Gospel

Stephen Um & City Mission

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City walkers crop

Stephen Um, coauthor with Justin Buzzard of the new book Why Cities Matter: To God, The Culture, & The Church (Amazon | WTS), writes on Resurgence about how to be on mission in the city. Here are his 5 points.
  1. Get Grounded In The Gospel
  2. Learn Your City's Story
  3. Engage In The Life Of Your City
  4. Discern Your City's Idols
  5. Retell Your City's Story With The Gospel

Go read the rest of the post.

Joshua Elsom | Open-Air Preaching

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Joshua Elsom wrote a nice piece that you need to read: "Open-Air Preaching and the Missional Church." A blurb from the beginning...

The combining of the words ‘open-air’ with the word ‘preaching’ is likely to elicit a wide range of images and opinions in the mind of the person reading them. For some they bring to mind the great evangelists of the explosive revivals of the eighteenth century — Wesley, Whitefield, Tennent, and Edwards; or the prophets of the Old and New Testaments — Jeremiah, Isaiah, Peter, and Paul. While for others, these words conjure up negative images of angry street heralds, with sandwich boards strung over their shoulders, thundering down threatenings of heaven upon all who would wander unawares into their field of preaching. Whatever one happens to think about, few typically associate the practice of preaching in the public square with the missional church movement. Because the missional church places such a high priority on practicing evangelism in the context of ongoing discipleship — on mission and in community — the thought of preaching to strangers who are dissociated from church or discipling relationships may seem at first to be counterintuitive. It should not be.

Check out all my open-air preaching posts and quotes.

Cheap Kindle Books 4.5.13

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Some fantastic books are cheap on Kindle right now...

Keller | Four Kinds Of People

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In Tim Keller's excellent expository guide to Galatians says there are four kinds of people concerning works & the law. I'll give you his categories with a very short explanation. Check out Galatians For You (Amazon, Kindle, WTS) starting on page 117 for a fuller explanation.

  1. Law-obeying, law-relying | "Under the law," often smug, self-righteous, superior. Sensitive to criticism despite outward confidence. "Pharisees." They go to church.
  2. Law-disobeying, law-relying | Strong works-righteousness, but not living consistently. May go to church, but on periphery b/c of low spiritual self-esteem. Guilt-ridden.
  3. Law-disobeying, not law-relying | Secular & relativistic. Vague spirituality. Choose own moral standards & insist they are meeting them. Earn salvation by feeling superior to others.
  4. Law-obeying, not law-relying | Understand the Gospel and living out the freedom of it. More tolerant than #3, more confident than #2, more sympathetic than #1. Still struggle to live out #4 and see the world as a #1, #2, or #3.

Keller | Questions for Sleepy or Nominal Christians

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Helpful post today from Tim Keller on revival and the Spirit's work on sleepy and nominal Christians. Here's a teaser...

So how do you wake up sleepy Christians and convert nominal Christians? Let me give you what I would call my modernized American versions of the kinds of questions I would ask people if I was trying to get them to really think about whether or not they know Christ. These questions are adapted from The Experience Meeting by William Williams, based on the Welsh revivals during the Great Awakening. He would ask people to share about these types of questions in small group settings each week...

[...]

Have you been finding Scripture to be alive and active? Instead of just being a book, do you feel like Scripture is coming after you?

You are going to have to go to Tim Keller's blog to read the rest of the questions. This is an issue near and dear to me as I think there are few things more important for the American church than to work for the conversion of "Christians." You have to ask questions that will show them who they are, and who they aren't.

Passion by Mike McKinley

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The Good Book Company has released a new book in perfect timing to pick up cheap and read it and/or give it away with Easter just around the corner. Check out Passion by Mike McKinley. McKinley is also author of Am I Really A Christian? and Church Planting Is For Wimps. On Passion, a blurb, a video, & a few endorsements...

