Missional: Attacking the Static- Part 3

Part 3- Missional Discipleship

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires (2 Peter 1:2-4)”.

Discipleship is vital in every aspect of the mission. There are various "goodwill" organizations and ministries which are characterized by doing good works and not so much as being or becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. Good works are demonstrated through a Christian’s life but not everyone who does good works is on mission for Jesus Christ or as the above verse illustrates; participating in the divine nature. In this blog I would like to explain proper discipleship because it is the disciples who are the arms and legs of the body of Christ and living out the incarnation (which we explained in part 2) and through that exact mission- disciples are born.

"The Church is nothing but a section of humanity in which Christ has really taken form"- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Understanding the Biblical story we know that the history of mankind is explained through the fall of Adam- man had chosen his own will over the will of God and has suffered in his fallen nature ever since. Christianity is the offer to restore what was lost in Adam (the image of God, the presence of God, the access to the tree of life, etc.) which is done by dying to ourselves and becoming alive in Christ (Ephesians chapter 2; Galatians 2:20). As was said in the book, Untamed by Alan Hirsch :

"At the very beginning of following Jesus, we are all called to be un-dragoned by repenting, dying to our fallen selves, and surrendering our identities and purposes to the Lordship of Jesus..".

Soren Kierkegaard coined the term contemporaneousness which meant that within the mind and life of a Christian, Jesus Christ must be a "living reality, seen through the eyes of faith, and contemporaneous with each generation. His reality must be such that it transcends both time and space". As it was further spoken that this is done through a conscious and responsible effort to reach beyond church tradition, inherited presuppositions, and encounter Jesus for who he was to the eyewitnesses...and "in that painful tension of the dilemma; make his own choice as to whether Jesus is the God-man who has absolute claim to his life or a madman who should be avoided at all costs".

The prevailing problem today is that most who call themselves are not acting a disciples of Christ, dare I even say they act as half-hearted converts. Most of this is done through a seemingly dumbing-down process which creates a zeal without knowledge. Consider how many so-called Christians cannot clearly explain the gospel (as is the narrative of the Scriptures, not the emotional. How is this so? This zeal without knowledge is what has taking a stronghold over popular Christianity and therefore disables true disciples of Christ engaged in a reality of Him which would be true missional living. As it has been clearly stated "...ignorance of Jesus by those who claim His name is toxic to both the believer as well as those around him or her".

"If you conception of God is radically false, then the more devout you are, the worse it will be for you. You are opening your soul to be molded by something else. You had better be an atheist"- William Temple

As I have grown in the knowledge of God, which has been quite the journey, I have struggled with what exactly being a disciple of Christ means today in modern society. Should we sell everything and follow Him as the disciples did, should we seek to be persecuted, WHAT SHOULD WE DO? Studying history of Christianity, along with experimenting with monasticism, homelessness, and various other concepts I have realized the truth of the following statement:

“To be a follower of Christ does not mean to imitate literally but to express him through the medium of one's own life. A Christian is no unnatural reproduction of Christ...The task of the Christian consists of transposing Christ into the stuff of his own daily life"- Romano Guardini

Unfortunately, today the prevailing thought of living a Christian life seems like a holiness exercise. Think about it, every Bible study, every discussion, somehow, someone brings up sin. I thought sin was defeated? (Romans chapters 3, 5 & 6; Hebrews 2; John 1:12; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:1-2; Revelation 1:5-6). Ever since (and before) I became a Christian I have had discussions, debates, and confrontations with those in Christ and those outside Christ regarding sin- it seems everyone is just “stuck on stupid” when it comes to grace and the righteousness of Christ. It took a while for me to figure this out, but through study, observation, and constant prayers with God I realized- the Christian communities emphasis on sin is actually a cop-out of our larger responsibility to be set on fire to live and do the will of God. It has always been easier to doubt, fear, hate, and ostracize people and other aspects of life rather than to believe, have faith, and show love.

Recently, I went to an event called Man up. The conference called men to begin living Biblically by becoming more like Jesus Christ. I started to think about a conversation my girlfriend Quanti and I had with a fellow Christian concerning his preoccupation with sin. Quanti strictly told him “it’s about doing the things He did, not doing the things He didn’t do”. Our religious spirit clings to the concept of sin and makes us look at others in a way of judgment and keeps us personally from doing what we should because all we can think about is how we keep doing the things we should. Sadly, we treat the sacrifice of Christ with contempt and make it of no effect in the matters of sin.

As I illustrated above, seemingly living “holy” lives centered on not sinning and not doing what the “bad people” do makes it easier for us to pass off our apathy and lack of passion. As Soren Kierkegaard once said:

"...there is a demand by "the crowd", the mass of people, to live an ordinary unexamined and passionate life in which God is essentially irrelevant, and yet they want this life to be regarded as Christian"

The fact of the matter is that Christians should not be concerned with the do not's but rather the do's, face it you are a sinner and your righteousness will never account for worthiness in the eyes of God (Isaiah 64:6; 1 John 1:8; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 1:30). Mark Batterson said it best, "It seems to me that the modern church has become fixated on sins of commission. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. And you’re alright. But the problem with that is this: you can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right! Think of it as holiness by subtraction. So holiness becomes the byproduct of subtracting something from our lives that shouldn’t be there instead of maximizing our God-given potential. Don’t get me wrong. Holiness certainly involves subtraction. But I think God is far more concerned about sins of omission—those things we could have and should have done. Maybe holiness has as much or more to do with seizing opportunities as it does resisting temptation? Those who simply run away from sin are half-Christians. Our calling is much higher than simply running away from what’s wrong"And again he illustrated the point in his book, Primal:

"Too often we try to stop sinning by not sinning. But that is a losing battle. It's what psychologists call a double bind...of course; you can try to stop sinning by not sinning. And when that doesn't work, you can try even harder to stop sinning by not sinning. But what you need is a vision from God that captures your imagination and consumes your energy. Vision is the cure for sin". –Mark Batterson

Let’s get scriptural. Check out Mark chapter 5 verses 15 through 33.
The first story we come across is Jesus casting demons out of a man and He sends them into the pigs, after this the man wanted to go with Jesus but what did Jesus say? “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:15-20). Then Jesus once again goes on mission across the lake and is asked to heal a man asked Jesus to heal his child. As this is happening, a woman hoping to be healed touches Jesus’ clothing and Jesus realizes. Jesus turns to the woman and tells her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (Mark 5:21-33). How dare we go about making Jesus Christ into some holiness preacher so worried about our sins. As it was once said about Jesus Christ, that he had:

"...radical, redemptive holiness that went way beyond mere morality".

The holiness of Christ led to personal liberation and societal transformation. Jesus Christ heals these people and tells them to go. Legalism (which was the issue of the Pharisee, those who killed Christ) holds us to a “touch not, taste not” mentality. Many times throughout the Gospels the religious people were confused and insulted by what Jesus Christ did in order to show grace and understanding for the lost. Remember what Christ said:

“It is not the healthy who needs a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2:17)

Jesus Christ came set those under the Law free which enabled them to be missional (Check out my blog titled: I am free to love).

The first step that the eternal seed must pass through was death (see, 1 Corinthians 15:36). It was not man's will which brought about this death; and by this I do not mean the death of the body, which is unimportant. It was God's will which brought about the death so that the fullness of His nature would be produced in the seed He planted. – Brother Paul Richard Jr. Curran

We must die to ourselves, our way of doing things, and even our righteousness so that the glory of God (Christ in and through us) may be revealed! It is when we do this that we are enabled to know God.
Death to self. Dying to everything about ourselves, our selfish ambition and goals, is the only way to truly worship God!

"Worship turns out to be the dangerous act of waking up to God and to the purposes of God in the world, and then living lives that actually show it"- Mark Labberton, Dangerous Act of Worship

WAKE UP! That is discipleship!

Jn 12:24 (NIV) "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

So now what?
I have always been fascinated with the concept of “prophetic imagination”, which is how the prophets acted when they were called to tell the message to the people(). I have written blogs about this concept which basically is defined as being creative, risky, and bold in our efforts to display the message of Christ to the world. Truly a zeal empowered by knowledge of all that God has done.

As we grow in Christ everything in our lives becomes a part of the mission. The social set theory is the efforts to explain social atmospheres and the two main types are centered set versus bounded set. Dare I pose that popular Christianity has become a bounded set theory in which there are people inside and outside but no real way to cross boundaries. Does this sound like what Jesus did?

Instead, Christianity must focus on living through the center set theory which is the characterized by a clear vision and ideology at the center but no real boundaries to cross in order to join. The Greek Orthodox Church has a concept called theosis- which demonstrates the growth in the knowledge of God which draws you closer and closer to God. (2 Peter chapter 1).

As we come to Christ and grow in the knowledge of God we become alive. As we become alive it is only natural to seek to express and share the life that is in and through us (Galatians 2:20 type of stuff). The mission is not a program it is simple a natural response to the knowledge of God. Brothers and sisters, seek to know the will of God and therefore become a disciple of Christ. As you grow you will become a disciple who makes disciples!

"Of all the works of creation, it is passion which is very good, without which man cannot serve God, or truly live" Martin Buber

Missional: Attacking the Static - Part 2

Part 2- RESTORING THE MISSION

"There exists in every church something that sooner of later works against the very purpose for which it came into existence. So we must strive very hard, by the grace of God to keep the church focused on the mission that Christ originally gave to it"- C.S. Lewis

The quote above demonstrates the need for what Alan Hirsch called Mdna. Mdna is the transmission of inherited traits that characterize the mission that should be inherent in every church body. Every follower of Christ infused with the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and a bit of "holy rebellion" should be ever-reforming the Church back toward the mission- spreading the gospel of the kingdom of God ( which we discussed in part 1 how important it is to have a gospel -a message of good news, that is consistent and empowers Believers). As disciples engaged to the mission by the will and grace of God, we will be making disciples! Be disciples who make disciples!

One of the most energizing books I have read about being mission is REJesus: A Radical Messiah for a Missional Church, in which it is clearly demonstrated that we must be taken captive by the true Jesus Christ and His mission, -not create a image of Him in our minds and thus make him captive to our particular agenda. Many Christians have and still do this without realizing because- yes! your mission and agenda may have good intentions and be a great cause, but it might just be your cause, not necessarily what Christ is seeking to do and initiate.

