Author: Frank

Just who do you think you are?

Frank

While waiting to get back on schedule with the R12 lessons, I figured now was a good time to introduce myself to those of you who have stumbled onto this study.

About me: I’ve been a disciple of Jesus for ten years, having been converted in a campus ministry. I grew up religious and dedicated, but lacking in direction and at crucial times, conviction. I have a young family- married almost seven years with two young children (2 and 5). I try and balance my personal ministry, reflected somewhat in this blog, with my professional and family life. So you’ll see times like last week where business travel or family struggles derail my best intentions on this blog. My personal ministry is putting my faith into practice in every aspect of my life- public and private. Often we consider religion to be a private affair, but I have the strong conviction that the “culture war” is fought publicly and we are not to put our light under a bowl. Hence, the title of this blog. I struggle with application at times though. I want to be philanthropic, but often fail to follow through. My ministry consistently includes Bible study by leading a small group, mentoring a teen, and volunteering to teach 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School. I also help lead a ministry for recovering addicts. In the past ten years, I’ve also led Singles and Teen ministries and have had the joy of leading many to Christ and the sorrow of watching many leave.

About this blog: It’s been a few years since I started here and I’d like to think I’ve matured and learned a little along the way. While this started with a more political bent, I think there are other, more effective, means of demonstrating our faith publicly. The title of this blog, Public Christianity, is dual-layered. On one hand it is living your faith in every part of your life, including the “public” part. Here I intend to provide tools for you to think through doing that like I’m doing now with R12. On the other hand I talk about the interplay between current events, media and ideas — public things — and Christianity. (many thanks to my sister who put this more eloquently than I ever could) While I’m grinding through a specific study now, if you browse my archives you’ll see that I cover everything. I go from writing about things heavy on my heart to headlines that catch my attention. The ultimate goal through all of this is to help all of us to develop a comprehensive Biblical Worldview, where we view all things through the eyes of Christ. Oh yeah, this is also a proving ground for my desire to write a book or two (or three or four…).

About my links: You’ll notice if you’ve been around a while, I recently removed the “resources” links and have added a ton of other bloggers. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Peter Pollock who introduced me to Bridget Chumbley and their blog carnival. There, I’ve “met” several gifted bloggers who all approach their faith uniquely (as they should!) and therefore add their own perspectives to their relationships with God. You’ll find all of these blogs linked under “Blog Carnies”. “B.I.C. Blogs” are for “brothers in Christ blogs”. This isn’t meant to be exclusionary, but instead reflect either other bloggers from the same family of churches as myself or that I’ve met or corresponded enough with that I feel comfortable calling them “brother” (or sister as the case will ultimately be). So “brother” is both doctrinal and affectionate. There are a few carnies that I need to “promote” but I haven’t gotten to that yet. There’s a couple other sets of blog links that I haven’t had time to compile yet, but that will only add to the clutter. I removed “resources” to clean my links up and have made a bigger mess with my blog roll. Oh well.

Anyway, I thank you for stopping by. I hope we can grow together as I continue with R12 next week. And I hope you find enough here worthwhile to come back often.

R12: All In

Frank

My apologies for not having the last chapter under the topic of Surrender up earlier. The weekend got the best of me. I do plan on keeping the M-F schedule for the next topic: Separate, so expect that first post later this morning (10ish Pacific is my goal).

On to the subject at hand. The illustration of a blank check is used to describe wholly surrendering to God. The problem is, we often think that blank check is from God to us, instead of the other way around. On the other hand, there may be a moment in our lives where everything spiritually aligns and we are more than willing to hand God a blank check for our lives. But we fail to mention that we have a secret account hidden away that he can’t touch. We all have that “one thing” we hold on to, that we are unwilling to give up. So we find ourselves stuck in the religious machine, unable to fully experience God’s blessings in our lives.

From the book: “Unfortunately, I know a lot of Christians who spend the majority of their time ‘trying hard’ to please God but never quite feeling like they measure up. Their Christian life is little more than multiple attempts of self-effort to gain God’s approval. For others, the Christian life is more like fulfilling a duty and obligation on the weekend by attending a service and attempting to live in a moderately more moral way than the people around them. Both approaches completely miss God’s heart and intent for His children.” The numbers back this up. Recall the Barna poll that found that 81% of Christians surveyed considered spiritual maturity to be defined by “following all the rules”.

