Denny Burk recently posted on his blog highlighting an interesting new book called “Pornland: How Porn has Hijacked our Sexuality.” The interesting fact about this book’s publication is that the author is Gail Dines, a noted and renowned feminist. Here’s a quote that Dr. Burk pulled from the book:

“We are now bringing up a generation of boys on cruel, violent porn, and given what we know about how images affect people, this is going to have a profound influence on their sexuality, behaviour and attitudes towards women.”

And one that describes the idea behind the book:

“The book documents the recent history of porn, including the technological shifts that have made it accessible on mobile phones, videogames and laptops. According to Dines’s research the prevalence of porn means that men are becoming desensitised to it, and are therefore seeking out ever harsher, more violent and degrading images.”

Burk says, “On every other issue, Gail Dines and I would probably be on opposite sides, but not on this one. She argues that pornography is not an expression of sexual liberation but an instrument of degradation. Pornography corrupts everyone it touches.”

My wife is acquaintances with someone who works for the Pink Cross. This group is ran by Shelley Luben, a former porn star who was overtaken by God’s grace and now serves as a missionary to the pornographic mission field. Their “tag” line is “Where addicts [of porn] find healing and porn stars find hope.” Their site offers the honest facts (and so, I do caution some from seeking it out) about the brutality and dehumanization that is inherent in the porn industry. The reality is that the physical health risks of disease including AIDS and other STDs are merely the beginning—there are also innumerable stories of physical and emotional violence and barbarianism. All of this to say nothing of the spiritual darkness and abuse.

That feminism championed pornography as sexual liberation for years only serves to show their inconsistency. Porn stands as a testament to everything the best form of feminism stands against—inequality of the sexes and the abuse and humiliating domination of women.

However, the issue goes far deeper than social mores and sociological equality, though I firmly believe that men and women are equal in worth and respect, and believe that those things should be fought for. The issue is theological. The belief that men and women are God’s image-bearers, and thus where we receive such value and worth, means that pornography is doubly destructive. It is destructive in the lives of those who are involved in porn, including the actors and filmmakers themselves and those who are addicted. At the same time, it is destructive against God’s reign and rule, a cosmic rebellion against the way God has created things to be.

Therefore, the issue of pornography is not about some stuffy religious view of sex. It can’t be. God created sex to enjoyed, even enjoyed beyond our expectations. Pornography is, of course, still outside the bounds that God has set up for that enjoyment, but that is another post. No, the issue is deeper than views on sex. It is a gospel issue. Pornography is degrading to the image of God in people, and the abuses suffered in the industry are artifacts of a world that is unbearably broken. It is only through the gospel that people become truly human (that is, to become what humanity was meant to be), and it is only through the gospel that the sinfulness of this world was, and will be, broken.

On the cross, Jesus not only took the brunt of God’s wrath on our sinfulness (yes, including sex outside of God’s boundaries for it), but also the weight of cosmic brokenness, so that through him, we could be forgiven of our sins, but also through him, everything that is broken and wrong in this world could, and would, be made right.

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Those who are interested in such ministries to porn stars and addicts can check out:
The Pink Cross
X3 Church
Warning: Discretion advised. These sites contain frank discussions on what goes on behind the scenes in the industry. I have not looked over every part of either site, and so I cannot fully endorse them. Consider yourself warned.

This summer has been a summer of ecclesiology (the study of the church). I’ve been reading a variety of books in order to strengthen some convictions about how to “do” and “be” the church, particularly in light of wanting to church plant in a few years. Here’s the list of books I’ve read this summer (the first book was actually read earlier this year, but I added it to the list anyways).

1. Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional
by Jim Belcher
2. The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church
by Alan Hirsch
3. Exploring Ecclesiology: An Evangelical and Ecumenical Introduction
by Brad Harper and Paul Metzger
4. When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus’ Vision for Authentic Christian Community
by Joseph Hellerman
5. Planting Missional Churches
by Ed Stetzer
6. The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel
by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander
7. The Transforming Community
by Mark Lauterbach
8. 12 Challenges Churches Face
by Mark Dever
9. The Church
by Edmund P. Clowney

As you can see, there is some variety in the list which contains authors from the emerging and missional end of the spectrum to Baptists and Presbyterians. The majority (all?) of this list happen to be staunchly in the Reformed camp, so there’s not as much variety there. Basically, I read the books on the church that I already owned in an attempt to whittle down my “to-read” list.

What books on the church would you recommend and why? If you know the tradition the authors come from, let me know. Feel free to leave any suggestion, from any tradition. Leave your suggestions in the comments. Thanks!

No, not in a van, but a friend’s boat. Here are some shots from a wonderful summer evening. The pictures were taken with the FxCamera app on my phone.

Location: Ohio River, Louisville, Ky

See other posts dealing with ecclesiology: rhythms of the church.

This post will bring to an end our series on the foundation of mission. The foundation of mission is God himself–He is the first missionary, revealing himself and his promises of salvation to sinful people. Then God in Jesus was sent into sinful human culture as fully man and fully God, to live our life and die our death in order to win and guarantee salvation for whoever will believe and trust in his work, and repent of their sins. So how is this salvation actualized in people’s lives? God sends.

God sends us
The end of the last post focused on the idea that as Jesus had been sent by the Father, so we are sent into the world (John 17:18, 20; John 20:21). The church is charged to go for the purposes of making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them all that Jesus said and did (Matt 28:18-20).

That the church continues the mission of God as accomplished in Jesus can be seen in Paul’s metaphor of the church as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12-14; Col 1:24; Ephesians 1:22-23; Eph 4:11-12;). Paul uses this metaphor in a variety of ways, but the common theme that lays behind it’s use is the idea of union and identification. Christians, through the gospel, are unified with and identified in Christ, so that his life becomes their life, his death becomes their death, his inheritance becomes their inheritance, and his mission becomes their mission.

But we cannot accomplish this mission by our own power. To paraphrase Paul, “We plant, others water, but it is God who brings the increase” (1 Cor 3.6). So God the Father and God the Son sends God the Holy Spirit.

God Sends the Holy Spirit
Jesus promised his disciples, “the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). Later, he again stressed this promised coming, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). The purpose of sending the Spirit, in regards to mission, seems three-fold.

To Empower the Body for Mission
First, the Spirit empowers the body of Christ for mission. The beginning chapters of Acts details Jesus’ final hours with the disciples before his resurrection. The last charge he gave was to wait for the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, 8). The reason they are to wait on the gift of the Holy Spirit is so that they “will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It is the power of the Holy Spirit that will empower them for their mission. The fulfillment of this is in the very next chapter in the coming of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost. Immediately, the disciple began proclaiming the gospel in various languages, culminating in the once timid Peter preaching the first sermon.

Obviously, Pentecost was a one-time transitional event. So where does that leave us today? The Spirit of Pentecost is the same Spirit that works in the body of Christ now. In 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Paul directly equates the work of the Spirit in giving gifts to the unity of the body. The same connection between the use of spiritual gifts and the unity of the church as Christ’s body is given in Romans 15:3-8 and Ephesians 4:7-13. We can’t ignore that this discussion is primarily inwardly focused to the body, but in each the inward focus is for edification and equipping the body to function in it’s calling. Part of this calling is the mission that Christ has called us to—the calling to reach the nations with the beauty and glory of God as Savior. The Spirit empowers the church for mission.

To Convict the World of Sin
Second, the Spirit is instrumental in convicting the unbelieving world of their sin, and calling them to repentance. “I will send [the Holy Spirit] to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:7-8). Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that the gospel is foolish to unbelievers, and that no amount of persuasion can save anyone. It is the work of God the Holy Spirit to bring a realization of our need for a savior upon hearing the gospel.