What we do know through Scripture about the mission of God is clearly shown through John 1:1-18. Read it! That is the incarnation- which is basic terms is the story of how God took on flesh and became a man in order to show us His nature (gave us an inspiring model) and to fulfill His purpose- redemption of mankind! God's ways are amazing and many times incomprehendable, yet He continually reveals things to us. So, we know that God sent His Son (which was God made manifest through the seed of a woman) to die in our place and thus fulfill the covenant of love- that whosoever should believe on His name should be saved, a child of God, and have eternal life (John 3:16). That was the beginning of what was to come! Now, if you read further along, namely chapters 17-20, you begin to realize that Jesus Christ is sending out messengers of this message- "Just as you sent me, I am sending them". Now the disciples had the same mission, to be incarnational, as Paul said he was all things to all men so that he may win a few (1 Corinthians 9:22-23). Upon fulfillment of the New Covenant, we know that there are those who are inside the gates of the kingdom of heaven (the spiritual understanding of the Lordship of Jesus Christ = abundant life) and those missing out, who sit outside- and it is our goal, those exercised by the Spiritual knowledge of God, to use the leaves of the tree of life (the gospel of the Kingdom) to heal the nations.

Learning from the disciples and specifically the Apostle Paul we acknowledge that "to act incarnationally therefore will mean that in our mission to those outside of the faith we will need to exercise a genuine identification and affinity with those we are attempting to reach". ...."There is a time for "in-your-face" approaches to mission, but there is also a time to simply become part of the very fabric of a community and to engage in the humanity of it all"

The point of the incarnation was that "when confronted with the reality of God in Jesus, God in human flesh, God is no longer beyond and unfathomable, but immediate and present. He has come close to us, and his claim on our lives becomes somewhat more unavoidable". Through incarnational ministry we demonstrate the same passionate love our God had for us by coming and relating to us, being tempted, suffering, and being killed by and for us- this is truly putting flesh on it! (or as Francis Chan might say "Crazy Love").

The point is that ministry and relating to people is not a church program that we should have to talk about. As I explained in part 1, it is necessary that we begin to have an understanding of God and His mission that enables all of this to be natural. Religious "christianity" has allowed for a separatist mentality where it's us and them ( the good "christian" people who have to preach to and shun the morally bad people)-THIS IS NOT CHRISTIANITY. Jesus Christ actually did the exact opposite and hung around the "bad people", and they wanted to be in His presence, and ultimately it was those who chose to become disciples rather than the religious people. Unfortunately, we have the opposite extreme becoming a prevailing attitude in Christianity today. Instead of engaging the world with the message of Christ, many have chosen to just blend in and "be cool" which is called backsliding, not ministry. In his book, The Next Christians, Gabe Lyons does a great deal in explaining these things. It's the restorers, those who are rooted in the truth (there is that zeal empowered by knowledge thing again) who live out the mission for Christ! It is the restorers whose ".. faith activity isn't restricted to "religious" activities, but carries over into every day life".

The incarnation of Jesus Christ did not occur in order to create a religion or a set of moral rules by which the "good people" who say they believe in Jesus should live by. That's nonsense! (and by saying that I mean it makes no darn sense)- the Pharisee's were doing quite fine with moral laws and touch not, taste not rules! The incarnation was about bringing the redemption back to mankind- the image of God (which means the idea and concept for which He had created mankind). Each and every disciple that learns the knowledge of God embraces and becomes the image of God and therefore becomes an ambassador of the kingdom. It is in the gates that we recognize what true life is and have joy in it! That's the mission! God literally got involved in the mission to make it that clear on how important it is to spread and live it out, hello!!! HE DID!!!

Ivan Illach, the Austrian philosopher and Catholic priest said the most radical way to change a society is to tell an alternative story ( I do well to mention my blog by this title in which I speak about the kingdom of God- how ironic it is exactly what Christ came preaching!). The gospel of Jesus Christ is exactly that- the alternative to everything this world hopes for, lives for, and thinks is possible. It is this gospel that we must:

"resdiscover...recalibrate...rethink...reimagine...redeploying...revitalize.." in order to be missional!

"Telling others about Jesus is important, but conversion isn't their only motive. Their mission is to infuse the world with beauty, grace, justice, and love. I call them restorers because they envision the world as it was meant to be and they work toward that vision. Restorers seek to mend earth's brokenness..sowing seeds of restoration...they don't seperate from the world or blend in: rather, they thoughtfully engage". -Gabe Lyons

ARE YOU A DISCIPLE OF CHRIST CALLED TO BE A RESTORER?

Missional: Attacking the Static (PART 1)

Part 1 :::::: "A TRUE BACK-TO-THE-BIBLE MOVEMENT"

The title of this blog is the point of this blog- the body of Christ (the Church) is called to be missional which is the natural outward impulse of God's chosen- the Church (otherwise known as the body of Christ or simply Christians). The natural impulse of understanding of who God is, what God has done, and what He is doing enabled the Church as well as each and every Christian to attack the static. The static being the lack of energy, passion, and movement seen in the 1st century Church largely due to a failure of Biblical theology and a reality of Jesus Christ.

