He is alive! The same Jesus who was beaten, mocked, crushed and killed on Friday is alive. Today marks a new day, the eight day! It marks transformative, resurrection life for all who believe in him. Today, of all days declares that nothing is the same as we walk forward. Jesus is alive!

Walking with Jesus through his final week raised the question we have to answer, what do we make of Jesus? Is he a moral teacher? A spiritual guru? A prophetic type that points us to internalize a new perspective on ourselves? Or is Jesus fundamentally different?

Today is the day that changes it all.

You see if Jesus was just a moral teacher or spiritual leader or just another unsuspecting nice guy who made the wrong people mad then this talk of resurrection makes no sense. If Jesus' life was just about trying to show people how to live better than his death is really over the top. People die. Everybody dies. He did too. If he wanted to just teach us to be sacrificial and kind to others then he could have done it a million other and less violent ways. Children's cartoons demonstrate that on a daily basis.

But if Jesus is more than just a man, and if he came to do more than just show people to have their "best life now", then his death and resurrection is powerful display of something far greater. Crucifixion and resurrection makes sense if Jesus was after far more than moral teaching.

Jesus' resurrection, which we celebrate today, shows us the far greater story. God wasn't just giving us a moral example. He was changing everything.

The curse that was found in our sin and levied by our death, God reversed through the powerful resurrection of his Son. For all who believe we no longer fear death but are given the promise of life again in Christ.

The slavery that we were under to sin was broken by the resurrection of Christ. For all who believe we live in the power of Christ and are gifted the Holy Spirit to move from sinful living to holy living.

The judgement that we await at the last day when we stand before God is no longer a judgement bearing the verdict "guilty and condemned" but is now a judgment of joy. "Well done, good and faithful servant" is what all who believe will hear.

The resurrection changes everything. It gives us a new day, it gives us a new joy, it gives us a new destiny as we walk forward in this life waiting with joy for the life to come. All because Jesus has been raised, really bodily, physically, gloriously raised for us and our justification.

So what should we do? How should we respond? The events of Holy Week call us to consider the clear claims of Christ. There are two roads.

We will see who Jesus is, The Son of God, who came and lived the life we could not live, died the death we deserved, and was raised to life again for our life. And in seeing who Jesus is and what he has done we will repent of our sin and place all our faith in Jesus alone for our salvation. Paul speaks of it like this:

“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Romans 10:9–10, ESV)

The other road is to ignore today, ignore Jesus, ignore his resurrection. Continue walking forward in time as if it was the same old story for you on the same old day. This road leads to death and judgement. It's the road most traveled.

Today is either just another day, like so many before. It might be a good day, it might be a bad day, but nevertheless it is a just another day.

Or, today is the day that changes everything. Today is a new day marked by the resurrection life of Jesus for us. It's a new chapter of faith, hope, love and following Jesus. It's the first day of the New Creation. It's the day of resurrection for all who believe.

So, my friend... will you believe? 

Read Matthew 27:62-66

You must make a decision. You're no longer allowed to speculate, consider, or hold all your options out in front of you. You must decide what you will make of this man who was crucified. There is really only two options. Either you will confess and believe, as the Roman solider did standing at the cross "surely he was the Son of God."

Or, you will continue to doubt, deny and work against him.

This was the plight of the religious leaders who continue to heap unbelief upon unbelief. They had heard his statement, "destroy this body and in three days I will arise." They knew the resurrection implications of his ministry. Even as they approached Pilate they made it sound as if it was the followers of Jesus that they were most worried about; "lest his disciples go and steal him away...." Make no mistake about it, they weren't afraid of Jesus' disciples.

These were the disciples that were scattered. That hid, that fled, that were afraid and ran. Only John and a few women stood at the cross. The rest were nowhere to be seen.

Oh no, the religious leadership of Israel wasn't worried about Jesus' weak and scattered followers. They were worried about him. The fear that he was actually who he said he was boldly confronting them.

So they made their decision. They would continue to work against Jesus, even after they had killed him. Opposition isn't merely a once time only decision. It's a lifetime of, to twist a favorite phrase, "a long disobedience in the same direction."

On Saturday we must consider what we make of the bloodied, murdered, so-called Messiah, Jesus. Will we walk in disbelief and disobedience to him? Will we deny and doubt and set a guard up to destroy even the possibility of him really being who he claims?

Or will we wonder, and prepare, and hope that he keeps his word? Will we, with eager anticipation look forward to the life that he promised, the glory that he offered to anyone who trusts and follows him? Will we prayerfully be quiet looking to see what God will do?

Today is a a day of decision. Will we continue to work against him or will we wait and hope for the undoing of all evil that he alone can deliver on? Will we hope for resurrection?

Read Mark 15:1-47

The event of this day in Jesus' life cannot be overstated. Simply put Jesus died in one of the most horrific methods of human torture ever devised. Certainly his death was the culmination of the day, but each step along the way demonstrates the depths and extent of his sacrifice and love for his people. Each action of Christ on this day demonstrates the way he stood in our place to receive what we deserve. It shows us the incredible ways his sacrifice for us is a gift for us in everything we need. Good Friday displays the "Great Exchange" of the King for us.

1. Denied Justice So We Could Be Justified

Mark's Gospel tells us that Jesus' Friday essentially began in the courts. Be it the court of the Sanhedrin or before the seat of justice with Pilate. In every instance Jesus was denied the justice due him. Even as a committed murder was brought up against Jesus, the murderer went free. Justice was denied Jesus as every turn. False witnesses, enraged mobs, scheming leadership all were at work against the justice that Jesus deserved.

He stood in our place to give us justice. By his being denied justice he was able to provide for all who trust in him perfect justice. He stands in our place to make us righteous and perfect before the Father.

2. Denied Dignity So We Could Be Dignified

Mockery, nakedness, rebuke, insults and shame were all hurled at Jesus as he bore his cross to Calvary. Thieves suffering on their own crosses for their crimes even reviled and mocked him. Furthermore, there was nothing dignifying about the crucifixion. Victims were often stripped bare of their clothing. The torture of the cross caused sufferers to lose all control of bodily functions. Every ounce of dignity that was due the Son of God was stolen.

Why? So that you and I could be given dignity. The cross of Christ purchased for his children an identity as sons and daughters of the King. We are just given a clean slate. We are given an entirely new reality. We are no longer enemies, strangers, and objects of wrath. We are loved, adopted, friends, and co-heirs. The dignity that was due Jesus was taken. He gave it up so that we could be given a dignity far beyond just "creatures."

3. Denied Life So We Could Be Made Alive

Crucifixion robs a life slowly, painfully, exhaustingly. The victims were impaled through their hands and feet, but this wasn't a fatal blow. Their bodies hung upon a suspended plank of wood with their arm often pulled out of socket. They were forced to try and lift themselves up for a gasp of air, all the while their bare back scrapped against the raw, splintered wood of their cross. Each nerve in their arms and feet shot out pain as they moved up and down to breathe. Crucifixion was a slow, terrible way to die.

As Jesus' every breath was taken, every breath given up to his final breath he was purchasing life for his people. The King, the creator of life, was exhausting his to fill up life for his children. We are given life by the one who laid down his own. The King died so we might have life.

4. Denied Glory So We Could Be Glorified

For some, death brings glory. Tributes are brought, memorials built, crowds gather to remember and venerate the fallen person. But for Jesus there was no memorial tribute. There was no memorial built. He didn't even have a mausoleum in which to be enshrined. For Jesus in his death there was no glory. If it weren't for the backdoor compassion of a distant follower working to get the release of Jesus' body and place it in his own tomb Jesus would have found his body piled among the garbage and refuge of the city in a mass grave where the birds and beasts could pick apart his flesh. Glory was denied him even in death.

Yet his death purchased glory for us. It purchased a promise and a future where all who would turn from their sin and follow him by faith alone would find themselves given glory. It is a glory far greater than we can achieve or earn in anyway for ourselves. It is the glory of being made in the image of Christ, of being transformed as new creations, of becoming fully Christ-like. Jesus' glory was denied him, so that we might be given glory as his children.

Good Friday is about an exchange. His justice for our injustice. His dignity for our shame. His life for our death. His glory for our depravity. The death of Jesus on a Friday reminds us that we have everything good in our substituting, saving King. Good was found on a Friday that was anything but good for Jesus. 

Read John 13:1-17

His act was shocking to say the least. As Jesus rose and took off his outer cloak and took the towel and basin his followers glared in disbelief. One-by-one he went from disciple to disciple and did the one job that only the lowest and most base servants were to do. He washed their feet.

This might not trouble you at all. Washing feet in our culture is simply a pedicure. Feet aren't that gross. But in the first century the feet were where the funk was. Bacteria, raw sewage, infestation, mites, disease, to say nothing of dust were all the things that hung out on the foot of a first-century Israelite. Furthermore, the position of reclining to eat at a meal meant that you had someone else's feet pretty close to the proximity of your food and your face. Because of this the washing-feet job was the job for the most menial servant, not the primary leader.

That's what made Jesus' action so shocking. At least 12 other guys down the ladder were supposed be in line for the job. Yet, the greatest was serving the least.

Peter's objection is somewhat commendable. "Lord, do you wash my feet?" He gets it in theory. But notice he didn't volunteer for the job. He knew Jesus shouldn't be doing this job, yet he wasn't humble enough to do it himself.

Jesus' explanation of his actions shows us the heart of the gospel. He came to serve. He being God-in-flesh, humbled himself, took the form of a servant and served. Mark's Gospel reminds us that the "Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

The King over all kings served. The point of Maundy Thursday is for us to reflect on his service. It's to see through Jesus' work of foot washing the larger picture of his service. It's not just an example for us that we should care for and serve one another (although Jesus does instruct us to that). This is a small glimpse of the greater service that he is undertaking for all his children. It is a minuscule act that points forward the major act.

The King washes feet. The King goes to die. The King serves. 

Note: Todays devotional is an excerpt from the full article I've written for Gospel-Centered Discipleship. 

In the traditions of the church calendar this week is Holy Week and today, Wednesday, is often known as "Silent Wednesday." It's called silent because in reconstructing the events of Jesus' final week before his crucifixion there doesn't seem to be any activity on Wednesday. The Gospel writers are essentially mute on the activity of Jesus' Wednesday before the cross.

This might make you uncomfortable. We like God busy, God active, God at work doing things. For Americans it can be the one way we image God the best. Active, responsible, working, engaged, in charge, in control. We like to be known as responsible, busy, active people. In no way does it fit our paradigms that God would be... well, inactive.

There are some suggestions that Jesus continued teaching at the temple (Luke 21:37-38) and that the religious leadership was gathered to plot against Jesus once and for all. But in the calendar of activity we're left with a gaping whole. What did Jesus say on this day? Who did he heal? Who did he confront? How did he act? What are we missing from this Wednesday?

Read the Entire Article Here

When was the last time you read a book telling stories about women faithful to the cause of Christ? Probably not recently. I want to highlight a helpful book however that has encouraged, challenged and pushed me in regard to my labor, sacrifice and diligence for the sake of Christ. The book is When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up by Jamie Janosz. 

Jamie has written an incredible gift for today's church. Her book gives us a glimpse at the lives and ministries of a group women many have never heard of. The eight stories she chooses to highlight demonstrate the lives of women who love much, risk much, and gave everything for the cause of Christ in their day. Janosz displays what courageous, passionate, godly boldness for the sake of the Kingdom of God looks through the lens of these women and their stories.

The book itself is part retelling of the stories of these eight particular women's lives, part engagement in what those lives call and challenge us toward today. Jamie's style is clear, effective and engaging in helping us vividly see the lives of women we've never heard much of. Of course, don't for one second think that this book is just for women either. It challenged me in risking much and giving much for the sake of Christ's kingdom and is helpful for men and women alike.

If you're a pastor, teacher, or leader in the church you should read this. It will challenge you with what God can do with, in, and through the lives of women in our churches. If you're a woman you should read this and be challenged at what God can do with and through you for his glory. I'd also recommend this book for parents to read with their daughters. Through the lives of these faithful women our children can be challenged and inspired to attempt great things for God. Our daughters might not have a vision of spending their lives for God's sake because we don't have many stories to tell them. This book is a remedy to that need. I am looking forward to telling Allison about women like Emma Dryer, Amanda Smith, and Evangeline Booth. This book is a welcome resource in that area. 

We need more stories of women who were faithful to the gospel call even in the midst of great obstacles and barriers. We need to see how the history of the church is stories of everyday people who labor hard for the sake of Christ. Jamie gives us an engaging glimpse at a few who worked all the harder "when others shuddered" against all obstacles.