So if God doesn’t want us to be religious, legalistic, or even “moral” on some sliding scale, what does he want? He wants us. He wants a personal relationship as a Father to his child with each and every one of us. It’s not about the “how” but about the “what”. This is where religion fails. The focus is wrong. It’s corporate, not personal. It’s rule-based, not relationship-based. It’s lukewarm instead of passionate for your own [spiritual] flesh and blood.

That relationship however, comes at a cost. It must cost us our will, our regret of the past, our dreams for the future, our all. So what are you holding back? For many, it is their religious tradition in the face of what the Bible clearly states. For a lot of people, there’s the “one thing” that they swore they would take to their grave that no one else would ever know. Most of us hold on to something in our lives- our career, our relationships, our money- that we begrudgingly offer to God, but not with our whole hearts. For Chip, it was a girl and basketball.

For me, it was all the above at different points in my life. First I had to surrender my religious tradition. The Biblical definition of a disciple of Jesus was inconsistent, and ultimately incompatible, with my religiosity. I had to give up “the faith of my fathers” in order to have a meaningful relationship with God. I was converted in campus ministry, loved my brothers and sisters there, and loved where I lived. So when I graduated I then had to surrender limiting my career by my geography by packing up and moving. Yet it took me a year of waiting tables before I was willing to surrender my career to God and go wherever he chose. At the same time, I had to surrender those relationships (and an interest in a particular sister) to move someplace where I knew no one. My biggest fear moving was that I would have to build new relationships and in so doing, it would take too long before finding “the one” and forging a relationship with her. I was convinced I should have been married already and I felt like I was running out of time. But once there, after stubbornly trying to build relationships while keeping one eye open for her, I found most of the single sisters in my congregation were seldom encouraged and were left out of the dating “scene”. So I chose to surrender my desire to find “the one” so that I could encourage the sisters right in front of me with no expectations and no strings attached. It was only then that who God had chosen as “the one” came into my life. Even then, it took me a while to see it. While I was building this relationship, ignorant of God’s plan for us, I was digging through my own past and had to face one of those “I’ll take this to my grave” events as part of my recovery. After laying it all out on the table, I was suddenly able to see this sister for who God planned her to be and fell deeply in love. Shortly after we were married. We chose to surrender her career for our firstborn on the faith that God would provide on my still entry-level salary. It wasn’t long after that decision that I was given a large raise. I could go on and on, but I’ll just say that I think I have the best job in the world, I’m blessed with a beautiful and faithful wife and two adorable children. All because of a series of decisions to surrender.

I don’t say this to boast, or even as a how-to or what-to-expect with surrender. In fact, my heart is overcome with sadness. Last night at my recovery group I learned a young man, who I personally challenged a couple of weeks ago to be open about his “one thing” because he was stuck in his recovery, backslid and fell of the wagon and has been on a binge since. He was willing to own up to what he had done as an addict, and he had literally been through Hell and back, but would not own up to who he was. And that was keeping him from fully surrendering. I’m sad because I know that God has better in store for him. I know that God can work powerfully in his recovery. I know that God can repair the incredible damage he’s done to his family. But he needs to surrender.

The secret of surrender is not holding anything back. Writing that blank check. Going “all in” where it’s then up to God whether you win or lose. Only then can we experience the full extent of God’s blessings in our lives. I’ve seen it. I’ve struggled through it. I’ve seen it in others. I want to see it in you.

***Updated 9:40. Forgot the TRUST ME acrostic***

Think: What do you hear God saying in Romans 12:1?
Reflect: Why does God want “all of you”?
Understand: What is the best way to process your inner thoughts and feelings? Journal, music, long walks, good friends, etc?
Surrender: Just do it! Sign that blank check! Go all in!
Take Action: If you choose to surrender, highlight Romans 12:1 in your Bible and date it. Tell someone about it.
Motivation: Write Psalm 84:11 on a 3×5 and put in your wallet or purse so you can review it every time you make a purchase this week.
Encourage someone: Share Psalm 84:11 with two people via email, text, phone call, etc this week.

Today continues our “virtual small group” covering the book Living On The Edge. For how this group is going to work, read this entry. For an introduction with disclaimers, click here. For some numbers from Barna to motivate you to continue reading, go here. For the R12 videos, click the R12 button on the sidebar to the right. Finally, as we move forward through the book you can always catch up by clicking the R12 label at the end of each post.

R12: What does a surrendered life look like?