The good news as noted by Gabe Lyons in his book, The Next Christians, is that "there is a movement among Christians......asking these same questions and offering meaningful answers. They want to be a force for restoration in a broken world even as we proclaim the Christian gospel. They want the label Christian to mean something good, intelligent, authentic, true, and beautiful". Gabe Lyons, as well as many other authors and leaders (Mark Batterson, Alan Hirsch, among many others) see what is on the horizon for Christianity whether we call it a reformation, revival, or an emergence! Gabe Lyons even quoted the late Billy Graham, who noticed the same things- Graham is noted as saying "Back when we did these big crusades in football stadiums and arenas, the Holy Spirit was really moving- and people were coming to Christ as we preached the Word of God, but today, I sense something different is happening. I see evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in a new way. He's moving through people where they work and through one-on-one relationships to accomplish great things. They are demonstrating God's love to those around them, not just with words, but in deed".

If one is to look through history at all the movements that changed the face of Christianity it was always a "back-to-the-Bible-movement", because that's where the solution lies. And that is where the solution to the "missional crisis" is at today in the Church and in the theological application in the lives of Believers. The lack of knowledge always creates either an apathetic spirit or a false passion based on assumptions and presuppositions (in Scripture this is called "zeal without knowledge"). Therefore, the missional movement will be based upon a zeal empowered by knowledge that is revealed through the Word of God- a true back to the Bible movement.

The local church I pastor, The Fellowship C.H.U.R.C.H., offers practical conversational theology that allows the true zeal of missional living to become practical and realized in our lives. We pride ourselves on the fact that as we seek to understand God more and more (grow in the knowledge of God) that we are becoming the true expression of Christianity, and I always say that if Christianity was to become illegal in Fort Myers, they will come for The Fellowship C.H.U.R.C.H. first!

"If passion is eliminated, faith no longer exists"- Soren Kierkegaard
Gabe Lyons made another great point (actually quite a few I will quote throughout this blog) when he spoke about "the problem with half stories" and he called it a "truncated gospel". I would definitely imagine that Gabe Lyons and I have some disagreements on the full extend of the good news brought by Christ but he makes great strides speaking on how the popular notions of the gospel only dwell on the fall and redemption, but ignore the implications of creation and restoration, and ultimately consummation. The lack of a cohesive message destroys the good news, and for many the failure to be intellectually honest with the story has caused this missional crisis which in essence is a full failure in regards to the message of Jesus Christ.

The popular song "Jesus is coming, people get ready" illustrates this point well. As a Christian who takes Jesus Christ at every word He spoke to the disciples, I recognize the fulfillment of everything he said. Jesus was not talking some far off message- He was directly speaking to the people in front of Him, who understood what the good news was- the kingdom of God. (I will not expound on the full truth and understanding espoused through Full Preterist theology but I advise the reader- read my blogs and read more Scripture in context!). The fact of the matter is- we are now living in the reality of the kingdom of God, Satan and his minions are a defeated foe (although we still suffer from the effects of evil), and therefore Revelation chapter 22: 1-5 is where we are at. WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE TREE OF LIFE (WHICH IS FOR THE HEALING OF ALL NATIONS), WE ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, AND GOD REIGNS! WE ARE NOT WAITING FOR ANYTHING! STOP WAITING!!!!

That's the point of being missional- we must stop waiting. Proper theology is needed to enable the body of Christ to a zeal empowered by knowledge. We have the healing of the nations- the gospel which restores everything to the original intent in the image (idea and concept) of God!

"The next generation of Christians believe that Christ's death and Resurrection were not only meant to save people from something. He wanted to save Christians to something. God longs to restore His image in them, and let them loose, freeing them to pursue His original dreams for the entire world". -Gabe Lyons

As I take a step back and look at the body of Christ (THE CHURCH), specifically here in North America I see a missional crisis due to static. Yet, possessing a zeal empowered by knowledge I feel and see a holy rebellion "based on loving critique of religious institutions modeled by the original apostles and the prophets" on the horizon. In history it was men like Martin Luther who stood up for the Scriptures against tradition, John Wycliffe who did the same, William Tyndale who died to get the Scriptures into even the poorest mans' hands, John Wesley who was committed to "no less than the recovery of the truth, life, and power of earliest Christianity and the expansion of that kind of Christianity", and Dietrich Bonhoeffer who lived out the responsibility of understanding the message. Today, I take the stand- DO YOU?


"There exists in every church something that sooner of later works against the very purpose for which it came into existence. So we must strive very hard, by the grace of God to keep the church focused on the mission that Christ originally gave to it"- C.S. Lewis

It's all about the glory of God and seeing all things restored to His image. We must remember Martin Luther King Jr.'s words "that which we would first change, we must love first".

Zeal and Spiritual Fervor

"For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge (Romans 10:2)".

I believe we are on the verge of a great movement within Christianity, a reformation that will bring Christianity yet again closer to Biblical Christianity. It is exciting to see and participate in, yet it is sad to see those who are stuck, may I say it bluntly- stuck on stupid- and cannot seem to realize, grow, and climb out of the rut that they are in.

This is the history of Christianity though. We see even since the early centuries of Christianity that there was confusion, doctrines of men, hypocrisy, and so forth, which lead to a culture of backslidden Christians and a working against that which was originally intended through Jesus Christ. Consider the councils of debate in early Christianity ( Acts 15:1-29; 325 A.D. Council of Nicaea, 381 A.D. First Council of Constantinople, 431 A.D. Council of Ephesus, 451 A.D. Council of Chalcedon, 553 A.D. Second Council of Constantinople, to name a few), or the Crusades, the reformations (Protestant Reformation, Anabaptists, Calvinism, Arminianism, etc), and the revivals (Azusa Street, Methodism, William Booth and the Salvation Army, Jesus People of the 1970's, etc), which have all sought to bring Christianity back to the original intentions of Jesus and the Apostles.