Read Mark 11:27-33

Just as he had gone to the temple on Sunday and Monday, Tuesday was no different for Jesus. The ruckus he has caused yesterday had left it's mark. Jesus was no longer safe in the city and the opposition from the religious leaders only intensified from this point on.

Mark's Gospel tells us that the day after Jesus purified the temple the religious leaders came and asked him a direct question. They wanted to know where he got the authority to come into the temple and act and teach and work as if it was his dwelling place? They believed they were the authority, they were the gate-keepers of orthodoxy, they were the ones that the people should submit and listen to. And here this man from Galilee comes in proclaiming that it was his Father's house. Where did he get the authority to operate that way?

Mark's account of Jesus' actions demonstrate some ways that we challenge and even reject Jesus' authority in the same manner the religious leaders of his day did.

1. We reject the authority of Christ when we question the source of his authority.

The religious leaders didn't want reality or authenticity. They wanted to see credentials that matched their own. They weren't willing to look at the facts in the eye and see what God had done through Christ all along. They were only focused on their own power and significance over the people. For the religious leaders their doubt wasn't sincere wonder, it was pure cynicism.

We reject his authority over us when we see the reality of who he is and all that he has done and still despise the place he has over us. We reject his rightful authority when we cynically cast doubt on what he has said in his Word, the Scriptures.

2. We reject the authority of Christ when dodge the clarity of his authority.

For the religious leaders it wasn't just about asking the source of Jesus' authority. It wasn't about discovering what gave him the right to cleanse the temple or act on behalf of God. It was a power-play at the corse. So when Jesus asks them in response to identify whether John the Baptist came from God or man (a question they clearly had the answer to) they skirted the whole issue and refused to deal with his questions.

They lived in both fear of man and fear of their own influence and power. Instead of allowing Jesus to drill down into their hearts and heal them of their pride they tried to act ignorant when clearly the facts were right in front of them.

Maybe there is an area of sin in your life that you are concretely aware of. You know that it's rejection of Christ by your persistence in it. However instead of letting the king exert his rightful place you continue to justify and wiggle around the issue so that it's not dealt with. You're rejecting the authority of Christ.

Rejecting Christ is Rejecting His Authority

This whole day was a day spent by religious leaders challenging, demanding, and seeking to discredit Jesus at every turn. They sought to trap and trick him with every question and every plot. They wanted no part of him because they had rejected him completely.

Debate swims around churches today about what place Christ plays in the lives of people who place their trust in him. Is Jesus merely the savior or does he have the rightful claim over our lives as King? The Tuesday of Holy Week is the display of Jesus' authority and the drawing of the line in the sand.

Will we reject the rightful authority over our lives that he has been given and that has been revealed? Or will we humble ourselves and allow the King to show his grace and mercy to us. As Abraham Kuyper said,

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” 

Read Mark 11:12-19

What are you passionate about? It might be difficult to discern this, but one of the easiest ways to help expose what our passions are is to ask what makes us angry? What events or actions cause us to become upset, angry, even zealous? The root of those issues is often the things we are most passionate about.

The Monday of Holy Week is an interesting day in Jesus' life and ministry. It's the day he displayed his anger. He showed what he is most deeply passionate about. We must be careful not to think that Jesus' display of anger on this day was in some way sinful anger or short-tempered, ill-directed frustration. His anger on this day was completely appropriate and indicative of the righteous zeal of Jesus. The things Jesus was passionate about were things he should have been passionate about. Particularly Jesus displayed his passion for three things.

1. Jesus Is Passionate For Authentic Living

In Mark's account of Jesus' Monday (Mark 11:11-19) we discover Jesus cursing at a tree. It's a seemingly odd situation because Jesus goes to find figs from a fig tree and because of it's fruitlessness he curses the tree to death. This wasn't a case of Jesus having a bad case of the "Mondays" and tossing a fit because his favorite tree was out of stock. Jesus' cursing of a fruitless fig tree was a parallel of the fruitlessness that Jesus saw in the lives of the religious leadership of Israel at the time. The religious leaders showed life on the outside, but on the inside they were dead and worthless.

Jesus displays his desire for our lives to be authentic, to be real. He's not about outward displays of religion without inward change. He doesn't want worshippers going through the motion, living one way and pretending another. He expects authentic fruitfulness from his people, especially the people that lead his church. Jesus' anger is directed at those who on the outside look the part, but on the inside are spiritually dead.

2. Jesus Is Passionate For Actual Worship

That Monday continued to demonstrate the passions at the heart of Jesus as he went to temple. As he entered the temple Mark tells us that he began to drive out the commercial boutiques around the temple courts that sold sacrifices for worship. He flipped over the tables where the currency exchange was taking place as people traded their Roman coins at an exorbitant rate for the approved temple coins. He moved through the temple clearing out anyone that was working in a manner unfitting for the temple. Jesus went on a purifying rampage.

What had Jesus so upset? He was demonstrating that the temple place, the place of God's presence with his people, wasn't a place for the cheap manipulation and marketplace industry of sacrifice. The temple was a place of prayer. The temple culture of the day had made worship a commodity. It had found a business niche for trading coins at unfair rates. The temple culture had a thriving cattle, sheep, and pigeon exchange. It profited the sellers off of the worship of God. The temple became a market place.

As Timothy Keller says:

Jesus was returning to a place that was religiously very busy, just like most churches are: tasks, committees, noise, people coming and going, lots of transactions. But the busyness contained no spirituality. Nobody was actually praying. There are many things we do that can appear to be signs of real belief but can grow without real heart change. Evidently we can be very busy in church activities without real heart change and without real compassionate involvement with others.1

Jesus was passionate to see the right worship of God, not the industry of professionalized "church" flourish.

3. Jesus is Passionate For All Peoples

As he was clearing out the temple Jesus remarked about the purpose of this place of worship. He quotes the Scriptures and states, "Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’?"

All this exchange and bartering had been going on most likely in the one place at the temple where non-Jewish worshippers could go. It was called the Court of the Gentiles. In clearing out this expansive area that had become a public market Jesus sought to return it to it's right function, a place where people who were far from God could draw near to him. A place where the nations could come and worship God.

It shows us Jesus' heart for all the nations. He doesn't have concern for just one ethnic group or people. He is passionate about every peoples, every tribe, every tongue, every nation.

For Jesus this day exposes the very things he passionate about, authentic lives, actual worship, all peoples. It also exposes what we are passionate about. Are you passionate for the same things that Jesus is passionate for?

1. Keller, Timothy (2011-02-22). King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus (p. 159). Penguin Group. Kindle Edition. ↩

READ LUKE 19:28–40

Today, on Palm Sunday, we enter into the final week of Jesus' life before his crucifixion. In some ways this week is an encapsulation of his entire life and ministry. It's a concentrated view of how Jesus lived, what he taught, how he suffered, and how he worked for us and our salvation. As we enter this Holy Week we must come to grips with who we are dealing with. Understanding the proper identity of Jesus is essential to understanding the point of his suffering and resurrection. Without a proper view of who Jesus is, we'll never properly understand what he did.This is why the events of Palm Sunday are helpful for us. Jesus' actions on this day display what he believed about himself and his mission.

Who did Jesus believe himself to be? Consider how he acted on this particular day. For one, Luke tells us he was pretty direct in giving orders. This wasn't the feel-good, serene, take-it-as-it-comes view of Jesus that we often like to have. Today, Jesus was setting the agenda. He was the one dictating actions. He commanded, his disciples responded. He spoke, they got to work. So when he said "Go into the village..." and followed up with what appears like grand-theft-donkey, he's not speaking with an indecisive, "whatever-man" attitude. He's clearly speaking like a leader.

Then there is the command itself. As his disciples were quick to point out (probably for their own well-being), "what should we say when they ask, 'why are you untying that colt?" Jesus' answer is just as directive and clear. It shows us exactly who he believed himself to be. When they ask you, "say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ Do you see that description of himself there? The Lord. Jesus believed himself not to be a great teacher, or a moral instructor, or a spiritual director. He uses the title of a king. In fact he takes the title of king to himself. To be "The Lord" was Jesus saying of himself that he was the reigning ruler over all things. He directs and leads like a king, and he believes himself to be the King.

Then there is the actual parade into Jerusalem itself. He rides in on an unridden colt as his followers spread their cloaks as a kind of red-carpet before him and wave palm branches. There is a joyful party entering the city shouting, rejoicing and praising. And there at the heart of that rejoicing and celebration is a profound declaration. This crowd of followers with Jesus are declaring "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" Even the crowd is worshipping Jesus as the King over all Kings. They believe and see him as the leader, savior-King they have been looking for. Notice what Jesus doesn't do. He doesn't stop them. He doesn't hinder their praise or downplay what they are saying. He receives the worship they offer to him in it's clarity. He allows them to call him the King.

Even when the religious people try and get Jesus to rebuke the crowd because of their obvious (at least to the Pharisees) misunderstanding of who Jesus is, he won't do it. He invokes nature and says, "If the crowd won't worship me as King, the rocks will!"

Now, come back and consider the implications of who Jesus is from a look at Palm Sunday. Jesus speaks like a king, he calls himself the King, and the crowds worship and celebrate him as King. Jesus' identity is crucial to understanding this week and the events in it. And it also leads us to an important question. Is Jesus really the King?

Sure we can chalk Jesus up to be a nice teacher, or a moral person, some sort of spiritual guru. But we can't escape the fact that Jesus believed and acted, and was followed by people who clearly identified him as the King.

As C.S. Lewis so poignantly put it:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

Palm Sunday shows us the King. Are we ready to serve and follow him? 

For Neil the start of the season was a disappointment. As he waited through eighteen rounds of selection his hopes of playing in the Baseball Aholics gradually slipped and slid away. Among position players Neil was ranked as the 19th best second baseman available and 254th in the overall player rankings. In a league with only ten teams and twenty-five rosters spots per team he stood just outside of making an Aholics roster. For that reason it was supremely disappointing to him then when draft day came and went without anyone selecting him. His agent and family tried to console him, telling him to work hard, stay healthy, keep hoping and his day and opportunity would come along.

As Opening Day approached there was still no call, no hope, no opening for him on a roster within the league. His poor performance the previous year had caused many general managers to question his ability to help out a club at this level. For a hitter, being able to consistently produce numbers that would contribute to the quantitative reality of the Baseball Aholics was paramount. "You've gotta hit in this league," was the standard mantra. Anything less than that was grounds for an extended stay on the waiver wire.

That's probably what made the call so surprising to Neil. As he crunched away at his Wheaties on Monday morning he was despondent. Not only had he not been selected but the season was getting underway. Monday was Opening Day. He was sure that he would spend a significant amount of time on the waivers waiting for another player to be significantly injured so that a team would be forced to pick him up. As he scanned the sports section of the daily paper hoping for an opportunity his cell phone rang. Glancing at it to see the caller identification he noticed it was his agent's number.

"Hey man, hope you're awake. The Abstracts everyday second-baseman can't start the season.  His wife's having a baby today. They called about you."

Neil kept his composure but could hardly contain his excitement. He jotted down the details of his new assignment, finished up his breakfast and headed out the door. Not only did he make a Baseball Aholics club, but he was starting that day at second base. His chance to prove himself to the league was right in front of him. Today he would play with a chip on his shoulder. He would remember the poor year behind him. He would tell himself he deserved to play in the league, that he could hit. He would show the general managers that they had made a mistake in not drafting him. He would produce. He would be a hero.

As he arrived at the ballpark, the club welcomed him. He was glad to fill the roster spot for at least a few games, and hopeful it could be for the entire season. The general manager met up with Neil and introduced himself. He told Neil he wasn't looking for an overwhelming amount of production out of him. He know Neil had a poor year last season and so his expectations weren't high.

"The only way you'll hurt us today is if you don't get a hit. One single is all we're hoping for out of you."

The vote of apathy rang in his ears. Now the chip on his shoulder wasn't there due to the neglect he had received at the draft. Now the one man who picked him up off waivers had just explained he really didn't expect much. All the Abstracts hoped they would get from him was one hit.

Neil's first three plate appearances were anti-climatic. He grounded out, flied out and hit into a double-play. A little voice in his head said, "Maybe everyone was right." And yet, he knew he belonged. He knew he could contribute. He knew that for one moment he could make an impact on this team. Even if it was only to hit a measly single and raise the team batting average just a few points, it would matter in the end.

As he approached his last at bat he thought of the slight of not being drafted. He heard the general managers expectations in his ears. He knew the failure that stood in his past from the previous season. He knew he was born to play in the Baseball Aholics. Even though the count was full against him he labored to stay alive. He fouled off a few extra pitches doing all he could to kept himself in the game.

"One hit, Neil. Just get one hit," he told himself.

