Making Christ Your King

The Old Testament books of Samuel describe Israel’s quest for a human king. 1 Samuel compares the failed kingship of Saul with the successful monarchy of David. 2 Samuel connects the reign of King David with the coming reign of Jesus Christ, who stands in sovereignty over the hearts of God’s people until the end of time. The last book in the New Testament hails Christ as “The King of kings and the Lord of lords. (Revelation 19:16)

Israel’s ancient quest is a dramatic reminder that we are all searching for a king. It may be a higher power or a higher purpose, but we are all searching for something – no exceptions. Ecclesiastics 3:11 says that God has “set eternity in their heart,” which means that we all have an unquenchable thirst for purpose and meaning beyond the day-to-day.

What does it look like for someone to make Christ their King? How can we spot someone who has given their allegiance to the Son of God? Here are three things that are true of an individual who has fallen under the authority of Christ.

  • Loyalty to Christ. Saving faith is about a personal commitment to Christ, not a promise, a prayer, or a creed (John 3:16). It’s about what He has done for us, not what we have or will do for Him. This may sound obvious, but you can’t make Christ your King without making Christ your King.
  • A Changed Life. True faith always produces a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17). Some people may take longer than others. The opportunities and struggles will be unique to the individual, but no one walks away from a personal encounter with Christ unchanged.
  • A Love for the Things of God. It’s only natural that those who claim God’s name will have an affection for the things that are associated with Him. God’s Word (the Bible), God’s people (the local church), God’s will (the Great Commission) – these are things that will take over the heart of a person who is committed to Christ (John 14:5).

You can only have one sovereign in your life. You can worship a vague ideal, or you can worship the God who is revealed in the pages of Scripture, you can even worship yourself, but you can’t have more than one king. Those who make Christ their King will experience a very different reality than those who make another choice. So, choose wisely.

Inoculate Yourself Against Used-To-Go-To-Churchitis

Used-To-Go-To-Churchitis is spending. How can you protect yourself?

Church attendance trends have been changing in recent years. Less people are going to church on a regular basis and more people have the disease used-to-go-to-churchitis. This is the one public health emergency that few people are looking to resolve.

One of the first signs of this illness (aside from not attending church anymore) is the increased use of the phrase, “I just got out of the habit.” This polite excuse is used to gloss over three substantive issues: The first is some sort of significant change like a relocation or death in the family. The second is a painful disappointment with someone in the church, a leader, or a fellow member. The third is a personal struggle or even a struggle with sin. These are the real reasons that people come down with used-to-go-to-churchitis.

Here are three ways you can protect yourself from this affliction.

  • Make an Effort to Grow on Your Own. Every Bible-believing church has an interest in helping its people experience spiritual growth; it’s called discipleship. Spiritual formation is a two-way street that requires input from the church and the believer. If you make an effort to grow on your own, you will create space in your spiritual journey that needs to be filled by the church. In other words, you won’t be able to quit because you will have a well-established and ongoing need for the church’s help.
  • Make Jesus the Focus. Most people understand that there are no perfect churches, but there aren’t any perfect church leaders or church ministries either. Far too many people are driven away by a church leader who does something foolish or change that needs to happen in their favorite area of ministry. These things can be avoided if you make your church experience about loving and serving Jesus, instead of loving a particular person or serving in a particular area. 
  • Make Friends in the Church. Technology has allowed church attendance to become transactional, but the essence of participating in a local church is inherently relational. The church is people, not a building, and not religious content. Friendships make the church an essential part of your life, and they also make you an essential part of the church.

You can inoculate yourself against used-to-go-to-churchitis if you follow the three strategies listed above. You’ll also keep it from spreading to your friends and family. With a passion for God and His Word, we can stop this disease in its tracks.

The Power of an Invitation

The earthly ministry of Jesus Christ began with an invitation. The John the Baptist burst onto the scene, gathered a crowd, and introduced Jesus. One of the first people that paid attention to Jesus was a guy named Andrew. Originally a fisherman, Andrew is mostly remembered for being Peter’s brother. In John 1:41-42, we read that Peter came to Christ at the invitation of his brother, Andrew. The verses tell us that he found his brother, Peter, and “brought him to Jesus.” It should not be overlooked, that the most notable of the 12 disciples started following Jesus at the invitation of his brother.

