Books of 2011

At the beginning of 2011, I resolved to read 2 books each month. I had been coached in 2009 and 2010 by Ed Cerny of Myrtle Beach who challenged me in the areas of growing as a learner and leader and taking risks that were attainable and measurable. The goal of 24 books seemed realistic and challenging. Yet after January I had read 10. After February I had knocked out a total of 16 and was two-thirds of the way to my goal. So I upped the ante and decided in March that I would shoot to read 52 -- one a week for the entire year.

Some of the books were longer, some shorter. They include books of poetry, biographies, Christian living and inspiration, living on mission, theology, planting churches, parenting and family, and even a couple of fictional works -- best of which was the Harry Potter series. Some were written in the past year while others were hundreds of years old. Some were quite popular and some are almost completely unknown to most. Some were books that many call orthodox, and a couple would be deemed "heresy" by others; I came to the conclusions, however, not to criticize something I knew nothing about and that even an untruth can reveal some new facets to a truth and force me to think in more critical ways. The whole process was a challenge but one of the most rewarding and gratifying things I've ever undertaken. 

So less for the worldwide web and more for myself, here is my list:

• In Search of God and Guinness. Mansfield
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Rowling
• I’m Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers. Madigan
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Rowling
• The Reformed Pastor. Baxter
• On Church Leadership. Driscoll
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Rowling
• On the Old Testament. Driscoll
• Harnessing Complexity. Axelrod and Cohen
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Rowling
• Your Jesus Is Too Safe. Wilson
• Imitation of Christ. A Kempis
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Rowling
• Sex God. Bell
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Rowling
• The Go Giver. Burg and Mann
• Reason for God. Keller
• Ted Williams. Montville
• On the New Testament. Driscoll
• Pastor Dad. Driscoll
• Untamed. Hirsch and Hirsch
• Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers. Claiborne
• Bonhoeffer. Metaxas
• Love and War. Eldridge and Eldridge
• Decision Points. Bush
• Radical. Platt
• The Power of Who. Beaudine and Dooley
• Leading on Empty. Cordeiro
• Graceful. Godin
• ApParent Privilege. Wright
• Master Plan of Evangelism. Coleman
• The Vision and the Vow. Greig and Roberts
• Its Only Me: The Ted Williams We Hardly Knew. Underwood
• Radical Together. Platt
• Life of WIlliam Carey. Smith
• John Hus: The Martyr of Bohemia. Schwarze
• A Good Man Is Hard to Find. O’ Connor 
• John Adams. McCullough
• Sweet and Bitter Providence. Piper
• Fields of Gold. Stanley
• Love Wins. Bell
• Restoring Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Grudem and Piper
• Case for Christmas. Strobel
• Total Church. Chester and Timmis
• Faith of Leap. Hirsch and Frost
• Tales of Beedle the Bard. Rowling
• Through My Eyes. Tebow
• Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. Hopkins
• Intercession, Thrilling and Fulfilling. Dawson
• Redemptive Divorce. Gaither
• Right Here Right Now. Hirsch and Ford

So for 2012, my reading goal is less ambitious. I am resolved to balance growth as a learner with better stewardship of my body, time, and family. But this was quite and adventure...one I am grateful to have been challenged to begin and to see to the end. 

Edmonton and the Need for Gospel Presence and Partnership

Got this email from Jason and Charissa Shine the other day. They are campus missionaries in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Origins is partnering with them to pray, send money, send teams, and eventually send missionaries there to start a church in the Downtown. 

Thank you for considering serving alongside us here in Canada, and specifically here in Edmonton.  Let me start off by telling you a little about ourselves, some about our city, suggest some ministry ideas, and end with some questions. 

The challenge that my wife and I have decided to address in the last year since we were called here by God is the eternal fate of Edmonton's 100,000 college and university students.  At our main campus of the University of Alberta there are other campus ministries, but we are the only Christian ministry on the majority of the campuses where we work.  The fact is the overwhelming number of Canadian students not only do not know God they literally know nothing about God.  They have not rejected the gospel, they have simply never had it presented to them in a way that made sense to them even once.  There are churches for them to go to, but they have no idea why people go there or what goes on inside them, and many of them do not even know one person who has told them that they are a Christian.  