Walking readers through Luke's Gospel, US pastor and well-known author Mike McKinley looks at the events of the last day of Jesus' earthly life. At each point, he pauses to marvel at the love Christ has for His people; and shows how Jesus' people can learn from His passion, His care, and His integrity. 

It offers a sweet series of meditations on Jesus Christ’s life-changing and universe-altering final day. It is an excellent read for both seeker and Christian.
Jonathan Leeman, Editorial Director of 9Marks Ministries; author of0 Reverberation and The Surprising Offense of God’s Love

...his insights are like nails!
Michael Reeves, Head of Theology, UCCF; author, The Good God

The cross stands tall at the center of the gospel. Understanding this deeply, Mike writes with an earthy, pastoral voice as he relates the drama of Jesus’ crucifixion. Thoroughly rooted in the beauty of the gospel, Passion draws us back again and again to reflect on these timeworn truths.
Daniel Montgomery, Lead Pastor of Sojourn Community Church, Louisville, Kentucky, US; author of Faithmapping

The Two Movements of the Gospel

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Center Church Crop

The power of the gospel comes in two movements. It first says, “I am more sinful and flawed than I ever dared believe,” but then quickly follows with, “I am more accepted and loved than I ever dared hope.” The former outflanks antinomianism, while the latter staves off legalism. One of the greatest challenges is to be vigilant in both directions at once. Whenever we find ourselves fighting against one of these errors, it is extraordinarily easy to combat it by slipping into the other. Here’s a test: if you think one of these errors is much more dangerous than the other, you are probably partially participating in the one you fear less.

Tim Keller in Center Church, page 48 (Kindle)

Tim Keller | The Skeptical Student

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Dr. Timothy Keller continues to add to his library helpful books, now in a new format. Check this announcement from the publisher, Dutton...

On December 4th, Dutton will release the first essay in a new e-book series by renowned pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller. The series, entitled ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS (December 4, 2012; $1.99), will feature ten installments, launching with The Skeptical Student.

The Skeptical Student is based on a series of talks Keller gave in Oxford, England to a campus group – most of them skeptics – earlier this year. During these talks, Keller explored the inspiring story of Nathaniel’s life-changing encounter in the Gospel of John. It has lessons for those who are skeptical themselves about Christianity and also for Christians who encounter skepticism from those who do not believe.

Timothy Keller is the pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church and the author of The Reason for God and the recently published Every Good Endeavor. The other titles in the ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS series include:

  • The Insider and the Outcast
  • The Grieving Sisters
  • The Wedding Party
  • The First Christian

I doubt I'm the only one excited about this project. I've just received the first installment look forward to the rest. It should be a valuable resource for pastors, apologists & evangelists, and probably most of all to the everyday witness to Christ...those who love their neighbors.

How We Appeal To Unbelievers To Believe The Gospel

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Center Church Crop

Tim Keller discusses biblical contextualization in his book Center Church (Kindle version). In one section he talks about how to persuade unbelievers, and specifically that you can't only persuade in one way only since "people of different temperaments and from different cultures reason differently." (p 114) We can't take one biblical story and draw out a one-size-fits-all appeal to believe the Gospel. Here's Keller's list of the different ways we appeal to unbelievers to believe the Gospel. He explains them further in the book with Scripture, so please go read more on pages 114-115.

  1. Sometimes the appeal is to come to God out of fear of judgment and death.
  2. Sometimes the appeal is to come to God out of a desire for release from the burdens of guilt and shame.
  3. Sometimes the appeal is to come to God out of appreciation for the “attractiveness of truth.”
  4. Sometimes the appeal is to come to God to satisfy unfulfilled existential longings.
  5. Sometimes the appeal is to come to God for help with a problem.
  6. Lastly, the appeal is to come to God simply out of a desire to be loved.

5 Characteristics of Gospel Renewal Preaching

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I listed the three basic traits of frontline prayer yesterday from chapter 6 of Tim Keller's Center Church. Chapter 6 is "The Work of Gospel Renewal." Today, from the same chaper, Keller's five characteristics that define preaching for gospel renewal. He explains all five in some detail, so pick up the book. 