Frank

Now the rubber meets the road. It’s been nice to share parables and theories on what surrendering to God is about. But what does it look like? How do you actually do it? That’s the subject of Chapter 4 of LOTE: The Book. Before digging into the Biblical example Chip gives though, I want to share with you a few real life examples.

Please read Kevin Martineau’s post on “You can’t steal second with your foot on first“, Peter Pollock’s “Stepping out without looking“, and Bonnie Gray’s “What If Challenge“. It seems the Holy Spirit has put this subject on each of our hearts. Thanks too for Lalyne, Sam, and Jay for their comments thus far!

The book If You Want To Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat covers a lot of this ground, addressing the fears that hold us back and the underlying desire to hold on to our own will. That book challenged me and still does. I assume Max Lucado’s most recent, Fearless, is similar and I must also recommend Gordon Ferguson’s Victory of Surrender.

Obviously based on the popularity of this topic for books and blogs this is a subject we can all relate to. Either we’ve mastered surrender (yeah right, what an oxymoron!) or we struggle frequently against it. We all have a story we could share that demonstrates the risks taken and the rewards God has blessed us with. But I want to look at the example Chip gives in his book, because there’s a lot there to take away.

Chip’s example is of Abraham and Isaac. Cliche maybe, and I’m sure you’ve heard a dozen sermons on “what’s your Isaac?” But I want to point out a couple of things that were recently pointed out to me. Usually the sermon points out that because Isaac was so loved, it was that much more a powerful testament of Abraham’s faith to offer him in sacrifice. You might also hear that because Abraham loved him so much, he had become an idol. But you don’t often hear why. Have you ever wondered that? Why was Isaac an idol to Abraham? Isaac represented God’s promise. He was a visible demonstration of God’s faithfulness. So Isaac represented God’s goodness to Abraham. But he wasn’t God. Think about the irony of that for a moment. Abraham worshiped Isaac because he represented the goodness of God, but was an idol since he wasn’t God. Some Christian denominations consider the crucifix and idol. We can worship a symbol of God’s sacrifice without worshiping God Himself. You might also see this as resting on your laurels; “Wow! Look what God’s done for me! That is now going to be my object of worship!” Our health, our families, our careers can all be blessed by God and the temptation is for those to turn into our idols. Not because they demand all our time or all our attention, but because they represent to us God’s goodness though they are not God. We fall into the same trap worshiping our church. We see God do a great thing and suddenly think our church is blessed above the rest.
So what does Abraham do? We often hear about how he obeys without questioning. He left “early the next morning.” He didn’t put it off. What a great example of submission and obedience, right! But what is the first thing he says to his servants? “Stay here. We’re going over there. And we’re going to worship.” Abraham’s willingness wasn’t an act of obedience or submission, it was an act of worship. We get this order mixed up. We obey and say that is our worship. It should be we worship and it is demonstrated by our obedience. Worship comes first.

So now let’s look at Romans 12:1-“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” Our “living sacrifice” or surrender to God is our worship! Note that “spiritual” can also be translated “reasonable” or “appropriate”. So Paul is telling us here that this is what we should be doing. It’s what is reasonable, appropriate, and therefore spiritual.

But why? “In view of God’s mercy…” I mentioned this in the introduction, but we have to start with a “therefore”. We need to look back and see all that God has done for us. It may be personally after already stepping out on faith to follow Jesus. Or as a new believer it may only be the Biblical examples of God’s faithfulness to his chosen people and the fulfilment of his promise through the sacrifice of Jesus. In fact, this is the outline of Chapters 1-11 of Romans. So Chapter 12 begins, “Therefore…” Abraham knew what God has done in his life- he gave his barren wife a son. Therefore… he worshiped.

What better example can there be of surrender? What better example can there be of worship?

Think: What or who might be your Isaac?
Reflect: What do you fear most about sacrificing your Isaac? Can you see that sacrifice as an act of worship?
Understand: What past experiences make it hard for you to trust God? For example, past abandonment neglect, abuse, or divorce will often cloud your view of God as a Father.
Surrender: Tell God how you are feeling and what you are thinking in prayer. Ask him to direct your next steps.
Take action: Write out what might be Isaacs in your life.
Motivation: Download and listen to the full audio message: How to Give God What He Wants Most at R12 online (found by clicking the button on the right, going to the Surrender tab, and finding it under Free Resources).
Encourage someone: Tell someone you care about to check out R12 online, the book, or this blog. Introduce to them God’s dream for their life.

