Christmas Gifts

As of this writing, there are only 17 shopping days left until Christmas morning. Years ago, before I got married, I used to do all my shopping on Christmas Eve, which was something my dad would do from time to time when we were growing up. It was exciting to run through the mall on Christmas Eve trying to buy the best of whatever was left.

Just about everybody gives and receives gifts during this season. Some say that it is a tradition that goes all the way back to the wise men who gave gifts to Jesus. Maybe. But we believe that Christmas itself is really about the gift that God gave the world when He gave His one and only Son for us. At this time of year, our hearts shout with the Apostle Paul, "Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15) So, in some ways, our giving of gifts is a natural response to the gift of Jesus, as well as His gracious act of self-giving when He laid aside His glory and was born into the human race.

So, it is good for us to give gifts, especially when the foundation of this giving is to reflect the grace and glory of Christ and to do so with a heart of worship and gratitude. With that in mind, knowing that you have probably already bought all your Christmas gifts, let me suggest a couple of gifts you might consider giving this year.

1. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Each year Southern Baptist churches take up a voluntary offering to support our international missionaries who serve all over the globe. Every penny given to this offering goes to the needs of the missionaries on the field. But there are other ways to give towards the spread of the gospel. There are various gospel and mission projects that you can support. Our family usually gives towards a few of these in honor of a family member. Then when we get together we simply give them a card that tells them that a gift in their honor has been given to fund the spread of the gospel. Or you can give directly to humanitarian needs as a part of your mission giving.

2. Local mission partners. There are several organizations that are doing necessary and important ministry to serve the needs of community. I would encourage you to consider making a financial gift or donation to Pregnancy Care Center of Denver, NC. You may consider doing more than just giving money...you could become a volunteer! You might also consider making a gift to the DBC Mission Scholarship fund to help many people go on a mission trip next year!

3. Other missionaries and church planters. There have been several people that have either been sent out from our church, or who we have gotten to know over the years, who have given their life to living on mission, planting churches, and making a great sacrifice for the cause of the gospel. You might want to consider becoming a prayer/financial partner with them! If you need information on specific individuals or church plants, leave me a comment and I will connect with you.

4. The ESV Reader's Bible. This is a fantastic Bible! I purchased it a little while back and it has become a favorite for me. It is the Bible written as a book. There are no chapters or verses, which make it not only easy to read, but engaging as well.

5. Behold the Lamb. This is hands down my favorite Christmas album. It tells the Christmas story from the Passover all the way through the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.

6. Books to grow you in the gospel. I am a firm believer that we need to read more, and to read good, soul encouraging, gospel saturated, mind engaging books. If you were thinking about getting a book for someone, here is a short list of some I recommend: Knowing God (J.I. Packer); Making Sense of God (Timothy Keller); The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Rosaria Butterfield); Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel (Russell Moore); John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace (Jonathon Aitken); Seeking Jesus, Finding Allah (Nabeel Qureshi); The Insanity of God (Nik Ripken); The Enemy Within (Kris Lundgaard); and Joseph and the Gospel of Many Colors (Voddie Baucham).

7. A Good Devotional. This is always a good gift to give at Christmas time. I have been using New Morning Mercies and it has been a good one. I also read through some of The Song of Jesus, which I would also recommend.

8. A passport. Of course, this doesn't sound like an exciting gift...but it could be a life-changing one! In fact, it would be far greater to give your kid a passport this Christmas and begin to pray with them about going on an overseas mission trip, than giving them something that will break in 2 hours, or that they will lose interest in by the end of the day. A passport would make a great stocking stuffer!

Well, there's my list. Hope it is helpful to you if you are still looking for gifts. If not, save it for next year. Happy shopping!

Are You Not Entertained?

"Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?"

The above quote is from the movie Gladiator starring Russell Crowe, who plays a gladiator named Maximus. In one memorable scene, Maximus enters a crowded arena and kills several opponents in just a few moments. After his last opponent falls he turns to the crowd and utters the famous line about being entertained.