  1. Preach to distinguish between religion and the gospel
  2. Preach both the holiness and the love of God to convey the richness of grace
  3. Preach not only to make the truth clear but also to make it real
  4. Preach Christ from every text
  5. Preach to both Christians and non-Christians at once

(Center Church, pages 77-79)

Story of God Training

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Here are two video's to help you teach the Storyformed Way at your church and train your small group leaders. I'm teaching this at Doxa right now. Thankful for Caesar Kalinowski (and Abe Meysenburg) and Soma School for introducing this great teaching to me. Over at GCM...

The Story-formed Way was designed to both lead people through the basics of the Gospel and provide a foundational structure for the key doctrines of Christianity. If you are taking a mixed group of believers and unbelievers through it you will better establish the believers in the foundations and show them how to have Gospel conversations with Unbelievers. At the same time, the unbelievers are exposed to the Gospel and will learn how to share it themselves once they come to faith.

Story Training Part 1 from Caesar Kalinowski on Vimeo.

Story Training - Part 2 from Caesar Kalinowski on Vimeo.

Cheap Kindle Books 10.9.12

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  • Practicing Affirmation by Sam Crabtree ($3.03)
  • The Enemy Within by Kris Lundgaard ($2.99)
  • Politics According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture by Wayne Grudem ($4.99)
  • When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself by Fikkert and Corbett (forward by David Platt) ($2.99)
  • The Doctrines of Grace by Boyce & Ryken ($4.99)
  • With: A Practical Guide to Informal Mentoring by Alvin Reid ($3.99)
  • Create: Stop Making Excuses & Start Making Stuff ($2.99)
  • Amazing Grace: God's Pursuit, Our Response by Timothy George ($3.03)

TGC Podcast: "Precious Puritans" & Much More

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The gospel coalition

The Gospel Coalition has a new podcast, "Going Deeper with TGC." Collin Hansen writes...

The Gospel Coalition's new podcast, "Going Deeper with TGC," has two goals:

  1. We want to follow up on the most widely read, controversial, helpful, insightful resources produced by our council members, writers, editors, and bloggers.
  2. We want to serve you by using a different medium, audio, to provide the same quality of gospel-centered content we publish in blogs, essays, and reviews.

We've assembled an experienced team to produce this podcast, which we aim to record at least every two weeks. I'm joined each time by my co-host, Mark Mellinger, the gifted news anchor of WANE-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

An excellent idea for a podcast, and I'm thankful for this new resource. I've subscribed. In this inaugural podcast there are discussions with Thabiti Anyabwile on same-sex marriage & the Puritans, among other things. We also hear from Jared Wilson & Trevin Wax on The Gospel Project. Listen here.

Glorious Ruin by Tullian Tchividjian

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Glorious-Ruin

I'm very excited to read the new book from Tullian Tchividjian, Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free. Check it out...

In this world, one thing is certain: Everybody hurts. Suffering may take the form of tragedy, heartbreak, or addiction. Or it could be something more mundane (but no less real) like resentment, loneliness, or disappointment. But there’s unfortunately no such thing as a painless life. In Glorious Ruin, Tullian Tchividjian takes an honest and refreshing look at the reality of suffering, the ways we tie ourselves in knots trying to deal with it, and the comfort that the gospel brings for those who can’t seem to fix themselves—or others. 

This is not so much a book about Why God allows suffering or even How we should approach suffering—it is a book about the tremendously liberating and gloriously counterintuitive truth of a God who suffers with you and for you. It is a book, in other words, about the kind of hope that takes the shape of a cross.

This looks great. Go grab it!

Emotions That Correspond With the Weight of Reality

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John Piper on George Whitefield again, on the acting of preaching as "real acting" (bold is mine)...