This is good news! This means that we don’t have to be paralyzed with fear when trying to share the gospel. This doesn’t mean we don’t have to share the gospel (Romans 10:14-15), nor that we don’t try to persuade (Paul uses this very word 2 Corinthians 5:11), but it does mean that the outcome is on God and not our ability.

To Change Sinful Hearts
Third, the Holy Spirit appears to be the agent of change that allows sinful people to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus explains salvation to Nicodemus in terms of being “born again,” or what theologians call “regeneration.” When Nicodemus fails to understand this Jesus says:

“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8

Though many people seem equally confused by this teaching, Jesus seems frustrated that Nicodemus continues to not understand, since he is a “teacher of Israel” (v. 10). The reason for this is that Jesus is alluding back to Ezekiel 36, Scripture that Nicodemus should be familiar with. Ezekiel is prophesying about the coming of the new age, brought about by the Messiah, which is marked by a return to faith by God’s people, a cleansing by water, and the work of the Spirit to change stone hearts to living hearts:

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:25-26

Jesus is telling Nicodemus that this new age of salvation has arrived in Himself, and that the Spirit is working in bringing people, both Jew and Non-Jew, to faith in God. This is the time that we now live in, and the time in which we are called by God to go out and continue to proclaim the message of God’s Kingdom and the forgiveness of sins to the nations.

God Sends Us, Empowered by the Spirit
God has built the foundation of mission on Himself. More than that, He continues to work mission out as He goes with us to, and empowers us for, taking the gospel the ends of the earth. Mission is thus initiated by God, embodied by God, and empowered by God, all for the glory of God.

See other posts dealing with ecclesiology: rhythms of the church.

So far, in this series we have seen how God has initiated mission revealing himself to sinful people, and how he has revealed promises for redemption in that revelation—both of which are missionary acts. In this third post of four, we will see the fulfillment of those promises in Jesus as we look at how God embodied mission, literally and metaphorically, by coming and taking a human nature as God’s sent missionary.

The Gospel of John: Jesus the Missionary
John 1 is a well known passage of Scripture that teaches us about just who Jesus is. There is a beautiful mystery contained within this passage: That the Word was both with God, and was himself God, and that this God-Word came to earth and added a human nature to his divine nature. That the Word was with God and was God is a doctrine known as the trinity. It states that God is three persons in one being. This is a Christian-specific doctrine that affirms that there is both only one God, and that the one God exists in three persons who fully share in the same nature and essence. That the second person of the trinity, the God-Word, became human and added a human nature to his divine nature (and thus becoming the God-Man) is a doctrine known as the incarnation.

But why did the God-Word become the God-Man? The reoccurring answer in the Gospel of John is that Jesus was sent by God the Father with a mission. This affirmation comes mostly from the words of Jesus himself (see John 6:38, 7:16, 8:18, 17:18; and 20:21). God as Jesus came to cross the infinite divide between God and people because he was sent by God the Father. In other words, Jesus was acting as a missionary. Jesus was sent with the message of redemption and reconciliation of sinful people to a holy God, and it was God himself who brought that message. So how did God embody mission? The incarnation.

The Incarnation
The word “incarnation” comes from the latin prefix “in” (meaning “in,” go figure) and the root word “carn,” which means flesh. So incarnation means “in the flesh,” and refers to the God-Word being born and taking on human flesh, i.e., becoming fully human. This incarnation is what we celebrate during Advent and Christmas—God in Jesus became human in order to save sinful humanity. This is how Jesus embodies mission—both literally and metaphorically: He embodied mission literally by taking on a human body. He did so metaphorically by being the perfect missionary, coming into a culture and a context, and proclaiming the message of God’s kingdom coming, its access through repentance, and the formulation of a new community. As we will see, this is the same message that we as the church are sent out to proclaim as well.

