This Wednesday, January 5^th, marks the two-year anniversary of my arrival in Suriname, South America. In the dark, early morning hours of that first day, my feet touched the pavement at Zanderij International Airport and I inhaled my first breath of the balmy, moisture-laden Amazon air. What proceeded was 22 months of service with the International Mission Board as a short-term missionary in what is known as the Journeyman program. Naturally, the width and depth of the life-changing, worldview-shaping, spiritually blessed experience is much too long to sum up in a thousand or so words. To sum it up in a sentence: God was good and his hand was at work throughout my entire term. [...]

It’s that time of year again when gobs and gobs of money are spent appeasing and pacifying the wants and wishes of small children (and 40-something-year-old kids) across the globe. On December the 25^th millions of men, women, boys, and girls throughout the world will receive their yearly injection of that oh-so intoxicating drug called materialism. While I’m all for giving gifts—and receiving them—I would like for us to at least give thought to the sorts of gifts that we are giving to our loved ones this year. [...]

It is absolutely imperative that professing Christians join and be involved in a local church.  I have heard young people say way to often that they love Jesus and call themselves Christians but they see no reason to be involved in a local church.  I believe that this stems from many different sources.  Maybe they have never been taught the importance of a local church; maybe they are involved in some sort of campus ministry; maybe they just don’t have time; or maybe they don’t see the local church being a primary role in their lives during this season of life.  There are many reasons that self-proclaiming Christians could give for not being a part of a local body of believers but when it boils down to it… every reason is a wrong reason. Here are several reasons why every so-called Christian must not only attend a local church, but join a local a church, and serve within that local church: [...]

What is the difference between a program-driven church and a missional church?  In this article Tyler Smith defines both and describes what we should look like as the church of Jesus Christ. [...]

Television, radio and the internet are frequently the target of Christian criticism. Their being ascribed as the source of every kind of cultural and societal evil overshadows the amazing good these mediums have done, especially in the area of missions. [...]

Your individual identity, in a regional sense, is only fully realized when you reside somewhere outside your home (whether city, state or country).  In the Suriname interior, I’m often designated the “American boy” and even more inclusively as a “baaka” (foreigner).  It happens when you are the sole white person in a village of 3,000 black persons.  As so often exists, associations are invariably tied to stereotypes.  “Did you ever meet Michael Jackson?  Do you know Obama?”  With Maroons, and their understandably narrow worldview, opportunities to educate them (among other things) of the vastness of the U.S. in proportion to their country.

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So many of us this week attended a church service. For some it was in a large building full of thousands of people with a full band to lead in giving praise to King Jesus. Or for some it was a small group of people meeting in a home to study the word of God. The latter is what the majority of the church looks like globally, from week to week. But as the body of Christ, the church, we can meet anywhere for fellowship and teaching from God’s Word. These two functions of the church are vital for church health, but they are not exhaustive pertaining to health. When meeting with the church most of us have been in the listening position more than the teaching position. But have you been there too long? Today, I’m going to challenge you with Scripture to move beyond just listening, but to teaching or doing!

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Having discussed the source from which God’s love flows—that is God’s essential attribute of love as it is and has been expressed perpetually and eternally, apart from and independent of the created order, within His intratrinitarian Persons (See my first installment to this series)—we can now consider the expressions of the outworking of God’s other-orientation in His self-giving. The first aspect of God’s self-giving love, to which we will now devote our attention, is the providential love of God for all creation.

God “did not, on making the world, leave it to itself, or commit it into other hands; but it is an object of His constant care, and His hand is concerned in all its movements.”[i] God is not deistic; He is, in fact, interested and concerned with what He has created. Creation is not worthless; it is, on the contrary, of special significance to God.

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1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and in due time he will exalt you.”

Last week I was standing in a village overlooking the beautiful hills of Darjeeling. The clouds were rolling in and creating a most majestic picture. It was a quiet morning with not much happening. The reason for coming to this village was to teach on making disciples. This particular trip was focused on organizing what we call “Timothy groups,” groups designed to encourage believers to share the gospel and teach their disciples to obey Christ, which will result in churches being established.

This is the work God has given me to do.

It has brought great blessings to my life and given me experiences I had never imagined. As I was in my quiet moments of reflection looking over the mountains, I began to think about what led me to this point in my life. At different times in our lives, many of us will ask the question, “How did I get here?” Or, “Why am I here?” For some it maybe that you are in a spot you don’t particularly like. Or, like myself, it is a time to remember God’s faithfulness to you.

After much reflection on God’s past grace, the Lord revealed once again a scripture that played a significant role in guiding my life. 1 Peter 5:6 filled my thoughts, which says, “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and in due time he will lift you up.” The Apostle Peter’s wisdom has served to guide my heart and ministry for several years.

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Last Sunday hundreds, if not thousands, of churches celebrated the Fourth of July as a part of their Sunday morning worship.  Hopefully, I will convince you that this is anti-biblical!

In April at the Together for the Gospel conference Thabidti Anyabwile spoke a sentence that, I believe, will shape 21^st century western ecclesiology.  He said, “the church is not mono-ethic but it is mono-cultural.”  In essence, he means that all nations, tribes, and tongues will represent the Kingdom of God, but the Kingdom of God is a unique culture that transforms the nations represented. 

Ephesians 2:13-15 says ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. ¹⁴ For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, ¹⁵ He did away with the law of the commandments in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace.

Michael McKinley, in his lecture Unity and Diversity, observes three avenues of truth that Paul speaks to in this section of his letter to Ephesus. 

1. Progress in Redemptive History.  In Jesus, no longer were the promises of God maintained in Israel, but broke through for the nations to inherit. 
2. Missiological.  The church, unlike Israel is not homogeneous.  A part of the Gospel’s power is to unite cultures, nations, and tongues under the centrality of Jesus’ reign.  Therefore, the church must reach out to all nations.
3. Ecclesiological.  Again, the church is not homogeneous.  Where there is political, economic, or cultural diversity in an area; there is still only to be one church bringing together the backgrounds of all peoples through the common foundation of partaking in the Gospel of Christ.  The church that reaches one type of person isn’t exhausting the full meaning of the Gospel.

Why is this important?  When the church gets together and any agenda takes precedent over the common foundation of Jesus Christ (or implies a common bond apart from that foundation) should be thrown away like yesterday’s trash. 

For instance, how would a member differing in nationality or political interest feel if you implied that praising God would involve praising Him for America?  Is this not extra-biblical legalism?  The hostility Paul addressed in Ephesians was Jew/Gentile relationships and he said that Jesus created one new man. By implication, if the Gentile held on to his rights, preferences, or needs as a Gentile he would abandon the sufficiency of Jesus’ gospel to bring him near to God.  But also, if the Jew held onto his rights, preferences, or needs as a Jew he would also abandon the sufficiency of Jesus as well. 

Likewise, if we celebrate our patriotism inside the church are we not alienating those who Jesus brought near to God?  I say we forget the praise of Independence Day (or any other national observance) because God has given us a better freedom by making us a new citizen in the Kingdom of Christ!