This is an unbelievably moving story testifying to the power of the gospel.
“Erik is a youth pastor. Matthew is a firefighter/EMT. They meet together every month to discuss what God is doing in their lives. But Erik wishes he’d met Matthew under different circumstances. You see, a few years ago after a long shift, Matthew fell asleep at the wheel and crashed head-on into a car carrying Erik’s pregnant wife and daughter. His wife and unborn son didn’t survive.”
Desiring God has posted the audio and video files from this years national conference on imagination in the work of C.S. Lewis. Enjoy!
I was with Trevin Wax the other night at a training session for bible teachers in Memphis, Tennessee. During Trevin’s session he used this story to illustrate why it is important not to jump right to application before leading people to awe at the power of Jesus Christ.
Mark Galli, in his book, Jesus Mean and Wild, illustrates this point wonderfully when telling about the time a group of Laotian refugees started attending the church he led in Sacramento.
After the service one Sunday, they approached him and asked to become members. They had only a rudimentary understanding of the Christian faith, so Pastor Mark suggested they study the Gospel of Mark together for a few weeks to make sure they knew what a commitment to Christ and his church entailed. They happily agreed.
Mark says, “Those Bible studies were some of the most interesting he has ever led.” After they read the passage in which Jesus calms the storm, Mark began as he usually did with more theologically sophisticated groups: he asked them about the storms in their lives.
There was a puzzled look among his Laotian friends, so he elaborated: “We all have storms—problems, worries, troubles, crises—and this story teaches that Jesus can give us peace in the midst of those storms. So what are your storms?” he asked.
Again, more puzzled silence. Finally, one of the men hesitantly asked, “Do you mean that Jesus actually calmed the wind and sea in the middle of a storm?”
Mark thought the man was finding the story incredulous, and Mark didn’t want to get distracted with the problem of miracles. So he replied: “Yes, but we should not get hung up on the details of the miracle. We should remember that Jesus can calm the storms in our lives.”
There was another stretch of awkward silence until another replied, “Well, if Jesus calmed the wind and the waves, he must be a powerful man!” At this, they all nodded vigorously and chattered excitedly to one another in Lao.
Mark says, “Except for me, the room was full of wonder. I suddenly realized that they grasped the story better than I did.”
(Mark Galli, Jesus Mean and Wild, Baker, 2006, p. 112)
My friend and co-worker (and fellow fruit flavored candy lover) Michael Kelley has written an extremely helpful book titled Boring. Not only is Michael a good writer, he is also a good thinker. He applies these two God given gifts to challenge our perceptions of everyday average life.
“What if we are looking so hard for these grandiose experiences of significance that we are missing the opportunities for significance right in front of us,” he writes. “What if there is no such thing as ordinary when you follow an extraordinary God?” (8)
In Boring, Michael seeks to reorient the reader to this important and often neglected truth. Too many of us fear that our lives will be ordinary. However, for the Christian, an ordinary life is a paralyzing myth. If you are a follower of Christ – you are the child of a God that is anything but ordinary. The God of the Bible is the God who created, sustains, and providentially directs all things – including the seemingly mundane details of your life. This is not an abstract theological truth that has no impact on your daily activities, but should shape every aspect of your life.
The problem is that too many of us miss what God is doing in the valley, because we are longing for the mountain top experience. However, all of us know that the majority of the Christian life is lived in the valley. According to Kelley, “…The truth is that we will all spend 90 percent of our time here on earth just doing life. Just being ordinary.” So, the heart of the problem is not with the routines of life, but with our understanding and expectations of them. Kelley argues that we should reorient our thinking to see the profound nature of our extraordinary God, and how that impacts the activities of daily life.
“What if God actually doesn’t want you to escape from the ordinary, but to find significance and meaning inside of it?”
The question isn’t whether or not God is present and active; the question is just how aware we are of that presence and activity.