Today continues our “virtual small group” covering the book Living On The Edge. For how this group is going to work, read this entry. For an introduction with disclaimers, click here. For some numbers from Barna to motivate you to continue reading, go here. For the R12 videos, click the R12 button on the sidebar to the right. Finally, as we move forward through the book you can always catch up by clicking the R12 label at the end of each post.

R12: Do you believe God has your best in mind?

Frank

“[S]uppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:31-33)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Is surrender really a bad thing? Think about the word and reflect on the first passage above. We can identify surrender with warfare and battle. The one who surrenders is the loser. They don’t get a say in the terms of their surrender so they hope for mercy from the victor. Surrender in battle can bring shame and disgrace. Think Germany after WWI, without which there wouldn’t have been a WWII. Surrender can also completely change your society and your culture. Think Japan after WWII.

If you were to challenge God to a fight, who would win? Yet we do this every day. “I want to do this.” “I think that is right.” “This feels good and I don’t care about the consequences.” Do we ever win? Sometimes things seem to work out for a while. But long term? So we fight and and we fight and ultimately we lose. We lose the battle, but only to one who has our best interest at heart. As He draws up the terms of surrender, He isn’t looking to gain territory or riches, He isn’t looking for ways to hold you down, rather He is giving us terms to empower us, enable us to reach the glory he has planned for each and every one of us. We just need to believe it. Surrendering to God is the complete opposite of the examples above. Instead of shame and disgrace, it brings humility and glory. And it will completely change your life to the point that it no longer resembles what it was before.

The second passage above sounds like it was written by the greeting card industry instead of by the Apostle Paul. You see it on bumper stickers and on business cards. It’s the cliched response when confronted with tragedy like cancer or miscarriage. It is so overused the truth behind this Scripture is lost. God does have the best in mind. But we often don’t, or can’t, see it. And in some cases, we never will until we’re with Him in heaven.

The first parts of surrender we’ve talked about are sacrifice and risk vs reward. The next part is trust. And this is where it gets hard. Can you really trust God? The barrier to fully committing to God are usually feelings of, “but what if…” We know God will affect our relationships, our dreams, the overall course of our lives. But we struggle to believe that these changes are for the better.

I always think of my friend Dave. Before he was baptized he was afraid God would whisk him away to some far away land like China. Several years later he found himself willingly in China; there to adopt a baby girl. As a recovering alcoholic, at his baptism a friend told him he could see him one day leading a recovery ministry. He replied, “why would I want to hang out with those losers?” And now he leads that ministry with losers like me.

If you’re a disciple of Jesus, chances are God has done something incredible in your life that moved you to greater faith. Remember that. Let it encourage you that God has so much more in store. If you’re wrestling with surrendering fully to God, think about what God could do for you. Pray about the issues you long to overcome, the real challenges to your faith. God will answer, but not likely in a way you’d expect. In fact, better.

Think: What part of surrender do you struggle with the most? Sacrifice? Taking risks? Trusting God?
Reflect: Write down the top two barriers/fears that keep you from making a total commitment to Jesus Christ.
Understand: How does your view of God impact your ability to trust Him? How do you see God most days? Vengeful or merciful? Kind or demanding?
Surrender: Pray to see God clearly. Pray to get over the intellectual belief and move to a deeper faith.
Take action: Write out Romans 8:32 (not the same Scripture as above!) on a 3×5 and read it every morning this week, asking God to believe what it says.
Motivation: Listen to the message on the “Goodness of God” by clicking the R12 button on the right.
Encourage someone: Share one thing God has done for you in the last few weeks with a friend. Ask them what he’s done for them.

Today continues our “virtual small group” covering the book Living On The Edge. For how this group is going to work, read this entry. For an introduction with disclaimers, click here. For some numbers from Barna to motivate you to continue reading, go here. For the R12 videos, click the R12 button on the sidebar to the right. Finally, as we move forward through the book you can always catch up by clicking the R12 label at the end of each post.

R12: Why is it so hard to surrender to God?

Frank

Surrender. Raise the white flag. Give up. Quit. Loser.

Surrender is a difficult concept to spiritually grasp. Our world-system paints the word in such a negative light that it is hard to find anything positive through it. But that is only because we don’t understand what surrender means. The last chapter talked about the sacrifice of our very will in order to realize God’s good, perfect and pleasing will. But sacrifice is only one aspect of holy surrender. Chapter two talks about another piece- risk versus reward.

