February 26, 2009

Success in Ministry

Posted by Doug under evangelism, meditations, ministry, suffering
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My twin brother, Mark, has always been a huge encouragement to me in my faith.  As a missionary in Japan, Mark understands what it means to do hard things in a hard place.  We often talk about the challenges of ministry and how we want to make a difference for the kingdom.  I love his challenge here:

Will you be faithful to your call, even when it seems fruitless?  Are you committed to Jesus and His glory in your ministry, and not towards numbers?  God is in charge of the results as long as we are simply obedient.

I recall my good friend and mentor as a college student, Jim Luebe, saying, “I just want to be a faithful laborer over time.”

That is my goal as well.

  • Read his entire post here
 

February 26, 2009

Home is a Small Group for Mission

Posted by Doug under children, discipleship, parenting, the church
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Home is the ultimate small group for growth and mission in this world.  Think about it.  Home life provides a context of discipleship unlike any other where parents serve as primary pastors to their children.  Mark Driscoll writes,

Because parents love their children the deepest, know them the best, and are with them the most, they are best suited to be a child’s primary pastor who gospels them, teaches them, loves them, prays for and with them, and reads Scripture to them.

I would only add that the home ought to be a place where parents model a missional life to their children.  But let’s be careful not to go too far with this idea of home as a small group.  Though it’s true that parents are the primary teachers and shepherds for their children, it doesn’t mean that the Church is secondary and unneeded.  On the contrary, our temporary, earthly family is part of a bigger, eternal church family that reinforces and supplements the biblical instruction we ought to be giving in the home.  Our home small group is not the church.  It is part of the church, indeed, part of the body that grows and adds members through it’s common mission.

 

February 24, 2009

Mark Driscoll’s Family Dinner Devotions

Posted by Doug under discipleship, family, parenting
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Mark Driscoll gives a realistic approach to doing family devotions at dinnertime: 

Step 1. Eat dinner with your entire family regularly.
Step 2. Mom and Dad sit next to one another to lead the family discussion.
Step 3. Open the meal by asking if there is anyone or anything to pray for.
Step 4. Someone opens in prayer and covers any requests. This task should be rotated among family members so that different people take turns learning to pray aloud.
Step 5. Start eating and discuss how everyone’s day went.
Step 6. Have a Bible in front of the parents in a translation that is age-appropriate for the kids’ reading level. Have someone (parent or child) open the Bible, and assign a portion to read aloud while everyone is eating and listening.
Step 7. Parents should note key words and themes in the passage and explain them to the kids on an age-appropriate level.
Step 8. Ask questions about the passage.  You may want to begin with having your children summarize what was read—retelling the story or passage outline.  Then, ask the following questions:  What does this passage teach us about God?  What does it say about us or about how God sees us?  What does it teach us about our relationships with others?
Step 9. Let the conversation happen naturally, listen carefully to the kids, let them answer the questions, and fill in whatever they miss or lovingly and gently correct whatever they get wrong so as to help them.
Step 10. If the Scriptures convict you of sin, repent as you need to your family, and share appropriately honest parts of your life story so the kids can see Jesus’ work in your life and your need for him too.  This demonstrates gospel humility to them.
Step 11. At the end of dinner, ask the kids if they have any questions for you.
Step 12. If you miss a night, or if conversation gets off track, or if your family occasionally just wants to talk about something else, don’t stress—it’s inevitable.

Adapted from “Family Dinner Bible Studies” by Mark Driscoll in Trial: 8 Witnesses from 1 & 2 Peter, a study guide. (Mars Hill Church, 2009), pages 69-70.

 

February 24, 2009

The Evil of Dish Washers

Posted by Doug under parenting, work
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Some thought provoking words about the evil of dish washers from Tim Chester:

1. Despite what all the adverts claim, they don’t wash as well. They mist over glasses and leave a soapy taste on things. We can all tell crockery, mugs and glasses that have been routinely washed in a dish washer.

2. They remove a great opportunity to train your children to serve. Doing the washing up is lesson 101 in serving others.

3. They remove a great opportunity for pastoral care. One person washing while another is drying is a great context for pastoral chats. It’s one-on-one. But you’re doing a task together so it’s not too intense. ‘How are you doing?’ ‘How’s your walk with God?’ Great questions to ask while your filling the washing up bowl. Or how about, ‘You know you wash up like a legalist’!

4. Dish washers guzzle electricity. Not as bad a tumble dryers (another evil and mostly unnecessary household appliance). So reduce global warming – and keep your hands beautiful and soft for free!

———————————————————————————————————————————————–

Agree/Disagree?  I don’t know about you, but this was one of my household chores as a kid and it not only provided a way to serve the rest of the family, it also opened up time to talk with my mom while she washed and I dried.  Likewise, for the first 6 years of our marriage, Jaime and I never had a dishwasher and we didn’t seem to mind.  But … I think we’re glad we got one now that we have 3 small kids!

 

February 23, 2009

Adoption as Cosmic and Missional

Posted by Doug under adoption, children, parenting
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Read Russell Moore’s thoughts on adoption as cosmic and missional here.  LBC members, don’t forget Dr. Moore will be our guest speaker this Sunday on the topic of adoption.  Please invite your family and friends.

 

February 23, 2009

What’s missing in our teaching?

Posted by Doug under discipleship, education, teaching
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True teaching aims at life change.  I can teach an amazing lesson complete with powerpoint and handouts, but if my students haven’t changed, then have I really taught?

