If this is all brand new to you, I would recommend this resource page I found today.

This is the text of a homily that will be given by Rev. Jon Wymer tonight at First Christian Church for the “Holy Habits” community Lenten series in York.

The Holy Habit of Dying

Mark 8:31-38

Have you flipped through the religious channels on cable lately?  Have you seen the Christian books that are popular?  What is distinct about  the successful churches?

There are common themes.  Well-dressed people pleading for money.  Touching videos with moving music, urging us to one form of action or another.  Lots of HAIR!

There are common promises.  You can be rich.  You can be happy.  You can be right.  If you follow our path, success is within your grasp.

Lent is a season when we come to grips with another Man.  This Man claimed to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He also claimed to be the only way to God.

We are very familiar as Christians with the Jesus who calls his disciples to come and follow him, leaving their professions as fishermen.  It seems so simple from this vantage point for them to drop their nets and hang out with Jesus.

Then fast-forward to the Great Commission.  Jesus makes a promise right before he leaves earth: that all power will be given to the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations.  Both Jesus’ first call to the disciples and his last promise to them are part of the biblical narrative, but there is a critical call that comes in between these two events.  It is well worth considering during the Lenten season.

Read Mark 8:31-38.  Suffering.  Rejection.  Death.  This does not square with the message we hear from religious people.  If Christianity is a call to be like Jesus, should we be surprised it involves suffering and dying?  How can we follow Jesus into death?

“No” before “Yes” (vs. 34)

The call of Jesus is not for everyone.  It is to the willing, those who want to follow.  “If anyone would come after me,” Jesus says.  If this is what you desire, here is how to do it.  The first step is self-denial.  Ignatius of Antioch said, “My spirit is abased in self-surrender because of the cross, which is an offence to the unbelievers but to us salvation and eternal life.”  The Christian message today is different, but it should not be different.  Our message today is “come to church” or “get saved” or “ask Jesus into your heart” and do it without any change of attitude toward yourself.  There is only one way to follow Jesus though.  He said, “Deny yourself.”  Dietrich Boenhoffer said, “Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”  If death to self was not our starting point and is not part of our Christianity today, is it accurate to believe we are following Jesus?

Jesus says to “take up your cross.”  What might our cross be?  If we have truly denied ourselves, our cross is fighting against the sin in our own hearts.  If we have truly denied ourselves, our cross is serving the best interests of others with humility.  If we have truly denied ourselves, our cross is sharing the truth of the gospel and the name of Jesus readily in the world we live in.  Boenhoffer also said, “To endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.”

Those who have denied themselves and turned away from their sin, who have taken up the suffering and the struggle of their cross, those may follow.  Why does our following Jesus look so little like this?  Why does our faith smack so much of America and so little of Jesus?

Lose To Win (vs. 35-37)

Self-denial.  Jesus said the first thing to follow him was to die to yourself.  Now he says it again, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”  Irenaeus said, “If he did not really suffer there was no grace, and when we begin to endure real suffering he will clearly be leading us astray in exhorting us to endure scourging and to turn the other cheek, if he did not first endure the same treatment in reality.”  Jesus has set a precedent of self-denial and sacrifice, but Americans are about winning.  We are about being the best.  Working the hardest.  Caring the most.  Jesus says you must give up everything to have anything.  His exact words, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”  Whatever you grab onto instead of Jesus, you will lose.  If you die to all but Jesus and the gospel, you will gain whatever you thought you were going to lose.  Suffer.  Lose.  Give up.  Die.  Jesus says, “What can a man give in return for his soul?”  There is no price to pay for a human soul, except to lay everything at the feet of Jesus.  No other price will do.  No other payment can be made.

Denial Rings From Here To Eternity (vs. 38)

We have learned a form of Christianity that says we can be right with Jesus and live however we please.  We can identify with Jesus at our convenience, and God in turn must save us because we have him over a barrel.  We believe we can say yes to ourselves, decline our cross, and still follow Jesus.  Jesus’ words ring down through the years and pierce our hearts even tonight, “Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”  Let that rest for a moment in your heart.

