Fourth Year Ministries

 You've probably heard it a million times by now. We are living in unprecedented and uncertain times. So much of what is being discussed right now is political. I want to be clear: this is not a political post. It's not a left wing or a right wing thing. I'm making a theological statement as a follower of Jesus Christ. I'm not shying away from politics because I'm afraid of it. Instead, I am refusing to talk much about politics during these times because talking about Christ is way more important. It was more important before  these times. It will be more important afterward, too. As one of the tracts we've distributed in the past so eloquently puts it: No matter who is president, Jesus is King. (You can get some of these tracts for yourself from our friends at onemilliontracts.com  -- they have bumper stickers and magnets , too.) Due to the overemphasis on politics, we've allowed everything to become politicized. Even attending church nowadays is a politic...

I used to be a salesman. I sold a lot of different stuff. I worked retail. I did door-to-door. In all my various jobs my function was essentially the same. I was the link between company and customer. Successful companies know their customer demographics. Many sales meetings revolve around numbers. Persons are treated as statistics. The customer becomes a set of numbers, preferences, and habits. Really successful companies cater their goods and services to a target demographic. It's all about the consumer experience. I remember when I began in pastoral ministry. People assured me that my experience as a salesman would be beneficial. They said there was a lot of overlap between pastors and salespeople. That may be true in our experience. But is it true of what we read in Scripture? When I open my Bible and read about Christ's church I see a beautiful design that is very different from a business. Night and day different. When Jesus walked the earth He rebuked those who...

My children sometimes enjoy making obstacle courses. In our backyard. In the basement. They enjoy racing against each other to see who can get through the course the fastest. Some adults enjoy obstacle courses. I am not one of those adults. Obstacles are annoying to me. I prefer a straight, smooth course. Even still, life is filled with obstacles. They are unavoidable. We must learn to deal with them. Everyone who desires to live as a witness of Jesus Christ needs to understand three common obstacles to the salvation of others. We must understand and look for them so we can faithfully navigate the way. 1. The Enemy. The Bible describes the devil as the god of this world. Part of his work is to blind people to the gospel. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ...

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3) The truth of the gospel includes this important phrase: Christ died for our sins . You've probably heard it before. Many times. Sometimes familiarity leads to a diminished sense of importance. The more you hear about something the more ordinary it may seem. Common. Ho-hum. Boring. But this truth is anything but common. Another difficulty arises with this truth. Beyond being common. It may happen in your ears without you even realizing it. When the truth is declared that Christ died for our sins, you may think you hear the truth. But what you really hear is a diminished version. A partial truth. Instead of hearing that Christ died for our sins you may hear a slightly different version of this truth. You might hear this: Jesus died for your sins. Do you see the difference? You should. These statements are similar. Both m...

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Mark 4:9) I pay a lot of attention to how the gospel is preached. I listen carefully to invitations to accept Christ . I compare the things I hear to Scripture. I compare them to how Jesus, the Apostles, and other Christians in the New Testament preached. Much of what I hear today doesn't sound like what I read. My desire is to make my own proclamation and gospel testimony sound more like the example of Christ . More like the Apostles . Less like a salesman. How about you? If we want to understand the ministry of sowing, we can find no better teacher than Jesus. This is His teaching: "Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no...

Some Christians look at the men and women recorded in the Bible as "super saints." People whose images are rightly captured on stained-glass windows. Those whose sacrificial service to the King of kings is beyond the grasp of normal, regular, every day Christians. But this is not how the Apostle Paul viewed himself. Paul urged Christians in Corinth to be imitators of him. Twice (1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1). He said similar things to Christians in his other letters. See, for example, Ephesians 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:6, 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9; Hebrews 6:12, 13:7; and 3 John 1:11. Paul said this instruction of imitating him and his conduct is something he teaches everywhere he goes: Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me . For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church . (1 Corinthians 4:16-17) Paul traveled. He preached...

The modern church has no shortage of programs. It's a virtual buffet of options. We've got programs for children, youth, young adults, regular adults, senior adults, singles, married, and divorced. We have music programs, motorcycle programs, discipleship programs, addiction programs, prison programs, visitation programs, evangelism programs, shut-in programs, summer programs, winter programs, holiday programs, and so on. Programs for the grieving and for those who are rejoicing. In-reach, out-reach. You name it, we've got it. Did I miss your favorite program? Would you leave a church because they did not have it? I am not trying to be silly. This is serious. People attend and leave churches because of programs. Even when a local church has a program, it is constantly in danger of losing people to a better program down the road. Many of the growing churches are growing by transfer growth, not conversions of nonbelievers. The buffet of programs seemingly exist...

Some jobs are more dangerous than others. Certain risks are associated with various professions. By most standards, pastors have a pretty cushy job. At least we do in the United States. But even in this modern American context there is a real danger for pastors. Few are talking about it. Most don't even know it's a danger. But it's there. Always lurking. It's a hazard that many fall into. It seems that many don't even realize they've fallen into the trap. This occupational hazard for pastors (and for all Christians really) is related to pride. It's a symptom of our modern church systems. It can only be fixed by returning to a robust theology of the church and focusing our attention back where it belongs. So, what is the danger? It is foolishly taking a position for ourselves with our lips that doesn't belong to us. The danger arises every time I meet someone new. Typical conversations may dwell for a few minutes on superficial and trivial...