Author: idiscoverxyz

The Cross vs The Grave

He paid a debt He did not owe

I owed a debt I could not pay.

I am the offspring of an agnostic Jew and lapsed Lutheran. I did not meet Christ through the witness of an evangelical, by reading a tract (Chick or otherwise), or being persuaded by the preaching of the Gospel or any other part of the scripture. I did not meet Christ in church, though I was there most Sundays.

Both of my parents were religious in their own ways. Dad, Jewish by birth and an admitted agnostic, believed that God “set the world spinning and then left it alone”. There were no consequences of sin in his system, even though there was the occaisional expectation of adherance to one Jewish tenet or another, while rejecting so many others. I never understood what Mom believed. Raised as a Lutheran, the church, the Bible, Jesus… I have no memory of any of this being a part of her conversation or life direction.

Jesus invaded my life at Ft. Jackson, SC as an 18 year old Army National Guard trainee. I did not know that He would. I did not ask for or expect what He did. I simply begged Him for help with the complete self-awareness that my life was such a mess, that I no longer wanted to be who I was. I was wretched, profane, lustful, angry, jealous, proud, arrogant, and friendless. I was alone and knew that I knew no way out.

I did not have labels for all of what I was. And I did not know or understand what help would come, I only knew that there was no other place to turn to for help. In an instant I was changed. No sinner’s prayer, no memorized verses – just a simple one word plea for “help”. The invasion was instantaneous and complete; the journey only just begun.

My parents rejected the radical change they saw in my life. And let me be clear, this change they saw was only a joy in my countenance and conversation. I did not know scripture. I did not have a church to recommend. At this point, no one had spoken into my life about my speech or behavior (though there was much about both that Christ would later step into). I was only changed. I did not know how to explain why, but it was painfully obvious to them.

In fact, I was one that was so “lost”, I did not know that I was “saved”. I didn’t know what that meant. Though I was in a Protestant church most Sundays, I had never heard that word in the spiritual context. A brief encounter with a storefront bible study leader gave verbiage to my voice when he showed me in God’s Word what had happened to me. It was then that the words “Jesus” and “saved” became part of my conversation. But by then, my parents were already convinced I had joined a cult. They were so convinced until their deaths, that they, on more than one occasion, tried to turn me at first, and then years later my children, away from Christ.

As I grew up, the church – because it was my only social outlet – was a big part of my life. I was there almost every week. Acolyte, youth group, choir, handbells, media… I did it all. I attended 2 out of 3 years of catechism classes, and my church “confirmed” I was a Christian by telling me I was (even though, by their standards, I was only ⅔ Christian). They even gave me a certificate. I was baptized when I was 13 because – and only because – I realized I was the only one in my Sunday School class that had not been baptized. In fact, my 3 siblings and I were all baptized at the same time because – and only because – of that realization.

I knew about God because they talked about Him a lot. I knew about Jesus because they talked about Him a lot. I knew He died on the cross because of pictures and the Easter story. And therein lies the sum total of what I comprehended about salvation from my quasi-religious parents and active church life.

Today, I know exactly what Jesus did for me. I know what I am forgiven for. And that forgiveness was provided by an experience so much harder, so much more gruesome than the cross, we do Jesus an injustice to give the cross that credit. I am not saying the cross is unimportant. I am not saying the cross was not a fulfillment of prophecy. And I am certainly not saying that the cross is neither rugged nor old.

What I am saying is, one of these things is not like the other:

Jesus died on the cross.
Jesus died for my sin.

They both happened. They are both important. They are symbiotic in a critical process. But they’re not the same thing.

The death He died for my sin, was the death I will not experience. I may experience a difficult and gruesome death, be it a cross or cancer, but I will never experience the more difficult and costly death from which I am saved – because of what he did to free me from that. And the devastation and agony of THAT death cannot be adequately compared to the temporary pain and suffering of the cross.

Jesus died on the cross so that he could die for my sin.

Jesus physically died on the cross so that he could then pay the spiritual price for my sin.

And if you think that the physical death was worse than the spiritual one, please consider that you need to reconsider.

He paid a debt he did not owe.

I owed a debt I could not pay.

My Inkling

Because of a very difficult illness suffered by my wife (and thereby, our entire family) as our kids were growing up, God gave me in our children answer to prayer that I had no words for which to ask. Each of them brought into my life a portion of God’s grace that helped save me emotionally, and save our family.

While my wife was so ill, and I was seemingly so alone, our oldest wanted to talk – to talk theology, to debate, to challenge – while in middle school and beyond. Oh, how I needed someone to talk to – and take my mind off of the lot of our lives at that time. I still cherish opportunities for those conversations.