Chip uses case studies from the book, Risk, Reason and the Decision Making Process. If you don’t have LOTE: The Book, don’t worry, Chip uses the same illustrations in his mp3 lesson. His case studies are basically modern versions of the parables Jesus gives in Matthew 13. Let’s look and reflect on these for a moment.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:44-46)

Do you feel sorry for either of these people? After all, they had to sell everything they had to get the treasure they were looking for. In the second case, the person would end up with nothing other than a pearl. Sure, he could “flip” the pearl and earn great wealth, but what in the meantime? And it’s safe to assume he already had great wealth because he was a merchant of pearls. Can you imagine the conversation he must have had with his wife?

“Honey, you wouldn’t believe the pearl I found today!”

“That’s great dear.”

“But we can’t afford it with the money we have. So I sold the house, our livestock, and all the other pearls in my collection (even the ones I gave you for our anniversary).”

“You did what?!”

He would had to have been pretty bold to pull off such a move. The same goes for the first man. What if he returned and the treasure was gone? What if the owner of the field wouldn’t sell? In both cases, what if these men were wrong? What if the pearl was a fake? What if the treasure was really worthless? They had to conclude that the reward outweighed the risk.

Were these men lucky? Extra holy? In better with God than their neighbors? Not at all. Chip rightly points out in his book that these men were wise. This was a revelation for me. I never considered these parables in this light. Surrendering in such a way isn’t about holiness or piety, about luck or any special blessing. They knew what they found. They evaluated the reward, considered the risk, and acted in wisdom.

We are tempted to think that spiritual surrender is a standard for only the most holy, the most committed of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Maybe we believe it is only for pastors, priests, or ministers. We could also believe that such a level of commitment is impossible for us. But we only need to be wise. Consider the risk. What do we lose by following God whole-heartedly? Our own selfish desires, success as defined by the world, acceptance by friends and family? But what do we gain? “Every spiritual blessing.” (Ephesians 1:3) Our desires “satisfie[d]… with every good thing.” (Psalm 103:5) And of course a saving relationship with the Creator of the universe, the forgiveness of our sins, healing of the damage done, and even “treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20) where we have hope for eternal life.

So you need to ask yourself. Is the risk worth the reward? If so, surrender.

Think: What do you take away from this lesson?
Reflect: Is how I described surrender the same as you’ve come to understand it personally?
Understand: How does considering the above parables as actions of wisdom change your perspective on surrender?
Surrender: What do you risk by surrendering to God? List it out. Pray over it. Be honest with God about how you feel.
Take action: Write out the following definition (from the book) of total commitment on a 3×5 and read it every night before going to bed: “When I come to realize what God has done for me, who He is, and what He has prepared for me in this new life (that I cannot see), I eagerly abandon anything and everything to obtain this fabulous, rich, rewarding eternal life He is offering.”
Motivation: What would God need to do to convince you he has the best in store for your life? (Read Romans 8:32, Psalm 37:4)
Encourage someone: Call, text, email, tweet, etc the most committed Christian you know and thank them for their example.

Today continues our “virtual small group” covering the book Living On The Edge. For how this group is going to work, read this entry. For an introduction with disclaimers, click here. For some numbers from Barna to motivate you to continue reading, go here. For the R12 videos, click the R12 button on the sidebar to the right. Finally, as we move forward through the book you can always catch up by clicking the R12 label at the end of each post.

R12: What does God really want from you?

Frank

Today continues our “virtual small group” covering the book Living On The Edge. For how this group is going to work, read this entry. For an introduction with disclaimers, click here. For some numbers from Barna to motivate you to continue reading, go here. For the R12 videos, click the R12 button on the sidebar to the right. Finally, as we move forward through the book you can always catch up by clicking the R12 label at the end of each post.

The first section, or “unit” of Living on the Edge addresses the first relationship in Romans 12, our relationship with God. There’s an exhilaration that comes with having a relationship with the Creator of the universe, and eagerness to soak in His Word, and a compulsion to rid ourselves of the sin that plagued our past. That’s how Chip Ingram opens his first chapter. Though his second paragraph begins with “But…”

But… If it were only that simple. Eventually some of the old sins and old habits return. Sometimes new character sins are revealed. (For example, I became a Christian before I was married or had children. Both life-changing events have uncovered flaws in my character that were either new or that I thought were gone long before.) We approach crossroads in our faith where we either choose to fight against our sinful nature or conclude the fight’s not worth it, that it’s just who we are. Marriage, career, children, etc all face the same crossroads: keep fighting to change, to grow, or concede that it’s just the way it is so I better learn to deal with it.