We came several thousand miles across the country for a promised salary of $1400 per month to engage in this task. God called us. Compared to what you know of Baptist Campus Ministries we have no resources and extremely limited budgets, but these are not the challenge; the challenge is impacting the souls of these students.  On top of this we have further become aware that no one cares about the eternal fate of the young people (students, young professionals and new immigrant families) that make up our neighbourhood; there is no church focused on reaching this neighbourhood and they, like the students we feel called to reach, are far from a God they know nothing about.  We feel compelled by God to do something about this and we would love your help!   

Currently in Edmonton we have 8 Canadian National Baptist Convention affiliated churches.  None of these churches is much over 200 at their biggest event of the year and most of them are less than 100 on an average Sunday morning.  Only 5 of these churches have buildings of their own.

So, that's the task at hand. To be honest, sometimes I can get overwhelmed at the lostness of Greenville, its 10,000 Downtown residents with less than 10% attending a church regularly. We are partnering with a city of a million, with more unchurched, pre-Christian people who are just as precious to God and in need to seeing and hearing the good news Jesus brings. We can forget about Canada in the midst of flashier (and warmer) church planting or mission partnerships with Europe or Central America or Africa. Yet God has clearly called Origins to partner with Edmonton, Alberta. 

So would you consider the following:

• Would you consider, Origins, going to Edmonton February 7 - 11 to see, serve, and pray for Edmonton, its college students, and its young professional population?
• Would you consider giving financially to Origins for those going on this trip?
• Would you be willing to receive the Shines e-newsletters and other info they send out about Edmonton and their work in the city, to know how to best pray for them? 

Ten Books We Ought to Read

I have talked with several people, in recent days, about seminary. I enjoyed my seminary experience tremendously and am grateful for my friends, professors, and opportunities to learn and grow that seminary provided. That said, I think much of what is learned in a seminary can be learned from a few strategic resources. Further, I think a lot of seminary focused on methods rather than principles. Principles rarely change across times and contexts; methods must change to fit the times and contexts. 


So I felt compelled to share a list of ten books to help men and women along the journey to better know theology, missiology, and all the other -ology's that seem so important. "Leaders are learners," said Jon Randles, one of my mentors (I think he stole it from some guru). This list, therefore, is a great starting place. Finally, I confess, this is my list. I don't share it because I think people are sitting around wondering what I'm thinking. This list has helped me, and I hope it can you. The books are in no particular order, though I would say our methods and principles of church and faith are pointless if our theology stinks or we don't "get" the Bible. It also leads me to ask, What is on your list?  

1. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, or Mark Driscoll, Doctrine. These men don't hide the fact that they are coming from a particular theological angle, but we all are... at least they confess it.
2. Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language
3. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
4. Tim Keller, The Reason for God
5. Paul Copan, True for You, But Not for Me
6. Ed Stetzer, Breaking the Missional Code
7. John Eldridge, Wild at Heart (for men), and Stasi Eldridge, Captivating
8. Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways or The Shaping of Things to Come
9. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth and How to Read the Bible Book by Book
10. Wayne Cordeiro, The Divine Mentor

Ten seems really limited, and technically this list is 11 books. I would also add in Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz and Gary Chapman's Five Love Languages. I hope we would all make a commitment to know Jesus through his Word, the Bible, most of all. I don't want to preach, but I have been so refreshed of late to read the psalms and, after each chapter, ask what the passage says about God, me, and the change I need to make to be more like him.  

The Sound and the Style

I was blown away the other night watching the Grammys. Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, and Bob Dylan collaborated and put on the best 9 or so minutes of live music I've seen in a long time. Noah loves Mumford & Sons. As soon as they started playing, he got up and started dancing around. He likes the sound. He knows Mumford & Sons without really knowing anything. They have a "sound." The great bands have a "sound" don't they? Immediately you hear a great band and you're like, "Hey I love that band. I like their "sound." If I had a "sound," it'd be banjos, mandolins, acoustic guitars, and vocals sung with great passion at a quick tempo, celebrating the joy of living.