Our middle child was full of grace and care. She was the “daddy’s girl”. She forgave me when I was gruff or angry. She just knew when I needed a hug. She understood without being asked how much we needed her help with her Mom. Oh, how I needed that unconditional care and grace!

Our youngest, our son, could make you laugh just by walking in the room or by giving any number of “looks” that can’t be reproduced by anyone else. I can’t tell you how powerfully important that was to me in those days – to be able to laugh in the midst of terrible days. And I still look forward to the looks!

Bethany, my mind; Sarah, my heart; and Jesse, my soul. God gave me in my children the protection and strength to press on; just a bit of Himself with flesh on…

Bethany graduated from high school the year before a job situation forced us to move from Georgia to Colorado. I was getting accustomed to her being gone, even though she was just two hours away. Sarah was about to be a high school senior. Her church and friends were a tremendous strength in her life. As we looked at all of the scenarios involving the move, we determined that the best thing to do was to leave Sarah in Georgia with dear friends, so that she could continue to flourish.

We moved – our full house now down to three.

I wept every day for months. My “mind” was at college. I missed her, but this was the way it was supposed to be. My “soul” – gratefully – was with us in Colorado. But my “heart” was absent. Separated. Distant. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

I missed her every day. I missed every day of her senior year. I missed every game she played, every event she was in. Every joy she experienced. Every pain she endured. And I missed her much needed grace – the hugs, forgiveness, and care. I still weep today at times for her – and for all we missed together. I miss her still.

That’s just my inkling of “forsaken”.

Jesus did not cry out when beaten. He did not cry out when nailed. He only cried out when He was forsaken. To pay for our sin, the Father had to leave the Son. For the first time – the only time – in all of eternity, they were seperated. He became alone, so you and I would never be alone again. In agony, Jesus cried out, experiencing the incomprehensible pain of this forsakenness. And then he died. And then, for what we count as a bit more than 2 days, he died again: he paid for my sin, your sin, and the sin of the entire world. This is the death that the song speaks of.

He paid a debt He did not owe.

He took on the consequences of my sin and yours. He applied to himself that which The Father would never allow into the heavenly kingdom. He immersed himself in the wretched, profane, lustful and grotesque. He covered Himself with the appalling, the horror, the pain, and the grief. He took on the mantle of the abusive, the murderous, and the decaying. He wrapped himself in the garments of the arrogant and proud, liars and cheaters; and the morally filthy and corrupt. My sin. And yours.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Jesus did die on the cross.

And then He paid a debt He did not owe.

The cross took hours.

The grave took days.

And if you think that the physical death was worse than the spiritual one, please consider that you need to reconsider. If you think the cross was the hard task, then ask yourself – given the choice, which one would you choose?

Skip the cross and take the grave.
Take the cross and skip the grave.

Some may ask, “Then why the cross?”

Indeed, this question has been asked for centuries. If the battle for our sin was in the spiritual realm, then what difference did it make how He died. Why not a heart attack or old age? Why such a gruesome physical death if the spiritual death was what mattered.

“To fulfill prophecy” is not the sufficient answer to “Why”. Whatever the mode of His death, that is what would have been prophesied. That is not why this matters. It matters because this was His choice. And like every other event, conversation, miracle and relationship in His life, this was a purposeful and deliberate decision.

The cross does matter, so important that He endured it. I believe it to be His final parable. A picture-story so horrific, that for any with eyes to see and ears to hear, they would have at least an inkling of, to the degree possible for man, the devastating price he paid, what He has forgiven us from, and what agape love truly means.

I can’t imagine a stronger picture-parable of the ultimate sacrifice He paid. The price of our sin is high. This was no easy task, so no easy physical death would do. He spent every breath of His life, every waking moment strategically and purposefully revealing, teaching, and preparing those who followed Him to understand and pursue their calling to continue to follow him. Their understanding of the price that was paid, and the subsequent victory that was won was sufficient to move his disciples to a life-long pursuit of that call, even when long life was not their lot. And for this pursuit, He provided a vivid, tangible story-experience to empower that work; to give verbiage to their voice and ours – to give us an inkling by what was seen, of that which was unseen; that we may be able to bear witness to the depth of His sacrifice on our behalf.

I have to tell you, the cross alone, for me, is not sufficient to that end. But the war He fought for me with Death and the Grave; beaten back in the victory of His resurrection, forever will be.

The cross is vitally important to our mission. It is the picture of what He did for us.

However, I am forever grateful that he did the harder work as well.

The Meaning of Forgiveness in an Abusive World

by Eli Bernard & Bethany Persons

Words matter. Rather, the meanings of words matter and by that, we mean – words matter.