The pitcher squared to face him and fired a dart. Neil turned on it, putting all he could into his stroke. With one movement and crack of the bat he watched the final pitch sail over the left field wall for a home run. Rounding the bases in victory he smiled. All Neil Walker did was get one hit.

Weekly Standings (click to enlarge)

Recently I've been reading R. Kent Hughes essential book, Liberating Ministry From The Success Syndrome. To say that this book is essential reading for all pastors in the United States is an understatement. This last weekend I had a chance to hear him speak and give an overview lecture on the chapters of his book. As he spoke on the seven marks of successful ministry I jotted down some questions for each one that help me diagnose where I'm at in each area. They've helped illuminate some areas of work and maybe will help you in assessing your ministry "success."

1. Ministry Success is Faithfulness

• Am I being fully obedient to the clear revelation of God's Word?
• Am I doing ministry in the Biblical manner, not just the expedient manner?
• Does my life commend the gospel, not confuse it?

2. Ministry Success is Service

• Am I humbling myself to serve others?
• Am I using the church to prop myself up or to point others to Jesus?
• Are there any areas of service that are "below" me?

3. Ministry Success is Love for God

• Do I have increasing joy and delight in Christ?
• Are my affections for God growing or diminishing?
• Is ministry the god I worship?

4. Ministry Success is Faith

• Am I keeping close watch on my doctrine?
• Do I really believe what I say I believe?
• Am I daily being dependent on God, his provision, and direction for me?

5. Ministry Success is Prayer

• Have I devoted myself to prayer?
• Do I use prayer as a manipulative device or a means of grace?
• Am I frequent and fervent in communing with God?

6. Ministry Success is Holiness

• Am I walking in moral purity?
• Am I keeping close watch on myself?
• Am I biblically qualified as an elder?

7. Ministry Success is Attitude

• Are my eyes fixed on the hope of my salvation?
• Do I see "this light and momentary suffering" as light and momentary?
• Is my hope Christ or my ministry success?

Here's Dr. Hughes message on the book from the Desiring God Pastors Conference in 2013. 

What is it about older men that causes me to gravitate towards them to listen and learn? The more I hear an older man share his insight, thoughts, perceptions, advice, and stories the more I feel I've just been taken to school. Now don't get me wrong, it's not that they intend to make me feel schooled, it's just... they know a lot more about life than I could ever think to know. So when an older man says, "this is what a successful, healthy, biblical ministry looks like," well, I'm all ears.

I know I said this about a week ago, but it seems the spirit of the age has contempt for the old, experienced, aged paths. We value the lure of the young, hip, cool, and trendy. It bothers me, deeply bothers me, that churches seem to discard from leadership older men rather quickly. Once a pastor turns sixty it seems that his expiration date of relevance and wisdom has passed and so he should be put out to pasture in order to bring a young buck in who can bring "sexy" back to the church. What a farce!

I sat under the teaching of a man in his seventies this weekend that showed me he was far from expired. His wealth of wisdom and insight and direction was profound and unmatched. No pastor in his thirties (including me) could level the same amount of insight and clarity that he did about marriage, ministry, raising children, preaching the Bible, working hard and just about every issue of life.

I worry for the church in the United Stated that we're losing our seasoned, wise veteran pastors for the sake of young, flashy, bold (even brash) men who don't have a clue how to live with wisdom. Sure, there might need to be a good succession plan, a wise hand-off, and a retooling of direction for the church and its leadership to keep it on mission and moving forward with the gospel. The church needs the energy and enthusiasm and physical man-power of younger pastors. But the day a local church pushes out its older leader for less than biblical reasons (meaning disqualification) is the day it's capitulated to the spirit of the age and lost all anchoring direction for the next generation. I long for more older men in the church. I desire to hear their voice, their wisdom and their insight. I want the church to grow up, be wise and lead in the midst of the world well.

Why do I respect the old guys? Simple. Track record. They've been there, done that, seen it all, and came through the fire well. Why do I respect guys like Chris Bauer, Ray Ortlund, John MacArthur, John Piper, Kent Hughes and others with gray hair and decades of life and ministry under their belt? They've been faithful to the call of God on their life through the duration and they continue to be so. They've walked wisely, humbly in the world and have proclaimed Christ and him crucified. They remind me that I too can run the race of ministry as a faithful man. That I don't have to buy the cultural kool-aid of the trendy ministry and the trendy church. I need more older men for the race before me. They've done it well, so why wouldn't I want to learn from them? 

We need the older men. Heaven help us when we discard them for the young and trendy. Heaven will help us when we close our mouths, humble ourselves and listen to the wisdom of those who walk before us. "He who walks with the wise will become wise" (Proverbs 13:20). 

Each year the owners of the Baseball Aholics take a look at their franchise from the previous season, make some managerial decision and cut 70 percent of their players. It's nothing personal, really. These players have never met their owners and in most cases the owners have never met their players. It's merely a way of starting the league fresh each year so that each owner has the eternal optimism of Spring. But for seven players they remain with their franchise and owner. Owners look through their roster, find the players they would like to hold over from last year and place the all-important "keeper" designation upon them. A new set of players will join the core hold-overs from the last season so there is no traditions, rivalries, or bad "mojo" going on in the clubhouse. In the Baseball Aholics league the beer and friend chicken is cleaned out from the locker room each season and, like Spring itself, a new, fresh, coat of paint is applied to the team make-up.

In Rotisserie baseball (Roto) the scoring is based upon team rank as measured by five statistical categories in hitting and pitching respectively. The more stats a team has accumulated in a particular category the higher the rank in relationship to the league and therefore the more points your team has scored. If you have the highest rank in the category of Runs you score 10 points. If you're second in runs then you get 9 points, and so forth. In building a team the goal is to assemble a club that will dominate in as many (or all) of the categories possible to achieve the highest score. Roto baseball experts have guestimated that you need approximately 80 points (or score an average of third place in each of ten categories) to win the league.

The draft itself is a special event. Teams pick players in inverse order of last years standings. This meant that the Abstracts were picking fourth because of their seventh place finish in 2013. Many times the draft is a reaction to last years season. Owners think, "I was terrible at the saves category this year, so I need to find closers" or "we didn't have a great season stealing bases and probably could have won the league had we not given that category up, so let's find fast players." One way or another the strategy for this year is often a result of the perceived faults of last year.

Owners log-in, and have two minutes to make their selection through 18 rounds of picks. For the Abstracts the goal was to put together a team that was competitive in all ten categories. In seasons past the draft philosophy was to ignore certain categories to get better players and dominate in others. This season the draft-day goal was to assemble a team that was competitive in all ten categories. The thinking behind this was to select a team that could, as the season wore on, adjust to any weaknesses . Simply put, the goal was to draft the best, most complete team possible.

Of course, player position matters as well. If you could have a team full of 1B or OF players you'd probably stock up as best as you could. But you have to field the positions as much as the player. This means that the depth of quality players at 3B makes that position a priority for drafting early on, unless all the quality players are taken. Then you simply wait until the later rounds and pick up a serviceable hot-corner receiver and hope to make a deal somewhere during the season.

For the Abstracts, the science of selection was not about skill, wise preparation, or even intelligent knowledge. This season the team was collected by mere gut instinct and seat-of-the-pants research done in the moment. As a player's name came up on the pre-ranked "cheat-sheet" I would search form them in the draft system to find out more about how they were projected to play. In an attempt to be stealthy you don't want to tip your hand to your rival owners about who are planning on drafting. So when you type the player name in the chat box instead of the search box, everyone knows you're looking at Chris Carter.

He didn't make the roster.

Opening Day Roster

Weekly Box Score

Since two regular season games were played in Australia on Friday and Saturday of last week the stats between the Diamondbacks and Dodgers were retroactively applied to owners. In other words, the season has begun.

I read through the book of Proverbs this weekend. As I was trying to discern the right way through a difficult question I was asked I wanted to make sure my answer wasn't couched in cleverness or pragmatic, "well it sounds good so let's do it," philosophy. I wanted my answer to be anchored in real, Biblical reality. The question I was seeking to answer by looking through Proverbs is an altogether different story. However I did find something that I believe a lot of churches today would have a difficult time swallowing. Wisdom doesn't really appear like today's "manly man."

Today's "manly men" are seemingly the guys that shoot first and take prisoners later. The conquer everything. Passivity has no room in the life of a man. He needs to mount up, shoot the wolves, vanquish the foes, and save the princess. Some of the descriptions I get of the "manly men" today sound a lot like a Gideon or Sampson to me. Honestly those aren't the most exemplary characters in the Bible at all. Don't agree with me? Read Judges again, you probably remember the flannel-board versions.

Yet the kind of person I find in Proverbs that is truly wise is first described as a woman. Lady Wisdom "calls in the streets.... (Proverbs 1:20)" Now, I understand the literary device the writer of Proverbs is trying to use here to coach his son to pursue wisdom. "Boy, think of wisdom as a beautiful, attractive, glorious woman. Pursue wisdom the way you'd pursue her." But then the book gets to describing wisdom. Wisdom doesn't sound like the manly man.

• Wisdom is quiet. It doesn't talk too much, and never runs it mouth.
• Wisdom waits, it's patient and sees all the sides before making a decision.
• Wisdom isn't flashy. It quietly goes about its hard work.
• Wisdom is kind. It covers a multitude of sins.
• Wisdom isn't presumptuous. It lets the person finish before they respond.
• Wisdom doesn't demand the right to be heard. In fact it rarely even asks to be heard. But those who value wisdom constantly ask for him to speak.
• Wisdom is meager. Not building a big platform or making a lot of noise about itself.
• Wisdom is somber. It's not to coarse joker.
• Wisdom is grown up. It's not the juvenile, "wrestle-them-to-the-ground", berating, know-it-all that tells you how much it knows.

All-in-all wisdom seems like the slow to speak, respected, patient man that we should aspire to be. Not the goof-ball, overconfident, blabbering self-promoters that our culture clings to so much. If anything we should be quiet, grow up, listen up and get to work. Wisdom doesn't look like the young hip guy with a hipster vibe about him. It looks like the older man who quietly goes about his work. In fact if you hang out with the older guy you'll catch the sweet droppings of his wisdom all over the place. He can't help but scatter them everywhere. I hope to be the older wise man and not the young, hipster-fool. 

Somewhere on the internet exists a rotisserie baseball league. Now if you are unfamiliar with what a rotisserie baseball league is let me fill you in. Simply put, rotisserie baseball is a collection of make-believe baseball teams managed by real people who fill the make-believe teams with real players generating real stats that are compiled to determine a real winner of a make-believe league. In some way the game was invented to give the ordinary person the experience of managing their own sports franchise by taking the concrete reality of baseball statistics formed in real life and applying them to a imaginary expression of a league.

The league I am talking about in particular is the Baseball Aholics. From my understanding the league itself has been in existence for close to twenty years. A few guys that had grown up and worked together (doing anything but work, at least that's how all their stories sound to me) had a love for baseball and found this rotisserie expression a perfect way to couple that love of the diamond with a desire to run one of those fair teams. So, for almost two decades this league has moved along. Ownership has changed hands dozens of times, if not more. The geographical boundaries of the league has extended as well covering all four continental time zones. Old men have moved on, young men have come in, teams have sprouted co-owners and some have divided from their team-ownerships to form new clubs. Yet, the league moves on. Many of the original owners still pressing on. This year a few new-bloods step into the historic league. Some holding trophies of old. Some are newly minted champions. Some wish for the day they will finish the season at the top. Each one knows however that that goal is still six months away.

The 2014 edition of the Baseball Aholics features ten teams compiling the real stats of players in ten categories. Offensively, the batting categories measure a hitters batting average, runs, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI). Additionally, to quantify excellence in base-running, players are also credited with stolen bases. On the other side of the plate pitching categories are kept. Earned run average (ERA), wins, strike outs, walks/hits per inning (WHIP) and those strange birds known as closers, saves, are the categories of choice.

Each roster consists of twenty-five players. Twenty-two of those twenty-five are in the active roster each day compiling statistics for their owners. Three players sit on the bench each day and a disabled list consists of two spots for players who are hurt indefinitely. This particular season is a "keeper season" in which each owner can designate up to seven players from the last year as keepers and retain the right to that player as if they were under a multi-year contract. The remainder of the team rosters will be filled within days at the league draft.

From the outside this looks like a rather silly exercise for young boys. Maybe that's true. But for each owner, the beginning of the season before the draft is a season of hope. They look down the line at players that are available. Each owner takes stock of his respective spot in the impending draft and tries to project who will be available for him to acquire. Each owner desires to demonstrate to his peers that if he was in charge of big-league club then he could get his team to the top. Each man wants to pretend that he could be the manager to break the Billy Goat Curse.

