Just an Ordinary Guy

In my last post, I’m No Rock Star, I addressed the popular yet disillusioning notion that in order to

live a meaningful Christian life, one must go to extremes; implying that to live quietly in suburbia while working at a secular vocation is second-rate Christianity. I received much feedback from readers stating that they often wrestle with these thoughts and feelings. Today I want to look at eight core components which I believe are required to live an intentional and fulfilling “ordinary” life in Christ for those not called to the ends of the earth, the inner-city, or a life of near poverty as made popular in evangelical Christianity today.

1.       Commitment to the local church through membership. In a society where commitment is fleeting, commitment through membership in the local church is key for several reasons:

a.       To promote accountability with other Christians and church leadership to live in accordance with Scripture

b.      To know and be known by each other, to encourage one another, and to do good for each other

c.       To let others know your intention to commit in attendance, giving, prayer, and service

2.       Active and regular service within the body of Christ. The duties and ministry of the church is not reserved for the “paid professionals” (Ephesians 4:11-12), but rather all believers in the local assembly who have been individually gifted for the Lord’s work. Lay involvement is not inferior to those in full time paid vocational ministry

3.       Giving tithes and offerings. I have read past studies which revealed that only 3-5% of Christians tithe. Tithing 10% of our income to the local church is an act of worship and stewardship which promotes the Lord’s work. Offerings, above the 10% can be given to parachurch ministries and/or missionary support. (Malachi 3:10, Matthew6:19-21, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:1-15)

4.       Practicing the “one anothers”. The one anothers in the New Testament are numerous and include loving, encouraging, welcoming, comforting, serving, forgiving, doing good, etc. to one another. The regular practice of these within the context of the local church will strengthen the body and be a powerful witness to the outside world. (click here for the one anothers)

5.       Engage the world. One cannot shelter within the walls of the church. Christ-followers are ambassadors for Him (2Corinthians 5:18-21). Intentionality in loving neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and others is essential through building relationships, doing good, and sharing the good news of the gospel. (Matthew 5:16)

6.       Make disciples. Invest in others, teach them to follow Christ, challenge them to make their own disciples, thus creating a ministry of multiplication (Matthew 28:18-20)

7.       Work hard in your place of employment. Diligent and honest work with the right attitude will be a powerful testimony for Christ and can provide opportunities to share Christ. Do not minimize the potential for a secular vocation’s eternal impact! (1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians3:22-4:1, 1 Timothy 6:1-2).

8.       Focused prayer. The disciplines of personal Bible study and prayer are assumed for the Christ-follower. However, for the “ordinary Christian”, focused prayer involves intentional prayer for the local church, the local community, and advancement of the gospel around the world. Each of the points listed above will contribute to focused prayer practices. (Colossians 4:2)

I am convinced that the “ordinary Christian” living an “ordinary life” will have a powerful eternal impact through the furthering of His kingdom when Christ is followed obediently, whole-heartedly, intentionally, and diligently. The unreached people groups around the globe need salvation found only in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12) and the people in the inner-city need Christ; but so do our neighbors, coworkers and classmates- let us not neglect them in pursuit of “rock star” status. May the Lord bring joy and fulfillment in your service to Him, in whatever capacity He calls you.

As always, I welcome thoughts and comments.

I'm No Rock Star

After many years of reading and studying the New Testament, I made a startling realization today; most of the epistles (letters) are addressed to ordinary people. If you don’t believe me, just take a couple minutes to flip through your Bible and look at the salutations. The majority are addressed to the churches in different locales. Like our modern day churches, these churches were filled with ordinary people living ordinary lives. There were carpenters, fishermen, sales people, butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers within these churches. There were 1^st century full time moms who spent the majority of the day picking up Cheerios and Legos off the floor. Yet, in the 21^st century, we have missed or forgotten this powerful truth.

Within the 21^st century evangelical church, we have raised up Rock Star Christians. I am not referring to bands such as Skillet, Newsboys, or for my older audience- Petra. I am referring to personalities such as Francis Chan, David Platt, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, among others. These are the ones that have attracted a huge following through blogs, twitter feeds, books, and the speaker circuit. I am not criticizing any of these men- I have been deeply challenged by each of their writings and speaking. Nor do I believe that they have sought the rock star persona thrust upon them. Unfortunately, many within the evangelical church are looking to these types to define a meaningful Christian life. Unless they live in near poverty, adopt a dozen kids, or pack up and move to a third world creative access country, they are sub par Christians. Admittedly, I can find myself falling into the same trap, believing that unless I do something really spectacular, I’m just not committed to the Lord and am not making a difference. I believe that it is time that we get back to Scripture to set the standard for the Christian life, instead of the evangelical rock stars.

Throughout the New Testament (written to ordinary people), we see the standards for Christ followers: pursue holiness, make disciples, pray continually, meet the needs of others, show honor, practice hospitality, be rich in good works, live peaceably with all, and feed your enemies. This is not an exhaustive list and was mostly taken from Romans 12-13. For the Christ-follower, bought by His blood, all of this is summed up in great commandments: “…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). In doing so, we will be salt and light, giving opportunity for others to ask the reason for the hope in us. These are the Scriptural standards for the Christian life that we must actively pursue. These are the standards for “ordinary people” which will make an eternal impact for Jesus Christ; wherever one is located physically, financially, and socially.