“This greater reality is happening right in the middle of the ordinary people, singing in their off-key kind of way, trying to wrangle their ornery children. In the middle of the mundane there is something of cosmic significance going on…A regular life isn’t just a series of physical times and moment strung together; it’s a progression of being formed into the image of Jesus…Because an extraordinary and active God is there, constantly working, there is no such thing as ordinary anymore.”
Pick up this book and read. Prayerfully, Michael will show you how to see every relationship, every act of kindness, and every moment for what it is: a part of God’s exciting plan for your life.
The Ministry of Together for Adoption
Laura and I are so grateful for the ministry of Together for Adoption. Several years ago we attended the national conference in Franklin, TN, while waiting to adopt our son Solomon. If you have adopted, are in the process of adopting, or praying about adopting I would encourage you to attend the Together for Adoption National Conference on October 4-5 at Southern Seminary. If you do attend, prepare to be inspired and equipped for adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry. Here are the details.
Six rich general sessions. Sixty tool-gathering workshops. One breathtaking Story.
In the Bible, Adoption is a story-word. God’s work of adoption within the world is a story that encompasses all of human history, from its pre-temporal beginnings when God predestined us to “adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:3-6) to the eventual renewal of all creation (Romans 8:23)—the Day when everything sad comes untrue. From the Apostle Paul’s perspective, Adoption is the redemptive Story that changes everything for us and the fatherless.
Alongside the six rich plenary sessions, our national conference will provide more than sixty tool-gathering workshops led by Dr. Timothy Paul Jones, Dr. Randy Stinson, Johnny Carr, Dr. Jon Bergeron, Gerrit Dawson, Susan Hillis, Elizabeth Styffe, and many other global leaders.
Together for Adoption National Conference Details
Download the PDF version of the Breakout Sessions listed according to their Story-Tracks.
Over the last year or so I have watched my friend Tim Brister devote a considerable amount of time to writing about missional living. Not too long ago Tim posted a summary blog of his reflections and writings on this subject. I have found his thoughts beneficial and challenging, so I wanted to share them here.
Next week I will begin teaching a class on the doctrine of humanity with Philip Nation at The Fellowship, Two Rivers. The class will last 8 weeks and will roughly follow the outline of The Gospel Project’s Fall study titled “Bearing God’s Image”.
If you are in the Nashville area, come and join us!
It is an honor to serve on The Gospel Project team! I am excited to join over 400,000 other believers who will dig into this study over the next few months.
In my preparation for the class I have found several resources helpful, and wanted to share them here.
If you are teaching through The Gospel Project this fall, be sure to check out these resources which we have made available at The Gospel Project’s website.
Consider the words of one theologian, “…our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” My prayer is that we would come to know God in this study, and come to know ourselves in the way God has created us and redeemed us to be.
This was originally posted at The Gospel Project site. To see the entire series click here.
The Need for Physical Rest
As we get older, it is inevitable that we will wear down physically. In turn, our need for rest and recuperation becomes more noticeable. At least, that’s been my experience in the last few years. When I do not get as much rest as I need, I become impatient and irritable towards my family and friends. So, the older I get, the more I cherish rest. Many nights I collapse into the bed exhausted, and sink into the mattress from the weight of the day’s activity.
Physical rest repairs and rebuilds the body and mind. When we exert ourselves physically or mentally, we long for the restoration of our energy. Researchers have shown that both the physical stress of manual labor and even the emotional stress of a desk job require subsequent rest for the body and mind to recuperate.
Many of us need more rest; we live in a culture that forfeits rest to chronically overwork. Studies have shown that the average American doesn’t get nearly enough sleep for what their body requires to function at peak performance. This scientific information is good and all, but research can only offer observations about rest and our need for rest. The Bible, on the other hand, can actually offer the deeper reasons for unrest and lasting motivations for rest.
A Theology of Rest?
