get sidetracked in to legalism or sensuality is to look to Jesus.

Notice as well that there are two motivations for becoming all things to all men. First we have Paul telling us that he does it to win some so he may share in the blessings of the Gospel, and second that we may obtain some prize when all said and done. What this second prize is, I don’t intend to speak on, but I will say that it is a real prize. Jesus himself speaks of rewards and treasures in heaven. What these are like, and if we can even verbalize them, I dare not get into here. I refer you to smarter men than myself. I can, however speak but the former.

The greatest joys I have had in my life, besides my salvation, my wife, and child, have been while witnessing to friends and foes alike. I have spoken of this before, but it begs repetition here. My freshman year of college I had a kid come up to my room at about 8 pm and tell me that he could prove that God didn’t exist. He was very hostile towards both me and the Gospel. His purpose in coming was to put me in my place. Well at 4 am that night he became a Christian. I was so filled with Joy it is beyond description. I was able that night to share in the Gospel’s blessings.

Over the past few years Sarah and I have opened our house and hosted house churches, birthday parties, and everything in between. Through all of this we have had many non-Christians come through our doors. We had three at house church. And all three have come to know Christ, and we have been able to share in that Joy with them. We have been able to reap the rewards of their conversion. We have been blessed.

I don’t tell you all this to make you think I am so great. I tell you all this because there has been no greater day that when we see someone’s life transformed by the Gospel.

Becoming all things to all men is a hard thing to do. We all have people we like better. Places we feel more comfortable, sinners we can identify more with, but our call is to get out of our comfort zone.

SO often we think that someone else will reach them. How many of us pray that a Christian would come in to so and so’s life. We pray that someone of their own kind would stroll in and be able to share the Gospel with them, and then they could become like us and come to church. I know I have. So often I let others culture get ion the way. I use the fact that I don’t share their identity as a excuse not to tell them about Jesus. And that is all it is, en excuse.

We are told to become all things to all men. We, as Christians, are the ones who are called to transcend cultural barriers and bring the Gospel with us. To use the new cool church slang, we are called to make Jesus relevant.

Before I get attacked later, let me footnote that comment and say that we are not to change Jesus or the Gospel. That is not what I mean by make Jesus relevant. What I mean is that it is up to us as Christians to enter the world of the religious and the irreligious, bring the Gospel, and show the people of said culture how it pertains to them. I simply mean we need to meet people where they are, instead of telling them to come over to our side, and then giving them the secret of life.

We are the ones who are called to witness to our classmates, our house mates, our co-workers. We are to bring this Gospel to the people, where they are. We are to become as one under law, and at the same time under no law at all.

We need to cross significant cultural barriers with the Gospel, and in doing redeem that segment of society. And we need to do everything we can to win some for Christ.

As I say all this, I want us to here Paul’s words again. We are to do all this to win some for Christ. I repeat this because I don’t want you to get discouraged. Not everyone we witness to is going to accept the Gospel. In fact, it seems that most people wont. That is not an excuse to stop. We don’t cease laboring because it gets tough. Paul was repeatedly stoned, mocked, and eventually martyred. But look at the seeds he sowed. He was able to save so many because he was continually entering the culture he went to, bringing the Gospel with him, and he saw people transformed. He was able to share in their blessings.

How though are we to do this without becoming religious or corrupted ourselves? The answer is Jesus. We need to remember the Gospel as we go, a well as look to Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.

We need to remember what Jesus did for us. What Paul is calling us to do is exactly what God did for us. Jesus became all things to all men so that some may be saved, did he not?

First, Jesus left the splendor and majesty of heaven to be born a peasant in 1^st century Palestine. We are told to become poor to the poor, and weak to the weak, because that is exactly what Jesus did. We are told that he took the form of a servant after leaving his thrown.

Jesus also taught to both the religious and the sinners. The New Testament is full of interactions with tax collectors, prostitutes and Pharisees alike. We read of Nicodemus asking Jesus how to get to heaven. To reach those under the law he became as one under the law. Jesus lived as a Jew, and as such obeyed all the Laws of the Old Testament. He is fact fulfilled the Law so that we may be saved.

We know that Jesus hung out with those with out the law as well. We are told of him partying with tax collectors like Matthew. Now Matthew was Jewish, but he certainly didn’t obey the law. And what happens when Jesus interacts with these “sinners”. He is invited to more parties, and some get saved. Matthew even becomes an Apostle.

But Jesus example doesn’t end there. He goes to Gentile areas like in the Decapolis in Mark 5and heals a demon possessed man there. He returns other times and teaches to the Gentiles. He goes to Samaria and confronts an adulterous woman at a well in John 4. And because of his interaction many come to believe and are saved.

