PARABLES: Let’s Party 3 (Matt. 22:1-14)

⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.”

In the original context of this parable of the King throwing a wedding party for his son, there were grievous consequences for refusing the king’s invitation. This was a great insult to the king.

I am struck with the king’s unrelenting determination to have the wedding hall filled with guests. These images point to a God who also is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” and be saved. Those who are excluded from the Kingdom and the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, are excluded by their own choice.

Yet, O, how the church needs to imitate the King’s desperate attempts to fill his house for the party!  God wants his churches filled with worshipers today as well.  He is not content with a hand full of the faithful while many pews sit empty Sunday after Sunday.  And we, his servants, are called to “go to the street corners” and invite anyone we can find!  We  are not to show partiality in our invitations. We are not to discriminate saying, “Oh, they would never come to church.”  We need to invite “the bad as well as the good” — and that means risking the invitation to our coarse coworker, our foul-mouthed neighbor, our too-busy, excuse-ridden friends, the town gossip, and the brawler from the bar.

But the bottom line message for the church today in this parable seems to be: Go. Go out. Go out into the streets. Go out into the streets and make disciples. This is a timely reminder as Easter approaches when people are more open to coming to God’s banquet to celebrate the Risen Son!

Let us go. Let us go. 

While the day is aglow.

Let us get back to our fishing!

‘Halloween on Mission’ (David Mathis)

I want to commend David Mathis’ challenge to Christians as we approach Halloween this year. Thanks, Nancy, for sending me this.

What if a crisp October wind blew through “the way we’ve always done things” at Halloween? What if the Spirit stirred in us a new perspective on October 31? What if dads led their households in a fresh approach to Halloween as Christians on mission?

What if spreading a passion for God’s supremacy in all things included Halloween—that amalgamation of wickedness now the second-largest commercial holiday in the West?

Loving Others and Extending Grace

What if we didn’t think of ourselves as “in the world, but not of it,” but rather, as Jesus says in John 17, “not of the world, but sent into it”?

And what if that led us to move beyond our squabbles about whether or not we’re free to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve, and the main issue became whether our enjoyment of Jesus and his victory over Satan and the powers of darkness might incline us to think less about our private enjoyments and more about how we might love others? What if we took Halloween captive—along with “every thought” (2 Corinthians 10:5)—as an opportunity for gospel advance and bringing true joy to the unbelieving?

And what if those of us taking this fresh approach to Halloween recognized that Christians hold a variety of views about Halloween, and we gave grace to those who see the day differently than we do?

Without Naiveté or Retreat

What if we didn’t merely go with the societal flow and unwittingly float with the cultural tide into and out of yet another Halloween? What if we didn’t observe the day with the same naïveté as our unbelieving neighbors and coworkers?

And what if we didn’t overreact to such nonchalance by simply withdrawing? What if Halloween wasn’t a night when Christians retreated in disapproval, but an occasion for storming the gates of hell?

Continue reading.

Talking Physical Fitness & Spiritual Health

This is a repost I thought worth sharing again. -JB

I had a great conversation today with an old high school friend.  She is a not a Christian, very unreligious and, as she said herself, “totally clueless when it comes to religion, Christianity, church, the Bible and stuff.”  So, while she is not conversant in things spiritual, she is extremely passionate and articulate in two other realms of life: outdoor/wilderness sports and physical healthy and fitness.

She can talk for days about backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking and so on.  As she put it, “I feel most alive when out in nature.”  Furthermore, she has advanced degrees in physical therapy and is passionate about the pursuit of physical health and wellness.  I would say she is downright “evangelistic” about this topic.

In other words, we have very different interests. She is most alive being physically active outdoors in nature.  I am most alive when exercising my mind muscles while indoors surrounded by books.  (Now that spring is almost here, I will soon be bringing my books outside to read!)

I wanted to bridge the gap between our very different passions in life, and guide the conversation to things spiritual.  As we talked I discovered that there was a very natural connecting point between us just waiting for me to point out to her.  You see, whenever we see each other (maybe once a year) she is always concerned about our physical health.  She asks if so-and-so has lost the weight they had put on, and if I am staying physically active and working out.  (Do I look fat to you?) She is deeply, genuinely and passionately concerned — and not afraid to share it.

Does this T-shirt help or hinder the gospel?

VIDEO: Being Missional

Fishing Opener Is Here!

This post was written on the fishing opener on May 15.