Of course, God does not intend for us to live this way. Jesus promised, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) He further challenged the church in Ephesus, “You have forsaken your first love… Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:4-5) As we mature in our walk with God, we forget that feeling when the Holy Spirit was fresh in our hearts. We settle for Jesus our Savior and forget about Jesus our Lord. And we are either content in our circumstances or we find ourselves struggling against God’s will. Romans 12 begins with “Therefore… “and the opening thought concludes, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

So how do we get there? Romans 12:1 instructs us to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship.” No, this passage is not asking you to go sacrifice yourself on an altar. It is asking that you live your life holy and pleasing to God. “Holy” means “set apart” and of course we want to live lives that please our creator. So what is this sacrifice? It is our will, our sinful nature, our selfishness, our pride, our whole selves for it is these things that keep us from experiencing God’s best for our lives.

That leads us to the “s-word” of the first relationship in Romans 12: Surrender. It sounds harsh. It sounds intimidating. But it is the only way to tap into what God has in store for our lives and the only way to truly live as the lights God intends us to be on this earth. To quote from Chip’s first chapter, “If you’re tired of all the rules, all the formulas, all the religious activities, and even well-meaning church programs that promise transformation but don’t deliver, I invite you to join me on a journey of grace, faith, and relationship that leads to genuine transformation.” He asks us to trust him, but more importantly to trust God.

Each chapter concludes with TRUST ME as an acrostic for: Think, Reflect, Understand, Surrender, Take action, Motivation, and Encourage someone. I’m going to follow that same format here by paraphrasing the same questions as in the book. I encourage you to answer these questions in the comments if you feel comfortable to do so. You can carry on the conversation over on FB as well.

Think: Do you relate with the “crossroads” I describe above? How so?
Reflect: Does this stir something inside your heart? If so, why do you think that is?
Understand: How does this make you feel, encouraged, scared, convicted?
Surrender: Pray about this. Tell God how you feel, what you desire.
Take action: Come back tomorrow for Chapter 2
Motivation: Watch the first video on Surrender here.
Encourage someone: Pray for someone who you know is going through these same struggles. Pray for all those reading this book or going through an R12 small group, that God encourages them to fight on.

R12: Introduction

Frank

Today begins our “virtual small group” covering the book Living On The Edge. For how this group is going to work, read this entry. For some numbers from Barna to motivate you to continue reading, go here. For the R12 videos, click the R12 button on the sidebar to the right. Finally, as we move forward through the book you can always catch up by clicking the R12 label at the end of each post.

It’s also important for some “official” disclaimers before we dig in. I am not affiliated with the ministry of Living on the Edge, Venture Christian Church, or Walk Thru the Bible. The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent Chip Ingram or any of the organizations above. At the same time, the video lessons linked to at R12, do not represent myself or my church.

While I agree with and endorse the purpose of the Living on the Edge ministry, I do disagree with some of its theology. This becomes clear at the outset with the video questions: How Can I be Certain I’m a Christian? and Is Surrendering to Christ the Same as Becoming a Christian? Chip and I have different answers for these two questions. Personally, I do not believe “Christian” is a label ever intended to look like it does today. It was originally an insult meaning “little Christ”. It is not a marketing or political label. And it didn’t describe the casual believer in Jesus. I believe most Christians in America are not disciples of Jesus, so I share that concern with Chip and is why I’m pushing this lesson. But unlike the answers in the aforementioned videos, I also question many Christian’s salvation, so I pray not only that this lesson helps revitalize the Church with “sold-out” disciples of Jesus, but also that this lesson leads the lukewarm into a deeper, saving relationship with Christ. So where Chip and I diverge is in the second question where my answer would be, “yes, surrendering to Christ is the same as becoming a Christian.” Simple statements of faith have nothing to do with our personal relationship with God, and accepting God’s grace without repentance and a commitment to count the cost of daily carrying the cross cheapens the Gospel.

———————————————————————————-

On to the introduction…

To quote from the preface of the book: “Is this book for you? The answer is YES if…

  • You are spiritually stuck.
  • You are tired of the spiritual status quo.
  • You wish you knew what God really wanted from you.
  • You long to break free from some habitual sin.
  • You desire to grow spiritually.
  • You need a clear pathway to spiritual maturity.
  • You are discipling other believers.”

