Missional Communities

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:19-20, ESV)

At the end of his time on earth Jesus gives his disciples the main mission the rest of their lives are to revolve around. He instructs them to make disciples as they are going. In other words, disciple making is to be integrated into the normal rhythms of their daily lives.

At the Pipe and the Pen we believe that "missional communities" are the best context in which to accomplish the disciple making mission Jesus has called all Christians to. Posted below are some links that should help you gain a fuller understanding of what missional communities are, and what they are all about. If you are a member of SOG, there is also a link to the SOG Vision Package.



SOG Vision Package 2014
Initiative 22 City Group Primer
Videos
Total Church
The SOMA Family of Churches
SOMA One Day, Dallas, 2014

Matthew 28:16-20

Click here to listen to the audio from Sunday's lesson.

Three Men at Mamre

Thought I would share the audio from a message I gave this past Sunday. The message is taken from Genesis 18:1-19:29. I have had some trouble editing the audio, so you have to wait about 90 seconds before I actually start talking. Click the title below to access it. Enjoy!

Three Men at Mamre

Blessed is the Man

For those in the know, here is the audio from last week's meeting. You can download here. The text was Psalm chapter 1. The title was "Blessed is the Man". The main speaker was Daniel Rainbolt. Below is the basic outline of the study.

Psalm 1

Blessed is the Man

I. Two Guys

    A. The Blessed Man

    B. The Wicked Man

II. Two Gatherings

    A. The Counsel of the Wicked

    B. The Congregation of the Righteous

Tranquila (una poema)

This is my first "share-able" attempt at a poem composed in Spanish. Enjoy!



Tranquila
por Daniel Rainbolt


Llora en arroyos
Sepultada detrás de la sonrisa
La pena lucha
Invisible
Perdida en una cosmos de modales

Thanks to Fr. Guillermo E. Gabriel-Maisonet for always being ready to proofread my humble attempts at Spanish literature.

Christians and Politics

As we approach the November elections, political convictions that lie underneath the surface of who people are suddenly intensify and boil to the top. Words fly, promises are made, accusations exchanged and passions build. Candidates draw lines and voters pick sides. "Christians" too, get caught up in the excitement, hosting "Christian" news programs, telling "Christian" voters who the "Christian" pick is, or what the "Christian" stance on any given issue is. Others, not wanting to be viewed as "activists", or trying to prove they are "citizens of another kingdom", simply stay away from it all.

Which is right, though? What should the Christian's attitude be in the midst of all the political turmoil? Should we throw in our lot with a certain candidate? Should we champion a cause? Should we stage protests and boycotts? Should we simply sit back and watch a pagan world do pagan things? The answer is complex. It is an answer we should not arrive at quickly. It is, nonetheless, an answer that should be arrived at. It should be well thought out; prayerfully considered.

The Christian's attitude towards politics should be grounded in the fact that our king is Lord of everything. It should equally be founded on the words of Jesus found in Matthew chapter 5. In his famous sermon, Jesus says to his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world". This is not a call. This is not a command. This is a fact. As Christians, we are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. The question then, is how do we prove ourselves to be flavorful salt and not useless salt, bright lamps and not hidden lamps?

The answer is rooted in our understanding and accepting the fact that Jesus is our ultimate lord. Once we really lay hold of this fact, we are ready to work out our being salt and light on two fronts. We must prayerfully decide within ourselves which political choices are the best choices, and we must be careful how we engage others in the political arena, both candidates and other voters. On both fronts Christians must be meek, poor in spirit and pure in heart.


As Christians we must be vigilant to keep Jesus as king in every area of our lives, every moment of our lives. This is easier said than done. While we can claim to have Jesus as our ultimate king, whether or not this claim is true will be evidenced in our actions in, and reactions to political developments. Our words "in the moment" will prove who our real king is. We must always seek to be humble and gentle towards those around us. We must encourage others towards a healthier society without demanding that non-Christians behave in Christian ways.