At the risk of stepping into the universe where the reader’s meaning often matters more than the author’s meaning, our attempt here is to speak to what The Author meant by this amazing word that we misuse. While focusing on the Author’s meaning can be helpful for analysis and open dialogue, comprehending it is much more vital to the “peace that passes all understanding” (Phil 4:7) in our own lives.

In the recent weeks, there has been a flurry of devastating reports about those that teach, expect, and seemingly demand forgiveness as a response to a horrendous assault. We are afraid that the way the word “forgiveness” is perceived – perhaps by those assaulted and to many who enter the conversation only through media – is as

  • a sort of magic wand, whereby the assaulted or offended waive away any consequence or responsibility of the offender “because that’s what good Christians do” or
  • a weapon used to silence the assaulted, demanding greater spiritual maturity from them than their attacker.

Forgiveness is not a magic wand and it does nothing to remedy the attack or solve problems larger than the one experienced by the one assaulted. To weaponize forgiveness in order to silence those assaulted is a reprehensible power play, worthy of any Pharisee Jesus encountered.

We do not know what the intention or heart is of those who have advised forgiveness in any of these reported or many unreported offenses. We were not there. We did not hear their tone or the full context of their comment. We only know how it reads in the media – and it is that reading that prompts this response.

  • Forgiveness does not absolve the offender of guilt
  • Forgiveness does not bring resolution to implied or apparent larger problems
  • Forgiveness does not abdicate the responsibility of the offender
  • Forgiveness does not eliminate the need for accountability
  • Forgiveness does not supersede the necessity for consequences
  • Forgiveness does not demand or imply the restoration of relationship

One of the things that we should do is strive to understand the full meaning of what The Author meant by the words that He used. And He never used the word “forgiveness” in these ways.

Visiting the Example of the Author of Forgiveness

Jesus’ death is the price that was paid for our forgiveness. He loves us and died for us. And because He forgave us, we have eternal life with Him. While this is true, it is a too-simplistic and gap-filled explanation of the magnitude of that event, and it does not suffice.

Jesus did indeed offer us – the whole world – forgiveness by his death/resurrection. But no one – no one in the whole world – received forgiveness simply because it was – and is – available.

Forgiveness is for the benefit of the offended, wounded and the assaulted – not for the ones doing the offending and assaulting.  We know that flies in the face of contemporary religious thought. But it is to the benefit of the wounded and offended to offer it, not to the benefit of the abuser/offender. The offended offering forgiveness should have no fear of the offender receiving it absent true repentance. It matters not what words they say or actions they take. Only true repentance aligns with true forgiveness. Additionally, since forgiveness does not imply or demand the restoration of relationship, the offended need not fear some obligation to the same.

Jesus offers forgiveness, not because we need it (although we absolutely do), but because He wanted to offer it. The fact that we need it does not mandate it. The fact that God wants a relationship with us is what mandates it. Certainly, we benefit from it should we receive it. But it is not possessed by anyone who does not demonstrate their desire by repentance. The unrepentant are not forgiven. As much as we need forgiveness, it is not to our benefit; it is to His.

“But wait, what about…”

  • Confessing with my mouth and believing in my heart (Rom 10:9)
  • Saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-10)
  • Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:30-31)
  • Praying “the sinner’s prayer“
  • Asking Jesus into my heart

Without delving deeply into these for their own merits and implications, unless repentance is the attitude of the heart, then these are motions merely gone through; insufficient regardless of sincerity. To be clear, asking without a repentant heart is to ask vainly. Believing with an unrepentant heart is not the belief that leads to salvation. (James 2:19)

“But wait, where do these passages say I need to repent?”

This question illustrates a telltale failure of contemporary preaching and curriculum driven teaching. It is the whole Bible, not any one passage that gives us the whole truth. John the Baptist, Jesus and the Apostles preached repentance from the beginning of their earthly ministries (Matt 3:2, Matt 11:20-21, Luke 5:32, Luke 13:1-5, Luke 15, Acts 2:38, Acts 13:24).  We don’t forget about that just because we’re reading from a different passage. To do that is tantamount to Jesus saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near, but you won’t need to do that if you just wait until Paul writes Romans 10:9.”

To do that is tantamount to Jesus saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near, but you won’t need to do that if you just wait until Paul writes Romans 10:9.”

Let’s say that you asked me for my favorite biscuit recipe. I might tell you:

In a large mixing bowl sift together ½ tsp salt, 2 cups of flour, and 1 tbsp of baking powder. Cut in ½ cup shortening with fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour ¾ cup of buttermilk into flour mixture while stirring with a fork.