John Calvin said, “None can be reckoned to be the disciples of Christ unless they are true imitators of him, and are willing to pursue the same course.

The call of Jesus is to die to ourselves, to take up our cross, and in the dying and in the struggle to follow him.  If this describes your walk with Jesus, be encouraged tonight.  Jesus purchased your sin on his cross, and has provided the grace it will take to carry you through.  If you claim the name of Jesus and know you have not died to yourself or taken up your cross, this is the time to become a Jesus Christian instead of an Americanized Christian.  This is the day of salvation and turning, of dying to self and struggling with sin in pursuit of Jesus.

• making disciples who make disciples
• the primary activity of Jesus
• the primary activity of his church

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3 Essential Elements of Discipleship

proximity

Proximity is closing the distance with sinners. Many churches operate on the assumption that the rest of the world owes it to Christians to show up at a building called “church.” The church of Jesus Christ is not a special building but a people changed by the gospel. God has sent his people to call the world to him. The church is made up of disciples called from the world by the gospel and sent to the world with the gospel. Proximity is not something sinners owe the church. It is the church’s mission to the world.

Jesus did what it took to close the gap of time and distance in order to make disciples. He sought out twelve ordinary sinners and called them to something more. He came into their lives. Jesus’ primary work was what he accomplished at the cross, and his primary legacy was eleven disciples he trained during his short ministry on earth. Proximity wasn’t simply Jesus walking down the beach or into a strip mall tax office to call disciples. Jesus left heaven to get close to sinners. He died to make disciples.

authority

Jesus said, “Follow me.” He did not stutter. He did not equivocate. Jesus called sinners with the authority of the Word of God. There are all kinds of people claiming to speak for God today. Many of these people “minister” on the basis of every flavor of authority except for the gospel. God sent Jesus as the Living Word to purchase sinners for his Name. It is interesting that so many “churches” and so much “ministry” is not oriented on the gospel.

The basis of Jesus’ ministry was the authority of the Word. From this connection with God, he could speak and act with deep-seated kingdom authority. His disciples were sinners who Jesus invested heavily in, in both his life and his death. An eternally authoritative ministry is oriented around the gospel and informed by the written Word of God. Authority is when the Holy Spirit uses sinners to bring the gospel call to specific people and situations. God uses the gospel to confront sin and offer hope.

reliance

It’s interesting that often the term “discipleship” is applied to this or that process. Some churches do whatever activity they think is important, then they slap the label “discipleship” on it. Jesus made a promise to the disciples when he called them: “I will make you fishers of men.” The only condition was that they follow him. There was no doctrinal statement to sign. No personality test to take. No resume of prior experience and accomplishment. Their status was “sinner” and their primary qualification was that they responded. Interestingly, only Jesus can make disciples and it is a promise he will keep.

God is not something to be sprinkled over the top of a discipleship program. He is absolutely essential. Jesus said no one would come to him unless God was drawing them. Discipleship is God’s work. It is also God’s promise; he will accomplish it through his church. The Great Commission (Matt. 28) is God’s mission for the church: discipleship. And it is his promise of the resources essential to the task: his presence and authority. It is critical to realize that the same Jesus who said this was God’s work, he had to do it, also deeply involved himself in getting close to sinners to offer the gospel call.

http://yorkefree.org/2010/02/23/pastors-desk-mar-10/

Context with Paul

• 1 Tim. 1:12-20: his conversion
• vs. 18: spiritual life as warfare
• soldiers pervasive in New Testament world (and ours)
• Paul was about the Gospel, Jesus for sinners
• three keys to parish ministry AND serving soldiers

2 Timothy 2:3-4

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• Endure hardship
  • deployment to unpleasant places
  • no honeymoon location battlefields
  • must endure, not optional
  • a journey, not one event
  • our Savior’s pattern, endurance to the cross, versus our society’s pattern
• Avoid entanglements
  • Jesus said seek God’s kingdom first, your money shows your heart
  • prioritize to serve
  • deployment, ministry
  • set everything else aside for the priority
• One overarching ambition: TO PLEASE THE KING
  • please your commander
  • energy, wisdom
  • many reasons to do things
  • lots of old pastors who have lost their way
  • the gospel call leads to gospel ministry
  • the ultimate reason to be in ministry

What does not happen when a child is dedicated?