“As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:16-17)

I came home tonight around 11 p.m.  I noticed the bait shop still open and thought, “That’s strange,” but then didn’t think anymore of it.  I then decided it was a great night for a prayer walk to the gym under the stars.  For this is a significant day for Keri and I — more on that soon.

As I walked the bike path and drew near to the Seton Channel bridge I heard voices below and saw many lights in the water.  I saw both sides of the channel lined with fishing boats and finally remembered that it was 11:52 p.m. on the eve of the fishing opener!  It’s obvious that I’m not a fisherman — or at least the usual kind.

VIDEO: “The Big Story” by James Choung

Here’s a great evangelism resource from James Choung.  Can you articulate the full story of the gospel and what God’s doing in the world in Christ through the church?  Here’s a great start.

Habits of Evangelistic Christians

From Kevin DeYoung’s blog:

Thom Rainer, President and CEO of Lifeway, argues that the secret to being an evangelistic church “is really no secret at all. Ultimately evangelistic churches see more persons become Christians through the passionate efforts of highly evangelistic Christians.”

And what characterizes these highly evangelistic Christians? Read on (bold type added for clarity).

1. They are people of prayer. They realize that only God can convict and convert, and they are totally dependent upon Him in prayer. Most of the highly evangelistic Christians spend at least an hour in prayer each day.

2. They have a theology that compels them to evangelize. They believe in the urgency of the gospel message. They believe that Christ is the only way of salvation. They believe that anyone without Christ is doomed for a literal hell.

Two by Two (2): Ahead of Himself

In this series we’ll be picking apart this episode in Luke 10 piece by piece, exploring what it looks like on the road to discipleship in the company of Jesus.

“The Lord now chose seventy (-two) other disciples and sent them ahead of himself in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:1-3)

Part 2: “He sent them ahead of himself…”

Last time we noted that the church needs to be a “sending” community at it’s core.  We have been far better at being a “gathering” community in the past.  Like teaching teenagers how to drive, the best way to make disciples is not classroom lecture in the safety of an auditorium, but behind-the-wheel experience on the road to discipleship.

If being thrown behind the wheel of a 2 ton vehicle for the first time is scary, then today things get downright terrifying for aspiring disciples of the kingdom.  Imagine you’ve chosen to follow Jesus, and so far it’s only been about traveling with his entourage, watching him work signs and wonders, listening to him teach in the synagogues, and sitting at his feet listening to parables around a fire.

Suddenly, however, the game changes completely as Jesus says, “Now I’m sending you out to do what I’ve been doing: proclaim the good news of the kingdom, heal the sick, cast out demons and serve the poor and outcast.”  You respond, “Great, when do WE leave, Jesus?”  Jesus responds, “We?  Who said anything about ‘we’?  I’m sending you out ahead of me.”

Yikes!  Here’s the lesson I gather from this episode: Following Jesus often takes us one step ahead of certainty and comfort.  Faith and fellowship with the Lord almost always involves going a step or two ahead of what God has made clear to us.

Adventures in Mark 3 (1:35-39)

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons” (Mark 1:35-39).

Several lessons pour forth from this little episode.

1. First, Jesus had a daily habit of quiet prayer time with God to center and sustain him in ministry. If the Son of God made this a habit in his ministry, how much more do I need to make room for this. Thankfully it is spring time in Minnesota and the air is warmer for me to resume my regularly prayer walks. If not prayer walks, I recommend shower talks, or car chats on the way to and from work.

I don’t think it’s reading too much into the text that Jesus both “got up” and “left the house” in order to meet with God.  In my experience, bedtime prayers and coffee table devotions, while good practices, still don’t have the same power as physically finding some sacred space outside the home.  Is there a park?  A walking trail?  A building that more powerfully gives off that holy aura?  I have a little fishing pier jetting out into Lake Minnetonka at a small, unknown beach just a few blocks from our home that I have made a holy meeting space for prayer and solitude.

2. Second, we find an strange scene where Jesus intentionally avoids a crowd of seekers.  Just another reminder that Jesus’ model of ministry wasn’t always as seeker-sensitive as we would like it to be.  There is a lesson in here.  Even Jesus couldn’t (or at least didn’t) minister to everyone’s needs.  He wasn’t the omnipresent pastor we leaders often feel we need to be.  He had his mission, and therefore said ‘no’ to many good ministry opportunities in order to say ‘yes’ to his primary task. This kind of resolve takes great discipline, focus and growing more and more comfortable upsetting others and letting people down.  Are you willing to disappoint others in order to please God?