Some, forgetting that as Christians they ultimately belong to a kingdom not of this world, jump full-force into the political fray, endeavoring to kill ungodly agendas and topple ungodly officials. A disturbing tendency thrives in "Christian" politics today. On "Christian" radio shows, in "Christian" publications the idea of a "Christian nation" is popular. Christians are called on by "Christian" media to make sure America remains a "Christian nation". The notion, however, that any nation in this world could be a "Christian nation" is a fallacy based in a failure to realize that the only Christian nation is the Kingdom of Heaven, a kingdom which is not of this world.

Others, in reaction to the "extremism" they see in "Christian" politics try to keep out of politics completely. They cite the apolitical example of Jesus' life as justification for their lack of involvement. The problem with this attitude is that it refuses many opportunities to be salt and light.

 Both ends of this spectrum are ultimately too easy. It is easy to get caught up in the momentum of political "activism". It is easy to withdraw completely. It is much harder to consciously and carefully affect politics while making it clear that one's hope is not ultimately in politics.

Scripture says, "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God," (1 Cor. 10:13 ESV). The Christian is not someone who retreats from the world, but someone who redeems the world. We are not to shrink from earthly affairs. We are to "season" them with the wisdom of Christ. If you are a politician, it is not inherently more Christian of you to give up politics. Rather, use your position as a politician to do your best to influence government towards a godly direction. If you are a citizen, do not throw away your vote, thinking that you are therefore more Christian in so doing. On the contrary, use your vote to influence your culture towards a healthier (maybe even godlier) point.

Christians must keep in mind, though, that we will never "redeem" our culture or our government in any ultimate sense, nor should that be our aim. That task remains for Jesus alone to accomplish himself at the end of time. As Americans, we have certain privileges, given to us by our government; privileges such as the ability to vote and the ability to speak freely. We should use these government-given privileges to influence our society for the benefit of all. We should not, however, lose focus and seek to use government as a means to force non-Christians to act as Christians. When we cross this line and our goal becomes the constructing of a "Christian society", we lose our "flavor" and switch our heavenly king for an earthly one.

Perhaps the dumbest reason given to justify voting a certain way is that one always votes that way. Perhaps the most dangerous reason given to justify voting a certain way is that one wishes to create a better society. As Christians, we must carefully, prayerfully consider the choices we make, and when things do not go as we wish, we must remember that our hope is not in this world. As Christians, we must carefully, prayerfully consider which causes to take up and which to leave alone, and if those causes should fail, we must remember that our hope is not in this world.

The murky world of politics provides Christians with a unique opportunity to prove we are not "of the world", while yet remaining "in the world". It provides us with an opportunity to show where our real hope lies. Amidst the confusion of politics, we can be a "polis on a hill".

Filling in "The Holes in Our Holiness"

The Premise

The Hole in Our Holiness is a brand new book from Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor at University Reformed Church and regular contributor to The Gospel Coalition blog. This book is mainly (though not exclusively) aimed at younger Christians, and is born out of his concern over what he calls an "enthusiasm gap" in their pursuit of biblical holiness. "The hole in our holiness," he says, "Is that we really don't care much about it." He proposes that churches today are much more concerned with "all that Christ has saved us from...[while] giving little thought and making little effort concerning all that Christ has saved us to".

To prove his premise DeYoung takes a bit different, yet (I think) effective approach. Rather than quoting a list of statistics as one might expect, he asks three basic questions. 1) Is our obedience known to all? 2) Is our Heaven a holy place? Are we Great Commission Christians?

His first question is taken from Romans 16:19, where Paul encourages the believers in Rome by telling them that their "obedience is known to all". "Is obedience what your church is known for?" DeYoung asks, "Is it even what you would want to be known for?" He moves then to how we view Heaven, proposing that our weak, unbiblical view of what type of people will populate Heaven leads to a lack of biblical holiness in our lives. "Is our Heaven a holy place?" Finally, he asks, "Are we Great Commission Christians?" Here, what he is after is when Jesus commands Christian, in Matthew 28, to teach others to observe all his commands. "Observe" means "obey". DeYoung concludes that, far too often, mission work stops at decisions, and never moves to discipleship.