Matthew’s Gospel builds on the same theme by describing the formal formation of Christ’s band of believers. This time, the invitation comes from Jesus, himself: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (4:19). The following verse tells us that they immediately left their fishing nets and set out to pursue a new life.

We often overlook the power of a personal invitation. Sometimes our failure comes because we fear our invitation might be rejected. We also assume that it’s someone else’s job to make the invitation, not us.

In today’s world, it can be easy to discount the power of a personal invitation in favor of some slick advertising campaign. Social media has become a powerful tool; so powerful in fact, that we think that it will solve all of our problems. But technology will never erase the warmth, attractiveness, and authenticity of a simple invitation.

Thom Rainer wrote a book several years ago titled The Unchurched Next Door. In it, Rainer made the claim that eight out of ten (8 out of 10) of all unchurched people said they would come to church if invited by a Christian. Even if that ratio has gone down some since the early 2000s, it deserves to be tested since 640,000 of our 800,000 of our city’s residents are not in church on any given weekend.

In our church, we’ve made some invitation cards recently to help our congregation invite others to church. The cards are intentionally simple so they can be used to point people towards our worship services and Bible study groups on Sunday mornings. They are business card-sized so they can be carried around easily. The backside of the card features two different verses to be inserted in conversations with your friends and family.

Please don’t feel limited, if you would like to invite others to your church in different ways. You can mention your church’s website and share the invitation with your neighbor over your back fence. You can give a recent bulletin to a longtime friend who has been out of church for a while. You can share a gospel tract with an acquaintance you meet in passing.

However you do it, don’t overlook the power of an invitation.

Where Is This Disunity Coming From?

When it comes to disunity in the church, the question is not if, but when. Churches are made up of imperfect people who will always find a way to have a difference of opinion. This perpetual problem forces thoughtful church leaders to ask the probing question, “Where is this disunity coming from?”

Sometimes the struggle comes from practical issues like building usage and spending money. The decisions made in real time about the day-to-day operations of a church can be very challenging. When a church is unclear about the direction of its ministries, its members are forced to take sides on a growing list of issues.

Culture can also play a part in church conflict. Maybe the demographics around the church have changed radically in recent years. Maybe there is a strong desire in the church to retain specific traditions. The bottom line is that the culture in and around the church can have a significant impact on congregational harmony.

But what should believers do if they can’t solve disunity issues through these avenues? In the 4th chapter of James, we learn that sometimes the reason for disunity in the church is spiritual. In this passage, James lists 3 spiritual reasons for disunity in the early church. The first issue is a pattern of self-centered prayer that springs from a me-first mentality. The second issue is misplaced loyalty. The third issue is the unchecked arrogance that goes along with a works-based view of salvation. This false approach to salvation puts all the emphasis on what we can accomplish for God.

James helps us to see that sometimes disunity comes from a hidden source – the human heart. If the issue isn’t practical, theological, or cultural, it just might be coming from a spiritual source. This is something we all need to keep an eye on as we strive to serve the Lord together in unity.

Three Takeaways from Preaching Through the Gospel of John

My resent sermon series in the Gospel of John has had a personal impact on my life. Here’s what I took away from it.

Preaching through a book of the Bible is a milestone for any preacher. It takes planning and perseverance to work through sequential passages from the same context in an engaging way. It’s a good and rewarding challenge for a pastor on any level.

I just finished presenting the Gospel of John to the church I have the privilege of serving and I wanted to share three takeaways from my time in the text. This wasn’t my first time preaching through the Gospel of John, but it was the most meaningful.

Takeaway #1: The Gospel of John is memorable. It contains quotable verses like John 1:1-4, 1:12, 2:15, 3:16, 4:34, 12;16, 14:6, 15:13-15, 19:26-27, 20:30-31, and 21:15-17, just to list a few. It also contains the seven visually striking “I Am” Statements. It’s hard to forget the images of Jesus as “the bread of life,” or “the true vine.” The book is also memorable because John uses such consistent vocabulary, using and reusing the same terms and concepts throughout the whole book. The English terms, “believe” “world,” and “know” all appear close to or more than 100 times. These factors make it easier to hold on to the teaching of this Gospel.

