the glorious exchange

Browsing around Seed Stories (link), which is already “out of the box” for me, I followed a link to a new ministry outside of Spokane (link). Lo and behold, I was confused. Why in the world would you have people unfamiliar with the Gospel and Story of Jesus Christ help you tell it? That’s like having a group of children who have never heard the story of Snow White try to tell the story just off of the title “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. There’s no telling where that story will end up. Get in the Bible yourself, repent over the Scripture because we never measure up, and then get in front of your people, teach the Scripture, and call them to repentance too. Then call them to live the Scripture out. Where in the world is authoritative preaching going?

This may seem overly confident, but whatever. I see myself as ‘old-school’. And those who I teach probably do too. I know Miranda does. She called me a ‘fire and brimstone’ preacher. And that was on a relatively calm day. Heh. I don’t get up and yell every week, per se, but I do teach with authority: only because God has dealt with me about the same Scripture during the week. I wrestle with it. I pray over it. I repent from sin brought up by it. I read to see what other people have thought of the Scripture. And then I outline it on a dry erase board, underline key words and verses in my teaching Bible, and then go at it without notes. I’m passionate. I’m well-read. I’m studied up. But most of all, those whom I teach listen. I preach Christ and Him crucified, because it’s throughout Scripture. And Christ brings the numbers and the fruit.

If you’re getting up in front of your people week after week and use some canned message from a megachurch, you’re screwing your people over. You’re shorting them. And you’re going to have be accountable to God for that (Hebrews 13:17). Get in the Scripture. Study over it yourself. Then get up in front of the people Christ has given you and let them know what God has taught you. Teach it entertainingly, so that they pay attention. Teach it in a relevant way, so that they understand. Teach it passionately, so they believe you. But most of all, teach it with the Spirit’s authority, so when they leave you, they’ll remember and implement the message.

Whatever you do, please don’t bring them into your study during the week to help form the message. That’s ludicrous. It’s your responsibility as leader to discern the needs of the people. They should not dictate the direction of the church. You should be able to tell which way the wind’s blowing. If you can’t, maybe you’re in the wrong profession.

Sorry, but someone needs to hear that. The decline of authoritative, Scripture-based teaching will be directly proportional to the decline of missionally effective, fruit-bearing churches. I promise you that.

Here’s a great link from Mark Moore, which is a great link from Acts 29. This post’s title describes it. (link)

If you’re reading this from a blogreader, you should check out the revamped design of the main site (link). I went to a three-column format, so that all the gunky information in the sidebar is a little bit neater. I also organized it a little, adding some nice formatting to my headers and lists.

If you want to know the design philosophy behind all of the harmony church stuff, including this blog, look at this post (link).

In case you missed it, you should read the conversation in the comments section of the “Isn’t She Beautiful” post from January 25th (link). It stemmed from my dislike of Rob Bell’s theology, specifically his expressed views on salvation and redemption. I see the individual’s salvation in Scripture as part of the redemption of the entire cosmos. So what do I see in Scripture that tells us what salvation is? And what does it mean to be saved? And how does one become saved? Well, let’s start with the basics, with the simplest Biblical scriptures. Because these are accurate theological statements, they can be found throughout Scripture on the basis of exegesis and hermeneutics.

1. We are in need of salvation, because we are totally evil and subject to the wrath of God, even though He wishes otherwise. (Romans 3:23)
2. Because we are totally evil, we will never be able to come to God on our own. (Romans 3:10-11, 8:7-9)
3. We have been called to salvation, before we even know it. That is, we have been selected for salvation. There is no reason for our selection, other than God’s own sovereign choice. (Ephesians 1:4-5,11)
4. The means of our salvation, that is how it is accomplished, is this: the substitution of Jesus the Christ, God’s perfect, begotten (and therefore Jesus is God) Son for our sins. This is accomplished on the cross, crucifixion. The substitution is a one-time thing because of Jesus’ resurrection, conquering our sins, and throwing them away forever. (Galatians 3:13; Hebrews 10:1-14)
5. The means is useless unless it is accepted. One accepts the substitution by placing their hand on Christ’s head, just as it was in the Mosaic law. We accept the sacrifice through faith in Christ. (Romans 3:26-31)
6. Salvation is not a one-time thing. It is a continual regeneration of the entire body, until it is finalized upon either death or Christ’s return. (1 Corinthians 1:7-9)

Now where do works come into play? This seems to be the confusion on behalf of many, including Pastor Bell. Some people think that we are saved because our works line up with Jesus. This is not true. We are saved through faith. But, as with any belief one holds, works follow. You set your alarm clock at night because you have faith that tomorrow is coming and you want to wake up at a certain time. You may set your alarm clock, but if you don’t believe tomorrow is coming and you don’t want to wake up at a certain time, it’s meaningless. You’re just doing it to do it. On the other hand, if you have faith that tomorrow is coming and you want to wake up at a certain time, it is necessary to set your alarm clock. Without that work of setting your alarm clock, your faith is, in essence, dead. (James 2)

Hope this example clears some things up about the relation between faith and works. Please feel free to comment.

There’s only one way I know how to describe what’s been going on lately around here. Utterly ridiculous. This past Monday night when I taught at the campus ministry, I really think a fire was lit. I called us out of indifference and into the will of God. Their eyes were lit, and I could tell that they felt as beat up as I had been studying over the message. What will God do with it? I have no idea.

Since I began teaching the young adults at my home church here in Greenville, attendance has been up 300%. In just4 weeks. Where are they coming from, and why now? I have no idea.

Pastor Hoggard publicly announced, without my prior knowledge, our intention to plant a church in Washington, DC to the church at our church’s annual business meeting. Why then? I have no idea.

A young woman asked me out of the blue today how she could financially contribute on a regular basis to Harmony Church. We’re not tax-deductible yet. We don’t exist in the eyes of the District as an organization yet. She didn’t care. What in His holy name is she thinking, tithing to a non-existent church? I have no idea.

I gave sacrificially today on behalf of a brother in need. It wasn’t much, but I got eight-fold the sacrifice in less than 20 minutes. Why did this person pay me that much at that time? I have no idea.

Pastor set this year’s guiding principle for our church as Luke 4:18-19. 2007 is the year of the Lord’s favor. I think the same is true for Harmony Church. We’re going to take off this year. I feel it already. It’s not even the beginning of February yet, and miraculous things are happening. So the question is…what is God up to? The answer? I have no idea.

But I can’t wait to find out.