That movie might be fictional and set in ancient Rome, but our hearts go through life asking that same question: "Am I entertained? Isn't this why I'm here?"

The origin of this word is from Old Middle English and it means, "to hold mutually." Apparently, the Old Middle English word is derived from a French word which is derived from a Latin word, which is actually two words put together: inter- and -tenere.

Inter- basically means, "between or among." Think about the word intercede. That means that someone gets between two parties in order to restore something. Or the word interject, where someone throws a remark between or among other conversation. Someone might interfere, meaning that they get among the concerns of others without their approval. You get the point.

The word -tenere means "to hold, or keep" and is where we get our English word "tenet," which refers to a belief or strong opinion that someone holds tightly to as true, or a belief that they keep close to them.

So, when you entertain someone, you are keeping someone among you. There is a mutuality to it, so both parties are involved.

This is why when your parents had company over when you were growing up, they called it "entertaining." If you look closely at the word "entertain," you will see the word "enter" and the word "in." You enter into my life, and I enter into yours, and in that space there is hospitality, grace, kindness, love, edifying conversation, laughter and edifying relationship.

This is why your mom put out the fine china and fixed a superstar meal. It is why she had you light a few candles and turn on some soothing music. When our parents entertained company, they did this to say, "You are worth the fuss. You matter to us, and we are thankful you are in our lives." Isn't that a beautiful picture?

But it isn't always about people. It can also be about ideas. We entertain certain thoughts and truths, meaning that we allow the exchange of ideas among us, and figure out which ones we will keep and which ones we will discard. We listen to an idea and take it into consideration.

Somewhere along the way, though, the word "entertain" became synonymous with the word "amuse." When we think of entertainment today, we are really thinking of amusement. Instead of selflessly giving of yourself to another, and inviting others to enter into your space, it became the selfish, individualist seeking of pleasure. Instead of engaging the mind to think about concepts and ideas, it became about the emotions, what someone felt or experienced.

The reason this matters is that our culture keeps asking the question: "Am I amused? Am I having a good time? Is this an emotionally moving experience I am having? Isn't that what life is all about?" The result is a society that values self-expression over self-sacrifice, getting rather than giving, being served rather than serving, and feeling rather than thinking. Every one is chasing that all elusive experience that will amuse them, make them feel good, and scratch their self-focused itch.

We've come a long way from the mutually holding of each other together to express love, gratitude, conversation and the exchange of ideas with grace and hospitality.

Sadly, from my point of view as a pastor, this same mindset is dominating many in the church. We want the pastor to entertain us, meaning, "Move us. Make us laugh. Make us cry. Make us feel something...some passion, some joy, some life, something." We want the music to amuse us. "Sing something that moves me, that makes my hands go up, that blows me away, that gives me chills. Play it loud. Play it soft. Play it long...just long enough to absorb me into it."

"I don't want to think. Just feel. I don't want to give, just take. I don't want to serve, just sit. And above all else, I want to be able to hear my kids say, 'I had fun...it was so entertaining.'"

Goose bumps seem more sought after than the gospel these days in the modern church. "Let me figure out what is true, you just make me feel good about myself." A little less Bible, and a little more me. Or at least make every story and passage in the Bible about me.

Because of the cultural redefinition of "entertainment," we expect our pastors and worship leaders to entertain us, in the modern sense of the word, and many of them feel that pressure to figure out how to outdo last week and increase their entertainment value. After all, isn't that what the people want? So we ask our questions: Wasn't the music awesome? Did he wow you with his sermon? Don't you think everyone needs to come and hear him preach? Isn't he amazing? We never know what he's going to do next. He's like a magician or something with all those props, and a comedian with all those jokes. (Sadly, he has made the Bible disappear in his act, and turned the pulpit into a joke. But we are nonetheless entertained!)

I realize I'm being a little over the top. But it does deeply concern me, how we judge sermons, ministries, and churches on how much or little we are entertained, I mean amused/moved/wowed, by them.