Jesus hangs out with the poor, feeding 5 thousand men on one occasion, and he hangs out with the rich, a disciple of his, named Joseph of Arimathea, giving Jesus his families tomb, worshipping him even in his death.

Jesus comes to Peter in a dream in the book of Acts and Peter finally realizes that “there is no partiality with God.” He desires to save all men, both Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, religious and irreligious.

If we keep our eyes on Jesus, how can we do anything but invade all the prevailing cultures of the day, and preach to them the good news. Jesus did all this and more. He hung out with with the religious and irreligious. And as he did, he was able to not be corrupted, but take into their culture Grace, Truth, and Light.

Jesus can to earth, God, and lived a perfect life, so that all these people may have life through Him. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light. Whoever comes to me will never walk in darkness again, but have the light of life.”

He didn’t say the religious who come to me, or the poor who come to me, but all who come to me. Jesus came to earth and lived as a man so that we would have a model of how we are to go into cultures we would rather not. He was able to stay holy, though he came to this evil and sinful place, and if we keep our eyes on him, so will we.

How does all of this relate to my introduction though? What does anything I have talked about have to do with school shootings or Israel’s Exodus?

It in fact has everything to do with both. Last week we were told that we are out of Egypt. That we are no longer slaves. That Jesus, the ultimate Moses, has come and is leading us to the Promised Land. What are we to do with our freedom? Here is the answer. With your freedom become all things to all men so that some may be saved.

The one common strand in all the school shootings, is that, rightly or wrongly, the shooter felt alone and hopeless. I bet the people shot felt the same as they lay dying. We have hope, however. What would have happened if Christians had come along side these outcasts and loved them where they were? If they became geeks to save the geeks? If they became as an outcast to save the outcast? If they became jocks to save the jocks? What if these people were not reached out to once, but loved where they were for weeks, and months, and years. What if they were offered hope through the Gospel that agrees that we are in darkness, but offers a way out. Maybe there would not be so many high school shootings. Maybe the ones who were shot would feel the peace of God come upon them, and wouldn’t have had to die alone.

If you are sitting here today, hopeless, hapless, and alone, I tell you Jesus knows where you are. He was betrayed by his closest follower, abandoned by his friends, died naked and alone, hanging by his hands and feet on a cross made for us. He was rejected by men and forsaken by His Father. He knows your pain. He was there. But there is hope. He was raised from death, and through that resurrection reconciles us with God. This world is dark, but God is light. I invite you to ask Jesus into your life now. In Him we have Hope, and Joy, and Peace.

In this room are many of us who need to repent. Some of us need to repent of being with out law. We have become corrupt, preferring our sinful passions to His perfect passions. We desire to live in sin. To have sex with people who we aren’t married to, to drink a little to much with our non-Christian friends, to hold on to resentments and anger. We need to repent of looking too much like the culture we live in. We need to repent of using Jesus blood as an excuse to live in all sensuality and Gnosticism. We need to remember that although we are not under law, we are still under the Law of Christ, and we need to come back to right living. We need to stop worshipping gods like food, and money, and sex, and men, and women, and come back to the worship of the one true God.

Others of us need to repent of our legalism. We hold our religion higher than Jesus sacrifice. We need to repent of thinking others dirty, while we are clean. We need to repent of the Laws that we have imposed on ourselves and others. We need to stop worshipping our holiness, our religion. We need to top being our own Saviors, and come crawling back to the Savior of the World. We need to repent of the artificial barriers we have put up to the Gospel.

Some of us need to repent and get out of the world, becoming holy. Others of us need to repent and get into the world, being salt and light.

We are called to make disciples of the nations, to become all things to all men, while being holy and set apart. Let’s invade the community we live in, loving them where they are, and bringing with us the Gospel and the hope it offers.

Let us run back to Jesus as we walk into the world. Let us be Christ to this dark Valley, to this dark town, to this dark city. Let us pray.

Rockin' Worship

Just a few more ideas on "contemporary" worship. It seems that it was not clear that to be church we need ll 5 of the devotions that the early church practiced- i.e. Apostles teaching, pray, fellowship, worship, and evangelism (Acts 1:8, 2:42). Any church worth its weight will have, in some way, an expression of all of these things.

However, we are never told how these five devotions play out. We are told by Paul that services should be orderly, since God is a God of order and not disorder, but we are never given a method or a system in the Bible. This debate, especially centered around music is not new.