This year, because of the keepers, his team is already weighted to some degree of success or failure. He has positions filled, needs to be met, and a roster to fill. Daftly, he desires to draft a club that gives him the best shot at the championship. Even though the season is six months long it feels as if a misstep in the first month will derail the entire season. A deficiency in saves is hard to make up come August.

This season I will tell the story of one particular team, The Air Capital Abstracts and the league they seek to win, the Baseball Aholics. My hope is to chronicle the highs and lows (probably more of the latter) of a fictional team in a real league. Each week I'll share the human drama of a baseball team (that doesn't know it's a team) working together (even thought they might be opposing each other) trying to bring a championship to the real-world manager who gains absolutely nothing by winning this league. I'm sure there's a story to tell. And for no other reason than writing about sports, even the real make-believe sports, is something I've always wanted to do. Welcome to what it means to be a Baseball Aholic. 

This Sunday at Journey the Way my pastor covered a huge section of Scripture; seven chapters! The reason for the overview was because these chapters in Joshua demonstrate the division of the physical land for the people of Israel. In Joshua's day the tribes were to go in, conquer the land, and then take possession of it as God had given it to them as an inheritance.

One of the questions that I imagine coming up within the camp had to do with the land and space in that land. As the division of the land fell by lot from one tribe to another the anxiety of having enough space, enough of an inheritance had to raise its head. No one wanted the table-scraps of the inheritance. Everyone wanted a share in all the good that God had promised to deliver. I could see myself anxiously asking, "Will I get a good spot with plenty of water and trees?"

In some ways I'm tempted to think in those same ways today. I want to know if the promise of God's kingdom will be good enough? Will there be space enough for all of us? Will the joy of the inheritance be full? My selfishness can lead me away from sharing about the grace of God because I want to make sure I and mine get ours. It's purely self-centered, self-glorifying thinking.

The promise of God stands higher and greater than my own small little world and my own self-centered thinking. The truth is far better. Peter sums it up this way,

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3–5)

Do you see what Peter says about the inheritance waiting for us? It's imperishable (which means eternal), undefiled (perfectly pure), unfading (will never diminish), kept for you. What a beautiful reality about our inheritance. It's not something like land that could be great or could be lousy depending on where you end up. No, this inheritance, in Christ is superior in every way.

We don't have to worry about how good "our share" will be (it's all grace anyway). We don't have to worry about whether there will be enough to go around for everyone either. God is unlimited in his ability and grace. So we can announce to all, with full confidence that our Heavenly Father will give us (and them) the choice and best of the inheritance. We can be sure that what he has for us and what he has for others is a glorious, unfading, magnificent inheritance. We can be sure he will give us fully himself. 

Gotta be honest. Today is an exciting day for me. Not, necessarily because it's St. Paddy's day (I'm wearing orange). No, the real reason I'm excited today is because a project I've been working on for over a year now is finally finished and launched.

My book, everPresent: How the Gospel Relocates us in the Present is now available from GCD Books.

You can pick up the book in a couple different formats:

• ebook for $2.99 direct from GCD Books.
• paperback for $6.17 from Amazon.com.

I really hope you get a chance to pick up the book and let me know what you think. I wrote it to help everyday people see the way God has made and given importance to the everyday places we inhabit. I hope it encourages and helps you live on mission for his glory well.

And, just for fun, I wanted to give away five copies of my book. To enter use the giveaway tab below. I'll pick the winners at the end of the week and notify you by email. As Saint Patrick would say, "good luck!" 

When it comes right down to it the way we speak only goes so far. What stands between our words and the impact that they should have is our way of life. It's easy to say "You're my friend" but if we don't act in keeping with that statement it means very little, if anything at all. You can talk all day about encouragement, grace, mercy, love but if your actions aren't consistent with those words, nobody will hear you. As the saying goes, "I'm sorry I can't hear you, you're actions are too loud."

The concept of gospel momentum deals directly with our way of life as well. As we view the love of Christ towards us we see that his love changes not just how we see others and how we speak to them, it fundamentally changes how we serve them.

The Challenge of Gospel Advance

For many non-Christians the gospel is something that is held in contempt. One of the many reasons for their contempt is that they can't hear the message of the gospel. The words that we are speaking with our lives are too loud to overcome the words that we are trying to say from our mouths. Gospel advance is hindered because our lives convey a different message. We look nothing different than the world. We serve no differently than the word. As Jonathan Dodson explains we've created an "unbelievable gospel."

Paul saw that our lives, and the way we live them are critical to gospel advance. The way we live, namely the way we serve is critical to gospel momentum. His explanation of how they minister in 2 Corinthians 6:3 reveals everything.

“We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way.

Verse 3 shows how gospel momentum changes the way we serve. We live in such a way that there are no obstacles to hearing the gospel. What Paul doesn't mean is that we change the message in such a way that it is palatable or lacking in any offense. What Paul does mean is that we live in such a way that all the barriers that exist to keeping someone from hearing the gospel are taken away.

Our work in the ministry is to remove the debris of life so that the only obstacle that would keep someone from the gospel is the offense of the gospel itself.

Paul further elaborates:

We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:3–10, ESV)

Everything that Paul includes in this list is a way of serving so that the gospel message gets to the heart. We suffer, we are afflicted, we face sleepless night, we learn, we are patient, we grow, we engage the paradox of the gospel all so that the gospel word gets unhindered access to the hearts of men and women.

Implications For How We Serve

Gospel momentum means we serve. And we do all we can to serve others so that the good news of Christ's love and service for us hits home. We clear the debris field that our selfish, sinful world has laid out in front of the gospel. We remove obstacles, be it physical, emotional, mental, even spiritual obstacles so that there is a pure and unhindered way in which the gospel can be heard. We serve.

Gospel momentum finds itself in reflecting and displaying the same catalytic event that occurred in our own lives. Namely Christ's suffering, death and resurrection on our behalf. This love generates a momentum that moves us forward to allow the catalyst of Christ's love to enter another heart. When this momentum reaches full force great movements of gospel advance occur.

On Monday I introduced the concept of what I'm calling "gospel momentum." As we contemplate the love of Christ for us, the way he suffered and died in our place for our sins, then we are both controlled and compelled by that love into a state of momentum for the gospel. This gospel momentum leads to gospel advance in our lives, and in the world in which we live. Yesterday, I talked about the first change that gospel momentum brings, namely, how we see other Christians.

This isn't the only change that occurs, however. Gospel momentum gives us a new identity in terms of how we talk to others, particularly those who are not Christians.

Gospel Momentum Calls Us Ambassadors

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20–21, ESV)

Paul recognized that the compelling, controlling love of Christ upon him changed the way he saw and spoke to the world at large. No longer was he the creator or originator of his own message of morality and life. He now spoke on behalf of another, namely Christ. As such, Paul saw himself as a sent envoy representing Christ and declaring his message of reconciliation to all those who were at odds with him. This sounds rather nice.

However, there is an urgency to this message. We in the West really don't understand the concept of an ambassador to well. They are foreign dignitaries that come and live in our capitol city, enjoy the limelight of being a representative of a different culture and nation and pretty much represent their nations interests as best as they can. For the Roman empire an ambassador was a high stakes envoy. Ambassadors were sent ahead of a conquering army to warn and declare the terms of truce and peace to the people who were rebelling against the nation. Ambassadors rightly represented the emperor and declared, "the king is coming to make war, but if you submit to our to terms you will be spared."

So Paul feels the nature of this sort of role within his ministry. The impulse of gospel momentum allows him to see and speak in this light. He represents the Almighty King, Jesus, who is ruler over all things. In such Christ will return again to make war against all his adversaries and enemies, even death to bring all things into submission under him. The urgency of Paul's appeal then is great. You can feel it in his message, "We implore you! Be reconciled to God!" Even the terms of peace that Paul lays out are unmatched. Christ takes our sin and dies in our place, we receive the righteousness of God! The king dies, so that you might have life. So lay down your rebellion and be reconciled to God through Christ.

Implication for What We Say

Do you see yourself as an ambassador for a conquering king? Do you see yourself as one who is sent to those who are still living in rebellion against the king? This is what gospel momentum does. It changes the way we speak to those who are rebelling against Christ. It gives us a clear and focused mandate about what we are saying.

Our talk as Christians isn't moral "how-to's" or "do-betters" to make better people. It fundamentally comes down to calling people to repentance and faith in Christ. It's calling them to reconciliation with God. Not therapeutic morality. Not feel-good prosperity. Fundamentally we are warning sinners of their danger and pointing them to their only hope of salvation, Christ.

The time-table is laid out as Paul engages Isaiah's words and presses their immediacy on the here and now. "Now is the favorable time, now is the day of salvation." Today is the day we speak and declare the gospel to those who are in peril. Today is the day we call for repentance of sin and faith in Christ. The gospel is to be spoken today!

Gospel momentum is consistent with the urgency that declares the gospel in the hear and now. As the Scriptures promise, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).

Yesterday I challenged us to contemplate and consider the love of Christ for us. I argued that the deeper our degree of contemplation of Christ's love for us the greater a "gospel momentum" would be generated that would result in gospel advance. Paul's argument in 2 Corinthians 5:14 is the foundation for my "equation" for gospel advance.

The mistake would be however, to think that gospel momentum just moves us forward and moves us out without inherently changing anything within us. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Gospel momentum not only creates an outward advance of the gospel, but it creates an inward change in our reality and identity.

Paul brings up three specific changes that this gospel momentum creates with us. I'll spell out the first one today and then on Wednesday and Thursday share the other two.

Gospel Momentum Changes How We See

First, gospel momentum changes how we see one another. Paul says " From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh" (v. 16). The gospel has changed the way he sees other people. Specifically it changes the way we see other Christians. No longer do we judge them according to status, education, ethnicity, or any other dividing line that separates us. No, Paul argues, now we see other Christians for what we really are.

Particularly, we are "in Christ" as "new creations." What this means is that there is a fundamental relocation of our identity from being a son of Adam and a daughter of Eve to being a new person, a reborn person united with Christ. The new creation is a personal new creation as we are transformed into His image.

Imagine the culture of the church if we saw each other a new people, as sinners reconciled to God through Christ and existing in Christ because of his shed blood. This is exactly who we are. Reconciled.

We don't have our sins, our failures and our offenses counted against us any longer because we are right and restored to God himself. And this is true not only for me but for any one else who is "in Christ."

Implications of A New Vision

For the church, as a body, this speaks clearly against the way we divide, segregate and hold one another at arms length. Gospel momentum is killed the moment we begin setting up boundaries within our churches. It's one of the primary reasons I will never advocate for homogenous unit small groups, Sunday school classes or churches. We need the diversity ethnically, financially, socially, even generationally of one another. The body of Christ has many different parts, many different functions. We need each other.

No, young single "dude", you don't need a singles group to find ladies. You need a older, wiser, married man to speak into your life and show you the ropes so you can learn how to love, serve, and lay down your life for a bride. And no, retired empty-nester, you don't need to hang out with other retired empty-nesters and relive the glory days. You need to invest and give yourselves to the young families who have no clue what to do with a five year-old crazy person they call their son. You should step in and help them.

Furthermore, we must regard highly the fundamental value and worth of one another as "new creations." We need to stop tearing down, discriminating and objectively tabling our neighbors and need to show them the honor of being in Christ.

As Paul said in Romans 12, "Outdo one another in showing honor." The culture of our churches should be people tripping over one another to affirm, encourage and edify each other as new creations in Christ.

Where there is an esteeming of one another in love there is a great chance that gospel momentum is at work creating room for gospel advance. 

I want to see the gospel advance quickly and rapidly. I want to see as many people as possible hear the good news of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. I deeply long to see a movement of the Holy Spirit that brings real awakening for Christ and the new birth of affections that are real, lasting, and impacting in our cities. I want to see the gospel make progress. So how does that happen?

Although the Apostle Paul wasn't primarily a physicist I think that his words in 2 Corinthians 5:14 provide a template for a formula that could produce real and lasting gospel advance. At least the components are there.

Here's my attempt at it:

(Gospel Momentum) x (Degree of Contemplation) = Advance of the Gospel

or

(gm) x (doc) = aog

Now how does this work out in its parts?

Gospel momentum is the creation of two things. Paul's use of the word synecho in 2 Corinthians 5:14 is the clue for me. On one hand synecho can be translated "controlled" as if some external force was operating on the subject to direct, move and lead that object. So Paul in some way see's the love of Christ as a controlling force upon him. He is focused and restrained because of Christ's love for him. He has nowhere to go (nor does he want to go) because he has seen Christ's love as so powerful. Christ has come and stood in the place of sinners who have rebelled and offended their Creator and King. Jesus' love is shown in taking the penalty himself for our offense and bearing the wrath of God in his body. That demonstration of love for us makes us his. "You are not your own, you've been bought with a price" (1 Cor 6:19-20). That's how the love of Christ controls us. It locks us into Christ and his ways for us. It fences us in (in the right way) to glorify Christ with all our lives.