What actually drives us to unrest is rooted in our hearts, usually idolatry. For example, the workaholic sacrifices rest to the god of success, power, and productivity. This pattern can be seen in almost all areas of our life. The good news is, God is not silent about our need for rest nor has He left us without good reason or motivation for rest. The Bible is very clear that humans need rest, and interestingly enough, rest teaches us something about God.
Physical Rest is a Gift from God
God building in the need for rest in the lives of His creatures is a gift of grace. In Psalm 127, we read that God “gives to His beloved in his sleep.” The nights that I sleep well lead to mornings when I am most refreshed and days that I am most productive. Let’s face it; the anxieties of everyday life can wear us down to the point of physical and emotional fatigue. I am thankful that the infinite God granted this finite man the need for rest. In fact, it is impossible for a finite being like you and I to live well without rest.
Physical Rest Reminds us that We are not God
Again, the psalmist proclaims that God will “neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). How different from us? We need rest. If we do not rest it has massive implications for our physical, emotional, and mental health. However, God does not need rest. Not only is God all-powerful (not needing rest), He is ever-watchful (watching us while we rest). For some of us it is a scary thing to consider that we lay down all control and consciousness when we sleep. The most powerful people in all of humanity spend a third of their lives asleep, as helpless as an infant, and the world still progresses. Simply put, we are not God.
Physical Rest requires us to Relinquish Control
God handles the world quite well while on His own. God is sovereign over our world while we are awake, even more so when we are at rest. John Piper once said, “…Sleep is like a broken record that comes around with the same message every day: Man is not sovereign.” We’ve all heard the hard worker wax all self-righteously about his/her early morning and late night working hours, as if they run the world. How silly. It’s better to work well and sleep well, rather than to sacrifice rest in an effort to stay in control.
Lying Down and Laying it Down
God intended sleep to be a gift, a time every day where we remind ourselves that we are not God, and that God is in control. If you are like me, you probably have trouble sleeping when you are worried about something. Well, Jesus is pretty clear on the fact that worrying accomplishes nothing (Matthew 6:27-29).
So, I’ve learned that when I lie down to sleep it helps me to say to myself, “God, I am powering down, even though there is a ton to do, and lots to worry about, You are awake, working, and in perfect control, so I trust You to handle what I can’t.” It helps me rest well knowing that everything is in His hands.
I recently had the opportunity to dialog with Eric Geiger about discipleship at his blog. Eric serves as one of the Vice Presidents at LifeWay Christian Resources, leading the Church Resources Division, which means he is my boss. I highly respect Eric and count it a joy to work under him on the church resources team. For the interview, Eric asked me three questions concerning discipleship in the local church. I have posted the interview in its entirety below.
Eric: Discipleship is such a broad term, often a junk-drawer term that has been used to describe many things. How do you define it?
Matt: The term discipleship is somewhat convoluted in today’s church. I’ve seen churches call everything from bible classes, financial courses, theology groups, marriage seminars, and speculative classes on the end times, ‘discipleship’. Certainly, discipleship involves having a biblical understanding of every aspect of life. However, calling everything done under the auspices of the local church ‘discipleship’ is unhelpful at best. When Jesus called the twelve to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to observe all he commanded them, I doubt he had in mind what most churches call discipleship today. (see Matthew 28:19-20)
The word translated ‘disciple’ in the New Testament communicates the idea of a ‘learner’. A Christian disciple is one who learns the good news of the gospel and applies it to all of life. If you read through all that Jesus commanded the disciples you will find both gospel proclamation and kingdom demonstration. That is, teaching on the Scriptures and application of those teachings. Discipleship should be gospel-centered, word focused, and mission oriented. So, what is discipleship? To use the words of J.I. Packer, discipleship involves “grounding and growing God’s people in the gospel and its implications for doctrine, devotion, duty, and delight” (Grounded in the Gospel, 29). Discipleship is the intentional passing on of the biblical faith.
