Going Where No One has Gone Before…

Readings for today: 2 Corinthians 10-13

I’m in Portland attending the annual board meeting for the Petros Network. One of the key verses that guides our work comes from the end of 2 Corinthians 10, “We aren’t making outrageous claims here. We’re sticking to the limits of what God has set for us. But there can be no question that those limits reach to and include you. We’re not moving into someone else’s “territory.” We were already there with you, weren’t we? We were the first ones to get there with the Message of Christ, right? So how can there be any question of overstepping our bounds by writing or visiting you? We’re not barging in on the rightful work of others, interfering with their ministries, demanding a place in the sun with them. What we’re hoping for is that as your lives grow in faith, you’ll play a part within our expanding work. And we’ll all still be within the limits God sets as we proclaim the Message in countries beyond Corinth. But we have no intention of moving in on what others have done and taking credit for it. “If you want to claim credit, claim it for God.” What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work. It’s what God says about you that makes the difference.” (2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬-‭18‬ ‭MSG‬‬) We aspire to the same mission Paul aspired to. He wanted to take the gospel to places where it had never gone. He refused to spend his life planting and sowing and reaping in the same harvest fields of others. He wanted everyone to have access to the gospel. I love his heart. I love how Paul sees the whole world as his parish and yet recognizes that even he has limits. He knows he is not the end all, be all of God’s mission. God isn’t just using him but a host of others - a great crowd of witnesses - to accomplish His great work. The work of the Kingdom is not driven by celebrity. It is never a one man or one woman show. Paul isn’t interested in competing in areas where others have had gospel influence. He isn’t interested in extending his brand. He has no desire to promote himself. He simply wants to go to those places where the gospel hasn’t been preached and he knows it will take the entire Body of Christ to make that dream a reality.

Sadly, I see the opposite attitude at work in the American church today. Rather than ask ourselves if communities already have a gospel presence, we focus more on our brand. It could be a denominational brand. It could be a non-denominational brand. The rise of the multi-site church is a classic example of this phenomenon. The goal is to build the largest platform possible and it doesn’t matter how many smaller churches are cannibalized along the way. We desperately need a reset. We’ve masked entrepreneurialism as “church planting” and it’s literally killing the American church. We plant churches whose leaders have little if any accountability and they are failing and falling in seemingly record numbers. Numerical growth is used to justify all kinds of pastoral abuse and neglect and it must break the heart of God. He must weep as He watches His children compete against each other rather than expand their areas of influence into regions where the gospel has never been heard.

Over the past several years, I’ve had a front row seat to this mess. I’ve been approached by large mega-churches asking me to come under their “brand” to reach the front range of Colorado. I’ve been told by Pentecostal churches that the Lord had anointed them - and their pastor - to bring revival to my church and my community. I’ve been hit up for money by church planters who are planting in communities that are saturated with gospel-centered churches more times than I can count. Through it all, I keep coming back to Paul’s words above and have done my best to remain true to that mission.

‭If only the American church could recapture a vision to truly reach the lost. To go to communities where there is no gospel presence. To go to the places of greatest need where the chances of “building a platform” for ourselves don’t exist. If only we were gripped by the idea that no one has the right to hear the gospel twice while there remains some who have yet to hear it once. (Oswald Smith) Then we might see revival come. Then we might see the church become the light of the world as she was created and called to be.

Readings for tomorrow: None

Weak Vessels

Readings for today: 2 Corinthians 5-9

I’m still thinking about the reading from yesterday. The part about jars of clay. Ordinary pots in whom God deposits the treasure of the gospel. Or, as Paul puts it in today’s reading, earthly bodies that get folded up like tents before being replaced with our eternal bodies. Until that great day comes, we endure the cramped conditions of this world with our eyes fixed on the vast spaces of the world to come. It’s a powerful vision that gives us the strength to keep going no matter how much our “pot” might chip or crack or even break. Years ago, a dear friend gave me a clay pot that she purchased on a trip to the Middle East. She bought it from a local vendor who literally spent his days forming vessels out of clay and letting them bake in the sun before taking them to market to sell. It’s simple. Ordinary. Fairly fragile. I imagine if I used it day in and day out like most people over in that part of the world, it would become chipped and cracked. Eventually it would break apart altogether.

I think about that pot every time I read Paul’s words to the Corinthians. You and I are no different than the pot that sits on my desk. Simple. Ordinary. Fairly fragile. It doesn’t take much to wound us. Hurt us. Chip us. Crack us. Break us. And yet God in His unsurpassed wisdom and grace has entrusted to us the treasure of the gospel. Through His Spirit He has deposited Christ into our hearts. And we now carry Him with us wherever we go.