But there is another defintion for that verb synecho, "compel." Compel is an action word to me. It sounds like movement. Compel has the idea of forcing or bringing someone to do something. So for Paul the love of Christ is a force that propels him out. Christ's love brings Paul to go with Christ's love. The love of Christ for us is a motivating, propulsive agent. The love of Jesus is so great for me that he died in my place and took my penalty that perceiving that causes me to go those who do not know or have not perceived his love and declare it to them.

All of this to say that "gospel momentum" is the combination of seeing how the love of Christ directs and drives us forward with the gospel. This is why the second part of my formula, degree of contemplation, is essential. The deeper our degree of understanding of our sin and rebellion, and the further in that we understand how much Christ loves us and gave himself for us multiplies the force of that original gospel momentum so much so that gospel advance occurs.

The greater and longer and deeper we contemplate Christ's love for us the more momentum for the gospel it generates within us so that the gospel is advanced in our lives and to our neighborhoods, and in the world. So let's look to Christ. Let's gaze upon his love for us and his kindness to us so that the momentum that both controls and compels us is generated. Let's fix our eyes on Jesus! 

Do you like to read? Do you like to read things before they are launched? Do you like to read things before they are launched and then tell other people about the thing you just read? Would you like to help me? If you said yes to any of those questions then keep reading, I need your help.

I'm looking for a team of people to help me launch my upcoming book, everPresent. Gospel-Centered Discipleship is releasing the book on March 17 and I'm really excited about it. To help me launch the book I am assembling a street team to generate a little online buzz about the book and let others know about it's publication. I want to see the message of everPresent get into as many hands as possible. Would you like to join my team?

I'm looking for people willing to read the book, review it on your blog and post a rating/review on Amazon.com when the book launches.  I will send you a digital copy of everPresent. You read it, write your thoughts about it and share those thoughts on the Internet. You can utilize your blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, etc. to get the word out about everPresent. On St. Paddy's Day we'll celebrate the book's launch together. 

Does that sound like fun to you? If this sounds like a way you'd like to help get the word out then fill out the form below and I'll send you some more details to get on the team! 

Sign ups for the Street Team have been closed at this time! Thanks. 

But let me first answer a few objections:

1. Other methods, particularly the ones I will describe, take too long. Yes, maybe ten minutes more, at the most. But do you really not have ten more minutes? Making coffee and enjoying it is not about speeding up, it's about slowing down. Craft-brewed coffee is a ritual of slowing down and paying attention to details. It's about taking in the aromas, timing the grind, seeing the coffee bloom, understanding the complexity of a blend. Being patient. Keurigs (or other drip machines) skip all of that for immediate gratification. Did you even know that roasted coffee blooms? Its beautiful.

2. Other methods, are expensive. Really? Let's fact check that. I'm running all my prices here by Amazon.com just for comparison sake. First there is the Keurig machine. Prices I found on Amazon range from about eighty dollars all the way up to $150. That's just for the machine. Then there are the adorable and assorted, flavored K-cups that you have to purchase as well. Again prices here vary by brand and how much blueberry sunrise they inject into these things but it seems a decent average is about a dollar a K-cup. Keep in mind these little dudes are intended to make one cup of coffee. You can't really reuse them and get a second good cup. Bottom line is your investment is about $100 dollars plus a dollar for every cup you drink. If you have a cup a day for a year you're in for $465. For one hundred cups of coffee you're paying two dollars a cup (this metric will come in handy later). 

One other thing about the Keurig machines before I move on to my technology. Remember yesterday's post and coffee beans? Keurig breaks every rule. Pre-ground? Yes they are. Freshly roasted? Probably six months ago. Flavored? Sometimes. My gut tells me that they probably inject the capsules with additional non-coffee stuff to enhance it's flavors. Do you really want that in your coffee?

Now my point isn't to shame you regarding your Keurig. I want to develop coffee craftsmen. People who enjoy the simplicity (yes!) and practicality of making a really good cup of coffee because it is simple and practical. It's also affordable.

So... on to the technology!

Low Tech Systems for High Tech Coffee

If you open the cabinet above our kitchen stove you will find an assortment of coffee contraptions that I've been collecting from all over the world. Stephanie is probably annoyed at the space they are taking up as the collection has grown, but each of these devices are simple, fun, and brew great coffee. Additionally they all cost under fifty bucks. Let me share with you my top three for brewing an exceptional cup of coffee.

1. The French Press – Single men, if you want to wow the ladies and earn an extra notch on your man card, learn to use and appreciate the french press. It will be your best coffee friend. I like the french press so much that I give it as a gift to people I know who are without it. Good french presses cost about twenty to forty dollars. A new friend of ours from France once came over to spend some time with us and I brewed a pot of coffee in the press. I was told it was the best cup of coffee that person had enjoyed since moving to the United States. Ingredients? Water, good beans, about 10 minutes of time to bring your water to 200º and then brew for four minutes. I'll write about that perfect cup technique tomorrow.
2. The Chemex – this is a new addition to my coffee brewing repertoire that is also simple, affordable and very very tasty. I can't wait to give some Storyville a ride in the Chemex. A six cup (that's right SIX cup) Chemex will set you back about 45 bucks, plus you will have to buy the filters (100 Chemex filters cost about 15 bucks) but that will be all on that end. Within 15 minutes you can have a great cup, and enjoy the bloom of that coffee.

3. The Bialetti Moka Express – this guy probably belongs in a different category because it's an espresso maker (there is a difference), but it's a difference in concentration and flavors. Italians brew their daily coffee on one of these. The six-cup version costs thirty bucks. No filters needed. Just water, beans, time. It's amazing, strong, excellent coffee. When I want to change it up and make my own latte or macchiato I run for this device.

Obviously the Chemex is the luxury car of my simple tech but let's do a little math with it. Chemex, $45 plus filters which cost another 15 bucks. We're at sixty dollars. Missing a grinder? Fifteen bucks. Okay, up to seventy-five dollars. You probably can't get a Keurig for that. Now, we need beans. If we get three pounds of whole bean coffee from Starbucks (not my first pick but hey, we'll give it a shot) we've added another 40 bucks. So one hundred and fifteen dollars for beans, filters, Chemex, and a grinder. What this means is that one hundred cups of coffee on a Chemex will cost you just barely over one dollar a cup ($1.15 to be exact). The math on the french press method is even more impressive, for 100 cups of coffee (3 lbs., grinder, press) you're spending about seventy-five cents per cup.

Now I know you're giving up your time and you'll have to learn how to master the art of the press. You're not sure you have the discipline or fortitude or skill to do it. But I'm confident in you. Tomorrow I'll show you how to make a great cup of coffee using the technology I've shared above.

Above all, let me encourage you to learn to be a coffee craftsman. The extra five to ten minutes you spend in brewing the coffee well is worth it. Slow down, relax. Let coffee be something you savor and understand and enjoy. As my dad frequently says, "The machines don't get to win." So let's end our attraction with push-button-instant-gratification-one-off coffee machines and let's return to the old world, simple, slower, better forms of brewing great coffee

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are merely "just for fun" and in no way to be taken too seriously. Mostly. Just relax. We're talking about coffee here, not the end of the world... if you need to have a cup of coffee first fine, I'll wait... better now? Okay....  

America, stop it! Please!! Stop it with the downgrading of our national beverage. Stop it with the instant convenience of a cup of coffee without the careful discipline of brewing that cup of coffee. Enough of the Kuerig systems, pre-ground, instant, press-a-button-and-presto forms of coffee you drink. Repent of your mass consumption of coffee at the expense of enjoying the slow, thoughtful ritual of making and savoring coffee. Trade in your expensive, fancy-pantsy, technological marvels for the simplicity of a french press, freshly roasted beans, water, and time. It's time to learn how to make a real cup of coffee.

Ah, but you might think it's too hard to make a good cup of coffee. Some of you might complain it takes too much time. A few might object and say, "I don't have the proper material to make a great cup of coffee" or "great coffee is too expensive." To each of these objections I say, "Nonsense." Your grandparents knew how to make a great cup of coffee. You should too!

A Few Words About Coffee Beans

Great coffee really is about three things; beans, water, and time. Today I'll share some thoughts about coffee beans and tomorrow I'll write about brewing technique and technology. On Friday I'll share my ritual for the perfect of cup of coffee.

So... about those beans:

First, let's avoid the pre-ground, instant coffee. This stuff has already released the complex and beautiful flavors of the coffee. Coffee beans are a seed of flavor. Once it is ground or crushed the freshness of that flavor is gone. Honestly, if you are buying this stuff you're pretty much drinking ground up dirt. The best practice is to buy the most recently roasted, whole bean coffee you can get. The flavor is still locked in, and it's ready to be ground, brewed and enjoyed. If you cannot find recently roasted beans then be sure to at least get whole beans. But do whatever you can to avoid pre-ground or instant coffee. The taste itself of whole beans is worth it all.

Secondly, some of you stockpile coffee beans like we have a shortage of coffee about to befall the universe and you need some for Y2K. And then you've been told that putting it in cryogenic freeze for 30 years will keep it as good as the day it came out of the roaster. NO! It won't. Stop it. Buy what you need for a week or so and put it in an airtight container. Putting it in the freezer kills the natural moisture in the bean itself and when your bring it out to brew the beans are actually freezer burnt, not fresh. Don't freeze or refrigerate your beans. Store them in an room-temperature, airtight container of some sort for a few weeks. Let's end the cryogenic coffee stockpile and just buy half a pound each week, grind it right before you brew it and drink it. It'll be the best coffee you've had.

Third, and I need to speak with much grace because Gloria Jeans taught many of you poorly. The fact is however that flavored coffee is of the devil. It's a chemical mutation that isn't natural. The best coffee is the naturally roasted coffee. If you want a blueberry sunrise then get up at 4am, make a blueberry muffin and then pour a cup of coffee. But for goodness sakes don't drink blueberry sunrise coffee. That's gross. Coffee has its own beautiful and glorious flavor. If you want to find and enjoy different flavors of coffee then find the natural distinctions that already exist. Or try a blend of distinctly roasted blends. Coffee from India doesn't taste the same as coffee from South America. Dark roasts are different than medium body roasts. Blends are unique from single-origin roasts. You don't need flavored coffee for diversity, you just need different beans.

Find those flavors and develop a palette for them. It may take some time but it will enhance your enjoyment of coffee all the more. If you want to complement your coffee with a flavored creamer or syrup from time to time that's okay. I won't judge you. But please don't think that flavored coffee beans are a good idea. You wouldn't add blueberry sunrise to bacon. Why do it to coffee?

The Best Beans

I am not, admittedly, an expert in the best roasters but I have a few preferences and recommendations. Here's a few of my choice favorites when it comes to coffee roasters:

• Storyville Coffee - Great stuff. They roast their private reserve beans on a Tuesday, mail them that day and you get them generally within two days. It's well worth it and fairly inexpensive given the shipping.
• Ritual Coffee - one of my favorite Bay Area roasters. They have a coffee club that can be personalized with a lot of options and variety. I always enjoy going to Ritual Coffee at the Oxbow Market in Napa.
• Flying Goat Coffee - Sonoma County is known for it's wine but you'd be silly to pass up the coffee that it offers too. My favorite blend of all time is Mrs. Garland's. Fantastic stuff. Someone, please send me some!

• Kaldi's Coffee - Kaldi's is a Missouri-based roaster that I've recently been introduced to. We were given a half-pound for Christmas and I've really enjoyed it. They seem to have a good handle on roasting quality coffee. I'd come back for another cup here.

Tomorrow we'll talk about coffee brewing tech. If you can take that Keruig you got for Christmas back and use the money you got in return for the real machinery and better beans. Plus you'll probably have enough left over to buy a years worth of beans.

Bonus points today if you can identify the coffee contraption in the picture above. Hipster friends in California are not eligible to win the prize. 

Yesterday I read a great article from Desiring God about fathers marking up their Bibles as way to encourage their children and pass along the faith. It was a helpful article and made me think about how I could implement it myself for my children. For the last few years I have been starting the New Year with an ESV Journaling Bible and marking it up occasionally throughout the year. The 2013 edition has become a special one that I am going to continue to mark up because of the places and notes that it contains in it from the last year. I want to continue adding to it.