• The child is not repenting or believing, and is not regenerated or saved.  No one else can believe and obey the gospel on behalf of this child.
• Being here as parents or as a church does not mean our job is done.  It is actually just beginning!

Why dedicate your child?

Each one of us is born as a sinner who needs to be changed by God.  When someone turns from their sin to believe in Jesus, they are to be baptized as soon as possible to identify with Jesus and the church.  Baptism is a key point of obedience for those capable of professing to be Christians.

Child dedication is not something a child does.  It is not something a pastor does.  It is primarily something that parents choose, and secondarily something their church joins them in.  When parents choose to dedicate their child with our church, they are agreeing with the same gospel that leads believers to be baptized.

What is happening when we dedicate our children?

The initiative in child dedication lies with the parents.  When parents bring their child to be dedicated, they are saying they as parents agree with the gospel (John 3:1-21; Acts 2:14-41; Acts 4:5-12; Acts 10:34-43; Rom. 10:5-13).  The gospel in a nutshell is the good news about Jesus: that we are born sinners, that the only way to ever change is through Jesus’ work in our place at the cross, and that we trust Jesus to lead us through this life to an eternity with God.

When parents dedicate their children, they are not only professing their own belief in the gospel but also anticipating their child’s future faith (1 Sam. 1; Mark 2:1-12; 10:13-16; Luke 2:22-38; Luke 2:41-52).  The dedication is intended to be a public event that highlights the prayer of parents that their child would one day turn from their sin, believe in Jesus, and follow him the rest of their life.  The church joins the parents in this anticipation.

When we see something as important, it works out as a priority in our daily life.  When parents dedicate their child, they are committing to live and teach the gospel before their child (Deut. 6; 1 Sam. 2; Eccl. 12; Eph. 6:1-4; 2 Tim. 1:3-7).  The prayer of dedication and the ongoing prayer as parents raise their child should bear out into action so the child learns and responds to the gospel.  Both parents and church join in this commitment with the realization that only God’s miraculous work will actually accomplish what we are praying and working for.

J.D. Wymer

The overwhelming pattern I have seen in my “Christian past” in four Baptist churches and most recently a conservative evangelical church has been that pastors are prime actors, doers, and talkers.  Perhaps it is because pastors preach every week, or because of the educational or other hurdles to the ministerial office.  I’m not really sure.  But it is curious to me that the pastoral craft is so readily associated with whoever fills the office as being “the answer man” or “God.”

As I look from the more traditionally fundamental-evangelical churches I have taken part in to some of the more missionally organized churches, I still see the same pattern.  Churches of all stripes, even churches that won’t claim the name “church” are still promoting the idea of the pastor as “guru” or “star.”  Sometimes this takes forms that vary significantly in specific contexts, yet it largely holds true through many styles of church.

This essay is essentially a discussion flowing out of my understanding of Scripture, ministerial experiences, and from sitting on the majority side of the pulpit.  I wonder at times if the model of the pastor as overcomer-in-chief is helpful.  Meaning precisely that the pastor is fully expected to drown out other voices, to dominate conversations, and to offer an opinion that is superior by default.  In a pastoral setting, is my job to steer everything toward the agenda I bring?  How should my words interact with real life situations?