If a woman has a role in a movie, say, the mother of child in a burning house, and as the cameras are focused on her, she is screaming to the firemen and pointing to the window in the second floor, we all say she is acting. But if a house is on fire in your neighborhood, and you see a mother screaming to the firemen and pointing to the window in the second floor, nobody says she’s acting. Why not? They look exactly the same.

It’s because there really is a child up there in the fire. This woman really is the child’s mother. There is real danger that the child could die. Everything is real. And that’s the way it was for Whitefield. The new birth had opened his eyes to what was real, and to the magnitude of what was real: God, creation, humanity, sin, Satan, divine justice and wrath, heaven, hell, incarnation, the perfections of Christ, his death, atonement, redemption, propitiation, resurrection, the Holy Spirit, saving grace, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation with God, peace, sanctification, love, the second coming of Christ, the new heavens and the new earth, everlasting joy. These were real. Overwhelmingly real to him. He had been born again. He had eyes to see.

When he warned of wrath, and pleaded for people to escape, and lifted up Christ, he wasn’t play-acting. He was calling down the kind of emotions and actions that correspond with such realities. That’s what preaching does. It seeks to exalt Christ, and describe sin, and offer salvation, and persuade sinners with emotions and words and actions that correspond to the weight of these realities.

If you see these realities with the eyes of your heart, and if you feel the weight of them, you will know that such preaching is not play-acting. The house is burning. There are people trapped on the second floor. We love them. And there is a way of escape.

Read or listen to the rest of Piper's powerful talk on Whitefield. A great example and explanation of what preaching should be like. I don't think we do this well, not nearly well enough. Maybe this kind of preaching would change the face of Christianity in America and the western world today. Maybe it's not just the *how* of preaching but the *where* that would enact this change.

What do you think?

Tim Keller | Center Church Releases Tomorrow!

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I'm very excited to have Center Church by Dr. Timothy Keller in my library. It's nearly 400 pages and is packed full of good stuff. It's hard to describe how "packed full" it is until you see it. You can see pieces of it here...

Check out some of the praise it's receiving...

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Center Church is my favorite book Tim Keller has written thus far.
- Scotty Smith, Christ Community Church

This is not simply curriculum content; it is exactly the kind of life-giving, generative gospel theology our churches need.
- Stephen Um, CityLife Presbyterian Church, Boston

This book will help you if you are serious about seeing your city transformed by the gospel of grace.
- Darrin Patrick, Vice President of the Acts 29 Network

In Center Church, one of the great missionary statesmen of our times lays out a vision of the church vigorous enough to transform entire cities through its agency of the gospel.
- Alan Hirsch, Founding Director of Forge Mission Training Network

Watch this video. Note that Keller says, "Things that work in cities often we find work outside of cities as well." This is more than a book for city-center church planting, and as I have said several times, the best books on the church (regardless of where you are located) are urban church books. 

Buy Center Church at 35% off (or 34% off at Amazon, if you prefer).

Michael Frost | Romancing Your City

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It sounded like a cheesy title, but Michael Frost (Exiles, The Shaping of Things to Come, ReJesus, The Road to Missional) delivered a simple, thought-provoking breakout at Exponential 2012 that I listened to by podcast last night. He compares a good marriage to how we say "I do" and "To death do us part" and the ongoing romance with our spouse with how a church loves her neighborhood (or city). I'd have some minor quibbles, but it was quite helpful for me.

Here are some of his thoughts and points from my sketchy notes, which you can see are comparable to marriage. Should we commit to our neighborhoods (cities) to a lifelong romance, till death do we part? Good thoughts here...

  • Move in to the neighborhood God has sent you to
  • Listen to your neighborhood
  • Talk to your mayor, police chief, fire chief, school principals
  • Eat in local restaurants, get in local cafes, walk the neighborhood
  • Ask people what they want, long for, desire
  • NOTE: Interesting section on midnight-5am "street pastors" 16:45 mark
  • "Listen to your neighborhood, it is telling you--if you listen hard enough--how to evangelize them, how to serve them, how to unleash an awareness of the reign of God in that place."
  • Partner with your neighborhood
  • Stay for a long time in your neighborhood (sickness or health, rich or poor, till death do we part)
  • You will move culture to a tipping point by transforming hundreds of thousands of villages across the nation.
  • If this place goes down, we will go down with you.