But the Desiring God article suggested working through one copy of the Bible over ten years and then in some way copying it for as many children as you have. I like the concept, but I want to modify it for my own family. And I really want my kids to have their own personalized Bible from me. I thought about the age of my children, six and three, and what I would want to give them when they reach a significant milestone in adulthood.

Then it hit me.

What if starting the year they turned six I prayerfully walked through and annotated approximately four books of the Bible each year for fifteen years? When they reached twenty-one I would have worked through the entire Bible and they would have a fully annotated Bible filled with prayers and encouragement from their dad.

So I've developed a plan (of course) that will have me working through four books of the Bible in a year plus ten of the Psalms each year. Now this isn't my personal devotional reading plan. I still want to get through the Bible on my own this year in a reading format. This is my Bible plan for my children. I am planning on picking up a nice wide-margin Bible that I can begin annotating for Allison this year and start through the plan. In about three years when Ethan turns six I'll begin working on the same project for him too. By the time they are twenty-one both kids will have their dad's prayers, notes and reflections for them through the Bible.

Additionally, I am going to spend time in each year reading these books with my kids out loud. As we work book-by-book through the Bible I imagine certain questions or reflections will be brought up that I can mark as a memento of our reading time together. Certainly the prayers of the Psalms will be how we pray together as well. Additionally I hope that the change and transformation of the gospel will be evident in our lives. I am praying that through this Jesus would show me grace in studying and praying through his Word and that my children would be blessed and taught by their dad through the Scriptures.

I am already eager to see a fifteen-year project realized for Allison and Ethan in the Word. 

2013 was a pretty wild year for me. I think if you had told me in October of 2012 what the year in front of me would hold I would have probably chuckled and said "sure, whatever." Yet, a year later I am looking back at the events that transpired and the things that I did and I have a hard time believing that 2013 will be able to be topped. That's not to say that 2013 was full of happiness, daisies and roses. In some regards this last year was the most difficult year of my life. Yet, I'm a happy Calvinist and know that the Lord preordained these events to occur in my life to glorify himself and to transform me so that I would be more like the Son. I really shouldn't be surprised that he would do the very thing I pray for and the very thing he promises. Nor has everything been successful victory. But God has given grace and more grace. He's still working on me.

This last year I had the opportunity to travel to two foreign countries, preach in the church, write a book, revise another book, train leaders, speak at camps and seminars, disciple men, organize structures in the church and a myriad of other things. You might be impressed if I listed it all out.

But in thinking back I don't want 2013 to be a résumé builder for me. I don't want you to give me a trophy for "Maximum Global Impact of the Year" (there are others more deserving). I want Christ to be exalted. If 2013 wasn't about Jesus being magnified as King over all kings and my life being more submitted to him then it was a loss. Regardless of how wide my scope of influence became, if Jesus didn't have greater influence in my life then my labor, for me, was in vain.

Paul's word to the Galatian Christians is profoundly helpful. “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14, ESV). In reflecting on 2013 I have to ask a few questions;

• Am I boasting in the cross? Namely, is my life about lifting up the sacrificial work of Jesus for my sin? Is my life about demonstrating and declaring the greatness of Christ?
• Is the world more dead or more alive to me? Do I value and esteem more the things of this world than the things of Christ? Do I hold in higher esteem the ethics of this world than I do the ethics of the cross?

• Do I hold up my accomplishments so the world will think highly of and praise me? Or am I crucified to the praise of this world and live for the pleasure of God?

In all things I want Christ to be magnified. He has done great things, not me. In reflecting on 2013 my hope is that Jesus has been exalted by my life in all things. I pray that 2014 brings more glory to Christ in my successes and failures. I want the glory of Christ to be apprehended in my own life, my family, my church and the world. Even if I don't accomplish as much in 2014 in terms of scope or influence I pray that I can boast all the more in the cross of Jesus. 

Following up with yesterday's book post I figured it would be fun to share my favorite albums from 2013. I know I'm not a music critic or am even remotely qualified to be one. I don't have the hipster cred to know all the obscure bands that Pitchfork knows. But I do like a good sound, a well constructed lyric and songs that engage my life most every day.

Music becomes part of my traveling sound track of life. It becomes part of my travel log. So I can tell you that on long flights over the Pacific, The National was humming in my ear. Or one day when I was internally wrestling with myself Josh White helped point me to the gospel in a soft, guitar and voice sort of way. M83 painted the backdrop for my favorite film of the year (maybe I'll do a post on those next week), and Beautiful Eulogy does it in a way no one else does. So here's my top ten albums from 2013. Now I have to finish drinking the glory I brewed with my new Chemex.

10. I Am Mountain, Gungor
9. Absolution, Josh White
8. Meet Me At The Edge of The World, Over The Rhine
7. The Bones of What You Believe, Chvrches
6. Oblivion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), M83
5. Pilgrim, Pilgrim
4. Trouble Will Find Me, The National
3. Instruments of Mercy, Beautiful Eulogy
2. Repave, Volcano Choir
1. Reflektor, Arcade Fire

What were your favorite albums of 2013?

If you don't know me then you don't know that one of the things I enjoy doing quite a bit is reading. Give me a cup of coffee, some compelling writing, and I'm immersed. For the last several years my reading has been pretty specific in the biblical-theological categories and mostly with relationship to my role as a pastor. This is all well and good and for everyday Christian growth and development and I would encourage you to read at least a couple of books a year that will help you grow in Christ and you understanding of his Word. But I'd also encourage you to stretch yourself and read outside one specific genre or style. Wisely broaden your horizons and read fiction (the bane of my existence up until recently), history, sports, politics, comedy, poetry, and an occasional cookbook.

I did a bit of that this last year and found myself enjoying reading more, finding some relaxation in a book, as well as having my worldview stretched. Theodore Roosevelt challenged me in regards to the emergence of leadership and life. Jon Steinbeck pushed me to think about how predetermined I've made my life. Jim Gaffigan caused me to reflect on being a dad, and to be thankful for such a gift. Douglas Wilson gave invaluable wisdom on learning the craft of writing. Bernard Malmud surprised me by surpassing the story depicted in one of my favorite baseball movies. In every book-to-film story I've read this year the book has far surpassed the film.

So with all that said, let me recommend you read different things year. Read Pulitzer Prize writers. Read old books. Read poetry. Read the best stuff. Here's my list of the best books I read in 2013.

10. Dad is Fat, Jim Gaffigan
9. The Natural, Bernard Malmud
8. Galatians For You, Timothy Keller
7.  Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis
6. The Surprising Grace of Disappointment, John Koessler.
5. 1776, David McCullough
4. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Edmund Morris
3. Wordsmithy, Douglas Wilson
2. The Pastor's Justification, Jared C. Wilson
1.  East of Eden, John Steinbeck

What were your top reads in 2013? 

One problem, among young leaders in particular, is a failure of confidence in Jesus to rule. Young leaders can overstretch themselves and take on the mindset that they themselves are to be a ‘saviour’ of God’s people. They believe that it is up to them to make people godly and they are inevitably overwhelmed by the task. Leaders need a quiet confidence in Jesus to rule through his Word, by his Spirit. They need to teach and model the Word of God. They need to lovingly get alongside people and encourage them and, where necessary, rebuke them. All this is done in the confidence that it is Jesus who rules his church. We can consider aspects of leadership from any source, and evaluate them and even seek to emulate them. However, we are to look to Jesus, who calls us to follow him. We are to submit to his leadership, even in the way that we exercise leadership (Mark 10:42–45). He is the Servant King, and we are called to live as servant leaders, not lording it over the flock, but always behaving as under-shepherds (1 Peter 5:1–4).

He called her "Graced One"
Told her "The Lord is With You"
Unearned favor. Same for us. 

Luke 1:28 (ESV) — 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

"Will you pray for long?"

Her question pressed him. "Quit?!"

"No, He does wonders."

Luke 1:13 (ESV) — 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.

But I have to stretch myself. One of Douglas Wilson's strong recommendations for writers in his book Wordsmithy was this:

Stretch before your routines. If you want to write Italian sonnets, try to write some short stories. If you want to write a few essays, write a novel, or maybe a novella if you are pressed for time. If you want to write haiku, then limber up with opinion pieces for The Washington Post.

I want to be a better writer and I want to "stretch" myself in writing in formats that I am not accustomed to. That doesn't mean you will see a romance novel off of my pen anytime soon (or ever). But it does mean writing a form of poetry helps me swim in the language and understand some cadence and verbal rhythms better. Hopefully it will sharpen my skill in writing other formats too.

So that explains the poetry/haiku work. Look for a new one every day during Advent.

That also brings me to Advent. Twenty-five days this year to reflect and think about the coming of Jesus. I need little nuggets during the day to remind me of the story. I need to stop and reflect for a moment on all that has been done for us and our salvation in the incarnation of Christ. So a little haiku helps me stop and think. Hopefully it will allow you to ponder Christ as well. Think of these as verbal mini-sized chocolate bars.

I hope you enjoy them. I hope you are stretched to work outside of your comfortable formats. I hope most of all that your worship of Christ grows as my little haiku's give a very small taste of the glory of Christ. 

1. Grow a middle. Right? I mean I can stop pretending to be young. I'll lose it all when I'm old anyway. So now is the time to put myself out there, show I've hit middle-age and develop a nice "pulpit" on which to lay my snacks. And interestingly enough (providentially?) since the best part of the Oreo is the middle they should be a daily part of my diet.
2. Get stuck in the middle. Middle-management that is. I can aspire to great things and organizational leadership later. The best this season of life can give me on the report-card is a "C" so, to use a sports-term, being a "middling" leader right now is the best that I can hope for and work towards.
3. Have a middle (child). Of course that would mean Steph would be up for that. And Ethan's too small to qualify for the role, so we'll just stick with two. For now.
4. Live in the middle. Of the country. (Check that baby off my list!)

Now I know my list is rather absurd (mostly). But this has been what I've been thinking about a little bit lately. What do the next fifteen years hold? 5-19 was growth, development, education. 20-34 has been maturing, marriage and ministry. 35-49, the middle years, to me is a season for leadership and expansion.

Here's some goals that I have for the next fifteen years that I pray God gives me the grace to accomplish.

1. Lead my family well - As my children move into the growth, development and education stage I know that my role as a leader to them is more and more important. The next season involves more intentional and loving leadership of my family.
2. Lead a church - sooner rather than later I'm ready to be the preaching and organizational leader of a local church. I know that God has called me to be a lead pastor and gifted me to do it. It's time to get after that. 
3. Plant churches - If goal number two happens sooner rather than later than I hope to see no less than five men developed, trained and sent to plant other churches through the one I'm leading. That's a clip of one leader sent every three years. I hope to see a sending nature reverberate from the culture of the church I'm leading.
4. Write five books. I have really enjoyed and loved working on the book I've written this last year. My skill in this area is growing and I understand more clearly the work and discipline that writing is. I want to write more and I want to grow in this gifting. 
5. Love more. Love God more and better. Love my family more and better. Love people more and better. Even if numbers 1-4 happen, and I'm working hard towards them becoming realities, if I don't have love then it's all meaningless. I haven't displayed the love of gospel well. I haven't loved Christ well. So I am praying that my love for God another others grows and flourishes in newer and deeper ways in the next season of my life.

So off into the wide-expanse of my middle-age. There's much to do, much to grow from, and by God's grace when I get to fifty much to consider multiplying for the next season. Lord, help me grow! 