A brief look at history will tel us that one of the charges the Catholic Church had against Luther is that e took contemporary music and re worked it to worship God. The hymns that we sing today have their musical root in old Tavern drinking songs. What Martin Luther realized is that people respond to what they know. Now the question is, is this Biblical. I would argue yes. 1 Corinthians 9 tells u s that Paul was all things to all men so that some may be saved. What does this mean for us today?

Well one thing it means is that we get rid of hindrances to the Gospel. We need to preach truth, but first we need to encounter the community. If they are not engaged, we can speak truth until we are pink in the face and we will not be doing anything to further the cause of the Gospel. I agree with Chris that contemporary Christian Music is all about us, and that sucks. That is not worship.

However, we can be Biblically faithful through good rock music, and poetry, and art. We are told to love the LORD our God with all our heart, strengh, soul, and mind. I don;t think that playing only to the emotions is a right way to win people for Christ. This is how much of the Evangelical church acts. There are alter calls and fear and guilt. However, to forget the emotions completely is also a mistake. To force what you like upon others us no more biblical that organs or rock music.

We need to be open to all aspects and types of church. Rock church, night church, sunrise services, and even no music. IF we put up artificial blocks to the Gospel, well, in Jesus words, it would be better if we had a mill stone tied around our neck and thrown into the sea.

I am not saying that we need some super emotionally visceral music that converts the emotions but not the heart o mind. What I am saying is that we need multiple expressions of worship. I am all for hymns re written to modern songs, as well as original compositions. I, in fact, am a big fan of hymns. But if we present them in a way that is not culturally relevant we hinder our selves.

SO lets rewrite today's Bar songs into works that glorify or LORD. And lets make it rock!

And while we are at it, lets engage culture instead of being a fortress that looks over its walls and just despises it. To truly redeem this world, we need to redeem all aspects of culture. Country, Hardcore, Hip Hop, etc. Let us go, and make disciples. Let us live in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and the Ends of the World. Recognize that there are both good and bad in every culture, and use the good to glorify God and spread the Gospel.

Submission to Driscol's Blog

I just submitted an article to http://theresurgence.com

This is Mark Driscoll's website. Recently they posted an article about the hardcore music scene. These are exactly the kids we have play at MERCYhouse. Here's the link:

http://theresurgence.com/ab_blog_2007-10-03_angry_white_kids

Here is what I wrote:

Hey, my name is Nate Cartel. I am an associate Pastor if a church in Amherst, Ma, home of Umass, Amherst College, Hampshire College and a quick drive to Smith and Mt. Holyoke girls colleges. For about 1 year now we have been reaching out to the community, colleges, and to the hardcore kids in the area. We host concerts at our building every Saturday night. We have FSU bands, as well as local, national an international tours calling us begging to have a show in our church building. It has been the best and most frustrating ministry I could imagine.

As you said, these kids are angry- they are angry at life, at society, at religion, at their parents, at each other. And at first they were angry with us. As I said, we have been hosting shows for a full year, plus a few weeks, and at first we wondered if we should be. They would steal our stuff, vandalize our building, and even defecate on our church volunteers cars. But we prayed and prayed, and it seemed like we needed to just love them.

Well, after 6 months everything that was stolen had been brought back. They began to police each other at out building, stopping kids from vandalizing, and the kid who pooped- everyone banned him from shows. They have come to call MERCYhouse their home, and two of them have come to know Jesus, joined our worship band, and are getting baptized this month. One of them was voted best male artist in the Pioneer Valley for four years in a row. He now plays guitar and sings Sundays at our services.

These kids are some of the hardest people I have come across. They have been let down by everyone, except each other- or so they believe. They are tribal to the extreme. I knew most of them with in the first month of shows, but they didn’t acknowledge me for months. Now, though, they invite me to their MMA gym and other shows they are playing.

If you want to meet an FSU band I invite you to come and hang out with these awesome kids. They are open to Jesus, just not religion. They know that they are broken, and truthfully, they are mad at a lot of the same things that the Church is mad at- injustice, poverty, hypocrisy. We need all the soldiers we can get to infiltrate their ranks and show them how to be warriors for Jesus.

These kids are revolting against the idea of the metro-sexual girly man. What they don’t realize is that their idea of masculinity is just as broken. They need Christian men to be men around them. Strong, God fearing men. But the girl who go to the shows are just as broken, thinking that it is okay for the guys to use them as objects and call them names I can not repeat. I want to thank Anthony for bring up this sub-culture, but anyone looking to bring them Jesus needs to know it is a long haul game. They have no memory of church, and are by nature suspicious. However, when we baptize Eric and Ali next month, I can’t imagine a more fulfilling joy.