God will call some to sell everything and go to distant lands. If one is feeling burdened or discontent with his/her current situation, a season of Bible study, fasting, prayer, and counsel from respected Christians is needed to determine whether the discontentment is coming from disobedience to the Lord, a calling from Him, or if it is from desiring to be a rock star Christian.  God calls all of us to faithful obedience to Him wherever we are at. We should all live in continual submission to where He would call us whether it is around the world or across the street; and whether we are a pastor, plumber, nurse, janitor, or a stay at home mom.

In order to counter the disillusionment from watching/reading men such as Chan and Platt, I believe it is critical to be involved in the local church and specifically in life group/small group settings. Chan and Platt live in different spheres and have different resources not available to most of us. They live in a different reality. Within small groups, life is shared with those in similar life circumstances and stages. It is there that believers will pray for and learn from each other as they mutually spur one another on to deeper obedience and kingdom impact in the their spheres of influence and ministry.

In closing, some of us will make a global impact for Christ but ALL of us are to make an eternal impact for Him. I’m no rock star…I’m just an ordinary Christ-follower trying to honor and serve Him right where He has placed me and with the resources and influence entrusted to me.

"My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. But If I obey Jesus Christ in the seemingly random circumstances of life, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God. Then, when I stand face to face with God, I will discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed." -Oswald Chambers

Note: This issue has been heavy on my heart lately. I did not take as much time as usual to edit and clean up my article before posting. I wanted to post in order to start a conversation. Please share your thoughts on this issue in the comments below.

Additional reading:

·         Author and Pastor Kevin DeYoung has a phenomenal article which is a must read titled The Glory of Plodding

·         Internet Blogger Tim Challies started writing about the same issue today in his post Ordinary:Christian Living for the Rest of Us

·         The recent issue of World Magazine posted the excellent article The New Legalism

·         Although somewhat disjointed, the 90 page book The God of the Mundane by Matt B. Redmond was an interesting book

Mimes Need Not Apply

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

In my last blog post I discussed the critical divide with being liked and accepted by the world because of our convictions (or lack thereof) or identifying with Jesus and His Word/commands, whatever the cost. Toward the end I mentioned that we cannot stray from the commands of Christ to proclaim the gospel to the world and make disciples; the purpose of this blog posting.

Strong words were given to the prophet Ezekiel about his role. I believe that there is direct application as we consider the Great Commission given to us by Jesus Christ.

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’ (Ezekiel 33:1-6)

Six hundred years before the Great Commission, Ezekiel was appointed the Lord’s watchman, warning Israel of their sins and need for repentance. Responsibility to sound the alarm is placed upon the watchman when attack is imminent. A watchman who does not sound the alarm is almost as useless as a three-legged guard dog. Sure, the dog may be visible, but really isn’t very useful when it comes time to stop an intruder. Likewise, a silent watchman really isn’t useful in their appointed duties. 

Like the prophet Ezekiel, as Christ-followers, we have been given our “marching orders”. We are to proclaim Christ and make Him known to a lost and dying world. We are to “sound the alarm” as watchmen on the wall seeing the coming attack. Yet, despite the billions in the world and the hundreds of unsaved in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools on a current trajectory toward an eternal hell of conscious punishment as the wages of their sin, I fear that we are often the silent watchmen on the wall by remaining silent.  This silence and inaction does not go unnoticed by our Lord and we will be accountable to Him, like Ezekiel’s watchman.

Our accountability before God as it relates to our lives lived is evident in several passages:

• …their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)
• For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
• Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)

Personally, I am easily distracted and fearful to share Christ with those placed in my world. I pray for a renewed focus and boldness leading toward obedience to proclaim Christ to the lost around me in these dark days because time is short and I am responsible to Him to whom I will one day give an account of my life lived in Him. It is my prayer that the church, especially in Rockford and throughout America would gain the same perspective/passion.  I challenge you to make this your prayer also.

They Love Me, They Love Me Not...

“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” Luke 6:26

For most of us it is a natural desire and pursuit to be liked and spoken well of by others. I know that this is true in my own life. However, Jesus issues a strong warning to his followers in Luke 6:26. It is an indicator that something is askew when the Christ-follower is spoken of favorably by the world because of their convictions (or lack-thereof) since the world’s system is so opposed to the teachings of Scripture.

The Christian whom is spoken well of by everyone, is equated to the Old Testament false prophets. While Scripture states much about false prophets, Jeremiah provided a few key descriptors: speaking from their own minds instead of the Word of God and affirming those who hate the Word of God and/or revel in sin (Jeremiah 23:16-17). To the contrary, Jesus taught “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.” (Luke 6:22)

What a stark contrast! Unlike the false prophets who sought the approval of others, the obedient prophets in the Old Testament were often hated, spurned, and excluded. Life was difficult and costly (see Hebrews11:32-38). It will be the same for 21^st century Christ-followers. Holiness and obedience will lead to persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). We will be hated when we are identified with Jesus Christ. We will be hated when we remain steadfast to the truths of Scripture in areas including, but not limited to, traditional marriage, sexual purity, the sanctity of human life, and the exclusivity of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  It will be costly in ways which are not yet fully realized. 

For followers of Christ living today, we have a choice to make. Will we identify with Jesus Christ and hold fast to His Word, or give our affirmation and approval of sin through our silence, our words, or our actions? There is no middle ground; we can either be a friend of Christ or the world, but not both (James 4:4). Likewise, we cannot stray from the commands of Christ to proclaim the gospel to the dying world and making disciples.

No matter the difficulty to come and the associated costs, may I always identify with Jesus Christ alone. This is my prayer for me, my family, and my friends. May it be your conviction and prayer as well.

So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Hebrews 13:12-14