Look around and consider the numbers from Barna describing the spiritual health of the Church. Look at your own life and your walk with Jesus. It becomes clear we’re not all that Christ would want us to be. This isn’t an indictment, but a call to grow. This isn’t a criticism, but an acknowledgement of a common state from which we can learn and repent.

It is important to point out early that Romans 12 is not a list of “to dos”. Religious activities does not equal being a disciple, that leads to religiosity. Absence of sin does not equal being a disciple, that leads to impossible expectations. Keeping rules does not equal being a disciple, that leads to legalism. Romans 12 is only a description of what a disciple of Jesus should look like. Evidences of your faith lived out.

Romans 12 follows Romans 1-11. It begins with “Therefore…” So something must come first. This lesson will not be effective unless you start with a conviction of the sacrifice of Jesus and what that has done in your life. Therefore… this is how we should live. If we try and apply this without that conviction, we are no different than the Pharisees.

Chip gives his background in the introduction. If you have the book, you could replace his story with mine and it would be almost identical. I say almost. I stuck with church at the same point he turned away. I did so convinced that God wanted something special from me, but I grew frustrated trying to figure out what that was. Like Chip, I didn’t have anyone to teach me how to get deeper, how to grow. And like Chip in the earliest years of true Christianity, I kept one foot in religion and one foot in the world, and it was tearing me apart. And like Chip, it was Romans 12 that opened my eyes to a different way to “do religion”. It is that conviction that leads me to “Therefore…”

Finally, to quote from the introduction, “The great majority of Christians have been taught that life is about coming to know Christ personally, being saved, being good, and then helping other people ‘get saved’. Before long, they become part of the religious machinery whose primary goal is to help more people enter the kingdom of God.” In the book Sticky Church by Larry Osborne, the problem of this mentality is described in detail. Assembly line Christianity does not address personal growth, personal discipleship, and as the book puts it, so much effort is made making the “front door” as large as possible, we don’t notice when many leave out of the “back door”. It’s not meant to be this way.

In his introduction lesson, Chip gives some more damning numbers describing the Church today: One in twelve Christians live a Christ-centered life, described as holding a Biblical worldview, living their lives with integrity, are other-centered, and manage their money, career and relationships focused on Jesus. Less that 20% of Christians are involved in any service to the Church, including small groups or “do[ing] life together”.

If these numbers shock you, convict you, or sadden you. Stick around. Let’s change it. Let’s use R12 to transform the Church.

Virtual Small Group

Frank

So how is all this R12 stuff going to work?

There are five sections of the book corresponding to the five relationships in Romans 12: God, World, Self, Other Christians, Non-Christians. (The book puts it much more elegantly: Surrendered to God, Separate from the World, Sober in Self-Assessment, Serving in Love, and Supernaturally Responding to Evil with Good.) Each section has five chapters. We’ll be discussing each chapter Monday through Friday on this blog.

The R12 section of Living on the Edge online also has videos that correspond to each section. I’ll link those from Facebook. If you’re not a follower, no sweat, I’ll direct you there from here or you can just click the R12 link on the sidebar. I’ll do that on Monday and then follow up through the week with the Q&A videos the rest of the week.

I’ll use Twitter to post updates on when the videos and blogs go up. I’ll also post some “deep thoughts” corresponding to the TRUST ME reflections at the end of each chapter. You can follow me through the button on the sidebar so you can keep up to date on what’s going on here.

Actual Q&A discussion, we’ll see as it goes. I expect comments on FB and here. I’m also going to be posting discussions on the Living on the Edge FB page. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to all these resources throughout the day because of firewalls at work and the remoteness of my worksite keeps me from being as “mobile” as I’d like. So I hope enough people are interested that can keep the discussion going until I can follow up in the evenings. Oh, and I’m on the West Coast, so that doesn’t help any. The tweets will be scheduled though, so hopefully momentum can be maintained throughout the day.

Saturdays are bonuses. I’ll be posting a summary of the original lesson that the chapters are derived from and using the discussion questions from LOTE’s study guides.

You don’t need the book to follow along. LOTE provides so many resources online you can participate easily through any of the means above. Even the lessons I’ll be going over on Saturdays are available as “resources” that are linked with each video.

Next week is going to be off schedule a little. I neglected that there’s an introduction lesson, video, and obviously an introduction to the book. So that’s where we’ll start on Monday and finish the last chapter on Saturday. The rest of the book will follow the schedule above.

Welcome aboard! I pray the next few weeks lead us closer to Christ and help us to reflect Him through all of our relationships.