After rolling out, cutting, and baking the biscuits, you offer me one – one of the blandest, most tasteless biscuits I’ve ever had.

“Where’s the salt?”, I ask.

‘Oh, I didn’t think I needed to add it since it was the first thing you said. I thought I only needed to add the stuff that made them look like biscuits.”

Forgiveness is the way for the wounded and offended to release the offense, to not carry the grudge, to not hold it to the account of the offended. It is because this is how the Author understands forgiveness that eternity with Him is available – He does not hold our sin to our account. He, who first loved us, has made that possible by offering forgiveness. That is to His benefit because it is He who first wanted a relationship with us.

Forgiveness has no effect or impact on the offender until the very high and humbling price of repentance is paid. Forgiveness is good for the forgiver. The only impact on the offender is that it is available. It is not received simply based on that availability. It cannot be claimed by the offender simply to gain its benefit.

Forgiveness allows the forgiver to heal, to move forward, to live life without a grudge, to not hold on to the devastating event as if it is now the basis of who they are – the driving force that defines their life and future. Forgiveness is the path to freedom from a life controlled by the sin of others.

But, for the offender, the forgiveness offered by others imparts no such freedom. The forgiven receives no inherent or automatic benefit of forgiveness offered. No wand is waived. No magic exists. Forgiveness exists, much like a gift. The one forgiven may see it and want it – but it is not theirs simply because it has been expressed and placed in a common space.

The abuser/offender only receives the benefit of forgiveness through the path of repentance evidenced in part, by godly sorrow. The only way that forgiveness granted influences forgiveness received is the awareness of its existence. The offender must still humble themselves or be humiliated into such sorrow. The offender must be repentant of their offense, honestly and sorrowfully so. This is the benefit to the offender. True, whole-hearted, sorrowful repentance is their path to the freedom from a life controlled by their own sin.

Forgiveness is the path to freedom from a life controlled by the sin of others. 

Repentance is the path to freedom from a life controlled by my own sin.

Here is the truth.

  • Should the offender never repent, the offended can still be free from the spiritual grudge-controlled life by forgiving.
  • Should the offended never forgive, the offender can still be free from the spiritual guilt of the offense by repentance.
  • They can both be free and never know of the other’s freedom.

Unfortunately in our media-driven world, these are areas that are only truly visible to the Author of forgiveness. No one can tell if forgiveness has truly been given – but the forgiver and Author will know, and that is sufficient for them. No one can truly know that the offender has sorrowfully and remorsefully repented. The repentant and Author will know, and that is sufficient for them. They both know that the Author of forgiveness (and repentance) knows.

For the rest of us – the observers of lives thrust into the public view, we should be careful to allow time and space for both forgiveness and repentance in lives that are not our own. Should we not, we are not far from the ocular plank (Matt 7:3-5). (It may well benefit us to realize that the media cares little about planks.)

And since words matter, “repentance” does not mean remorse, sorrow, apology, fear, sadness, or any other number of terms or adjectives that are in common understanding today. The Author of forgiveness says that repentance is a complete turnaround. The offender chooses to never offend again. Those hiding the offense choose to never hide the offense again. Those who believe that their actions and attitudes were normal (“That’s just who I am”), now believe those actions and attitudes to be abhorrent and vile. That is repentance. Expand that definition with “sorrowful” and “remorseful” and you will begin to understand what the Author of forgiveness has in mind.

Let’s bring that down to today’s news. Pastors and missionaries, missionary organizations, associational and state convention employees that commit or hide such abhorrent behavior need to repent. Without it, forgiveness from the assaulted is not yours, even if those assaulted have given it. They know it. You know it. And the Author of forgiveness knows it.

It matters little if your repentance is from your own volition, or if it comes from being outed to your shame. It matters little if anyone believes you have repented. The Author of forgiveness will know. And that is not only enough, but it is also all that really matters eternally. But on this earthly coil, it will not and should not alleviate consequences. It will not and should not by necessity, restore your reputation or relationships. But it will matter – to you and to the One to whom it should.

Free Curriculum!

Back in 2016, a good thing happened. Free curriculum, that due to its source, can be considered doctrinally safe and sound. What follows has nothing to do with the curriculum.

I am genuinely pleased that in our capitalistic culture, the time and effort was made to help student ministries the world over with meeting this need.

However, in reading the comments from the press release, “Youth curriculum debuts_ 6-year free resource”, by Michael Foust on Baptist Press (http://www.bpnews.net), I do have a concern that the stated goals will not be achieved – and it has nothing to do with the curriculum.

I know, appreciate, and applaud Richard Ross. As a student at Southwestern, I was privileged to have him lead a class when he was only an adjunct professor. He’s been around student ministry a little longer than I have.