The Problem

Pastor DeYoung lays a very good foundation in the opening pages of his book. I think he exposes a very pressing problem in the modern Church in America, and I think his three questions are insightful and compelling. One would expect him to build on this foundation by explaining how the Church can become more holy. Unfortunately, rather than giving his readers the building-blocks to real holiness, he spends the vast majority of the next seven chapters chasing his tail over Legalism vs. Antinomianism.

One might expect DeYoung to briefly mention these two extremes. He, however, seems to get stuck in a seven chapter rut. It takes 81 pages before he even mentions the part that the Holy Spirit plays in making Christians holy. He doesn't mention prayer until page 107, and there it is in a negative context. Not until page 129 (the book is only 146 pages total) does he finally begin to explain three ways the Christian can pursue holiness. It's almost as though he puts so much effort into defending what he has to say against every argument a Legalist or an Antinomian might make, that he forgets to say what he has to say.

In the middle of all this, he also randomly inserts a section on sexual purity. His outline seems to be: 1) We're not holy. 2) We need to be holy. 3) Don’t be a Legalist or an Antinomian. 4) Be sexually holy. 5) Here's how to be holy. While I agree with most of what DeYoung says, the book just feels a little awkward or hastily put together.

The Final Take

The Holes in Our Holiness is a fast-paced, easy read that brings to light a serious issue plaguing the Church in America. I wish Pastor DeYoung would have spent fewer pages fighting off potential arguments from the extremes and more time actually explaining how to become holy, but he does make some good points. The only thing I found that I really disagreed with was his stance on how couples should approach pre-marital boundaries. To me, it seemed over-simplified. If he wanted to address something like that at all, I think he should have put more time and effort into examining it. I believe the question of pre-marital boundaries is a little more complex than DeYoung makes it sound.

All-in-all The Holes in Our Holiness is a good read that might open your eyes to things you've never considered.

Filling in the Hole

At this point you might be thinking "Wait, how do I become more holy?!" Here is my answer. God has given us three primary ways (means) by which his children can grow in holiness. Christians grow by 1) Reading God's Word, 2) Obeying God's Word, 3) Praying.

God has chosen to speak to mankind through his Word. It makes sense, then, that this is where you should start (Psalm 119:9-10). Reading your Bible, however, is more than just consuming as many chapters as possible. It is more about quality than quantity. While it is certainly good to know what's in your Bible, I would submit that studying a small portion in-depth will do more to aid your growth in holiness than simply reading a large volume of chapters will.

You don't magically become holy just because you read though. You have to put what you are studying into practice. And this practice, itself, is a means to holiness. As you actively obey God, you become more like him (holy).

Prayer is also a vital means to holiness.  Prayer is how we talk back to God. It is more than just sending up a lengthy grocery list. While we are to ask God for all that we need (Phil. 4:6), prayer is more about aligning yourself to God's will (Matt. 6:5-13). Real prayer isn't necessarily easy either. In our culture, I think we tend to have a more "fast-food" mindset about prayer. We drive in, make our order and expect God to fill the order ASAP. The idea of laboring in prayer is largely lost on our fast-paced modern selves. I think we would benefit from, and find help in our quest for holiness if we learned to replace our "fast-food" attitude toward prayer with a "farmer's" attitude. The farmer prepares the dirt, plants the seed, tends the field and then, reaps the reward of his labor. I think, if we examine ourselves, we may find that we are not becoming more biblically holy because we are not putting any real effort into prayer.

As useful as these three tools (Study, Practice, Prayer) are, though, they are nothing without the aid of the Holy Spirit. First, they are not practices that will come naturally. Second, if we do manage to master them in our own strength, they will only lead to pride. The Holy Spirit comes alongside us in our weakness, and helps us to study, enlightening our minds and hearts to understand what we study. The Holy Spirit comes alongside us to give us the will and power to obey what we learn. The Holy Spirit comes alongside us in our prayers, telling us what to pray and translating our prayers into the language of heaven.

So, what if you want to be holy, to be Christ-like, but you know deep-down that you don't want to do these things? Then pray and ask God to give you the "want-to".  And may God be pleased to give us all (I'm preaching to myself too) a greater, deeper, more pressing desire to be like him. May he use us mightily to advance his kingdom as we are molded into more perfect Christlikeness!