Paul to Timothy, from a Roman prison:
“Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy 1:14 NLT)
This is how Paul guarded the gospel - he told everyone everywhere all about the good news that Jesus has come, died, and rose again.
Guarding.
What comes to your mind when you hear of “guarding” something?
Soldiers with guns?
A secure vault?
High, electric fences?
Big, intimidating dogs?
But in this passage, Paul is telling Timothy to carefully guard the good news of Jesus, the “truth entrusted to him.”
So how do we guard the gospel?
Well, we’ve seen one option lived out to no success — lock it up, protect it so thoroughly that no one has access to it, “keep it secret, keep it safe.” Or the other option of “define it to death”, make sure every theological “i” is dotted and “t” is crossed, ensure that nothing is said out of turn or inaccurately.
But does that guard the gospel? No. It kills it.
The gospel is, by definition, good news that must be shared widely and boldly. It’s the GOOD NEWS that Jesus has come into this world as God’s definitive action of love and redemption in order to see his creation brought back to rights.
To guard the gospel is to proclaim it. The only way to protect good news is to actually put it out there. Tell the story, point people to Jesus, live the good news in all you do and say and live and pray. Through the power of the Holy Spirit.
CBC Radio 2 is somewhat of a constant in our lives as a family. We play it in the house as well as on the road.
Today, as I was winding out of my neighbourhood, I was struck by the powerful truth by the poet and prophet Bob Dylan as he crooned in all his glory. An old song, an even older message, yet was there ever a time when we needed to be reminded more that we all gotta serve somebody?
Gotta Serve Somebody
You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearlsBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.You might be a rock ‘n’ roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you ChiefBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk,
You may be the head of some big TV network,
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame,
You may be living in another country under another nameBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banksBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heirBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bedBut you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy,
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray,
You may call me anything but no matter what you sayYou’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.Copyright ©1979 Special Rider Music
A servant evangelist washes the feet of the non-Christian in humility and great empathy, rather than just doing evangelism in a way that the evangelist is most comfortable with. In order to avoid wasting our energy and risks and desperate prayers on self-serving actions, we suggest always asking three simple questions before entering into an evangelistic relationship or event:
1. Who is our audience?
2. What do they need at this stage of their journey?
3. How can we help them take the next step toward Jesus?
(Doug Schaupp and Don Everts, I Once Was Lost, 133.)
Staff and students have been both challenged and encouraged by this book, so I picked it up at Urbana. I quite enjoyed it.
I Once Was Lost is all about the journey to faith many postmodern people take on their way to Jesus. The authors, Doug Schaupp and Don Everts, are seasoned IVCF staff; through their many years of seeing people come to faith in Jesus, they have identified five distinct “thresholds” that many postmodern travelers pass through on their way to a relationship with Jesus. This book challenges us to think first of where people are at on their journey before attempting to share the good news about Jesus with them.
The five thresholds build upon each other. For example, it’s highly unlikely that a person will express interest in Jesus if they don’t know a Christian they can trust. Nor is it probable that a person will enter the kingdom if they have no desire to experience change in their lives (or at least, one would hope they wouldn’t . . .). They base these thresholds upon 2000 or so people’s stories of coming to faith in the last decade.
The Five Thresholds:
1. Trusting a Christian
2. Becoming Curious
3. Opening Up to Change
4. Seeking after God
5. Entering the Kingdom
You might remember a previous post of mine on the various Christian responses to the Olympics in Vancouver.
My friend Meera, a U of Calgary alumna, writes an insightful piece on the upcoming Olympics, in response to questions she’s been asked. She is currently working as a nurse in the Downtown Eastside while attending Regent College, so she provides a unique, on-the-ground perspective.
I appreciate what she has to say and I know you will, too!
I’m not one of those guys who’s always going on and on all the time about how busy life is. Oh, life is full, for sure. And, at times, there is no other honest way to describe the day-to-day life than simply that: busy.
But busy can be a mask. A mask for a much deeper malaise. When we are busy, we can ignore many things. And everyone thinks we are doing great, even doing great things.
Busyness allows us to ignore our families.
Our neighbors.