I know him well enough to know that he would likely agree with at least some of what I share below.

In the press release, Ross is quoted as saying,

“Our broken culture, the millions of lost in the U.S, and the unreached people groups globally demand that we develop true disciples,” Ross told the Southern Baptist TEXAN, news journal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

“Yes, we need to offer biblical ministry to every teenager, regardless of spiritual condition or motivation,” Ross said.”But every church absolutely must offer a place where those select teenagers gather to truly become world-changing disciples. That is what we are missing today, and that is what we must begin to do — or all is lost.”

While everything Ross shared above is absolutely true, neither he nor I, have ever seen or used any curriculum that can accomplish this.

Candy Finch, one of the writers of the curriculum is quoted:

“While many churches are doing a great job of discipleship, the truth is that we are losing the majority of our young people,” Finch told the TEXAN.

I also agree with Finch’s statement, but we are not losing them due to the content and quality of our curriculum. We are losing them, in part, because we are depending on the curriculum to do what God has called us to do.

Churches that are doing a great job of Discipleship use their curriculum to support their discipleship efforts. Some may even strategically choose or write their own so that what happens in the classroom aligns with what is happening in life.

As a youth minister that was purpose driven before the book was written, I love Richard’s question,

“What is your plan for discipling your core teenagers for six years, from grades 7-12?” (And what about your adults?)

It would be best if your answer to this question was crafted to answer the question posed by Thom Rainer in Simple Church. In his discussion of the imaginary pastor of the imaginary Cross Church, this pastor’s dream was accomplished, in part, because he answered the question_ “What does a mature disciple look like?”

If you answer this question, and then build a ministry strategy that is designed to accomplish what you imagine, including the scope and sequence of your Bible Study, you have the best opportunity to develop that which you seek.

While I am extremely confident that Ross agrees that this plan must not depend solely on curriculum, the unintended consequence of the offer of free curriculum that promises… to make “teenage disciples who are fully prepared to disciple others — now and for a lifetime.” will not achieve the intended result.

Unless…

There are a couple of scenarios where this promise can be met.

Scenario 1: Maturity is characterized by the ability to follow curriculum.

Because experiential learning is a powerful method, it is likely that many students involved in six years of this study will be able to lead others through this study. That is a good thing. It is a really good thing if your definition of a disciple is someone who can lead others through a discipleship curriculum. If this is your definition, then the promise will be met.

You see, as Southern Baptists (speaking for myself) we’re really good at offering Bible Studies and believing that this simple fact means that we are making disciples. Bible Study = Discipleship. However, the facts don’t bear this out.

We’ve known for decades that a large percentage of students leave the church upon graduation. Many never return. Some return with then have children of their own. All of these students have been in Bible Study. Bible Study that, by and large, was led using some vetted and approved curriculum.

However, we’re now seeing the same thing happen with adults. There is a large number of formerly churched people in the United States that no longer want to be involved in church. It is one of the fastest growing segments of our culture. These people have been in Bible Study for years. Most also in a bible study that utilized some piece of curriculum.

And yet we are still seeing our churches close at a rate around 4000 a year. The curriculum will not fix this.

Scenario 2: Maturity is Characterized by Making Disciples (and the curriculum may only part of the process)

Andy Stanley, in his book Deep & Wide, makes the point that classes don’t …” create mature believers. Classes create smart believers.”

Again, experiential learning is a powerful method.

Discipleship is not the process of teaching others what you know, or – often in the case of curriculum – teaching others what you studied so that you could teach this week’s lesson. Discipleship is transferring what you experientially know to others so that they may know it experientially.

I’ve looked through some of the lessons in Disciple 6. Great topics. Valuable information. Anyone who purposefully goes through this material will certainly be smarter.

But, how powerful would your disciple-making process be if your students actually saw you witness well to Muslims so that when you lead them through Session Yellow 23, you and they share the life experience? This disciple-making would align with your study.

Discipleship is transferring what you experientially know to others so that they may know it experientially.

Don’t know any Muslims? Then how about Yellow Session 4 – “Defending the Faith in Society”. If your students only see you passionate about Christ inside the walls of your church, if they have never seen you “defend the faith in society”, you have lost opportunity to engage in disciple-making, regardless of which curriculum you use. But, if you were to purposefully place yourself, and those students you disciple, in situations where you – and they – can defend their faith in Society, how much more powerful would your Bible study be?

Smarter. Mature. Pick one.

What does a mature disciple look like? Create experiences and opportunities (outside of the church) for those you disciple to give them the best chance at getting there. Create experiences and align your Bible Study with those experiences.