Likewise, the great artists have a style. I have the privilege of having some dear friends who happen to be artists here in Greenville. I can be in a restaurant or a gallery where one of their pieces is hanging and immediately think to myself, "Wow! There's Brian's work," or, "That's a Ric" or "a Kavita" or "a Susanne." They have a "style." I know their work when I see it. And because I have the pleasure of being their friends as well, I see them in their work. Their art reflects the "style" of their personality. If I had a "style," it'd be folk art rich with a mixture of joy and a hint of sadness or reflection, all deep in symbolism and full of life and meaning.

Yet when I think of Christians and churches, I don't think of the sound and the style. If I'm honest, I think too often of cookie-cutter individuals, experiences, and environments who are trying to be a little more (choose and insert your adjective here: cool, conservative, contemporary, traditional, celebratory, reflective, reverent, and so on) than the next guy or place. Seems like there are basically two choices you can pick. And then you just blend in with your music (and corporate worship style), politics, style of dress, and so on and so forth ad nauseum.

I want to be the Christ-follower of whom people say, "I don't know what to make of that guy; never met one like him before." And I want to pastor the church that defies all the labels. I want people to come worship with us at Origins and say of our music, our preaching, our use of technology and engaging of the senses, and especially our love for one another, "That's Origins... that's their style and sound."

I was so hopeful the other night as I watched that Grammy performance. It felt like a whole new genre was emerging before our eyes, a culture shift. A breath of fresh air. So here's my call to anyone willing to come create culture with me. Let's live in a way that people know we are authentic and unique. And if we are going to "do" church, let's do it contextually and confidently and creatively. What I wouldn't give for a style of worship music unlike any other church we've ever been a part of. (I'd personally choose a banjo, a mandolin, a cello, some interesting percussion playing with Travis on acoustic guitar, all playing fast and singing loud.) I want a church with music just for our context because there is no other Downtown Greenville and no other Origins. I would have greeting, childcare, videos, communion that are all authentic. And I want to be that one-of-a-kind follower of Jesus. And I crave the same for you.

The question is never, "How can we be different from those guys?" That's not sound and style. The question is, "How can I be the best version of me?" knowing that God only created one me. What's the song the world needs to hear me play? What's the style the world needs to see because I alone can "get it to canvas" or model it? And for you. What is your "sound" and "style"? Come make culture and music   -- both metaphorically and literally speaking -- with us. Gotta run... I hear "The Cave."

Day by Day

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Day by day. We are being renewed day by day. Every day is a new start. I love Easter Sunday, the reminder that death and the grave couldn't hold Jesus, that the cross wasn't the end, and that the Enemy would not get the last word. Everything seems new again on Easter. Every day is Resurrection day, according to Paul in this passage. We are renewed, resurrected in a sense, with every new day. And the troubles of today are producing in us the "weight of glory." I can't even wrap my mind around what that must mean, but it sounds delightful.

Day by day. The failures of yesterday don't define me. I am not a victim to who I was -- not even who I was 24 hours ago. The past is past. I can build on yesterday's lessons but don't have to be victimized by its failures and disappointments. Neither do the mandates and pressures of the future discourage me. Today has enough worries of its own; tomorrow will take care of itself until I get there. The Lord is sovereign over the future. My concern is today and the renewal that God wants to see take place in my life. Jesus died for all my yesterdays and all my tomorrows, so I have hope and resurrection power today. 

Day by day. Every day is resurrection day, and the redemption story plays anew with every 24 hour cycle. I am free to experience the "weight of glory" in this day and to look forward to it, in incomprehensible amounts, in eternity. Thank you, Jesus, for this day, the freedom your resurrection has guaranteed for it, and the promise that I am new again. 