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I like to teach by asking questions.  It’s a delightfully pre-modern way to teach by drawing the topic out through conversation rather than ramming the topic in through lecture.  But I see very few pastors use this as a teaching method.  My Reformed theological grid says that all spiritual life and change begins with God, specifically through the redeeming work of Jesus.  If I am going to practice pastoring in a uniquely Reformed way, should not my operating assumption be that any pastoral work I do is a response to what God is already doing?  Should I perhaps talk less and listen more?  Would this perhaps shape counseling also, if the operating assumption offers more complexity than simply “lost” people coming to the “guru” for answers?

My point is not that pastors should not preach.  Or that we should not represent historic Christianity and our resurrected Savior with authority.  I firmly believe that 100% of pastoral ministry is the work of applying the gospel through prayer and the Holy Spirit in specific situations.  What troubles me is that some of us claim a theological grid that we contradict with our pastoral work.  We go about pastoring as if God has not begun to work until we arrive at the scene, like a master detective at a multiple-fatality accident.  We teach at times as if God’s work begins when we open our mouth and ends when we close our mouth.  Sometimes this is true, but not as often as we tend to think.

You could say this post is aimed at pastors.  If you find yourself described in my remarks, you may feel that this post is a criticism of your personality or ministry.  It is certainly not intended on my part to be so, but I do hope this is a helpful conversation for pastors and others in ministry to have.  You are welcome to bring specific Scriptures or personal experiences to this discussion.

J.D. Wymer

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Part 1 in the World At War series, on sin and how to fight it.

Sin. As you read that one short word, a flood of meaning flashes through your consciousness. It may not be related to belief in God or anything theological. Perhaps your understanding of the word is related to how other people have used it. Or to what you have seen people do. Or even to the longings and appetites of your own spirit. Maybe you do understand sin in terms of God or religion. It may be related to God’s character or to the taboos of a religion. Perhaps it is related to a deep sense of tradition. Or a spiritual sense of things that is more mystical than formal.

Many disagreements between atheists and religious people cut back to the concept of original sin, or the idea of consequences inherited from the past. These are typically very satisfying arguments for those involved. After all, each side walks away convinced they bested their opponent. Meanwhile neither side was truly bettered by the discussion, other than an increased sense of their own prowess in logic and debate. The delightfully frustrating aspect of this particular discussion is that it is impossible to prove or disprove the existence in the past of Adam and Eve, their activities, and the consequences of those activities. All of these points are beyond the microscope, the camera, the equipment of our age. If we are painfully honest.

What is deeply intriguing about this whole subject of sin is that in spite of these frustratingly unproductive arguments over the matter of the inherited consequences of sin, we find ourselves in a world that most of us acknowledge has the presence of sin, is being shaped by sin, and manifests the scars of sin. I see from my vantage point a collection of painfully disconnected philosophers who readily acknowledge the reality of sin, then proceed to discuss and argue how it got here. The greatest, grandest tried-true argument of atheism and dilemma of historic Christianity is how a good God could allow evil in the world.

And so I assume evil. I assume in this writing the very wrong reality, which some call sin from a theological basis and others call by other names. The very philosopher who argues over original sin, would vehemently protest being shot by a mugger as she walks through the city. Christian bloggers who lean in their underwear over the computer keyboard late at night typing out arguments for the existence of God, know the evil of broken family, the stench of anger, the jealousy of others. Atheists around the world who would go to their grave ambivalent to the idea of original sin and a God who is, have felt the pain of failure, the chains of addiction, the grip of doubt.

Do not mistake. I am a Christian pastor. I do offer a theological definition of sin, a biblical perspective of its origin. But I do not see the sense in arguing over the origin of sin, when each one of us knows the reality of sin every day. My calling is to share the good news about Jesus with people who know they are sinners.

Nowhere in Scripture has God ever instructed or even hinted that his children ought to devote themselves to proving his existence through debate and philosophy. Or to convince people that they are deeply flawed and live in a deeply flawed world. The atheist doesn’t need me; he is content in his logic. The religious person will not hear the message, because they are not a sinner. My message is the gospel and it is a message for sinners. And so I assume God. And I assume sin. And there will always be more than enough people in this world who don’t need to be told things are broken.

J.D. Wymer