Studying ministry is not experiencing ministry. Studying evangelism is not doing evangelism. The same can be said for (Spoiler Alert_ Discple6 topics ahead) Relationships, Ethics, Missions, Service, Prayer, Leadership, Worship, Stewardship.

Richard, to you and all of the authors, I thank you for this great work. To all who would use it, use it well, but don’t depend on it.

Making Pie

It’s called the Great Commission with reason. It’s not just a good commission. And it’s not just a great suggestion. 

It is the final instructions from Christ to His followers. All of His work up to this point was to accomplish our salvation and to prepare the messengers for the never-ending task of telling the story.

He said…

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

If your small group Bible Study needs a purpose beyond “being a small group” or “meeting weekly”, how about the Great Commission as a starting place?

Making Disciples is Like Making Pie

PIE:  You take some things that are not a pie, and you make them pie. If you follow the instructions (plan of baking), then some pretty bland things become some pretty sweet stuff.

DISCIPLES:  You take people that are not disciples and you make them disciples. If you follow the instructions (plan of salvation), some pretty bad things become pretty sweet spiritual stuff.

Contrary to popular opinion, making disciples is not making believers into stronger disciples. Jesus did not make a distinction between believers and disciples. In the New Testament era, they were the same thing. So, the “making of disciples” is actually evangelism – making those that are not disciples to be disciples. It is not telling believers how to be better. It is telling unbelievers how to believe.

The word them, refers to the disciples that are being made. Baptizing them, therefore, means that baptism is something that is done to those who have been evangelized.

Discipleship, as we call it in our culture, was important to Jesus as well. Once them have believed and been baptized, we should teach them to obey Jesus’ teachings. This certainly doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be teaching unbelievers as well. It simply means that the process is not complete at the point of salvation.

Many small group Bible studies don’t make disciples, don’t see new believers baptized, and the teaching very often boils down to believers discussing things they already believe, as espoused by the newest author or literature as assigned by their church.

Jesus wasn’t giving us a checklist as he left for home. He was telling us to be in the life-changing business:  lost lives saved, saved lives grown, grown lives multiplied. Are the lives of people in your Bible study group changing?  Lost lives saved, saved lives grown, grown lives multiplied?

Who Should Go?

In most churches, the Bible Study ministry is the single largest ministry organization in the church. It encompasses more people and includes such organization, that if this ministry is not part of the “going”, there very likely is no going at all.

Certainly, pastors should go. But even here, Jesus did not make a distinction between clergy and laity. Of the very ones who received the original commission, most were “unschooled, ordinary men” (Acts 4:13). If we were to draw parallels, would these have been the seminary trained among their peers?

Perhaps the Choir should go? Perhaps the Building and Grounds Committee or the Flower Committee should go? But then, aren’t the people in these ministries also in the Bible Study ministry?  Does it really matter what church label they wear in order to go?

Who is Them?

Let’s start with who they are not. They are not members of other churches. While this generalization certainly does not refer to those that are not yet disciples, the overwhelming number of “non-disciples” is not in any church. They are in the world.

Facts about Them:

  • Them don’t attend church
  • Them strangers are easier to go to than Them neighbors (See The Problem with My Neighbors)
  • There are tens of thousands more of Them strangers than there are of Them neighbors
  • Them will go to hell unless believers go well

How many families visit your church, move into your church field, have kids who attend your VBS and other children’s activities, and have youth that attend your youth functions?  Most of them are THEM.  The others have the Holy Spirit as a source and guide.  If these others are seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they will very often be led to a church that is GOING after THEM.

What Does GO Mean?

GO does not mean wait for Them to come in. It means going to get Them, wherever Them are, and bringing Them along with you. Bringing Them in happens during the 6.5 days a week that we are not at church. On Sunday morning, by default, the church is waiting for Them to come in.

Let’s Be Chicken

The Bible Study small group should see itself as an incubator:  warm, secure, nurturing, safe, etc. Within the incubator are the “unhatched” and “newly hatched”. It is the environment that facilitates healthy birth and the beginning of a new life. Newborns are nurtured and fed until they can take care of themselves. But – and I encourage you to get a mental picture here – how old are the chickens in YOUR incubator?  Seems silly doesn’t it, to invest in the resources to facilitate new and healthy births, and then let the newborns live, age and die as if they are, and will always be, babies. Are you still nurturing and feeding the fully grown?

When Christians discover God’s plan and will for their lives, the Holy Spirit is free to walk through this newly opened doorway to move them – change them – into what He desires. They will then be empowered to step out of the incubator and participate in the full life and fellowship of the “farm family.” Maturing believers run incubators, they don’t live in them.

This kind of life change – spiritual transformation – cannot be taught. It cannot be caught. It can only be facilitated.