Moreover, disciples are not merely learners but fruit-bearing disciple-makers; they multiply themselves. (Acts 20:26-35; 2 Timothy 2:2) Those who follow Jesus are called and charged to be people who, having themselves learned, now reach out to teach what they have learned. This involves both formal and informal discipleship. Formal discipleship would include bible teaching and doctrinal instruction, what the church once called catechesis. (Jeremiah 6:16; Galatians 6:6) While informal discipleship would be intentional gospel centered encouragement and accountability in more intimate relationships. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
Eric: In terms of discipling new believers, what is of chief importance?
Matt: A new believer needs to understand the gospel first and foremost. What is the good news, what does it means for me, and why does it matter? And honestly, this process of understanding and applying the gospel will last a lifetime. So, of central importance is grasping the gospel. The initial steps of discipleship with a new believer might be more informal, almost like craftsmanship. It takes time, energy, patience, and skill to walk a new believer through the gospel and its implications, applying it to every area of life.
At the same time, I also think that new believers need to be involved in the formal process of discipleship, again, it used to be called catechesis. While the modern church rarely uses the word catechesis, we often engaged in catechesis training, which is simply doctrinal instruction. This involves spiritual, moral, and theological foundations that can help mature a young believer. Many old Saints from church history have argued that a faithful catechesis was absolutely essential to the healthy continuance of Christ’s church. In pastoral ministry I gave much thought to teaching the essentials of the Christian faith for the maturity of the body. Out of this time of study I developed five courses designed to be taught and discussed in both formal and informal settings.
These courses charted out with an end goal in mind, as not to perpetuate the continual learner but to train and equip every person for fruitful personal ministry. The end aim of these courses is to fully equip our people with essential theological understanding so that they can minister with discernment within their spheres of influence. I wrote and taught these classes with the new believer in mind. The initial question that set everything into motion was, what are the essential things I want every member of this church to believe and understand? After several semesters of teaching the courses, it was encouraging to see other church members who had completed the courses teaching them alongside me and the other pastors.
Eric: When thinking or training on discipleship, what passages are anchor passages for you?
Matt: The Apostle Paul charged the leaders in the Ephesian church to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood” (4:12). God has gifted His church with pastors, elders, and leaders with various gifts who are called to equip the church body to do the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11). Notice Paul’s words, equip the saints for ministry.
Too often pastors operate as if they are the only ones capable of ministry. This has been called the professionalization of the ministry. However, it seems that Paul had a different ministry philosophy in mind. I think Michael Green captures this idea in his classic work Evangelism in the Early Church:
“It would be a gross mistake to suppose that the apostles sat down and worked out a plan of campaign: the spread of Christianity was, as we have seen, largely accomplished by informal missionaries, and must have been to a large extent haphazard and spontaneous.”
In other words, ministry was the prerogative of every church member. The ordinary people of the Church saw it as their prerogative. In fact, if one studies church history they will see that Christianity has been supremely a lay movement, spread by informal missionaries. As Green said, “The spontaneous outreach of the total Christian community gave immense [momentum] to the movement from the very outset.”
One of the keys of a multiplying discipleship ministry is intentionality in both informal relationships and formal training structures. All Christians have spiritual gifts that are to be used in ministering to others (1 Cor. 12:7, 11; 1 Pet. 4:10). All training and discipleship should be aimed at these ends, gospel proclamation and kingdom demonstration. In becoming a Christian, each one of us becomes a disciple. As Christians we never stop being disciples. We never reach the point where we no longer require daily discipleship by the gospel word and the gospel community. Moreover, as Christians, we are all called to make disciples.
The Gospel Project is now available with the ESV Bible text in the curriculum. As part of this exciting news, LifeWay and Crossway are partnering together to give away 15 Group Starter Kits worth $100, each including:
Win this, and you’ll have all you need to start a new small group, home group, or bible study class. To earn your chance to win simply follow these steps!
On August 19th the 15 winners of the Group Starter Kits will be announced!
Matt Capps 