Big Gospel

I heard a very good and convicting message this afternoon at the Bible Conference of the SBTC by Nathan Lino.

Here is the smacker: The Gospel is bigger than me and it is bigger than my local church.
Too often we, I, internalize everything I learn from scripture to just me personally. If I relate to the gospel just on an individual level, that is a problem. How? Granted, it does relate to me personally and I must incorporate the gospel into my life on an individual level. The problem is when I stop right there.

Let me give an example. The gospel is that Jesus died for our sins. Too many of us take that truth and appropriate it on just an individual level. “Jesus died for me.” That is true, but it doesn’t stop there. Jesus also died for everyone else. Jesus died for the check out clerk at Wal Mart. Jesus died for the neighbor down the street. Jesus died for the liberal politician I heard on t.v. Jesus died for those who live in the North East. Jesus died for those who live in Saudi Arabia. Jesus died for more than just me. The gospel is bigger than just me. I must broaden my personal perspective to see the greater Kingdom of God.

This is a good thing. It is amazing that I am included in the grand Kingdom of God. That He wants me to participate in His Big Sized Gospel Plan is overwhelming.

This same “small gospel” disease also happens collectively in our local churches. We have this tendency to view the gospel only as it relates to our local church. It does relate to our local church, it is the basis of our church. But, it doesn’t stop there. The gospel of Christ is about more than just my particular church. It is about His Kingdom. The scope of His Plan is wider and bigger than any one local church.

In his sermon, Nathan gave proof of this tunnel vision. Jealousy! When a church down the street is doing something awesome, we don’t thank God for the Kingdom work that is going on, we question why that is not happening for our church. We are jealous that we aren’t seeing the same thing. That is evidence of a limited vision of the gospel.

Want more evidence? I am not sure we do. I may get some of these numbers wrong, but follow this. There are about 300 million people in the USA and 100,000 SBC ministers. There are 6.5 billion people in the world and only 5,500 sbc missionaries. That’s 1 minister for every 3000 people in the USA. For the rest of the world: there is one missionary for every 1.18 million people! That is way out of proportion. Why? American Christians don’t care about the lost world! They really don’t even care about their lost neighbor, so why would they care about someone lost half way around the world?!

Here’s more: There was 12 billion dollars collected in SBC churches in 2008. That’s great! Only 5% of that total made to overseas missions. That’s not great! Why is that? Could it be that we are more concerned about our own personal church world and our own personal gospel than we are with the big picture?

Let me reemphasize the point. It is not that the gospel does not have something to do with my personal world or my local church. It does, and I should be concerned with those things. But, IT CANNOT, IT MUST NOT STOP THERE!

Why am I so emphatic? Well, it’s not really me, it’s not really my words. It’s Jesus’ words, it’s God’s Word.

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

That is a BIG GOSPEL!

The Bible Enemy

I read this quote by J.I. Packer in his forward of R.C. Sproul's book, Knowing Scripture.

"If I were the devil, one of my first aims would be to stop folk from digging into the Bible. Knowing that it is the Word of God, teaching men to know and love and serve the God of the Word, I should do all I ccould to surround it with the spiritual equivalent of pits, thorn hedges and man traps, to frighten people off...
How? Well, I should try to distract all clergy from preaching and teaching the Bible, and spread the feeling that to study this ancient book directly is a burdensome extra which modern Christians can forgo without loss. I should broadcast doubts about the truth and relevance and good sense and straightforwardness of the Bible, and if any still insisted on reading it I should lure them into assuming that the benefit of the practice lies in the noble and tranquil feelings evoked by it ratheer than in noting what Scripture actually says. At all costs I should want to keep them from using their minds in a disciplined way to get the measure of its message."

Family Ministry

Your family is your ministry. That is true not just for pastors, but for anyone who claims to follow Christ and has a family.

Michelle and I attempt to be intentional in making family memories. Sometimes these are small things -- playing a board game every once and a while. Other times we do something big for the sake of our family -- a vacation to the beach.

The last week we were blessed to be able to go on a trip with all four of us to Cancun. We had an awesome time! It was the first time we all flew anywhere. The whole trip was great to watch the girls have so much fun. From the flights, airports, a different culture, swimming in pools and on beaches, eating new foods, all staying together in the same room, and everything else -- it was a great family time.

Life can be so busy, but I cannot allow that to interfere with my responsibility to minister in the context of my family. Vacations like this are not just a way to have fun. It is a way to foster relationships, encourage one another, and set an example in the faith. That is family ministry.

Not Yet, Please!

I had to go into Home Depot the other day and was instantly greeted by something that annoys me to no end. Christmas junk! It's barely October and at the Depot you have to walk through their giant ilses of Christmas junk.

I actually love Christmas time. I like the music, the lights, the stuff. But, I don't like too much of a good thing.

I have a personal Christmas embargo at my house. No Christmas until Thanksgiving. 3 months is too much. 6 weeks is just enough.

By the way, I know this is not going to change. I will have to continue to be annoyed.