So, perhaps Jesus meant this…

Therefore go get THEM, and make THEM disciples [from] all nations, baptizing THEM in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching THEM to obey everything I have commanded you.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  It’s hard to imagine that Jesus meant that He would be with us as we do our ministry without going after THEM, or study His Word without THEM new disciples and disciples-to-be.

Small group Bible study is a marvelous tool for accomplishing that to which all of us are called. God’s Word and relationships are the stuff of life change, and those are the key elements of any small group.

The Great Commission is a great purpose to consider for your small group. If you accept the commission, it may very well change what you do in your small group, but it will be a change for the better!

Try this exercise.  Dialogue with those in your Bible study about why Christians do or don’t go.  Write the reasons down.  Spend enough time at this so that all agree that the list is fairly comprehensive.  Then mark out all of the reasons that are not about THEM.

Perhaps that part about “everything He commanded” needs a little more attention.

Hancock, The Train, and Confirmation Bias

There’s this scene in the movie, Hancock. You know the one. It was one of those that just stunned you momentarily when you saw it. It’s still fun to watch today.

But it got me thinking about a declaration I’ve heard in many churches in which I’ve been involved.

Here’s a guy with all of the resources in the world to do whatever needs to be done, and he saves this one guy in less than stellar fashion. The crowd is up in arms. The damage that’s done to automobiles, the crushed train engine, the derailment of dozens of railroad cars, power lines, and what turns out to be the last remnant of Hancock’s reputation are overwhelming and devastating.

The crowd surrounds Hancock and yells that he could have simply picked the car up off of the train tracks and moved it out of the way. Not one of us would disagree with the crowd. He had plenty of time do this another way. Hancock, living with the sort of denial that psychologists refer to as “confirmation bias” argues with the crowd and levels personal, verbal attacks as a way of justifying what he did as acceptable. Though he didn’t say it exactly this way, his attitude is, “What’s your problem?  I saved his life, didn’t I? Wasn’t it worth it?”

I used to be a member of a mid-sized church that every year produced a major Christmas program as an outreach event. Here is the short list of statistics from the event several years ago:

  • $ 16,000 – and this was because they only had to upgrade software and equipment that they had purchased over the years as they built up this event.
  • 200,000 man-hours. Months of choir rehearsals, drama rehearsal, orchestra rehearsal, light and sound technicians, set and stage design and construction, publicity and promotion, break down and clean up. Add in the hours that soloists and actors spent on their own, learning their parts, and 200,000 man hours is a very conservative number.
  • 4 performances, involving approximately 175 participants, with an average attendance somewhere in the 800 range.
  • 5 response cards turned in.
  • 1 person reported accepting Christ (but this person also reported a re-commitment to Christ).

And then someone says it. “If we reach only one, it was worth it.”

Could we not have found some way, with all of those resources, to pick up that one person that needed saving without derailing thousands of dollars and hundreds of thousands of man-hours? Let me be clear: everyone is worth saving. However, I’m fairly confident that if it takes $16,000 and 200,000 man-hours to reach each person, the cause of Jesus Christ is lost.

This was not the first year, nor was it the last, that this church produced such a program. The program was driven by those that love music and drama. Calling it an outreach event gave it the spiritual justification it needed. The reality is that outreach did not happen. But having 3000 people attend the event made it easy to believe that outreach was happening, even though it wasn’t.

Raymond Nickerson, of Tufts University, defines Confirmation Bias:

Confirmation bias, as the term is typically used in the psychological literature, connotes the seeking or interpreting of evidence in ways that are partial to existing beliefs, expectations, or a hypothesis in hand. 


Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises”, copyright 1998 by the Educational Publishing Foundation

In other words, Confirmation Bias is the intentional or unintentional practice of ignoring or discounting any information that does not agree with what we already believe. This bias includes the desire to seek out and rationalize any information that will support what we do believe. (This is often the cause of proof-texting with scripture: taking passages out of context to “prove” a point or position.) Don’t confuse me with the facts… my mind is made up.

Something that often happens on this journey away from effectiveness is the subtle redefinition of effort. Somewhere along the way, this outreach event became a “gift to the community.” There was no change in effort, no change in expense – only the purpose changed. And it changed to match what was already happening. It changed from being “so that” people would be reached for Christ, into a gift for the community “because” that is what it had become. The encouragement to invite friends and family worked. However, the fact is, the longer one is a Christian, the more “Christian” is their circle of family and friends. We filled the house with believers. But because most of us did not know most of them, it felt like outreach.