Takeaway #2: The Gospel of John is personal. The writer refers to himself several times as “The disciple whom Jesus loved” (19:26, 20:2, 21;7, 21:20). This wasn’t a prideful label. It was a subtle way of including himself in the story, without overshadowing Jesus. John was an eyewitness to everything that happened, but he was also profoundly impacted by his interactions with Jesus Christ. In addition, John includes Christ’s touching interactions with Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and Lazarus and his sisters, plus many more. In my view, John does a wonderful job of developing the theme found in chapter 1, verse 14: “And the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us” (NASB).

Takeaway #3: The Gospel of John is powerful. Jesus is presented as the most powerful force mankind has ever known. He turns water into wine, heals a long list of people including bringing Lazarus back from the dead, and walks on water. John inserts an editorial note in chapter 20:30 that states that Jesus did even more miraculous things than he has room to record. But the power of John’s gospel extends beyond the document’s portrayal of Jesus. The message of the Gospel is powerful too. Readers are pushed to consider their own faith and relationship with God in a powerful and undeniable way. It’s hard to walk away from the Gospel of John without thinking about how you should respond for yourself.

A seasoned preacher will experience many sermon series in their ministry. But this sermon series in the Gospel of John has been very meaningful for me. I encourage you to spend as much time as you can reading and studying it for yourself.

Is There a Gap in Our Sanctification?

Is there a gap in our view of sanctification? Church Historian, Richard Loveless certainly through so and here’s why.

This post is the fourth in a series tracing the dynamics of spiritual renewal in the Church as outlined in Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal by Dr. Richard Lovelace. Exerpts in this post were taken from the chapter called “The Sanctification Gap.”

Is there a gap in our view of sanctification? Church Historian, Richard Loveless, certainly thought so. In his book, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, he wrote a very personal chapter about his conversion to Christ and his spiritual journey as a churchman and an academic. In his experience, Loveless found a distressing disconnect between the doctrines of regeneration and sanctification in the average Evangelical church. It’s been a few years since Loveless passed away, and even more since the last edition of his book, but the gap still seems to exist.

In Lovelace’s view, the sanctification gap appeared as a result of the correction and over-correction of the theological pendulum swing. The English Puritans felt like the Reformation had only been a “half-Reformation” so they placed too much of an emphasis on initial conversion and the doctrine of generation which pushed some into Hyper-Calvinism. This was corrected (overcorrection) in the nineteenth century by Charles Finney and others, who stressed easier standards and spontaneous commitment. This Arminian development produced a disconnect between spiritual transformation and spiritual growth in our current understanding.

I believe some progress has been made on this issue since Richard Loveless sounded the alarm. In the past 10 to 15 years, there has been an uptick in interest in discipleship, spiritual development, and spiritual growth programming in the church circles that I am a part of. This shift seems to be an acknowledgment of the gap in our soteriology. Another change has come on the winds of culture change. The disappearance of “Cultural Christianity” in America and the pandemic shutdown have forced church theologians and practitioners to reexamine the essentials of life in the church. This recalibration, if you will, has produced a stronger link between Christian beliefs and active participation in the church.

Even though the gap is not as wide as it once was, Loveless’s suggestions for closing the gap are still relevant. First, he suggested that we simply acknowledge that the gap exists. Second, he suggested that we forge a valid biblical model of spiritual life for Christians in our day. This includes, from Loveless’s perspective “true revival preaching” which penetrates defense mechanisms, uncovering hidden sin, and leading people to repentance. Third, he suggested reclaiming the explosive heritage of spiritual renewal that is connected to the Evangelical movement. These ongoing practices could help us make even more progress in closing the gap in our view of sanctification.

Photo by Jamie Hagan on Unsplash

Two Disciples, One Savior

What do the examples of Peter and John teach us about following Jesus?