Why R12?

Frank

So I’ve been mentioning all week I’ll be hosting a “virtual small group” starting Monday going over the book Living on The Edge. You may be asking yourself, why me, why you, why here, or why now?

I’ve already given some background on why me, but I’ll dig deeper as we go through the studies.

Why you? Well, chances are if you’re taking the time to visit my blog, given its theme and topics, you have some passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That makes you the perfect person to take this lesson and spread it to your own small group, house church, congregation, ministry leadership, neighbors… you get the idea.

Why here? Well, this isn’t only one place this will be happening. You can also follow me on Twitter for more topics for reflection, Facebook for more discussion (sorry I don’t give that one out, but if you want to follow me, leave me a message and I might hook you up), and the LOTE Facebook page for even more discussion. There will be more on that tomorrow or later this evening.

Why now? Well, that’s the important question. This book came out at the beginning of the year, but I’ve had the original R12 study guide for a year now. I figured right after Easter is the perfect time for a spiritual ‘rebirth’ and that gave me time to get a head start on the discussion. But on a larger scale, why now, is because the American christianity (TM) is hurting. Faith is dwindling, the Gospel is watered down, corruption seems rampant, and our focus is not where it should be. In fact, Living on the Edge commissioned a study by the Barna Group to dig deeper into this.

I want to share some numbers that should keep you up at night if you’re in love with Christ’s bride:

  • 81% of those calling themselves Christians said spiritual maturity is “following all the rules”
  • Half of churchgoers don’t know how their own church defines a “healthy, spiritually mature follower of Jesus”.
  • Only 21% of Christians described their relationship with Jesus as a sign of their own personal spiritual maturity, 14% living a moral lifestyle, 13% being involved in spiritual disciplines.
  • A minority of churches have a written statement outlining the expectations of spiritual maturity and they often define this by what people do, not what they believe.
  • Outside of the Barna study, an anecdotal example Chip gives is someone he knows was traveling and speaking at different congregations. He asked fifty pastors what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Only one was able to give a coherent answer. Everyone else gave a vague version of “a follow of Jesus”. When asked further what that looks like, answered varied as the numbers show above.

The fundamental question I will be asking throughout the study of this book, what does a disciple of Jesus look like? Chip often says the mission of his ministry is to help “Christians live like Christians.” I think that is a purpose we can all get behind. If that’s your desire, if that’s what you long to see in your church and in the Church Universal, come back Monday as we dig in to this great study.

Trailblazer

Frank

What inspires you? I don’t mean encourages, or edifies, I mean honest to goodness “God breathed,” (2 Timothy 3:16) in-spirit moving of the Holy Spirit in you. Maybe it’s a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song (Ephesians 5:19), maybe it’s a favorite verse in the Bible, maybe it’s a friend, a book, or a movie. Maybe it’s the stories of those who came before, who blazed God fearing, Jesus-led trails.

Monday, April 5th, Michael Spencer, aka the Internet Monk, passed away after a long battle with cancer. A little more than a year ago, Father Richard John Neuhaus, author at the blog First Things passed away. I can honestly say that without the inspiration from these two men of God, I would not be blogging today. I was shocked to read that the imonk started blogging 10 years ago. These two saw the opportunities of the Internet to spread the Gospel and shaped the online Christian landscape. From Father Neuhaus, I was inspired as he tackled issues of interest to me. From Michael, he introduced a new way to reach the masses without preaching down to them using this new-fangled interweb thingy. I regret not following them as closely once I set out on my own blog.

The early Christian blogosphere, including Get Religion and Blogs4God soon grew to include the Thinklings and Boar’s Head Tavern, Stuff Christians Like, Purgatorio, and JesusNeedsNewPR. Most recently, Peter Pollock’s and Bridget Chumbley’s Blog Carnival has been a network of diverse Christian blogs that all aspire to encourage applying the Word of God through the Internet. Yesterday’s topic, Gentleness, drew 39 posts. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of Christian blogs. I will never have time to find them all, but I am grateful for the inspiration the ones I do read bring to me.

Back to imonk for a moment. Another blogger commented a few years ago that America is due for another Great Awakening and that it would likely come through the power of the Internet. I couldn’t agree more and I believe the legacy that Michael Spencer leaves behind started the ball rolling that direction. I pray his legacy continues throughout the Christian blogosphere and through the hearts and souls of readers everywhere. Michael was too young. He didn’t live to see the next Great Awakening. But he lived to see it begun.