In truth, I want to pastor an entertaining church. I really do. Where people invite others in to their lives for mutual encouragement in the gospel. Where people challenge themselves to think deeply about the truths of the gospel, and let that fuel their emotions. Where people are welcomed to entertain the ideas of the gospel, and wrestle with truth in a safe environment full of love and absent of emotionalism and manipulation. And especially where Jesus is always the guest of honor in our Sunday gatherings, and where we desire to serve Him well, because He is worth all the fuss.

The Stress of Life and the Sympathy of our King

"Since we then have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who win every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  Hebrews 4:14-16

I celebrated my 49th birthday last month. I have been alive on this earth almost half a century, and in those years I have seen and experienced so much stuff. Being a pastor has given me a front row seat to a lot of joy and a lot of pain. You figure out at some point along the way that life is hard, unfair, and sometimes cruel. But, if you live long enough, say, 49 years or so, then you also figure out that no matter how bad it gets, the sun is coming up in the morning. You find that over time you've been able to walk this hard road of life without falling apart of being crushed. You watch others endure some of the greatest stresses and sufferings of life, and they make it through. And the sun comes up the next day.

Figuring this out does a couple of things to a person's heart. First, it can settle it down. We panic less, become more patient, knowing that this too will pass. But second, it also can stiffen our hearts. We might have more patience, but we have less compassion. "Stop your whining! Don't you know the sun is coming up tomorrow?"

My guess is that this might be why the older we get the meaner we seem to be. Our culture seems to depict older folks as crabby, difficult, calloused, complaining and hard. "Hey you kids...get off my lawn!" Not everyone, of course. Just a few older people I know.

I have found myself becoming that person more and more. But I will tell you what is breaking up that concrete--my kids. It is one thing to go through the disappointments of life, to feel the pressure and stress of trying to live in this world, and attempting to walk through the mine field on your own. It is something altogether to agonize as your kids do it.

It will melt your heart.

You watch as a friend betrays them. Or they fail a test they just knew they would pass. Maybe they get cut from the team. Not invited to the birthday party. Their little heart gets broken. You watch their innocence polluted by this dirty world. They fight and lose against sin.

What does a parent do in those moments? You hug your kid and tell them you hate that things are tough. You listen to them. You cry for and with them. You remind them with words and silence that you love them. You hang out with them. Buy a milkshake. And you ache in the deepest part of you as you pray for them. You sympathize with them.

As an adult who is getting older and crabbier I might say to myself and want to say to other adults, "Tough luck...buck up buddy. Life stinks; deal with it. The sun is coming up tomorrow, so get over it." But as a parent I am moved with compassion in a way that only a parent can understand.

As a Christian, I am motivated by the truth that Jesus sympathizes with me in the midst of my stress. He doesn't say, "Nobody promised you that life would be fair! Why are you entitled to an easy life? The sun is coming up tomorrow, so stop your whining, straighten your hair, and march back into this mean old world."

No. He is my King, Great High Priest, and also my big brother. He loves me in the midst of my despair and disappointment. He understands. He calls me to cast my cares upon Him because He truly does care for me. He invites me to come near to Him and receive mercy and grace. He sympathizes.

There is a lot of theology behind this--incarnation, hypostatic union, imago dei, etc. Plenty of sermons in there as well. But first, there is sympathy. "We love Him because He first loved us." How do we know He loves us? "God has demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Let the sermons come; let the prophets speak the truth. But let it come after we sit for a while in His merciful presence. Let it come after we drink in the calming truth of His Word. Let it come after we first love one another, care for one another, and weep with those who weep.

Lord, don't let me heart get so calloused that I'm unable to ache for those around me. Give me Your heart.

God's Grace and the Church Directory

Today my family is scheduled to have our picture made for our "new" church directory. I'm sure most of you know what that is, but just in case you don't, it is a photo book of all the families that are members of our church. This is the third directory that we have done in my 11 years as serving as a pastor in this wonderful congregation.

The other night I poked my head into the room where they are taking the pictures and made a joke about the family that was sitting there getting their photo taken. Then I stopped and looked in on a family that had already gotten theirs done and were reviewing the photo. I made some silly joke about him breaking the camera. We shared a couple of laughs and then I left.