Our spiritual journeys.
Our kids.
Our questions.
Our friends.
Heck, even our spouses.
Our bodies.
Our brains.
Our earth.
Our world.
And the pot-smoking moron who lives next door.
We can do all that in the name of all- holy, socially acceptable and religiously encouraged, busyness.
(Oh, yeah, I almost forgot . . . busyness is also a great way to ignore Jesus.)
Heading out to our IVCF Winter Camp this weekend – U of A, U of C and MRU. I’m really looking forward to it.
A man who counted everything loss compared to knowing Jesus
One of things I’ll be doing is leading a study on Philippians 2:1-14 and 3:1-18. Powerful stuff from a favorite book.
So, a question to consider: What does it mean to count all things as loss compared to knowing Jesus? (Phil 3: 8) Because, somehow, I think most of us try really hard to have it both ways — benefit from all our privilege and position (or whatever counts for us) AND know Jesus in his sufferings and resurrection. I’m thinking if Paul couldn’t do it, then neither can we.
Hmmmm . . . but we’ll keep trying anyways . . .
Questions create new futures. They shift reality. New possibilities open up when a question is posed. Questions direct a questioner to think in new ways. Questions also alter the reality of the one being questioned.
Think of the power of the simple question, asked almost daily: “What is your name?” How many new futures have opened up when someone asked–and responded–to that one?
Questions–sometimes articulated but often not– form the basis of how we see the world and our place in it. Having new questions thrown at us, and having to respond to those new questions, can have life-altering ramifications.
Maybe that’s why Jesus seems to ask so many questions.
I think one of the assumptions many of us labor under is that community is easy. It’s not. If you don’t know that, then I suggest you aren’t living in much community.
We like to extol of all the glories of community – the shared life, the belonging, the knowing, the working together, the encouragement. But we tend to forget, or downplay, the reality that community is not some abstract ideal or fleshless vision. It’s here, it’s now. And (at times painfully), it’s with you lot. With people we can’t stand, with people who don’t get us, with people we don’t like and don’t think we ever will like. Yet with people in whom God’s Spirit dwells, with people who are precious, with people who are (like me) both gifted by the Spirit and yet on the journey toward Christ-likeness that seems far too slow (please hurry it up, Jesus!). Thank God daily that Jesus mediates between us as his people; if it weren’t for that . . .
Bonhoeffer, in his famous book on community, challenges us with these words:
Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it. (Life Together, 30)
Amen to that.
Ever studied the Bible with seekers? You will never be the same after you do.
One of the specific challenges issued at Urbana was to go home and invite friends into an investigative bible study through John 1-4 (the Scripture text we all worked through at Urbana). Little packets were given to those willing to commit, and now the names are rolling in of those who want to go for it.
At Urbana, all 16,000 people met together to study the story of Jesus in John 1-4. I had the opportunity and privilege to lead the Canadian Student Leadership Track through their study. This is a shot of how much wine Jesus made at the wedding in Cana (lots!).
I am thrilled that this is happening. When I look back over the years, I know that my most amazing experiences in the Scripture has been when I’ve walked through John’s Gospel with spiritual seekers. I remember our living room packed with people, most of whom were non-church yet really interested in Jesus. And then the most incredible conversations as we see Jesus arrive on the scene, engaging people from every walk of life and invited them to follow him. And after every story, from the man at the pool (5) to the dude born blind (9) to Nic (3) or Sam (4), each and every encounter turns on the questions, “What about you? Do you believe?” Life-changing stuff.
We will be gathering students together and helping them roll forward on this, inviting their friends to encounter Jesus with them through his story. And we know they will. It’s what happens when people “come and see” Jesus–glory dawns in the eyes of the beholders.
In my travels to and from Urbana in St. Louis (and in my waiting, waiting, waiting in numerous airports), I read a Christmas gift-book from my friend Laurel. The Sparrow, written by Mary Doria Russell, is in a genre I like (Sci-Fi) and grappling with a subject I consider of supreme importance (belief in God and the reality of senseless evil and suffering).
The Sparrow features space travel, alien life forms, provocative theology and heart-rending relationships. What more can you ask for in a book?