But why the incarnation? Without the incarnation, humanity would be left in their sin, and under God’s judgment. There would be no reconciliation apart from the incarnation. An early church theologian named Anselm explains: sinful man needed their sins paid for by a sinless offering. Thus, in order to save people from their sins, Jesus needed to come as fully human to be a proper substitute for sinful people, but he also needed to be fully God in order to overcome the sinfulness of humanity to be a pure offering.

This is what all of the promises of the Old Testament were pointing to. That God would crush the head of the serpent, and bring blessings to the nations. God conquered sin by defeating it in his Son on the cross, allowing entrance into God’s kingdom through his grace by faith and repentance. This is the missionary message brought by the God-sent Jesus (see Mark 1:14-15).

As Jesus was sent, so are we.
In what theologians call the “high priestly prayer” (John 17), Jesus says “As you [Father] have sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world…my prayer is not for [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message” (vv. 18, 20). At the end of John, Jesus again tells his disciples, representing the church, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).

It’s clear that we, as the body of Christ, have been sent with the mission of Christ. This is the foundation of “missional” mission—to go into the various people groups and cultures as Jesus was sent into this world, and proclaim the same message of salvation to all who will hear, repent, and believe. We continue the mission of God.

But this mission of crossing streets, social boundaries, and cultures to proclaim the Gospel is not a mission that we can do in our own strength. In the next, and final, installment of this series, we will look at how God empowers us for mission.

Next: God Sends — God Empowers Mission

See other posts dealing with ecclesiology: rhythms of the church.

As some of you know, my hope after finishing my seminary degree is to plant a church. Though I’m still a few years out from planting (God willing), I am taking this summer to lay down some foundational work, including vision, values, and so forth. My hope is to be trained and sent by the church I’m a member of, Sojourn Community Church, and there will be definite points of contact between the vision, values, and identity that our plant will have with Sojourn. One of those points of contact is in the shared identity of being a family. Sojourn’s website has this to say under their “Who we are” section:

Family — We are children of God who live and care for each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Our primary expression of this as a church is our Group Life. (Genesis 12:1-3; John 1:12-13; Romans 12:10-16)

I’ve decided to do a lot of reading on ecclesiology this summer. Ecclesiology is, basically, the study of how we “do” church. As a potential church planter, I want to have some informed convictions on how to do church, hence my reading. I recently started reading an excellent (so far!) book called When the Church Was a Family: Recapturing Jesus’ Vision for Authentic Christian Community by Joseph H Hellerman, which was given out for free at this years’ Band of Bloggers Conference (Thanks to Tim Brister!).

In his book, Hellerman looks at the Mediterranean culture at the time of the Israelites, during the first century, and contemporary to show that the individual’s family was the primary priority in one’s life, and that the strongest bond within that family is the blood bond between siblings. This blood bond would be given priority over the bond between parents and children, and even between husband and wife!

Hellerman’s purpose is not to appraise this practice as God’s intention for priority, as he states specifically. Instead, his intention is to show the social world that gave birth to some of the Church’s language used, in order to show it’s importance. For this post, let’s assume the argument and pull out a couple observations.

1. This understanding sheds light on Jesus’ rejection by his siblings
Even without knowing that such a strong bond existed between siblings, Jesus’ rejection by his siblings is heartbreaking. The very people that he grew up with, that knew him best, and worked alongside him in their father’s business, rejected his claims to identity. True, they were also half-brothers, but there was a blood relation none-the-less. Perhaps, the thought of being half-brothers even played into their rejection. Regardless, within the social strata of the time, what was supposed to be the strongest bond for people was smashed for Jesus in his humanity.

2. This understanding sheds light on Jesus’ teaching about leaving family behind
In Mark 2:31-34, there’s a surprising scene where Jesus is teaching, and someone approaches him to tell him that his mothers and brothers had arrived. His response? “Who are my mother and my brothers? [These here with me] are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” How utterly surprising this would have been to hear! The unity and bond given by a sharing in the Spirit of God is stronger than the bond between siblings. This is important for the next observation.