Hopefully it makes it on his site.

One Church, Two Church, Old CHurch, New Church

Here is a picture for all of you who read my blog just to see how Sarah, Kiera and myself are.


Also, here are some pictures of the new art series that I am doing for the MERCYhouse building.

Now for my rant.

Recently. as I wrote, we were down in Georgia, and we drove there and back. His is about 17 hours of driving both ways, so we had a lot of time on our hands. One of the ways we passed it was to listen to sermons and talks from conventions, and out of that saturation comes this weeks thoughts. They are messy at best, and I am still working out a lot of stuff, but I hope that this communicates them a little.

Much of what I listened to and have been working out is what "church" looks like today. Now, before I go any further, I have to say that what church looks like in the Pioneer Valley may or may not be what church looks like other places. We need to see both the cultural similarities and differences. What works in Seattle or New York City will not necessarily work here in Amherst. That being said, I think some of what churches like Redeemer and Mars Hill do will work where I am.

What is that then? What will work? Well of one, after talking to some students at Umass Campus who don't go to church, they said music could persuade them to come. So it seems like we need good music. This isn't a bash to our music team now, I think they are good, and that is one of the reasons that we have seen the growth we have seen. But to reach more people, plant more churches, we need more music, different music. We need a Hardcore service, a Emo service, etc. and we need awesome musicians to step up and lead God's people to Him.


It seems like today people are breaking up along musical lines, and if this is the case, we need to saturate into every genera and sub-genera- and we will be able to do this through music.

So that is one way we do new church.

I am also becoming more "post-modern" in worship style. Art for worship. Poetry for worship. Multi-media for worship. All for worship. I think if we are to reach this new generation we need to look at what a church service consists of, and modify it where needed.

Now there are things that will always have to be done. Faithful biblical teaching, communion, prayer, worship, evangelism- but how these things are done can be new and "relevant". Who is to say what worship is? DO we need organs and robes- maybe, maybe not. Organs may help some worship better, they may put up a wall that allows others to not worship at all. We need to figure out ways to facilitate worship of God among His people.

What does new church look like? I don;t know, but I do know that for me, it doesn't look like my parents church. Electric guitars and candles help me to meet God better than early mornings and pianos. If that is not true for you, great. We need all the different expressions of worship. God is bigger than my style and yours.

I personally believe that the way to reach the colleges, at leas Umass is loud music, big sound systems, and rocking services. This is something that Mars Hill church and others do, and I think it would translate well to this Valley. Hek we have hardcore music concerts at our building every week, and it doesn't get much louder than these kids like it- and the place gets filled. SO lets bring church to them. They are never going to feel comfortable at 9am singing "Go Tell it on the Mountain" with a choir in the back. And if we put up this artificial block to the gospel, we are in a heap of trouble come Judgment Day. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the one who stands before the LORD and he tells me that I was the reason that these other people never heard the gospel.

I think new church looks like, at least here, having an evening option, as well as a morning. This is not that revolutionary an idea, by the way. College kids sleep late, especially those who are not Christians. They are out late Saturday night, drinking and partying. So if the time is a barrier to the Gospel, why not bring them another time?

Lets incorporate art and poetry and loads of other things. Let us bring church to the people.

Georgia On My Mind

Hey, Y'all. Sarah, Kiera, and myself are all in Georgia right now for our official missionary Commissioning Ceremony. The hotel we are at is very swank, however, you have to pay for everything. We even have to pay for internet and to park our car. Seriously, why do you need to pay to park your car at a hotel!!? How else are you getting there. I can tell you from the looks of the place, they don;t take walkers. Anyway, the drive down was great. We had a lot of family bonding time and we listened to a ton of sermons and theology talks. It was great. (I think that I liked the theological talks a little more than Sarah.) Anyway, just like the last confrence I was at, I am sure I will have something to Blog about it, but with internet 15 dollars a day, you may not hear about it until I am back in MA.

A little more about the hotel first. So they have everything- you can even buy video games on you TV- only 7 dollars an hour. It is true that enough money buys you anything, and this place is proof positive f that. I can't find a service they won't provide for a price. Just a disclaimer, I am only talking about legal services here, perverts! They will print you documents, buff your shoes, ans massage you as they do it. Also, not only can you pay to park you car, you can pay someone to drive it for you. It costs a lot more. I drove my own car.

It has been raining, which kind of sucks, but what are you going to do.
That's all for now, although I am pissed that this cost me about 90 cents.