There is a lot of pressure in our world to be perfect. To never let anyone see you sweat. To pretend like we have it altogether. On the flip side, there seems to be just as much pressure to be “real” and “authentic.” To publicly curate our brokenness on social media in service of self-promotion. Both views are deeply misguided because they both focus on the pot rather than the Potter. They focus on the jar of clay rather than the treasure hidden within. They both flip the script and ascribe power to the person rather than to God which is why all such efforts eventually fall apart.

We are weak and feeble. We are foolish and ignorant. We are anxious and afraid. Each one of our “jars” is chipped and cracked and broken in so many different ways. But when we see ourselves through the eyes of faith, we see past all the hurts, wounds, and scars to the treasure deposited within. We see the light of Christ shining through all our imperfections giving light and life and blessing to those around us. We understand that the “vessels” we inhabit are ultimately not what’s most important. Rather it is Christ in us that is the hope of glory! So it doesn’t matter what hardships we suffer or what injustices we face. We recognize this world has nothing for us. It is not our home. So we can spend our lives in service to Christ. We can wear these bodies out for the sake of Christ’s mission in this world. We can exhaust our resources and our time and our energy. We can leave it all on the field so to speak, trusting there is a greater prize awaiting us in heaven. I love how Paul describes it, “For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.” (2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

Paul gets it. His whole life has prepared him for this moment. All his training. Upbringing. Wealth. Power. Privilege. All of it is now poured out like a drink offering before Christ. He must die so others may live. He must give away all he has for the sake of those who do not know Jesus Christ. He must surrender all his needs, wants, and desires for the sake of the mission of proclaiming Christ. He understands the true worth of the treasure he carries inside and he lets his life become a living testimony to the surpassing power of Christ.

This is how the gospel spreads from one generation to the next. From one region of the world to the next. Through ordinary men and women who come face to face with the pearl of great price and sell all they have as a response. Ordinary people like you and me who grasp the infinite worth of the treasure we hold and do all we can to give it away to others.

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Corinthians 10-13

Eternal Impact

Readings for today: 2 Corinthians 1-4

When I appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ at the end of my life or at the end of days (whichever comes first), I believe God is going to ask me a series of questions. What did you do with the woman I gave you as your wife? Did she become the woman I created her to be through her relationship with you? Did you love her and support and create an environment for her to thrive? What did you do with the children I entrusted to your care? Did they become the women and man I created them to be? Did you love them and support them and encourage them and create an environment for them to thrive? What about the congregation I entrusted to you? Did the people who called PEPC home become more like Christ under your leadership? Did you create an environment through your preaching and teaching and leading that gave them a chance to grow in their faith? Were you faithful in your meetings with them to love and encourage and confront and point them to My Son Jesus?

Why do I believe this? Because, like Paul, I believe all the relationships God has given me in my life are living “letters of recommendation.” The testimonies of my wife and children and congregation are all I need to rest secure in how God is using me to make an eternal impact for His Kingdom. I love how Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 MSG, “We couldn’t be more sure of ourselves in this—that you, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation. We wouldn’t think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter. His letter authorizes us to help carry out this new plan of action. The plan wasn’t written out with ink on paper, with pages and pages of legal footnotes, killing your spirit. It’s written with Spirit on spirit, his life on our lives!” Though Paul faces hostility both outside and inside the church, he is secure in his mission. He is secure in his leadership. He knows he is in the center of God’s will because of the impact God used him to make on the lives of the Corinthian Christians. Despite all their brokenness and sin, the Corinthians have come to know Christ. They are growing in their faith. They are moving towards holiness. And this is all the encouragement Paul needs to keep going.

There is nothing better than being part of the Spirit’s work to change lives. There is no better feeling in the world than to be used by God to make an eternal impact in the lives of those we love. As I look back over the years, I am in awe of how God has used me to bless my parents and in-laws, my wife and children, and the families in the congregations I’ve had the privilege to serve. I am not perfect by any stretch. I’ve had to ask for forgiveness numerous times for the mistakes I’ve made. Thankfully, however, God has been faithful and as I’ve surrendered more and more to Him, He’s used me in ways I could never have imagined. What about you? How is God using you to make an impact on those you live with, live among, and work alongside? Ask Him today to show you how to be a blessing in all your relationships.

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Corinthians 5-9