For a while now, I have though the Church (the universal body of Christ) needed a revival, and was dead to the mission and life that it received in Christ Jesus. Yet, as time has progressed, especially where I am at right now as a diligent student of the Word of God, I realize we need a reformation. The traditions of men have crept in and made a bed for themselves, and have masqueraded as the truth (isn't that the style of evil?- ), and now with a comfortable foot in the door- they are able to discredit truth when it comes up.

Remember - John Huss?

So many professing Christians have no studied enough to discern the knowledge of God, and this is ridiculous because salvation comes through knowledge of God. Without true knowledge and understanding of the things of God we can create a zeal, that seems to be right, but is not and is labeled- "zeal without knowledge". This is not Christianity- rather Christianity is zeal empowered by knowledge, after all it is Jesus Christ who said "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).

In Romans chapter 10, Paul addressed this issue. The Jews were the people of the Old Covenant with God, the chosen people of God through the Law of Moses and circumcision and they were consistently criticized and yelled at by the prophets to get in line with who god called them to be. The Messiah, whom was predicted throughout the Old Testament (The Law and the Prophets) arrived on the scene and yet again many missed out on acting in accordance with who God called them to be. They had zeal, a zeal for their traditions, and a zeal for what they thought was right, but this zeal without knowledge, failing to realize the truth, would be their downfall. The truth that they were missing was Jesus Christ (who is and was The Truth- John 14:6). Due to their faulty understanding and not willing to listen to the truth, they were missing the mark.

Do you see where they went wrong? We are at a similar point today. Fact of the matter is- do you know what you believe? Why, is it based on truth or tradition of what you think is right? Have you examined this knowledge? Searched the Scriptures? If you have not, can you quote possibly be guilty of having zeal without knowledge?

I ask you to consider this because I see the professing people of God (Christians) to be in a dangerous place right now. In an age of information and knowledge, we have become lazy and apathetic; this has led many to have zeal without knowledge. The truth will always prevail, especially in the matters of a Mighty God, but where will you stand?

Ask Questions. Demand Answers. This will be the cry of the next reformation in Christian History. Let the "Holy Rebellion" begin, a reformation based on loving critique of religious institutions and teachings of men, in the style of the Apostles and prophets. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "That which we would change. We must first love".

"This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4)".

(Knowledge of God is salvation, See: Luke 1: 76-77; John 8:32; and 2 Peter chapter 2).

A Day in the Life

Ok, so let's look at a day in your life. We are all going to die, right? Well than you might as live it up by your own standards and do as you do. How is that working for you? Let's face is your not completely satisfied, so now you decide to start fixing up the mess you created, how do you do this? Well, besides the basics like job, car, making things right at home, maybe, just maybe some of that "spiritual stuff" them Christians (not the Muslims there kind of bugged out), but that Christian things sounds like it might be a good way to get on the right track, hey it might just be right, after all who doesn't want to go to heaven? Man, this whole being good for God thing isn't all that easy, you start feeling bad constantly, you always need to repent and try better. Let's face it , that constant trying not to sin, and trying again not to sin thing isn't exactly working- your a sinner (Romans chapter 3; James 1:13-14; 1 John 2:15-17)). But you look around, all these so-called Christians don't have it all together, maybe the pastor, but atleast your trying your best and God sees that and you have the hope that you will die and since you confessed Jesus name, you will die and be in heaven. WELL, GUESS WHAT?? That is everything but salvation. First, that is zeal without knowledge, salvation and faith are based upon the knowledge of God, therefore understanding why and what you are convinced of is important. 2nd, your apathy of just trying your best and getting by- looks horrible as a witness for Christ and is not pleasing in the eyes of God (ahh..the lukewarm message!).

Imagine this with me. Jesus Christ came to destroy the works on the devil (1 John 3:5-8; John 12:31; Matthew 12:22-30; Colossians 2:13-15; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20 cf. Revelation 22:15; Romans 16:20). This leads to a process in theology called "Soteriology", which means study of salvation. Jesus Christ initiated and fulfilled the process of redemption and salvation (also justification and glorification) for mankind. God creates covenants, we read about these in Scipture (covenants with Abraham, Jacob, Moses, the nation of Israel, and finally through all of those- those who rest in the assurance and faith of Jesus Christ). - that is the whole story in a nutshell.

Understanding this and living with this understanding leads to a life without sin and death (Hebrews 9:26-28; Romans 6:4-7, 23; Romans 8:1-2;1 Corinthians 15:20-28 cf. 2 Timothy 1:8-10; Romans 7:7-11; Romans 5:12-14; Romans 4:13-15; James 2:10), a life that has been transformed by the presence of God and will never end (John 8:49-59; John 11:25-26; Titus 1:2; Jude 1:21; John 3:16 ), and the power of being a child of God with a power that is unmatchable (Ephesians chapters 1-2).

Do you see why that zeal without knowledge just flat out sucks? God loves us and fulfilled this plan for us to grow into it with all our mind, hearts, soul and strength.

Fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ did not fail in what He had come to do. To destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:5-8). The Bible is the story of how man allowed Satan to get in the way of a perfect relationship with God (which causes man to die, spiritually- Genesis216-17 cf. Isaiah 59:1-2 ) and then God being a loving an amazing God through His ultimate wisdom and glory restored that relationship by fulfilling His promises and defeating death- this is called the Kingdom of God ( Revelation 21:1-5; Mark 1: 14-15, 25; Luke 15:21-24), which is what leads us to salvation. Did you catch that?

When you begin to understand and realize the true message and good news of Jesus Christ, you glorify God. John Piper said, "God is most satisfied when we are most satisfied in Him". Through the Word of God, we begin to have a renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2). This renewed mind allows for us to engage the world in a whole new way, we are ambassadors and proclaimers of a whole new way- as Shane Claiborne and those within his community would say- "Another world is possible!". As Christians we don't live in a battle between sin and death, life and joy- the battle has been won, our Lord is King! We have the freedom through the knowledge of God to make all thoughts captive to Christ ( 2 Corinthians 10:5).

As an ambassador of the kingdom of God thats the offer I extend to you. Within the kingdom of God we have a glorious message of how amazing and glorious God is, this message is the healing of all nations (Revelation 22: 2) and the water of life to all who are thirsty (Revelation 22: 17).

What do you think?

Live-Love-Laugh, all for the glory of God,
Michael Miano

*Do you fully understand God's plan of redemption? Ever wonder why, either as a Christian or an unbeliever- you struggle with the concepts of battling sin? Contact me and we can go through it. In the meantime- Search the Scriptures!

Salvation understood (study some verses)-
Hebrews 10:35-39; Romans 13:11-12; Revelation 12:10; I Thessalonians 5:8;
Luke 21:28; Ephesians 1:14; 4:30; Romans chapter 8; Hebrews 9:23-28; Romans 13:11-12; Hebrews 11
Isaiah 11:6-9 cf. Ephesians 2:17-18
Isaiah 65-66 cf. John 11:25-26
2 Corinthians 5:1-4 (better yet, read all of 2 Corinthians)

ASK QUESTIONS, DEMAND ANSWERS!!

The Aftermath of Acts (and notes from Driscoll's book- Radical Reformission)