In John 13: 24-25, Peter asked John to ask Jesus who it was that was going to betray Him. These verses don’t name John outright, they only refer to him as “the disciple Jesus loved.” John isn’t named until the last chapter of the gospel, and even then it’s as “one of the sons of Zebedee” (21:2).

The close connection between Peter and John in chapter 13 is sustained throughout the rest of the Gospel. When Christ was arrested, Peter was left out in the cold until “the other disciple” spoke to the doorkeeper at the high priest’s house to let him in (John 18:15-16). In chapter 20, verses 4 and 8, John outran Peter to the tomb and believed in the resurrection first. Peter jumped into the Sea of Galilee to join Jesus on the shore, but it was John who was the first to recognize him (John 21:). “The disciple who Jesus loved” was already following Jesus when Peter asked about his place in Christ’s post-resurrection plans (John 21:20-22).

Gerald Borchert makes a fascinating point in his commentary on the Gospel of John. Borchert states, “One cannot avoid the observation that in all of these cases, the beloved disciple is shown to be superior to Peter in some way.” John and Peter are lifted up as models of discipleship. John is described as an ideal model of what it looks like to follow Christ, and Peter is depicted as the more realistic model of a Christ-follower.

This two-model approach to discipleship is encouraging for followers of Jesus in the real world. Sometimes we live up to our best intentions and follow Jesus with a responsive and fast-paced faith. There are other times, however, when our best intentions end in failure. These portraits of discipleship are helpful, but ultimately, they should remind us to keep our attention on Christ. Instead of comparing ourselves to someone else, we should follow Jesus and the path He has laid out for us.


Image by Valentin from Pixabay

Two Strategies for Structural Renewal in the Church.

What does it take to experience spiritual renewal and revival in the local church?

This post is the third in a series tracing the dynamics of spiritual renewal in the Church as outlined in Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal by Dr. Richard Lovelace.

What does it take to experience spiritual renewal and revival in a church? Richard Lovelace answered this question with his Model for Continous Renewal in the Church – the heart of his book, Dynamics of Spiritual Life. Lovelace’s model flows from a study of Church History and biblical precedents and includes primary and secondary elements. According to Lovelace, the primary elements of renewal are an in-depth understanding of the doctrines of justification, sanctification, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the authority believers possess in spiritual conflict. The secondary elements of renewal are the practical application of those doctrines in the church through mission, prayer, community, disenculturation (being freed from cultural blinders), and theological integration.

If you’ve read the two previous posts on this series, you’ll recognize the connection Lovelace wants us to make between the primary (doctrinal) elements and personal renewal in the church. This post is aimed at bringing out Lovelace’s connection between the secondary elements of renewal and revitalization in the local church structure. Of the five practical elements, Lovelace focuses most of his attention on community and prayer.

The biggest barrier to authentic community in the church, according to Lovelace, is overdependence on trained, professional clergy in the church. Pastors are expected to do all the ministry, while lay people (church members) look on passively. Without diminishing the role of pastors and ministers, churches would do well to encourage a mindset that every congregant is expected to serve in the church as a gifted part of the body.

The easiest pathway to building authentic community in the church, according to Lovelace, “is the formation and strengthening of nuclear subcommunities within the larger church community. The most basic subcommunity in the church is the home. In addition, Lovelace calls for the development of cell groups or support groups to provide encouragement and mutual pastoral oversight. This emphasis falls in line with our modern ministry of small groups.

Lovelace combines these two elements in suggesting that these subcommunities should be involved in a comprehensive prayer effort that is focused on spiritual renewal and revival. Corporate prayer should also be encouraged in special church-wide gatherings or as a special segment in the worship gathering.

Believers who want to experience spiritual renewal in their church, as well as in their personal life, would do well to pay attention to Lovelace’s secondary elements of renewal. The importance of community and prayer in the church cannot be overstated. Each church will certainly flesh these emphases out in its own way, but it’s hard to see how an individual church will find a resurgence without them. When combined with the previous elements mentioned, Lovelace’s Model for Continous Renewal is a very helpful pattern to follow.