Origins Notes, February 6

• You need to hear from God, not people. The Lord alone will show you the difference between what is good and what is God’s. Until you hear it, you need to wait, refuse to act, and bloom where you are planted. And when you hear it, you need to respond immediately. God wants you to be in rhythm with him and to hear him whisper to you his love, direction, affirmation, and conviction. He wants you to live on a different plane, in his presence.
• When you feel numb spiritually, you need to turn fast to God and abandon the stuff of earth that is competing for your attention and loyalty. Calloused apathy shouldn’t lead to you backsliding but must propel you to take up your cross and follow Jesus even as you deny yourself (Luke 9:23). Grace comes, deep calls to deep, as you forsake yourself.
• The death of Jesus is final, atoning for all, whether all accept it or not. Jesus died for everyone, “Christian” and “non-Christian.” If you reject his death as atonement for your sins and resurrection as offer of new life, you don’t deny or negate it. He gave his life to purchase your pardon, yet many refuse it. My prayer is that you stop refusing the offer, humble yourself, cast yourself on Jesus, and be made new in him. (And all our non-Christian friends are very dear to us -- and God -- and will be loved by us whether or not you accept Jesus) 
• Sin makes a real mess of stuff, even and especially in the church. Its not mistakes, errors in judgment, character flaws, or shortcomings. It is sin. It steals, kills, and destroys. If you are mired in it and profess to be a believer, you need to repent of it today before it destroys you or takes you to the point of no return. Some of you have even forgotten what it felt like to be in the dump. If Origins is really going to be a redemptive grace community, we will delve into to trash dump of the spiritual realm. We will get messy together to rescue people, but we have all been rescued from the dump ourselves. I am asking God to give us courage and resolve, to jump into the dump, rescue people to Jesus and with Jesus, and watch him to write radical grace stories. 
• The counsel of the Bible is never that we pray “the prayer,” ask Jesus into our heart and have him in us. The Bible talks about us being in Jesus, abiding in him, and then the proof is fruit like us loving God with all we have and loving others (Matthew 22:37-40). 
• Men need to lead their homes by walking with Jesus in a “dudely” way, reading the Bible, reading other books, praying real and “dudely” prayers, defending your homes spiritually, encouraging and pastoring your families especially your wives, providing financially, and living as missionaries in a dark world. Repent to Jesus and your family today, get under Jesus’ leadership and the leadership of another man, and start leading. (Women who are heads of households, we love you, value you, treasure you, and want to see you do the same thing to lead your family -- just not act “dudely.” Single men, you need to start doing all this stuff so when God sends you a woman, you won’t screw it up. Single ladies, don’t marry some putz who isn’t or can’t lead you or even lead himself.)
• Begin to live as if Gods will has already happened. When you know something for sure to be God’s will (and some things are for sure God’s will -- and you need to know them -- like salvation, godliness, glory to Jesus, as well as what isn’t necessarily God’s will like your comfort and convenience), you need to have confidence that these things will come to pass. God called my family and Origins here to reach into the darkness and see people saved and watch a church birthed. It will happen. God wants people who are under his wrath to be under his protection and saved. God wants moms and dads to walk with him and lead families; reconciliation where relationships and lives are broken; sanctification and holiness; people to lead friends and coworkers to Christ; culture changed. You need to know for certain, resting in God’s character, that some things will come to pass. And you need to get on board with God’s will and help other people do the same.  
• God won’t leave you because he didn’t leave Jesus while he was on the cross carrying your sin. If God didn’t abandon Jesus on the cross (Psalm 22) while he wore our sin, he will not leave his people who are now Christ’s righteousness. In a trial, he hasn’t abandoned you. He is growing you, preparing you, making an example of you, and conforming you to the image of his Son.
• There is tremendous spiritual warfare these days. There is financial struggle, communication in marriage, kids who can’t get well, family health issues, jobs that aren’t coming in or are overwhelming, feelings our prayers aren’t getting past the ceiling, miscommunication among friends, and darkness or apathy pressing in on every side. Like the widow in 1 Kings 17, for many it feels like you are on empty, but God isn’t going to let you die. It may get worse before better, but we are not abandoned. We may be pressed but we aren’t crushed; we may be perplexed but we do not despair; we may be persecuted but we are not abandoned; we may be struck down but we are not destoyed (2 Corinthians 4:7-11). As you die to yourself, Jesus lives. Stay the course. Call a spade a spade (and what is darkness, call darkness) -- identify spiritual war. Fight spiritual battles spiritually. Rely on Jesus and on friends. Resist the enemy. Fight a good fight.

Disciples Making Disciples Making Disciples

"Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have" (Philippians 1:25-30)

Paul didn't care if he lived or died; he was over that, seeing benefits in both. He only wanted to honor Christ. He knew that God was not done with him. He still had work to do for Christ. He stated that he would remain and continue but not without purpose. Every day on this earth had great purpose for Paul. 