3. This understanding sheds light on the Church’s use of “brother” and “sister.”
This is the point that Hellerman brings up specifically. What does it mean, in light of what we know, that one of the primary ways of relating to one another is that of family, and specifically as brothers and sisters? Well, again, let me reiterate with Hellerman, that this is not a commentary on how we should relate as actual family, but how we act as the family of God. Our loyalty to one another should surpass the relationships of those outside the church.

This identity of brother-and-sisterhood is born out of the work of the Spirit, who applies Christ’s redemptive work to us, resulting in our adoption as God’s children. This is why adoption is part of the heart of Paul’s hope—being adopted gives us access to God as father, guarantees a sharing in the inheritance of Jesus, and gives us an indissoluble bond with each other.

See other posts dealing with ecclesiology: rhythms of the church.

In the last post, we saw how God initiated mission through his self revelation. In this post, we begin to see how God initiates mission through promises revealed in his self revelation. We’ll look at two of them from the book of Genesis: The promise to Adam and Eve, and the promise to Abraham.

Genesis
Adam and Eve

The first place we see God’s mission is right after the Fall, the time when sin entered and wrecked this world because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion. Immediately after their rebellion, God steps into the garden and seeks out the sinners. Genesis 3:8-9:

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

This question from the lips of God has puzzled many. If God knows everything, wouldn’t God know where Adam was? The answer becomes clear when we realize that God’s question wasn’t asked in order to gain some new knowledge, but rather it is God’s way of offering redemption. When God asked Adam where he was, he was giving Adam a chance to confess, to repent. While God would have been in the right to simply squash Adam and his wife Eve right then and there, he instead goes to them with an offer of forgiveness and extends grace to them. Already, God is on mission.

Even in his judgment, God continues to pursue mission. In Genesis 3:15, God calls down his curse on the serpent. This verse is called the “first proclamation of the gospel” by theologians, because they see the gospel here in seed form (pun not intended):

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

Implicit in this promise is the idea that there will be a return to Eden, the place where our first parents had just been exiled out of when they rebelled. This would mean a return to a full relationship with God himself, as well as the harmony and peace that existed between God, man, and creation in all areas as was God’s original intent. The exodus back into the garden would mean the destruction of sin once and for all. God was promising that he would somehow conquer sin and bring his people back into relationship with himself.

Abraham

In Genesis 12 we see another high point in the Mission of God, as he calls Abram (=Abraham) out of a pagan culture in order to start a representative nation. As we go through Genesis, we see that this calling comes just after (narratively) the tower of Babel fiasco. The nations have fallen into sinful disarray (again), and so God reaches into the mass of sinful humanity and calls Abram to be a new point in his redemptive agenda. He sends (note: the root of mission means “send”) Abraham out of his country in order to start a new nation (12:1). God has an interesting reason for doing so:

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3

Sure, God has Abraham’s own blessing in mind, but the scope of this blessing is much greater than Abraham himself, and even greater than the promised nation he would start. Twice God mentions that the final outcome of this redemptive plan would be the blessing of other nations. The first time it’s promised is in a general way, (“you will be a blessing”) but the second time God is very explicit (“and all the people on earth will be blessed through you”).

Of course, Abraham wouldn’t know the details of how God would bless the world through him. He did, however, have the promises that God made to Adam and Eve about a return to Eden, as well as the promise made to Noah about redemption and creation. We know, however, from the fullness of God’s revelatory word how God has and is accomplishing the fulfillment of his promises: the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus
The entire Old Testament points back to these promises, and points forward to their fulfillment in Jesus. Jesus is the one who crushes the head of the serpent, opens up the exodus into the promised land, and serves as the true seed of Abraham, allowing us to be co-heirs through faith. So, in order to understand mission, we should look at how Jesus accomplishes this.