Knowing full well that life change is impossible without God’s intervention, there are still some things that we as teachers must do.  I call it the M.I.A. (Missing in Action) as these 3 elements are often missing in our teaching:

  • Modeling – (ME) It starts with me.  The more I change, the more I can influence others to change.  I must become what I want my students to become.  Not a perfect example, but an authentic one.
  • Involvement — (WE) I must get my class involved in the learning process.  I must learn the art of asking good questions and become more of a leader than a lecturer.  Too much of our teaching is entirely too passive.
  • Accountability — (YOU & ME) When I’m done with my lesson, I’m not done.  I must create an intentional plan of action to be done outside the classroom.  Oftentimes, teachers feel the pressure to “get through the lesson” and leave out this important step.  But good teachers follow up with their students to see if they did what they were asked to do in an environment of humility and grace.

If you’re aiming at life change, look for ways you can build these three elements into your teaching, all the while depending on the Holy Spirit to do what you cannot do.

 

February 20, 2009

Digital Conversion

Posted by Doug under culture, news
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For those who haven’t yet seen this … it’s pretty funny.  Actually I can relate … my wife and I still have bunny ears on top of our T.V.!

 

February 20, 2009

Good leaders rely on others

Posted by Doug under leadership, meditations
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It’s hard for leaders to rely on others.  They like being on the pedestal and feeling responsible for everyone.  It makes them feel needed and important. 

In Exodus 18 we see Moses taking on too much in his role as judge over the people of Israel.  Good ole’ Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, rebukes him saying, “What you are doing is not good.  You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you.  You are not able to do it alone” (Exod. 18:18).

Leaders can’t do it alone.  That’s clear in this text.  God drove this point home to me even further in a book I’m reading called, Organic Leadership.  As a leader I’m not only going to wear myself out if I try to do it alone, I’m also enabling the irresponsible behavior of others.  Neil Cole says,

As long as leaders continue to fulfill all roles of responsibility, the others will not be able to do what God has called them to do.

Do you see what he’s saying?  The bottleneck in God’s work within a church if often it’s leaders.  We need to be reminded of this daily.  Moses did.  You see, the ironic thing about this story in Exodus 18 is that one chapter earlier God used Moses’ outstretched hands to conquer his enemies.  Whenever he held up his hands, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek prevailed (Exod. 17:11).  But Moses’ hands grew tired and weary and so he had to rely on Aaron and Hur to hold up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side, in order to defeat Amalek.

Perhaps we can learn from Moses and visualize ourselves on a battlefield.  Just like Moses we must rely on others to hold up our hands in order to move forward and do what God has called us to do.  And just like Moses we must look for “able men who fear God” to help bear the burden of leadership.  The result?  I’ll let good ole’ Jethro tell you.

If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.  ~ Exodus 18:23

 

February 18, 2009

The Recession — A Revealer of True Community

Posted by Doug under Community, suffering, the church
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Could it be that one of God’s purposes in this recession is to reveal whether we are living in true community with one another as Christians?

In Acts 4:32-33, the early church is described as having “one heart and one soul” and God’s “grace was upon them all.”  They were truly a gospel-centered community.  But the evidence of their community is shown in the next verse.  Verse 34 says,

There was not a needy person among them …

Wow.  According to this verse, one way to guage whether we’re living in true community is if anyone is needy in our body.  Jesus said that all people will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.  Loving one another includes sharing our money with those who are needy, perhaps those who have just lost their job.  Contrary to Cain’s response in Gen. 4, we are our brother’s keeper.  We all are connected to one another.  So, we of all people ought to hold onto our money and resources with an open hand and give to those who need it more than we do.

John Piper sums up the challenge of this recession with a word to the church:

[In these days ahead] God will test to see if we are a church or a club. 

  • Read Piper’s sermon, “What is the Recession for?”
 

February 17, 2009

A Community Reflecting the Trinity

Posted by Doug under Community, evangelism, meditations
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From creation to revelation we see that God is on mission.  His mission is to restore a broken humanity into a new community–a community that ultimately reflects the relationship he has with himself in the Trinity.   Tim Chester says,

In the church we are striving with the Spirit’s help to express the plurality and unity of God; to be the one and the many without comprimising either.

We are called as a community on earth to reflect the relationship God has with himself eternally.  We are a preview of heaven; and yet our community is not yet completed.  We are on a mission to bring others into this community, and the way we do that is through our common relationship and partnership in the gospel.

Relationship

When we gave our lives to Jesus we were immediately brought into the family of God.  We have one Father who unites us together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Within the framework of this family we are called to do life together.  We are called to live out the many “one anothers” of Scripture because of our common relationship in Christ.  This relationship is a picture of the relationship God has within the Trinity.

Partnership

When we gave our lives to Jesus, we were immediately joined to Jesus and to each other.  Just like a body we are connected to each other.  Romans 12::5 says, “In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”  The purpose of this partnership is to first build up the body in love (Eph. 4:16) and then promote the gospel to the world (Mt. 5:16).  In so doing, we will reflect the beauty, the unity and diversity of the Trinity.

What does this look like practically?

It means that we stop thinking of our community as merely a horizantal, social activity.  Rather we should start thinking of our community as a vertical, reflection of the Trinity.  We are a living drama of the divine community!  That means that when we’re worshiping together, serving together, or even hanging out together, we are imaging forth the relational nature of God’s being.   We are giving the world a snapshot of heaven–indeed, a snapshot of our heavenly King.  What a joy it should be for us to live under the good rule and reign of King Jesus.  And this joy and love should be seen in our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces.  We must make the invisible Trinity visible through our community!

A Daunting Task?

Becoming a community who reflects the love of the Trinity seems like a daunting task for the church today.  It’s very similar to a husband and wife being told that their marriage is a living picture of Christ’s relationship with the church.  Daunting, indeed!  It should bring me to my knees in prayer … all the while remembering Jesus’ prayer for the church in John 17:21.

that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  

  • Read Tim Chester’s great article, “The Trinity and Humanity”
  • Read Total Church, by Chester and Timmis
 

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