The Phil Files

My friend and ministry partner, Vann, suggested I take a look at Ed Stetzer’s blog on the decline of Southern Baptists and the trend stats that suggest this is going to continue. As I read through the post, I was struck by several things that Ed emphasized and the implications for those of us who are committed to Jesus Christ as Son of God and Lord and the authority of Scripture, but who are not Baptists.

First, Ed warned against blaming any one thing or group and scapegoating them. These are bigger and systemic issues as well as cultural challenges that we face in our churches and groups.

Second, the temptation is to “turn left” and soften some theological stances is not the answer. The research suggests that softening doctrinal stances, especially on the authority of Scripture and the unique and singular Lordship of Jesus, only speeds up the decline.

Third, we must recognize we live in a challenging culture, but as Ed says:

Is the culture getting worse? Sure it is. But we should be the ones giving a reason for our hope rather than hoping for a reason [to explain our decline].

His suggestion is a renewal of Great Commission passion and seize this truly bad news as an opportunity for transformational change:

We have been lulled into evangelistic complacency and missional inaction. … I think we need to see this as the bad news it is but also an opportunity to change. … It is an opportunity for discovering a regenerate church membership living on mission.
It is an open door to pray for God’s reviving of the church.

The question Ed leaves all of us with is this — because every careful observer realizes that the influence of a genuine Christian faith has lost significant ground in Western culture and is losing more every day: if change only occurs when we feel enough pain to want to change, then do we feel enough pain? Will we respond, or will we simply look the other way and stay on our current (and declining) course of inaction?

In a time of religious consumerism, what will we do to live for Jesus and help others find their hope in Him?

Vann and I will begin a discussion related to this issue, and others, using the book Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Tullian Tchividjian. Look for the discussion on each of our blogs (click for Vann’s Blog) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Hope you will join the discussion.

This week’s Hearlight.org article, “The Power to Risk,” furnishes the background for this post. I would encourage you to read the article and please, I’d love to get your input into this discussion.

So frequently, our first reaction to anything that calls for risk in churchland is to pull out the old and often repeated maxim: “I’d rather be safe than sorry.” This maxim — or more accurately, this excuse — places anything new into the spiritually questionable category. Little by little, this mentality can so pervade a group that it gets to the point that it are afraid of doing anything for fear it might mess something up. The group gets so afraid of messing up, that it ends up doing nothing and thinking that it should be should be rewarded for simply existing. The Master, however, in Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, makes clear that the those who use this “play it safe” mentality with what God’s has entrusted to them are “evil and lazy.”

I love this Frances Chan piece on this principle that dramatically brings home the foolishness of the “play it safe” mentality:

So what are you called by Jesus to risk for the Kingdom? Have you thought about it? I would love for you to put down some specific things for you to risk for the Lord. (There are questions that follow the very end of this post to help you consider these things.

And as you try to discover that one calling Jesus is challenging you to embrace, view this sarcastic piece written to make us laugh and maybe get a little bit angry as we peer into a community called  Bubble Creek Canyon. We would probably feel spiritually protected here, but I am not sure how much good we would be able to do for the Kingdom.

LIFE Questions to Consider:

Why do you think so many Bible-believing followers of Jesus approach life and their discipleship with the idea, “I would rather be safe than sorry.”

Read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 and discuss the following questions:

• Is the theme of this parable using our talents?

• Look at verses 18 and verses 24-30: what was the problem with this servant?

• How did his view of God effect his decision to just bury his “bag of gold” (his talent)?

• How did this servant practice the “better safe than sorry” principle in his use of what the master entrusted to him?

• What was the verdict of the master on this servant and why?

Jesus called His followers to be His witnesses – to tell all that He had done in their lives and in His ministry – to the whole world (Acts 1:8).

• Why do you think it is so hard for folks to “witness” to what Christ has done in their lives today?

• When is the last time you heard a follower of Jesus say, “We cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard”? (cf. Acts 4:18-20)

Do you think that most of Jesus’ modern followers’ inability to witness to Him is tied to their unwillingness to risk for Him and need His presence in their lives?

What promises about Jesus’ presence in our lives can you remember and what are they tied to in our lives? (Here are so examples to get you started:)

• Matthew 28:18-20
• Hebrews 13:5-6
• Romans 8:32-39
• Matthew 25:31-46

What a refreshing break from the routine. I am hiding away in a pretty place reading, resting, and wrting. Sorry, occupational hazard to alliterate. My essentials, a couple of computers, an internet connection, several translations of the Bible, my new Kindle 2 (wow, is that ever great for folks that read like Donna and I do), a beautiful view, books to read, and time to write! Here’s the view:

So what’s been the reading agenda so far?

