Fourth Year Ministries

Unity is important. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6) The church is called to glorify God with one mind and one voice. Disunity is a terrible hindrance. Paul wrote to quarreling believers in Corinth. They were divided. They were putting more faith in their human leaders than in Christ. The bickering was resulting in factions. Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and...

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Paul's declaration in 2 Corinthians 5:17 is one of the most well-known and oft-quoted verses in Scripture. It speaks of the beautiful truth of salvation. The old things passed away. New things have come. Praise God! Much less quoted are the next verses. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation , namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:18-20, underline added) If you are in Christ, you are a new creature. The old has passed away. The new has come. The "new" includes a...

"Spectator" is not a spiritual gift. It isn't a calling. Yet, many church models breed scores of passive Christians. Instead of making disciples they are making spectators. Dictionary.com defines scandal as follows: Noun a disgraceful or discreditable action, circumstance, etc. an offense caused by a fault or misdeed. damage to reputation; public disgrace. defamatory talk; malicious gossip. a person whose conduct brings disgrace or offense. When people think of a scandal they often think of sex, drugs, and money. Maybe some combination of these things. But not always. Scandals bring shame. Scandals ruin reputations. Often scandals are accompanied by public outrage. Unlike the scandals you hear or read about on the Internet this scandal doesn't center around sex, drugs, or money. It's the scandal of passive Christianity. It's operating right under our noses. When you enter most church buildings you will find that they are setup lik...

Do this. Don't do that. Shop here. Don't shop there. This is acceptable. That is an abomination. Don't get me wrong. Christianity does have a moral code. That's undeniable. And that moral code is not popular. Not by a long shot. The Bible is clear that the moral code is contrary to the flesh. By definition it goes against the grain of fallen human nature. But Christianity isn't moralism. The moral code is not the end. It's only a diagnostic. The Bible calls for rebels against the King of heaven and earth to be reconciled to Him through His Son, Jesus the Christ. The Bible calls for people to turn from their rebellion and live for Him. This means that we stop pursuing the various lusts and impulses of our flesh. It means we start living in obedience to our King. We live for the glory of His name. The diagnostic helps us to see that we are off track. But living according to some external sort of rules is not the end goal. That was the mistake the P...

Mission. Vision. Direction. Purpose. These are powerful concepts. Organizations that want to be successful need to skillfully employ them to get people to participate. This same strategy is often used in local churches. Many pastoral job descriptions include casting vision. Successful churches often have mission statements as a focal point of all their church ministries and literature. Do you have a mission statement? Does your church? Do you know God's mission statement? Many people long to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be part of a movement. The grandest mission is God's. He has revealed it plainly in the Scriptures. God is at work in this world. If you don't understand His mission you may not know how to discern His activity. Many falsely preach that God's mission is to make you happy and fulfilled. If that's God's mission then He isn't doing a very good job at it. God's real mission is clear. God is redeem...

Stop playing defense. If we're going to let Jesus have His way in His church then we need to stop playing defense. We need to focus on playing offense . Look carefully at what Jesus said about the nature of His church: "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18). Gates are defensive structures. They are built to protect their own. Jesus plainly said that He would build His church. This building would happen on the rock of people confessing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. As Jesus builds His church people will come out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light (1 Pet 2:9-10). The gates of Hades will not be able to stop the advance of Christ's kingdom expansion. Somewhere along the lines those who call themselves Christians reversed the purpose of the church. We stopped being gate crashers of the kingdom of darkness . We started buildi...

What a difference word order can make. The question is about priorities. Which takes precedence for you: your faith or your patriotism? I'm not asking you to abandon one or the other. I am asking you to be honest with yourself and answer this question: Is your life more defined by your Christianity and the Lord you claim to serve, or by the American dream, and your right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? How would your family answer this question about you? What about your coworkers? Your neighbors? How would those who read your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any and every other aspect of your public life answer that question about you? Are you more defined by your right to living your own life? Or by Christ living through you as you lay your own life down? Are you more defined by your right to liberties? Or by your right to lay down your freedoms for the sake of others? Are you more defined by your right to pursue happiness? Or by your privilege ...

I have a problem. Maybe you do, too. I bet you can at least relate. I'm self-centered. By nature, I think from my perspective. Often, more often than I'd usually like to admit, I pursue my agenda. I like to do, what I like to do, when I like to do it, where I like to do it, how I like to do it, and with whomever I like to do it. I think you do, too. Sometimes we are good at hiding this self-centeredness. I believe that it is possible to have genuinely altruistic moments. Moments where we put others self-interest above our own well-being. Sometimes powerful emotions like love, hate, and disgust, can cause us to act contrary to our self-centered notions. Sometimes. As Christians, we are given the gift of God's grace through His Son, Jesus Christ. We receive this gift when we repent of our self-centered ways and trust in Christ alone. In the noise that is "Christianity" - if you take the time to really listen - you will often hear a false ...

Gate Crashers: The Offensive Church is now available from Wipf and Stock publishers! Get your copy at http://wipfandstock.com/gate-crashers.html or from Amazon .