1. My parents - godly, wise, sacrificial servants. They work hard for the glory of God in very difficult places. I'm thankful they've been faithful to every call God has placed on their lives; child-rearing, South America, Malawi, Zambia, Liberia. They are unsung heroes of the faith.
2. My wife - Stephanie, my best friend and life-long lover. A gift of grace I could hardly deserve.
3. Allison - my brilliant little girl who brings smiles to my face and joy to my life.
4. Ethan - little buddy who helps his daddy laugh.
5. My grandparents - both sets believers, both sets have had godly influence and example in my life. I am grateful for God's generational mercies on my family. May he continue to show more grace.
6. My in-laws. I have the best ones in the world! Godly people who give my kids a double-set of faithful grandparents.
7. My church, Journey the Way. Gospel-centered, missional, doing work! Love it.
8. Fourteen Gospel Community leaders who love Christ, shepherd the flock of God well and lead by example. So thankful for these men.
9. The Porterbrook Network - I am so grateful for a network of leaders all over the globe committed to theological and missional training in context. The team in Sheffield, England are superstars to me.
10. Chad Pearce - see above about Journey the Way, but this guy is a motivated leader who works his tail off for the sake of the church. Oh, and he can preach too!
11. Kevin Larson - invited me to come with him to Japan, ended up being an instrument of God to help motivate me to launch a new global missions initiative next year. More about that to come.
12. Josh Carrillo - one of my best friends and a brother I deeply miss. I'm thankful for a friend like Josh who shoots straight, loves much, prays hard and encourages me the way he does.
13. Chris Bauer - the steady, calm, wise influence of Chris still helps me along today. I hope to match his wisdom as a pastor one day.
14. Paul Ortlinghaus - I feel bad for forcing Paul to start reading the Institutes of the Christian Religion with me two years ago and only making it through the first two books. Paul's the faithful friend who sticks with me through it and continues to call week-in and week-out to pray and chat. This year we'll get it done Paul, right?
15. Gospel Centered Discipleship - namely Brad Watson, Jonathan Dodson and recently Brandon Smith. These guys are in my corner when it comes to writing and they've published my articles (even the campy bad ones) and are publishing my book. Super kind and generous guys.
16. The Journey the Way lay elders - These men work long, hard, big jobs. Then they humbly give and serve a local church. Their leadership is unmatched in my mind and they constantly are pressing the gospel in on our lives.
17. Meals on the table. We haven't gone hungry this year. God is a faithful provider.
18. Espresso to Go Go. More specifically Warren and Ann. They open up a business that for me is more like a family room. I love this place and these people.
19. Lane Harrison - my Gospel Coach. He's had a tough year on his hands with me. There are months when I feel like I'm coming to him more for therapy than coaching. He keeps pressing in and pushing me forward. I am grateful for that grace!
20. My home. It's old. It's a lot of work. Yet I love it and am thankful God provided it to our family.
21. My brother Brian. He told me a few things that would be dumb for me to pursue. He was right. He speaks truth and loves me much.
22. My Fitness Pal. Yes I'm thankful for an iPhone app. Yes, it's helped me stay alive this year.
23. Logos Bible Software. Another app. Another really helpful tool to allow me to engage the Scriptures better as a pastor/teacher.
24. California. You may be the wackiest state in the union but somehow you're my abandoned home. Much missed.
25. Carlos Griego - church-planter buddy in New Mexico. I random text him questions and prayer requests and all sorts of wacky stuff. He still loves me. Wacky.
26. Storyville Coffee - best. roasted. beans. evah!
27. Steve Sakanashi - church-planter buddy working to see the gospel advance in Japan. Helping me develop aforementioned global mission initiative.
28. Santa Rosa Bible Church - more and more I am grateful for this church and the 8 years that they let me serve them. I'm a better leader because of them.
29. Classical School of Wichita - when your daughter comes home from school and first starts talking about character and gospel related issues, that's a gift.
30. The Gift-Givers - There have been a multitude of people that have graciously helped our family out in many ways this year. God's provision is through his people, and we are grateful for you!
31. Baker Street Solutions - for giving Steph fun projects to work on from time to time. She loves it.
32. The Handy Men - guys like Kris Wheeler, Jeff Endsly, Jonathan Chapin, Jonathan Nuss, Matt Wild, Jesse Rodriguez and a few others have give some man-hours to help me do stuff around the house I have no clue how to do otherwise.
33. Chocolate. Dark.
34. My bro-in-law, Andy. Smart dude who encourages me in Christ and how he leads his family. Plus he single-handedly recommended the best book I've read this year.
35. Jesus. More specifically the Jesus I've met in the pages of the New Testament again this year. Patiently, graciously, courageously calling me to take up my cross and follow him. He laid down his life, so I can lay down mine. Keeping showing me more Lord!

Thanksgiving is almost here and I love barbecuing (or "smoking") the Thanksgiving day bird. Ever since I was little boy having smoked turkey at Thanksgiving dinner has been a tradition. Both my grandfather and my father smoked turkeys for our holiday meals and sometime ago I picked up the tradition myself. I love smoked turkey. So how do I prepare it?

Well, the following recipe has been my go-to for several years now. In fact my mouth is salivating right now thinking about this turkey.

My recipe is adapted some from this one on the Food Network website.

Ingredients

Dry Rub:

• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground sage
• 1 1/2 tablespoons thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon of your favorite paprika based dry rub. I like this one. 

Turkey:

• 1 (22-pound) turkey
• Olive oil
• 4 cups hickory wood chips, soaked in water for 60 minutes

Turkey Brine:

• 1 gallon water
• 2 cups salt
• 3 cups apple juice
• 1 cup bourbon (you can have a little if you like too)
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

Directions

For the rub. 

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and reserve.

For the brine:

Mix the water, salt, apple juice, bourbon, peppercorn, and sugar into a 5-gallon bucket lined with a resealable bag. Stir until the salt and sugar is dissolved. Add the turkey into the bag with the brine. In a garbage bag-lined ice chest filled with ice, place the bucket in and surround with ice. Keep in a cool place and let brine 6 hours or overnight. Turn the turkey after 3 hours. Remove turkey from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.

For the Turkey on the Barbecue (smoker or grill)

Rub the turkey with olive oil and massage the rub onto the Turkey.

If you are preparing this turkey on a standard charcoal grill, soak wood chips for 1 hour prior to cooking the turkey and drain well. Fill the chimney starter with charcoal and light. Burn until they ash over. Place the burned coals to 1 side of the grill. Place wood chips on top of coals. Line a standard size loaf pan with aluminum foil and fill 2/3 with water. Place in the grill opposite the coals.

Take the turkey and place on the grill over the pan of water. Insert a probe thermometer in the thigh to keep a check on the temperature as it cooks. Place the lid on the grill with the vent open.

The temperature should remain constant at 225 degrees F. You will need to add more coals and chips every few hours. In fact keep the chips coming. More smoke = better turkey. Trust me. 

After 1 hour check the turkey, if the skin is golden brown cover with foil. Continue cooking for 4 to 6 more hours or until a probe thermometer reaches 160 degrees F. (Now some of you will balk and say "poultry should be at 165 before it's ready. That's why you don't skip the next step. Seriously. I know what I'm doing.)

Remove from the oven and let rest (that means don't touch it) 20 minutes before you carve.

What's your favorite Thanksgiving turkey recipe?

This last weekend was a rather unusual one for me. I'll admit it was really a fun one too. Saturday I had the joy of teaching through some of the material from my forthcoming book at Porterbrook Kansas. That was really helpful to me in better shaping and clarifying the content and I am grateful for the dialog that occurred with students about the content and their interaction with me on it. The seminar audio will be over on the Porterbrook Kansas site in the next couple of weeks. 

As soon as the Porterbrook seminar was over Allison and I loaded up the mini-van and made haste to Bolivar, MO where we met up with Steph and Ethan. Sunday morning I got to preach at Freshwater Church, where my brother-in-law Andy is one of the elders. They asked me to preach from Acts 4 which generated some helpful questions that I've started asking when I get timid about sharing the gospel. I've embedded the audio from the sermon here or hop over to Gospel Centered Discipleship where they've posted the article that I wrote (which helped me structure the sermon). 

After the worship services our family got some good hang-out time together with Andy and Kelly's family as we went down to Silver Dollar City and saw the Christmas light show, It's a Wonderful Life musical, Frosty the Snowman and played on the carousels, ate mini-doughnuts, drank wassail and had a great time. 

And then the Denver Broncos special teams dropped the ball. Literally. Of course, if they had won the game then I would have assumed I had died because it was a perfect weekend otherwise. I'm thankful the Lord's given me a great family, surrounded me with great people and set me out on a great calling. Can't wait for more weekends like this one! 

When was the last time you spent time working through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the four Gospels in the New Testament)? I would encourage you at some point in the very near future to read these first four books. Read them through as if they were a story you were working through from cover to cover. Give yourself twenty to thirty minutes a day and read through these four books. You will be amazed at what you find. 

I am convinced we should spend more time in these four books of Scripture. The pulpits of our churches should be preaching from them often. Why? Because we find the Founder and Perfecter of our faith on display in these pages. As we learn and grow and seek to make progress in our growth in Christ we hear him speak. We read and hear Jesus say "come follow me". We have clearly have his work on display for us as both a substituionary work (which only he could do) and a exemplary work (which he calls us to follow him in).

He leads us by revealing and fulfilling what we could not have done. He leads us by calling us to, out of our union with him, follow him in how we live. He leads us by dying in our place for us and forgiving us and then calling us to respond by faith in laying down our lives, taking up our cross daily and following him.

He leads us by teaching us the ways of the kingdom. He shows us that the Kingdom of God is made up of spiritually poor, hungry for righteousness, repenters calling for the mercy for God. He teaches us that is loves us and has given himself for us and brought us into renewed relationship with the Father and sends us to go to the world in the power of the Spirit. He teaches us through practical issues like where our treasure is placed, how to overcome anxiety, and how to treat a neighbor we don't even live next to. He teaches his life.

Reading the Gospels is the recalibrating work of tuning our soul. We need to reflect on the words and work of Jesus often. We need to have Jesus's life, death, and glorious resurrection in front of us often. I know I've benefited much from reading the Gospels this last month. I am planning on doing it more often. The reason is I need to be retuned to sing his praise every day. I need Jesus. 

Social media is an almost essential part of life and relational culture in our world today. The number of people I know who don't have a Facebook or Twitter account of some sort are amazingly small. In fact, I struggle to remember what life was like before we had Facebook to log into and reconnect with all our "friends." But social media is also a dark and dangerous place for many. Idols of self-identity, insecurity and self-promotion abound. It seems more and more like the world of social media is a world of sales, especially among pastors.

I like Facebook and I really enjoy twitter. When Twitter first went public I was in on the initial wave and was immediately able to connect and create some online conversations with church-planters and other pastors. These initial conversations were very encouraging and very profitable to me. To this day I still find Twitter and Facebook helpful and I don't feel dominated by either one. But I've had to set some boundaries and rules about who I follow and who I "friend". I thought I might share them with you to help you tame your social media (and all it's expectations, promotions and self-projections) and allow you to truly interact well with my friends. Maybe they will make your social media connections a bit healthier too.

Rules for Facebook

Facebook is for friends. I try and keep that word and the meaning of that word very real and very close. So the way I use Facebook is as if I am sharing with my friends. I've set my privacy levels very high and even created a separate author page that will allow the general public to interact with me. But Facebook still is specifically for friends. Here's my criteria that I use to assess if you will be "friended" by me or your friendship request accepted. There are a few broad exceptions, but I believe that most of these are specifically true of my Facebook friends.

1. I've met and spent some time with you face-to-face. I know you're a real person in the real world.
2. In a crowd, if it has been a long time since we last saw each other, I'd remember your name and who you are. That's because we are friends.
3. I'd hang out with you. Not just because I'm pastorally obligated to, but because we're friends. That is why Facebook calls it "friends" right?

4. I can be myself around you. No pretense. No need to project my awesomeness or attractiveness (both free of charge). I can say it straight, you can say it straight back to me. And no, I didn't run 5 miles, drink a protein shake and write three books before bathing my children this morning and sending them off to school. I'm not that awesome... but I know some people...

As I've said, Facebook is for friends. Seems obvious to me. But what about Twitter?

Rules for Twitter

Twitter is for networking and connecting. I follow mainly pastors, church planters and other leaders who have something helpful to contribute to my daily thread. These people might not be friends that I know or have ever met. But generally they seem to be helpful folks. That could end up in a free for all but I limit my twitter following a bit too. Here's my rules for Twitter.

1. Are you following me? Can this be a conversation or is it a one-way-street to just advance your platform? I realize I violate this rule's inverse in that I don't follow back everybody who follows me but for the most part I want to be engaging with people that are conversationalist with me on Twitter.
2. Are you tweeting helpful things or are you a "Twitter tool"? TT's are the one's who are pedantic, stir up controversy, complain, moan, whine and seem to have no self-control with their words. Out of the overflow of the heart, the keyboard tweets. 

3. Have we met? This one is a bit different than my Facebook rule. You don't have to be a friend to join this category, but if we've met before I generally enjoy reading what you tweet about. I've actually met a handful of Twitter followers because of Twitter and have been much encouraged by the relationship with them. In some way this is what I miss about Twitter as of late.

So those are my general rules for social media and how I keep my sanity. One other pattern that I am developing is the "sabbath month." Every seventh month I've committed to drop all communication via Facebook and Twitter and allow myself to rest. It keeps me from the feeling of constantly having to promote myself to gain a following. I have all the acceptance I could ever desire in Christ. I am glad I can share my life and friendship with many of you and I am grateful that the gospel frees me from needing the approval of others to know that I am loved and accepted. So a sabbath reminds me of that regularly.

What social media rules do you have to keep you sane? Or are you going insane because your social media rules you? 