Next: God Comes — God Embodies Mission

See other posts dealing with ecclesiology: rhythms of the church.

Mission
What is Christian mission? There is, as with all things theological, lots of debate over how to define “mission”, but for all the confusion of textbooks you can generally point to Christian mission when you see it. For our sake, “mission” is the work done to point others to God’s work of redemption in Jesus Christ, however else we nuance it.

So what is the foundation of Christian mission? Many would point to Matthew 28:18-20, a section of Scripture known as the “Great Commission.” In this scripture, Jesus gives his final commandment to his followers: “go to all the nations, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them everything I’ve taught you.”

Seems easy enough, at least in theory if not practice.

But “missions” goes much deeper than that. In order to understand the Great Commission, we must understand the one who gives us the commission. We must realize that we have a God who initiates Mission, embodies mission, and empowers for mission. God initiates mission first by revealing himself to sinful man.

God is the First Missionary
How do we know about God to begin with?

Quite simply, we know God exists because He has revealed knowledge of Himself to us. This self revealing occurs in two ways. The first is commonly called “general revelation” while the second is called “special revelation.” I’ll explain the terms according to how I believe they work in line with historic Christian exclusivity (which means that I think salvation comes through Christ alone through the proclamation of the Christian gospel).

General revelation is what God reveals about himself through his world. For example, Psalm 19:1 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” We know from creation that God exists, that he is glorious, and that there is such things as “right” and “wrong.” We can say perhaps that general revelation gives us a framework for understanding God, but little-to-no detail.

Special revelation gives us the details that we miss in general revelation. As the name implies, special revelation is what God has specifically and specially revealed about himself through his word. This includes his spoken word, his written word (the Bible), and his eternal word (Jesus, second person of the trinity). Special revelation gives us knowledge of who God is, what he demands and desires, knowledge about salvation and redemption, and more.

What does Revelation tell us about God’s Mission?

Revelation shows us God’s missionary heart, because revealing himself to sinful man is a missional act. Through general and special revelation, we see that God is acting as the first missionary, reaching across the God/human divide in order to redeem sinful humanity. Mission springs from God’s nature.

Indeed, the entire story of the Bible (Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration) is a narrative of God’s missionary work. Theologians call the substance of this narrative the missio Dei, which is a fancy way of saying “The Mission of God.” The Mission of the Church (fancy term: missio ecclesiae) springs out of the Mission of God. In the next post we’ll look at how God continues to initiate mission in the early sections of the book of Genesis.

Next: God Promises — God Initiates Mission part 2
In this series:
1. God Reveals — God Initiates Mission part 1
2. God Promises — God Initiates Mission part 2
3. God Comes — God Embodies Mission
4. God Sends — God Empowers for Mission

See other posts dealing with ecclesiology: rhythms of the church.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Everyone is a disciple of something.

Christian Discipleship
The last command that Jesus gave his disciples was to go out into the world and make more disciples by announcing the good news that “Jesus is Lord,” and calling others to join in making that confession. Unfortunately, we tend to miss how radical it is to make that confession and turn it into merely a decision for or against Jesus.

Obviously, becoming a disciple of Jesus is a decision. In fact, the proclamation of the Gospel demands a decision. The Gospel doesn’t allow for fence-sitters. But it’s not simply a decision. It is a reorientation of life, a movement from one kingdom into another, a commitment to God and community. It’s a confession that reality has been radically altered by God coming into history, our cosmic rebellion against God, and of God’s loving pursuit and sacrifice on our behalf. It’s a confession that we must realign ourselves away from our own kingdoms and towards the true King. And finally, discipleship is living in light of our confession.

The confession “Jesus is Lord” reveals a reorientation of identity, purpose, meaning, and community. Our identity is “crucified with Christ,” “righteous,” “just,” and “God’s son or daughter.” Our purpose is to glorify God in all that we do. Our meaning in life is to be God’s ambassadors. And our community is the family and body of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus as the cornerstone. These things must fundamentally be reoriented when one makes the confession that “Jesus is Lord,” because being “Lord” means being “ruler over all things.” Identity et. al. included.