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace (Acts 20:24)" We as 21st Century Christians owe a lot of tribute to the early apostles, specifically the apostle Paul for the work he did in spreading the gospel to all the nations ( ultimately, fulfilling the Great Commission) which by 62 A.D. was fulfilled (Romans 16:25-26; Romans 1:5,8; Colossians 1:5-6,23). Today, there is a lot of confusion as to how the Great Commission applies to our context (which I will hopefully clear up in this blog), but true understanding of the proper context brings a greater understanding as to the Christian's purpose in the world today. Understanding applications in context is properly done by utilizing the concept of audience-original relevancy (what a message means to the people it is given to) and the aspects of covenantal understanding (how God works in agreements with specific people) helps clarify the gospel and gives true zeal. “...I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge (Romans 10:2)". God originally chose the ancient Israelites to make covenant with, this meant that He would exhibit his glory through them (which would turn out to be many blessings and curses, don't all good things come with some responsibility? -the Law). The ultimate goal of this covenant with these chosen people was to namely shown the glory of God through them by obedience to the Law of Moses( which temporarily closed the gap between mankind and God due to sin- Galatians chapter 3) which in time would lead to 'calling all the nations' (Isaiah 42, 49- and pretty much all prophetic language in Old Testament relates to how the calling of Abraham to be a blessing to all nations would amount to the Gentiles coming to faith through the Messiah through Israel- Luke chapter 2). The Messiah would usher in the kingdom of the God, which we as Christians know to be the life and purpose of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom of God- which at that time was at hand- until all things be fulfilled (Luke chapter 21, specifically verse 31). Jesus Christ, the Savior, would bridge the gap that was created by sin and thus through fulfilling the Law, all nations would be able to approach God, and have His presence among them (Revelation 21-22). The Great Commission- as we see at work in the book of Acts- was the proclamation of the good news of the kingdom of God- which was to soon be among all people- through the realization and faith (understanding) of salvation in Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:3; I Corinthians 15). Understandably, today there are many different views of the end times, but it is this writer's opinion through study and observation, that the end times in the Bible- were the end times of the Old Covenant- and therefore, the kingdom of God would be ushered in to this world as the end time prophecies were fulfilled (Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13). God has continually dealt with mankind through covenants and we constantly see this concept used in Scripture. Understanding the covenant relationships and that they were and are based upon is vital to understanding how God was and is dealing with people today. Beginning with Adam and Eve, God began his covenant-relationship with them in the Garden (Genesis chapter 2-3). The disobedience of Adam led to the curse of mankind which was the separation between mankind and God. Through His loving grace, God established a covenant with His chosen people Israel, a covenant that would welcome them back into communion with Him through obedience to the Law of Moses and this would enable them to be His Holy nation, the people He would bless and curse by their faith and obedience. Ultimately, this covenant was designed to meet the bigger plan of God which was to bring all nations back into communion with Him. Therefore, God created this holy nation called Israel to be an example to other nations, and to also birth the Messiah through the lineage of Abraham, under the law of Moses- providing structure of faith and obedience. The Messiah would bring in the New Covenant which would fulfill the obligations of the Law of Moses through the blood of Jesus Christ- that way the old way of ritual and strict obedience that the Israelites had to follow was replaced with LOVE. This love would now welcome all people by grace, love, and faith to be welcomed back into communion with God through salvation in Jesus Christ. Throughout the book of Acts we see the apostles of Christ caught up in the excitement of God's grace and that now God was bringing all nations (even the Gentiles) back into relationship with Him- the kingdom of God. Understanding the practical excitement of the apostles being commissioned to tell those outside of the people of Israel that they are welcomed in through God's grace is important because it helps understand even the aspect of Bible study. This was an end of the Israelite world and a new thing was taking place, a new time, and the product that was being offered was the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13; Hebrews 10:15-18; Acts 11:19-21 and so on...). Now for the topic of the hour. What does that mean for us today? Are we proclaiming the same message as the apostle Paul? Same reasons? Same outcomes? Same expectations? Well considering that Paul and the other apostles were looking forward to the destruction of Jerusalem, namely the temple- which would bring about the new heavens and the new earth- it is clear that since then things are a bit different. We are in the post-new covenant era now, which means that all aspects that the apostles and Gentiles of the early church were waiting for have been fulfilled- in 70 A.D. I am more and more convinced that we have gotten deceived after Constantine and lost the true outward expression of the gospel of the kingdom of God- and settled for mere "Spiritual talk"- rather than being burdened and inspired to make the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, a reality. Today, the gospel of the kingdom of God is not at hand, it is among us. Accepting the fact that we are currently in the new heavens and the new earth is an issue for many people, because it is so much easier to look forward to something rather than actually have to work toward it, in there here and now. Well guess what, its reality and truly coming to terms with it, is freedom-giving and compelling (both of which are much needed in the Church today). Ok, so let's look at Revelation 21-22, to get a better picture of what the Church should be offering and "our message" today. In chapter 21, we get a spiritual look at the kingdom of God coming down to be among us- whereas God will be among us and live with us. We will be His people, He our God- and all tears and sorrows- of the old order will pass away. The Old Covenant was a ministration of death (2 Corinthians 3:7-15), therefore the passing of this old order would relieve the people of God from the burden of law and sin (Galatians chapter 4). Glory to God- He has made all things new. So, at this point "it is done", prophetically speaking all things have come to fulfillment and now it is all about the over comers. The kingdom of God is spiritual, and therefore nothing vile (remember we are all vile sinners- therefore it is the yoke of Christ that allows us to approach the presence of Christ- and all glory to God that we have the opportunity without ritual or sacrifice). As we live in this kingdom- we know and "see" the we no longer live under the curse of sin (Revelation 22:3), glory of God Almighty and the Lamb being the temple (Revelation 21: 22-27), the river of Life (Revelation 22:1-2), the kingship of Jesus and being recognized by His name (Revelation 22:3-4), living in the light (Revelation 22:5), and finally washing our robes so that we may approach the tree of life (which leaves bring healing to all nations) and the opportunity granted to us to enter the gates of the city (Revelation 22:14-15). Let us proclaim this message continually and eternally, and invite others into the Kingdom of God- in this many we glorify God! Don't you see how this should excite us? We have truly been set free and blessed by His presence and the fulfillment of prophecy- and this is exactly what excited the apostles all throughout the book of Acts. (We must realize that application in context makes so much sense- they were the generation that experienced the fulfillment, we glean the results). Understanding the full realization of the gospel (the good news) of the kingdom of God among us creates a demand for a radical response- what I like to call THE TROUBLEMAKER AFFECT. We have been set free from religion (the old covenant) to live in love, to imagine the um-imaginable, to view another world being possible (the kingdom of God) and to enact it by any means necessary. We have a message, the message from God that brings healing to all nations, revives the Spirit and soul, glorifies God, and leads us to realize our fullest potential. This is truly zeal with knowledge. Mark Driscoll wrote a book called Radical Reformission, which helps us become "culturally liberal yet theologically conservative", after all the subtitle of his book is "Reaching Out Without Selling-Out". Therefore, after reading through the book, I would like to share some thoughts and even answer some of his reformission questions (I would invite all to check out the book). John 4:1-42, speaks about Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Mark Driscoll utilizes this Biblical passage to help us highlight who are "the Samaritans" in our location and culture. Looking at our culture today, and the unfortunate Christian sub-culture we have created, there is a wide gap. In some future posts I will talk more about this and the new book I am looking to read- The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons, which details what we need to be. We have created a culture that pretty much puts anyone who does not agree with our specific set church doctrine or anyone who does not attend church regularly- namely that specific church we might attend, as Samaritans. Rather than understanding the Christian community as a fluid movement of passionate Christ-followers, we have settled and compromised (much due to a lack of passion) for a semblance of Church which extends to a watered down "religious" message. My opinion is grasping emergent and missional concepts will help us begin to bridge the gap between the people of God and those outside the kingdom gates. The second chapter of Driscoll's book deals with the gospel. I love how he invites us to creatively understand and apply to gospel in context- which is hardly done today- due to a lack of application and contextual understanding. Some invites are: if you were to write a gospel for people in your cultural where would you start, how would you explain sin, how would you explain Jesus, what parts of Jesus' message would you place extra emphasis on (I will save that for another blog- this should be fun). "...as the gospel moves into new cultures in our day, and as new cultures emerge, we must struggle to sift out what is cultural and what is Scriptural". I loved Mark's 3rd chapter which talked about Shotgun Weddings to Jesus, which I thought was a great way to explain common day gospel sharing (alter calls and evangelism) as well as discipleship. We obviously need to properly understand the call of Christ, count the cost, and allow the renewing gospel to take root in our lives (isn't it funny that radical is derived from the word rooted?). A proper understanding of sin is vital in exhibiting the gospel and walking in the day (Romans chapter 13). Driscoll deals well with understanding culture, and applying the gospel- as we get into chapter 5, we begin to get missional in our approach. Mark makes good points for us to go out of our routine to start learning about the culture, read things we wouldn't normally read, and talk to people we wouldn't normally talk to- truly start to understand the culture- that way we can effectively make disciples (after all isn't that what this is all about??). Finally at the end of the book, Mark Driscoll begins to provide more balance, through which we can examine ourselves- are we Pharisaic, Essenic, or way too immersed in culture? Understanding ourselves in light of modern or postmodern attitude- areas that clearly need balance.