As I was leaving my mind starting to think about how both of these families have been a part of my life for over a decade. A lot of life happens in that span of time. When we moved here our son had just turned one, and now he is twelve and in the youth group. Yes, a lot of life happens in a decade.

This little picture book will prove that. I always love looking to see how time has changed us. Some people will look a lot older, because they are! There might be more gray hair and bald heads than in the last book. Some now have a spouse, or maybe a new spouse. Some families will be larger because of children that have been born, and some will be smaller as some kids have grown up and marched out into the world. Some kids that were young when I arrived have graduated college, gotten a job, and have a family of their own. Some are living in different parts of the world. Some are serving the Lord in this congregation, and I have had a front row seat to watch how Jesus has been working in the lives of these families.

Some faces will be missing because in the few years since the last book they have walked through the valley of the shadow of death. As a pastor, we know that disease and death are roads that we travel with our flock. I have stood by many a hospital bed and discussed the comforting grace of Jesus with many a friend who was headed home. There will be a few more widows in this directory than the last one.

Some faces will be missing because in God's sovereign plan He has moved a family to another town or another state. They were only passing though this place for a little while, and I praise God that our lives intersected and that I was able to serve their family, even if for a short time. Some will be missing because they have been called to serve as either pastors or missionaries. What a great joy to this pastor's heart to not see their faces, if you know what I mean. But other faces will be missing because they just simply left to attend another church in town. Their picture will show up in another pictorial directory of another church down the road. It happens. But the beautiful thing is to see the new faces, the ones who didn't live here 5 years ago whom God has brought to this little town and into the life of this little church.

There will also be the faces of new believers and new staff members since the last picture book. God is faithful to His church to provide resources, leadership, people, ministry and mission.

So, when I get my book I'm going to look through it slowly, looking at each family and thanking God for His grace to allow me to be a part of this. There has been a lot of tears along the way. Divorce, disease, death. Rebellion, addiction, and tragedy. But there has also been a lot of joy. Lots of laughter. Way too much food. Mission trips, baptisms, baby dedications, celebration of graduates, people called out to serve, times of prayer and communions, camps, Bible studies, mission conferences and a ton of other things that have knit this little band of people together. What a gift to walk together with a desire to glorify the Lord by making disciples who advance the gospel.

There really is a great testimony of grace in this little picture book.

Mission Before Me

Paul, the great apostle, preacher, theologian, missionary and church planter woke up one morning in a dark prison cell, not knowing if he was going to live or die. He had traveled the world preaching the gospel and planting churches with mixed results. Some believed in the message of a Savior who had died for their sins, while others rejected his message as rubbish or foolishness. All this preaching had gotten him beaten on occasion, run out of more than one town, as well as thrown in jail several different times.

This time was different. He seemed to know deep down that he might not ever walk out a free man. But he might. There was no way for him to know, so everyday was filled with wondering and praying. 

He also did some writing. There were a lot of people who were concerned about him and even though he was in chains there was still work to be done, work that at this moment could only carry on through his pen.

On his mind was a little band of people who lived in Philippi. He might never have visited Philippi were it not for a dream one night. Paul was a transformed man on a mission. Ever since Jesus Christ had arrested him on the Damascus road he had been committed to traveling the world preaching the gospel and planting churches. So he headed for Asia Minor. That would be the field that he would sow the gospel seed. Or so he thought.

One night as he was deep in sleep, he had a dream of a man from Europe standing before him; a Macedonian man to be exact. He simply stood there and said, "Come and help us." Believing that the Lord was re-directing his journey, Paul and his little mission team headed to Europe. The first town they came to on their European adventure was Philippi.

The details of the story are told in Acts 16. He is able to share the gospel, see the grace of God take root in a few hearts, and plant a gospel church in the midst of a pagan culture. But that was a few years ago. If he ever gets out of those chains he might be able to visit the church again, but that's a big if. 