Lots-o-Links 8.17.12

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Some new, some I'm just getting to, but here are some links to check out...

Good Book Company Giveaway: Tim Challies is giving away a bunch of The Good Book Company Bible study guides. Great chance to get theologically solid studies by guys like Tim Chester, Justin Buzzard, and Mark Dever. Also, keep an eye out for $2 Tuesdays from The Good Book Company starting next week!

GCM Conference: Highly recommend the GCM Conference coming up in September in Huntsville. My Soma School experience has me in love with GCM and what it is working to do. Sign up!

Paul Tripp: 6 Traits of a Pastor In Awe of God (get your awe back) | "I counsel you to run now, run quickly, to your Father of awesome glory. Confess the offense of your boredom. Plead for eyes opened to the 360-degree, 24/7 display of glory to which you have been blind. Determine to spend a certain portion of every day in meditating on his glory. Cry out for the help of others. And remind yourself to be thankful for Jesus, who offers you his grace even at those moments when grace isn't nearly as gloriously valuable to you as it should be."

J.I. Packer: Advice to Aspiring Writers - 1. Go deep in personal worship. 2. Write to hit hearts. 3. Write from a sense of calling.

The Gospel Project is worth checking out, if you haven't already. Curriculum for kids, students, and adults. Exciting new resource from Ed Stetzer, Trevin Wax, & LifeWay.

New Books In The Mail

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A few new books worth checking out have found there way into my possession. I hope my readers will check them out...

Founders-whomever

From Founders Press, Whomever He Wills edited by Matthew Barrett & Tom Nettles. It has some outstanding authors who have written different essays, including a forward by Timothy George.

Here are just a few of the essays I'm looking forward to reading...

2. Total Depravity: A Biblical and Theological Examination by Mark DeVine

8. God’s Sovereignty Over Evil by Stephen J. Wellum

10. John Calvin’s Understanding of the Death of Christ by Thomas J. Nettles

13. The Glorious Impact of Calvinism upon Local Baptist Churches by Tom Hicks

Missofgod study

Founders Press has more info. Check it out.

Another book worth checking out is the Mission of God Study Bible (HCSB) edited by Ed Stetzer & Philip Nation. Been looking forward to this for some time, and it looks great. Contributors include good pastors and thinkers like Trevin Wax, Matt Chandler, Joe Thorn, Eric Mason, and Tullian Tchividjian.

Go read 7 reasons why I love the Mission of God Study Bible by Devin Maddox. Here are a couple...

  • Study for a Purpose: Mission
  • Portable Size
  • Dynamic Content Powered by Technology

This is a nice addition to the growing group of excellent study Bibles out there.

Unbelievable_gospelJonathan Dodson's new eBook, Unbelievable Gospel, is another one worth checking out. From their website...

Very often we find it difficult to share our faith. In the workplace, neighborhood, or social settings, talking about the gospel doesn’t come up naturally. “Jesus” isn't a topic that hits the neighborhood Google groups, flows naturally on coffee breaks, or crosses our lips in local pubs. But when it does, all too often what we have to say is simply unbelievable. Even the way we share the gospel is often unbelievable.  Are there actually good reasons for our hesitation in talking about Jesus? Despite what you might think, there are very good reasons for not talking about the gospel. In Unbelievable Gospel, Jonathan Dodson explores ways we shouldn't share the gospel as well as ways we could, to make the gospel more believable.

You can also see Desiring God's Helpful Quotes from The Unbelievable Gospel and reviews by Luma Simms, Tom Farr, and Greg Willson. Go buy Unbelievable Gospel.