• The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible by Scot McKnight (finished)
• Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan (finished)
• Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith by Ann Spangler & Lois Tverberg (finished)
• A Theology of Reading: The Hermeneutics of Love by Alan Jacobs (if I have time)
• Gospel of Matthew (many times in multiple versions — in progress)

All of the books are challenging and interesting. I am a big fan of McKnight’s book, The Jesus Creed and did not know what The Blue Parakeet: was about till I got into it. Very interesting read and written well. Moves along, but of course I checked out every note and had to think through a bunch of stuff. Hang on, this book will take your brain and your way of approaching Scripture for a ride.

Crazy Love is Francis Chan as a speaker in written form. It has interactive videos online for the early part of the book. I actually found the latter part of the book more challenging and better reading.

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus will be a hot book on the evangelical market for several reasons:

1. Spangler is a popular author, especially among women.
2. The content and title of the book sounds interesting. It is! I found the first half of the book absolutely outstanding. The second half didn’t seem as crisp. I read every footnote with interest and eagerness. I was very impressed with the conversation with scholarly sources while keeping the message of the book very readable for interested Bible students.
3. Great background information in a readable format to help moderns understand much more of what Jesus said and who He was in His time so we can understand Him for our time.
4. Practical tools for incorporating or experiencing some of the Jewish heritage we share as Christians.

The focus of my time has been and will be the Gospel of Matthew. More will come out about all of this later, Lord willing, but I am absolutely certain that Matthew brings us a great resource that has long been neglected while we gravitate toward the other Gospels. I believe Matthew’s story will be a great Gospel for our times for many of the same reasons it was the most popular Gospel among believers for centuries until recent times.

O, one other thing: while not on the nutrition pyramid, those BBW tater chips and a great view help make study better, more focused, and an act of joyful table fellowship with the Lord as I study and read.

Grace!

We got up this morning to these realities:

Zach and Mandy are safely back in Lexington and back at work

Megan’s Christmas village vanished last night while we slept — she put away all her houses, figurines, and twinkling lights that covered our den

boxes all over the garage waiting to be put into the attic

all the Christmas decorations are removed from our house and the place looks a little bare

My Tahoe is clean and my camo and bow are put away

Donna has a ton of testing to do at school for the start of a new semester

I am a year older based on the calendar

My to do list won’t fit on a computer screen even using that 8 point type my eyes can’t read

Bottom line, Chistmas is now past tense. The holiday has been glorious with great things that happend for us as a family and for Heartlight and for our church. But, we are now left with the last bit of clean up, scheduling of things for next year’s events, and the long hard run to Spring Break.

Like you, I’ve got two choices — sink into a bummer mood or get on with the stuff at hand and try to be a blessing to folks who are in a bummer mood. As if to plant a loving boot in my backside, the Lord has blessed us with a beautiful January day — no whining or complaining about winter weather for folks around here today!

So … onward with the “trying to be a blessing” part and here’s a prayer that your New Year is one that is productive as you serve the Lord and seek to bless folks along the way! And just a thought: maybe if I can remember what it was like to be a kid, instead of thinking about Christmas as past tense, maybe I can start anticipating the coming of the first Christmas catalogues and remember that Christmas of 2009 is really on its way!

In my Heartlight.org article, On Tiptoe with Angels, I talk about the significance of angels in Luke’s stories about Jesus’ birth.

Luke seems to be wanting us see the angels in the stories related to Jesus’ birth to …

• … say this is important, pay attention!
• … help us realize God is at work in His great work of deliverance!
• … amaze us with His love!

What do you most need to see in the story of Jesus’ birth?

Why?

What do all the appearances of angels in the story of Jesus birth mean to you?

I’d love to hear from you!

Here’s a graphic I hope you like, right click on it (PC) or ctrl + click (MAC) to save the graphic!

Click here for a 1024 x 768 size version of this image.

Also, check out discussion group questions and an study resources to go with this post.

I’m not much into game shows, but seems like there was a some kind of game show that had this weird beast that carried what was called a whammy. When you chose the wrong square, or something like that, you got the whammy — the beast came out and whammied your score and you lost all of your money.

Well, I’ve had a great month of being outdoors and enjoying all sorts of cool experiences on top of a very busy time of ministry. It finally caught up with me Sunday afternoon. Some weird beast entered my body and started giving me the whammy left and right. After coughing my head off Sunday night, I went in and got a whammy in the back side — an injection — and a couple of scripts of things to take the next week. Now I need to lay low as the weather is coming in and about to put a major whammy on us.

Funny how our bodies remind us that there are limits that we all have and when we push them, or try to ignore them, we are forced to lie down and rest. Today is my study day, and with the weather whammy and the getting sick whammy, I’m pretty sure I’m going to study and rest and hopefully hear some clear word from God as I seek Him in Scripture, prayer, and silence.

Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you (Psalm 116:7).

From Heartlight.org Graphics.