It wasn't easy being a Christian in the first century, especially in the city of Philippi. Many in the church suffered for following Jesus and declaring that Jesus is Lord. Some may wind up in that Philippian jail that Paul himself spend a night in years ago. So, from his place of arrest he takes up his pen to encourage this little church in the gospel. He wants them to know that there is one thing they can be certain of in the future...that the gospel will advance.

As you read this little letter written to such a small, trembling band of believers living for Christ in the middle of a vicious, pagan world you see one flashing message, like a flashing neon sign on a dark night: the mission is more important than me.

Paul knows the reality of his situation, which really boils down to three options. One, beheading; two, torn to pieces by lions in the Roman coliseum; or three, crucifixion. Do any of those sound appealing to you? What he writes to the church in the face of this is stunning and instructive for us.

"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel...Christ is proclaimed and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life of by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:12-21)

Here is what Paul is saying--in that moment, with the real possibility of dying a horrible, painful death, I don't want to back down. I don't want to wimp out. I don't want to be ashamed. I want to boldly declare the gospel. In that moment I want the mission to be more important than me.

Paul lived in a shame and honor culture. It was shameful to be a prisoner. He expected to be vindicated and not at all to be ashamed. We would expect to read from him, "But instead I will be honored." But those words aren't written. Instead he says that Christ will be honored. He doesn't want to walk into the courtroom and demand his rights and his honor. Why? Because the gospel had radically reshaped his purpose and his goals. Mission before me.

I read somewhere that 100 years ago missionaries boarded their ships to go to the nations with their belongings packed in their coffin. Why? Because if you couldn't fit it in a coffin you didn't need it and also, you didn't plan on coming home. The advancement of the gospel was greater than life itself. To live is Christ, to die is gain.

When your supreme purpose if to magnify Christ, then you will say, "Mission before me." You will put the advancement of the gospel above the advancement of yourself. Instead of praying that your life would be more comfortable, more pain free, more enjoyable, and more blessed with stuff, you pray that you would walk each day into a world hostile towards the gospel and that you would be bold, that you would not be ashamed of the gospel, and that you would magnify Christ by your words and your works.

This little phrase, "mission before me," has become an unofficial motto among the staff at DBC. It is a truth that I regularly ask the Lord to make true in my life. It is also what I pray for the body of Christ. So, when trying to decide what to call this blog, MISSION > me seemed like an appropriate title. 

Lord, let it be true of us, that we live our lives in such radical joy in the grace of Christ that we are able to say, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." May Christ be the greatest treasure of our hearts so that we don't deceive ourselves by thinking that the things of this earth can fulfill us. And may we be able to say and live out this truth: "The mission before me."

Ken's Idea

I serve as a pastor in a wonderful church with a fantastic staff team. Next month I will celebrate my 11th anniversary of being a part of this ministry. Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for God's grace to allow me to be a part of such an amazing group of people.

One of those people is Ken, who is one of the pastors that I serve with. He is not only a co-laborer but a good friend. He is also a redneck with an awesome goatee and a head full of stories that will make you laugh so hard you cry.

The other day the pastoral team was in a monthly planning meeting where we were discussing upcoming events, the state of the church, new members, those who needed some care and the like. We rejoiced in God's faithfulness to His church, and we struggled through some problems and difficulties. It was a very long meeting where we dealt what seemed like a thousand ministry issues.

Everything was coming to a nice conclusion. We were landing the plane, so to speak, when all of a sudden Ken pipes us and says (at least this is how I remember it), "Hey, I've got an idea. You need to start a blog."

It came right out of left field, where Ken lives most of the time I think.

So, welcome to left field and this blog that Ken wants to read. You'd think he would just sit in my office and listen to me talk if he was that interested in my thoughts on theology, church, mission, Jesus, the Bible, preaching, friends, food and family.

But no...he wants me to write it all down and invite you to engage with it. It's probably better this way, since it keeps him out of my office for long periods of time!

Feel free to email me or leave a comment if you have questions or topics that you would like me to deal with. Next time I'll write about the title of the blog...what it means and why it matters. See you then!