The Problem Is…
However, as I said everyone is a disciple of something. The problem is that not everyone is a disciple of Jesus. This means, of course, that those who do not confess Christ confess something else as Lord.

It also means that they find their identity, purpose, meaning, and community in something else. In the first century, it was easy to see what and who others were a disciple of—”Caeser is Lord!” Their confession was just as vocal as the Christians’. Today, we rarely hear anything along the lines of “_______ is Lord.” Our discipleship is much more subtle. In our culture, discipleship is consumer-driven.

Alan Hirsch, in his book The Forgotten Ways, says:

“An advertising executive recently confessed to me that the are now deliberately stepping into the void that was left by the removal of Christianity from Western culture. Much of that which goes on by the name of advertising is an explicit offer of a sense of identity, meaning, purpose, and community.” (pg 107)

This confession is telling. Just think of how we evangelize the products and goods we love. How many times have you told your friends about your favorite restaurants? Lord help you if you get caught between an apple fanboy and a windows fanboy duking it out over who is best. Republican versus Democrat? Forget about it. Green movement? Enough said.

So Down with Captialism, Comrade?
Ok, now listen. I’m not being anti-capitalism here. I’m writing this blog entry on my macbook. The point is fundamentally deeper than that.

Everyone is a disciple of something. It may be a product or company, a political movement, or some fad. People find their identities, build their communities, find their purpose, and derive their meaning in these things (whatever they may be).

The Christian, on the other hand, is a disciple of Christ with all that it entails. If Jesus is Lord, that mean he rules over every aspect of the Christian’s life. Are we being people whose lives are ruled by Jesus when we use the products we buy? Or when we enter the communities built around our jobs or social circles, or movements? In both the private and public sphere? That is being a disciple—”being” a confessional Christian in all aspects of life.

The puppet-kings that beg for our allegiance are able to do so because they fill the voids of discipleship that Western Christianity has forgotten.

Jesus is Lord.
You see, discipleship in our time (beware: blanket statement follows) is generally nothing more than accountability and theology. Accountability and theology are good things. Great things. Integral things. But they are not all of discipleship. To be a disciple of Jesus is to claim that he is Lord over all of life, not just our accountability and theology. Discipleship is to bring all of our life under the Lordship and reign of Christ.

But what of identity, purpose, meaning, and community? When these are not aspects of discipleship, everything else vies to fill those voids. And advertising recognizes those yearnings and attempts to feed them.

So what do we say to those who do not confess “Jesus is Lord?” And what do we say to ourselves when we who do confess such live in a way that is contra our confession? I think we say the same thing to both situations: “Look to the cross, put your faith in the King, trust in his promises.”

Paperback: 278 pages
Publisher: IVP Academic (September 30, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0830838538
ISBN-13: 978-0830838530
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches

Thanks to IV Press for sending me a free review copy. Their generosity in no way effects my review.

This past semester was spent reading several books on preaching for my class on, well, preaching. Inevitably, some were better than others, and each had positives and negatives. While some were great and some were ok, none of them earn my top spot for books on preaching. That position is held by the book looked at in this review, The Glory of Preaching: Participating In God’s Transformation of the World by Darrell Johnson.

In The Glory of Preaching, Johnson pictures preaching as “participation.” The author chooses the idea of participation for two reasons: first, the gospel is the announcement that, because of what Christ has already accomplished, “he can, and does, invite us to participate in his life,” and second, “the burdern for the success of preaching rests on…Jesus’ shoulders” (pp. 11-12). “What makes preaching work,” says Johnson, “is [Jesus], who, by his Spirit, is at work in and with the text, in and with the preacher, in and with the listeners” (p. 12).
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