In other situations, the word remains the same, but the meaning changes. “Outreach” too often is satisfied by events that draw other Christians to your church. Let me ask you to consider your pantry and your refrigerator. As the master of your home, if you were to take cheese, lettuce, and chicken out of your refrigerator and place them in your pantry, would you then look in your pantry and think (with the appropriate amount of Confirmation Bias), “Wow, I’ve got more food in my house now.”

Do we think that the Master is somehow fooled into thinking that He has more people in His house because someone has moved from The Reformed Refrigerator to Protestant Pantry? It’s not possible to reach out to those that are already reached. Confirmation Bias allows us to believe it is.

Now, here is the solution for Confirmation Bias.  Stop it. Just stop it. Stop deceiving yourself because of your bias for your own preferences, programs, personalities, and polity. If your church has a purpose statement, ask yourself and others:

  • Are we really doing this? No, really, really doing this? (In other words, is this really our purpose, or is it simply a statement in a frame, hung on a wall?)
  • How are we doing at this point in time?
  • What specific plans do we have to accomplish this purpose?
  • Will those plans really get us there?
  • What is my specific role?
  • Am I willing to do what is necessary?
  • What gifts has God placed in our body to help us accomplish His purpose?
  • How will we move our membership into alignment in this purpose?

And, equally important:

  • What are we doing that is working against this purpose? (For example, time, people, and resources are not unlimited.) In other words, what do we need to say “No” to, so that we have the time, people, and resources to say “Yes” to God’s purpose?
  • What barriers do we need to overcome?
  • What processes need to change?
  • What polity needs to change?
  • What programs need to change?

If your church does not have a purpose (statement), set about arriving at what God’s purpose for your church is, and then set a strategic plan in place to accomplish that which God has set for you to do. And please, let the facts confuse you. And let the wisdom of God bring clarity to your mind.

The Well-Trained Stay on Track

ontrack_03482I grew up with railroad tracks running behind my house. I cannot remember a time that I could go to sleep without hearing the clackity-clack of the wheels on the tracks, boxcar after boxcar rumbling by in the dark.

Some years ago, I lived even closer to the tracks in Colorado. They ran about thirty feet away from my home. They didn’t often run at night like they did in my old North Carolina home, but they did have some things in common.

  • No train ever moved without knowing where it was going. Those tracks are there for a reason.  Forward-thinking individuals envisioned destinations, planned the way, built the structure, cleared obstacles, and set in motion journey after journey that impacts the lives of thousands of people every day.
  • Except for the tragic, every train arrives at its destination. Unless a train goes off its tracks, hits an obstacle on the tracks, or runs out of fuel, it will arrive at its destination. It knows where it is going and how it will get there. It knows what potential problems may arise, and often where to expect them (we call them “railroad crossings”). And with apologies to an air conditioner company, “it’s hard to stop a train”.
  • Except for the dying, every train journeys toward a new destination. Sometimes, a train is put out of its misery. It has traveled hard and long, and repairs to make it functional are simply not worth the expense.  Otherwise, every train gets set on a new journey as soon as the present one is completed.

Churches could learn a lot from trains.

  • No church ever moved without knowing where it was going. Oh, there is the illusion of movement, but running in circles is not really going anywhere. It is not only possible, but it is Biblical for the leaders of a church to know where God wants them to go, if only for the current journey. It is possible to envision destinations, plan the way, build the structure, clear obstacles, and set in motion journey after journey that impacts the lives of thousands of people every day. The apostles did it following Jesus’ teaching, and the scripture reports that these unlearned men “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6, ASV). They knew where they were going, the followed a plan, built the church structure, cleared obstacles, and set in motion the journey that has resulted in generations of new disciples for Christ. However, in the United States, thousands of churches each year reach no one for Christ. Thousands each year reach one or two. These thousands and many thousands more reach people accidentally. There is no plan and no structure. But even running in circles tends to stir up the occasional accidental opportunity.
  • Except for tragedy, every church can arrive at its destination.  There really are only a few reasons why churches don’t arrive at God’s plan. And it is a tragedy when they don’t. Churches that are on track are not surprised by the occasional obstacle.  In fact, they have predicted it, planned for it, and deal with it appropriately. They know where they are going, how many resources it will take to arrive, and they have a plan to work these things together for that good journey. A church headed in God’s direction is hard to stop.  Unfortunately, it’s also hard to stop one that is running in circles.
  • Except for the dying, every church journeys toward a new destination. Sometimes, a church does run out of track. But unlike trains, churches don’t have to be “retired”.  Trains only have two choices: continue to new destinations or retire. Nobody wants a train that just sits on the tracks blocking traffic or runs in circles.  These are not the purpose of a train. Sitting and circles are really just the first stages of running out track.

The well-trained stay on track.