Well, this blog turned out a bit longer than I wanted. I hope that if you have held on this long and read through it, that you have been inspired and burdened by the gospel and the responsibility to live through Acts! We must begin to be missional with our message, emergent without understanding, and contextual with our applications!

Live in love, by, in, and through Jesus Christ, Mike Miano

*Check out my latest video presentation of the gospel!

Emerging Thoughts and Definitive Unity

The early Church was characterized by controversy, discussion, and debate concerning most things that were very dear to them (namely the Law of Moses and it's application- whether it was the Pharisaic view, these new radicals called Christians, Gnostics, or the Gentile people). Even consider the debate between believers(Peter and Paul- Galatians 2:11-21, and Paul and Barnabas-Acts 15), or even more consider all the councils and reformations throughout church history where we get much of the facts of our faith from (Council of Nicaea, Council of Constantinople, or the Council of Ephesus- just to name a few). The greatest thing about this was that even with all the discussion and difference going on, everyone (namely the body of Christ) knew the reality of things, that which really mattered- expression of the New Covenant brought to fruition through Jesus Christ (although there was a lot of debate on how exactly it applied in certain contexts).

As a 27 year old male, who aspires to be a church planter and lead a congregation, the emerging trends coupled with denominational traditions have been disturbing at times, but more so very inspiring. As I always say, "I have a lot of hope in the next generation", especially in context of bringing unity into the Church (and I mean that in aspects of mission, theology, exemplifying our faith with integrity, loving God and others, passion, and ultimately changing the world through the gospel of Jesus (kingdom of God type of stuff).

However today there seems to be a gap in the church between the "traditionalists" and the emerging thoughts of what could be called "radical traditionalists". Both camps are ever-reforming in certain contexts yet fail to consider what the other camps brings to the communion table (pun intended). So here is where we must challenge ourselves to consider what has changed in the church, and why do so many fear the aspects of critical realism? In the Word of God we are challenged to study for the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2), which is a constant thing, and should continue and allow for the challenge of paradigm shifts.

The definitive unity that is somewhat missing is contexts of the body of Christ as a whole is the lack of willingness for discussion, debate, and challenge. For example, Rob Bell a pastor of Mars Hill Church, recently made this statement:

“What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archeologist find Larry’s tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births? But what if, as you study the origin of the word ‘virgin’ you discover that the word ‘virgin’ in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word ‘virgin’ could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being ‘born of a virgin’ also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse? What if that spring were seriously questioned? Could a person keep on jumping? Could a person still love God? Could you still be a Christian? Is the way of Jesus still the best possible way to live? Or does the whole thing fall apart?…If the whole faith falls apart when we reexamine and rethink one spring, then it wasn’t that strong in the first place, was it?”
When I first heard about this I was shocked that a fellow-Christ follower would say something so ludicrous, yet now that I put it in contexts of what he was trying to say, it made perfect sense (it is somewhat interesting that I have experienced this a lot as a person willing to learn- that many times when people say something that is seemingly crazy, upon research and context, it actually makes a lot more sense than I originally thought. This is what we call a paradigm shift, and it is something a majority within the body of Christ are in dire need of in order to create- definitive unity.

I realize- sometimes we dig to deep and get hung up on the "deeper issues" that divide us as the body of Christ ( although I add the disclaimer that many times some of these issues really do matter) but all in all- what is the main thing? THE GOSPEL. We can all agree that the message of the Messiah was good news that the kingdom of God is at hand, and yes, even with that statement I know where defenses and debates arise, but let us focus on the simple aspect and the mission to be ambassadors. As the body of Christ- outwardly we need to be on mission and defined by unity, yet inwardly we need to be open to discuss and debate- emerging thoughts.

I salute the body of Christ- in efforts of emerging thoughts and definitive unity,

Michael Miano


For more thought:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_5_59/ai_55722258/

http://ad70.net/variety-helps-to-prevent-an-isolated-society/

Consider watching the movie "Accepted", a hilarious comedy in which an emergent minded individual should ask- what is tradition? How do we look at the fruits of our traditions?

LOL- Did I find God, or did He find me? hmmm...