So, if I am trying to assess what God is doing in this transition the first though that comes to my mind is, "this must be punishment." I have sinned in some way that God has had to set me on the sidelines so that he can use someone else who is more faithful personally to the call in this place. Or, if it isn't sin, it has to be my lack of gifting and skill in that particular area. I don't have the charisma, the people skills, the management style, the leadership quality, the entrepreneurial abilities to take this thing to the next level and really reach the world. The desert is my "just desserts" for my lack in skill and gifting. I have to think that if I were more educated, more better placed, more intelligent about my career path, more wise about denominations and networks I wouldn't be forced to the desert. That's where losers and failures are sent, to the desert. Nobody but winners can play in the cities.

What is easily forgotten however, is the two most important aspect of God's character. One, that he rules and is sovereign as King over all things. He speaks, it happens. He ordains, it is done. He wills, it happens. He calls and unwilling rebellious prophets like Jonah still carry out his will. Second, he is love and does all things as love to his children. Not one thing is ordained or purposed in my life that doesn't have his love and care and goodness wrapped around it. He only gives the good and the best to his children, even if it seems like pain to them. So sending someone to the desert is his plan and it's for my good.

I shouldn't despise the desert. It's the often the most strategic place in the universe. It's often the most fruitful place in the world. Yes, deserts lack creature comforts, prominence, and our perceptions of effectiveness. Not one drip of culture streams down from a desert. And that's why God uses them.

It shouldn't surprise me that when the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip and sent him to "the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza" that Luke would then tell us "this is a desert place." It might have seemed like punishment to Philip. Maybe he questioned his qualification or skill set and wonder if he was placed on the shelf of ministry because of some lack. The reality was that the Lord was just placing Philip in a more strategic location for the advance of the gospel and to bless Philip with a prominence that will never be taken from him.

How many verses in Scripture do we get about mission in Philip's ministry in the populated and prominent region of Samaria? Maybe six. How many do we get about his ministry in the desert? Fourteen. And in that time the Holy Spirit trained and equipped and sent a new missionary to Ethiopia to extend the gospel to the nations. Africa now had a new pioneer Christian with the Scriptures in hand and an influential position in the government to be able to reach the sub-Saharan regions. Philip was sent to the desert so the nations could be reached.

So, maybe I should stop despising the desert and wilderness places. The more I look at these places in the Scriptures, the more I see God doing big things there. The Bible seems to show that God shows his grace and power and ability in more amazing ways in the desert. Maybe I shouldn't despise what God values and shouldn't value what the world despises. Maybe the desert is strategic in ways I could never imagine. 

I want to write to equip and help you. If I've ever had a vision for my work in writing it has always been a desire to be an extension of my pastoral ministry. So I want to ask you to help me serve you well through the medium of blogging. 

What do you need help with that I can write about? What topics, subjects, or material would you find beneficial coming off my keyboard?

Help me out by leaving some comments and I'll work on writing about those things. I'll generate some posts of 500-800 words that fit the topics you mention. It'll probably jog my mind for some other topics as well. Furthermore you can dialog with me about those issues and we can grow together. So what I can write about to help you?

I don’t intend these posts to be commercials for a particular study Bible or anything like that, but more of an opportunity to share what I’ve been learning as I read through the New Testament and the commentary notes of the Gospel Transformation Bible. Today I completed Mark and here are a few of the highlights that came from Hans Bayer’s notes in Mark.

One thing I will remark about regarding Mark’s gospel is that there is a distinct thematic difference between Matthew and Mark. A lot of people wonder why there are four collections of stories about Jesus’ life in the Bible. As you read through the New Testament (at least I am finding) those disctintions are helpful. What Matthew emphasized as a major theme in his gospel (the Kingship of Christ) isn’t necessarily the focus of Mark’s work. Mark instead causes us to wrestle with the daily implications of discipleship in relationship to the King over all things. I have found the distinction helpful.

So here are a few highlighted remarks that Bayer makes about the text of Mark’s Gospel.

True followers of Christ are called to reflect Christ’s compassion and holiness to other human beings, irrespective of their race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or any other mark of distinction. For Christ has shown such grace to us. (Mark 2:13–17, page 1322)

We who follow a crucified Savior should not be surprised by the cruciform life that is thrust upon us as we seek to be faithful to him. And through it all, we walk as one who is “gentle and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29). We have a mighty Friend. (Mark 6:1–6, page 1328)

Without radical, personal transformation by the gospel of grace, beginning with Jesus’ exposure of our own hearts, followers of Christ have nothing of substance to convey to others (cf. Eph. 1:8). God has spoken grace to us; we speak in grace to others. Loved, we love. This is the pattern of gospel life. (Mark 8:11–21. page 1332)

Nothing can come to God’s children out of divine wrath, for God’s wrath has been exhausted on the cross. All that happens to disciples is from God’s great heart of love for his own. (Mark 14:1–11, page 1345)

In Barabbas we see a sobering depiction of ourselves: guilty, released from judgment as Jesus is judged in our place. (Mark 15:1–20, page 1348).

For some reason my words haven't come easily tonight. Partly because I don't want to merely affirm what Stephanie does  that brings her to be missed so much. Yes, her workload and the number of hours she puts in each day being mom is incredible. I haven't paid attention to how much she does quite as much as I should. 

What has always made it difficult when she is gone is that I feel that very real aspect of Genesis 2:18 in that it is not good for a man to be alone. It's not a functional reality in that it's not good to be alone. It's a relational reality. No one relates to me as well as she does. No one understands me as well as Stephanie understands. 

So when she's gone its not just that I don't have someone who can take care of my laundry. It's that my friend and and life-long companion is missing. When she's gone the one person I relate the best to isn't here to relate with. Life is really more dreary when she's gone. When she's gone my closest, most intimate, most dear friend is not around and no other relationship remotely fills that void. 

I think this is something that Americans struggle with. We view relationships directly on a functional level. What does so-and-so do for me? Be it a spouse, children, coworkers, or neighbors we give more to relationships that do more for us. Maybe that's why we're so off balance when it comes to understanding work and family and friendship in our culture. We value most the functional relationships that produce the most benefit to us. 

Yes, I am thankful for all that Steph does in my life and it is felt when she isn't here. But more than anything I am thankful for her presence with me in life as a friend. Even as she lies here sleeping tonight from her jet lag I'm glad to have my best friend just here with me. As Bill Withers would sing; 

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
It's not warm when she's away
Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
She always gone too long anytime she goes away 

Ain't no sunshine when she's gone
This house just ain't no home
Anytime she goes away

Maybe that's the test of relational value versus functional value; is life fundamentally less enjoyable when person x isn't with us? I always find that to be case when she's away. There ain't no sunshine when she's gone. 

As I've spent a week with Matthew and the GTB's notes this week I wanted to give a brief review of the notes and highlight a few of them that have stood out to me.

Gospel Motivated Notes

First, I've really appreciated the way the notes in Matthew have emphasized gospel-centered motivations and not legalistic "how-to" points of application. Matthew's emphasis on the universal Lordship of Jesus is staggering and his commitment to portray Jesus as King over all things is seen throughout the entire Gospel. With that there is a sober-reality check that Jesus has a rightful claim over all things, including my life. Furthermore, that claim determines that I live in such a way as a follower of his. Yet Matthew makes it clear that Jesus is the one who makes that "kingdom way" clear for us in himself. It is in Christ and him alone that I am transformed to live out the kingdom way of Christ. In step with that Frank Thielman's notes in Matthew reflects that emphasis.

God continues to help his people at their points of need, not because of anything within themselves that makes them worthy of his help but because he is a gracious and merciful God who delights in helping the needy (Notes at Matthew 14:1-36 - page 1292).

Christian discipleship is genuine when it arises from a heart and mind transformed by God's grace, and this inner transformation, which Matthew calls repentance, will inevitably bear good fruit (Notes at Matthew 7:15-23 - page 1279). 

Raising The Affections of My Soul

Secondly, this "study Bible" isn't so much of a study Bible as it is a devotional Bible. Now that can be a disastrous label to serious-minded students of the Scripture. Most things that are labeled "devotional" are fluffy, doctrinally weak "Chicken Soup for the Angst-Ridden Middle-Aged Man's Soul" kind of books. The Gospel Transformation Bible isn't that. It's a Bible with notes that have helped me engage the Scripture more closely and more than anything love Christ more fully. These Bible notes have helped raise my affections for Christ. 

Many study Bibles have more notes that the Scripture has text. I don't get that with the GTB (and at points I was wanting for notes that were not there). However the notes that were present were helpful. They made me think about the gospel. They made me reflect more on Christ. Every day my heart has been challenged to live in light of the gospel and to know and enjoy Christ more. I've really benefited from this sort of format.

I am honestly excited to keep reading through the Scriptures and the notes found in this edition. Matthew alone has been a needed challenge to the way I live my life under the Kingship of Christ and the notes have been a helpful supplement in enabling me to think through those areas of application well.

Who Is The GTB For?

I have to recommend this resource to pretty much everybody. We gave a copy of this to every Gospel Community leader at Journey the Way to resource and help them as they prepare each week to lead their groups. I think it will encourage and benefit just about anyone who will pick it up and engage it.

Westminster Books has some great deals on different covered editions of the GTB and I would encourage you to pick one up. You can click the links below to find one that fits your personality!

• Hard Cover (Black)
• Hard Cover (White)
• Tru Tone
• Genuine Leather
• I killed a cow and it's hide covers my Bible! 

And then yesterday happened. Many of you know of and have read or engaged Passage, the systematic theology course that I wrote for teens. Several churches and home school groups all over the United States have been using it in some capacity or another over the last several years. Yesterday, I joined a partnership with FEBC (Far East Broadcasting Company) to have Passage translated into Vietnamese and then distributed all over Vietnam. FEBC has estimated that over 600,000 Vietnamese have heard the gospel through their ministry there and they are deeply in need of more content and material to help the persecuted, but growing church. I am blown away by the grace of God in my life to use Passage to help equip the church here and abroad.

More than anything my prayer is that Passage will be fruitful in strengthening the church and calling people to Jesus in Vietnam. The goal isn't that my name end up being praised and adulated. The goal is that Christ is prized and worshipped and treasured. Please pray with me for FEBC and join in supporting their gospel ministry to Asia. Let me encourage you to check out the FEBC website, pray for them and the translators who will be preparing the material and recording it for radio distribution in Vietnam.

More and more it is apparent that truth of Malachi 1:11 is being fulfilled. "From the rising of the sun to its setting [the Lord's] name will be great among the nations." Let's continue to pray and labor for the sake of the glory of God and the advance of the gospel all over the world.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

I find much gospel-encouragement and freedom in this passage that sparks my heart. First, seek first the kingdom of God. What better kingdom is there to seek then this one? What greater pleasure and life can be found but in this kingdom alone? What joy and glory and justice and triumph and exaltation would be found in other kingdoms? In seeking the kingdom of God I am seeking the highest and greatest and most beneficial and glorious kingdom. Instead of trying to be king of a weak and anemic kingdom of my own making I am the subject of the greatest and beneficent kingdom in the universe. There can be no better kingdom. The call to seek this kingdom is a call to see the highest, greatest and best good.

But also, and his righteousness. This is the word of the gospel to me once again. If I pursue my own righteousness I am doomed to fail. I, inherently, possess no righteousness of my own. I am a broken cistern incapable of holding right-ness, and in that brokenness I am damned. But in seeking his righteousness I am seeking an alien and foreign righteousness. I am seeking that which can only be gifted by grace and received by faith. I am pursuing that which I can contribute nothing to, or it immediately become my righteousness and thereby voids the right-ness of it at all. So I am called to pursue Christ and his righteousness. I am called to pursue him and him above all things.

The most beneficial kingdom, the most beneficial King. These are pursuits we are daily called to.

And the promise that enfolds these great pursuits? "All these things will be added to you." What are "all these things"? Why they are a kingdom of my own. God's kingdom with God's people, in which I am adopted as a son and given full inheritance. Wow. And that's not all. Full righteousness, full perfection, ultimate glorification! I am gifted Christ's righteousness and exalted in Christ.

All I could ever want or hope is promised in this singular verse. Seek first his kingdom and his righteous. Oh that I would have the grace and courage to seek him first today!

Here's the fun (at least to me) of this plan. If I engage it today (and you choose to engage with me) then we will complete the entire New Testament in the next eighty five days. For me that's very do-able, and also gives me the next few months to meditate on specifically the Gospels in October and November, and then pushes into the Epistles of the New Testament. Plus, it gives me some confidence moving into 2014 to read the Old Testament through so that I can complete it and have read the Bible in a year from October to October.

So let me to encourage you to download the reading plan, get a Bible (maybe even pick up a copy of the new Gospel Transformation Bible) and let's read the New Testament before the New Year!