Pastoral Counseling for Spiritual Renewal

Pastoral counseling is essential for experiencing spiritual renewal and revival in the church, but what does that look like?

This post is the second in a series tracing the dynamics of spiritual renewal in the Church as outlined in Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal by Dr. Richard Lovelace.

Pastoral counseling is essential for experiencing spiritual renewal and revival in the church, according to Dr. Richard Lovelace. In his book, Dynamics of Spiritual Life: An Evangelical Theology of Renewal, he places pastoral counseling alongside preaching and teaching as necessary components of personal renewal, which is the precursor to corporate renewal in the church. As individuals are revived, so is the Church.

The kind of counseling that Lovelace recommends follows the historical examples of Richard Baxter and Philip Spener. Baxter augmented his preaching ministry with “house-to-house pastoral visistion” where he worked to apply God’s Word to the realtime spiritual needs of His congregation. A biblical president for this kind of ministry can be drawn from Acts 20:20, where Paul taught both in public and in the home.

Lovelace is skeptical of some counseling practitioners who follow the nouthetic approach. His first critique is their tendency to “write off all non-Christian psychological theory and practice as erroneous.” In addition, Lovelace believes that the nouthetic approach doesn’t take into account the serious nature of indwelling sin and therefore fails at delivering the necessary means of overcoming it. This is far from solving the ongoing debate about nature of Christian counseling in the church, but it helps to introduce a key set of doctrinal principles.

From Lovelace’s perserpective, spiritual renewal rests on four doctrines: justification, sanctification, the indwelling of Holy Spirit, and the authority of the believer in spiritual conflict. These “primary elements of renewal” must all be presented with equal force in context of a pastoral counseling conversation. Counselees should be encouraged to take hold of each of these four elements by faith as separate, but equal benefits of being united with Jesus Christ. They should find security in their adoptive sonship secured by Christ’s obedience and righteousness. They must also be committed to growing in their personal sanctification. Pastoral counselors also need to urge their audience to recognise and the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit as well as take hold of the strength they have in spiritual warfare.

Effective pastors will add personal counseling to the regular preaching and teaching of God’s Word if they want to stimulate spiritual renewal. They should look for ways to apply the truth of God’s Word to the individual situations and needs of their congregants. When these two practices are combined, they can be power and positive part of bringing spiritual renewal and revival to the Church.

Looking for the previous on Spiritual Renewal in the Church?

Find it here: https://wp.me/p1hRxR-Kv

Jesus was Rejected – Failure or Success?

Jesus was rejected by many of His peers. Does that weaken or strengthen His claims?

One of the best ways to persuade others with an argument is to answer their strongest objections. If you can provide a reasonable explanation for someone’s biggest challenge, you can “take the wind out of their sails” and maybe win the day. This approach follows the logic of the familar parable: “The best offense is a good defense.”

John seems to take the same approach at times in His Gospel, which is aimed at converting unbelievers into believers (John 20:30-31). In John 12:37-50, He tackles the potentially embarrassing issue of Christ’s rejection. Why believe in Jesus Christ as the Jewish Messiah and Savior of the World if so many of His own people rejected Him during His earthly ministry? Doesn’t that prove or at least weaken His claim of being sent by God?

Instead of shying away from this objection, John leans into it in the closing verses of John chapter 12. He uses Isaiah 5:31 and 6:10 to point out that God’s messengers haven’t always been well received. Moses, Elijah, Ezekial, and Isaiah all faced signifcant opposition in their day and Jesus experienced the same.

In addition, John reveals the motivation behind much of Israel’s rejection of Jesus. The “rulers” would have been members of the Sanherin, the Jewish “Supreme Court” of its time. Many of these rulers had a private respect and admiration for Jesus, but they refused that share it publically for fear that they would loose the respect of their peers. The problem wasn’t with Jesus and His teaching or miracles, it was with the hard-heartedness of His audience.

John helps us to see that Christ’s rejection was a sign of His failure, but instead, it was a sign of His success. Jesus was faithful to His mission, even if He wasn’t hailed as hero by all of His peers. Popularity can be a poor measure of success and it’s an even worse measure of the truth.