So he would remain for their progress and joy in faith. Men need to help men and women need to help women to do two things: progress and experience joy in the Lord. He would remain so that they could have reason to glory in Christ. Paul wasn't trying to lead men to follow him or to plant a big church. He wanted people to be more like Jesus, to know Jesus more, and to be more in love with Jesus as a result of knowing him. In other words, friendship with Paul didn't mean talking about Paul a lot but talking about Jesus because Paul talked about Jesus. So Paul had some goals -- for them and us -- about what that progress, joy, and glory in Christ would look like in the people he led. When we see these traits, we see a disciple of Jesus. I pray we see it in ourselves and encourage it in one another so we are becoming more like Christ. 

1. Live worthy of the Gospel (1:27). No glaring areas where people would say, "He isn't like Jesus." People who live worthy are aware that, for the pre-Christians around them, they may be Jesus or the Bible with skin on for others. The stakes are too high for you to be mastered by greed, lust, pride, apathy, inconsistency, or unaccountability. We must be worthy of the Gospel, living for the nod of approval of Jesus.
2. Have a good testimony spreading to others (1:27). Their lives are being changed by Jesus so others will say, "I see the transformational power of Jesus in his actions, words, and behaviors." You can't just get here quietly. You get here by stepping up in praying, answering, sharing, exemplifying, serving, encouraging, leading. And people know when it rings true or not. Genuineness will affirm that testimony or people will intuitively know we are fakers.
3. Unity of spirit, mind, purpose, and faith (1:27). Same page, same direction with the body of Christ. Unity is hard to get and easy to lose. We work hard for it and fight to maintain it, guardians of the trust, understanding that a unified church is a compelling church to a watching world. 
4. Confident in the Gospel of their handling of it (1:28). Paul wanted them to know the Bible, both the stories and verses as well as they overarching themes. We need to know the stories and facts but also what the punishment for sin is; how great is the work of the cross; what must change for a person to be saved; what are true repentance and faith;  where is our chief happiness; and what our hearts must be most set upon. Gospel confidence. 
5. Deep faith (1:29). Foundational and able to stand the storms of life. Abram understands a ton about construction, and I remember looking at a house with him and him saying he didn't think it had footings that were deep enough in the ground. So the house was unstable. We need a faith with deep footings in the Gospel, Jesus Christ's person and work, the Bible so we can both weather the storm and lead others. 
6. Suffering (1:29). For Paul, that was imprisonment, beating, shipwreck, whipping, stoning, mocking, and endangerment. For us that might be inconvenience, need to better manage and discipline ourselves so we can be more sacrificial. The Gospel will not leave us unaffected, and that change will convict others and force them to respond. Sometimes positively, and at other times they will lash out. If we are totally comfortable, we are no threat to Satan for surely he threatens those who threaten him.
7. In the battle (1:30). Paul needed men and women who were in the war. We need Christians who are in the war. The battle is not political for Washington, economic for Wall Street, or cultural for Hollywood. It is spiritual and it is for our souls and the souls of our spouses, children, friends, neighbors, co-workers, city, and world. We need men who will recognize the stakes and get in the game. Disciples are in the fight. 

Air War and Ground War

Been reading Driscoll's A Book You'll Actually Read on Church Leadership. In it, he talks about the difference between "air war" and "ground war." Now I'm not at all a fan of war metaphor when it comes to Jesus and the church, but he's not advocating war in any sense. I wanted to share a large chunk of what he writes about:

       The air war includes such things as preaching and teaching at gathered church services and other large events such as church-based conferences, retreats, and training events. The air war at our church also includes our web site, vodcasts and podcasts, and publishing.

       The ground war includes such things as home-based Bible studies, smaller training classes, individual counseling appointments, and recovery groups for addictions and sexual abuse.

       In my experience, most church leaders are good at either the air war or the ground war. For a church to succeed, though, it must have both an air war and a ground war. A church with only an air war will have large Sunday meetings but will not see the kind of life transformation in people that can only come through the intense efforts of a well-organized ground war. Such churches give the appearance of health because of their sheer size, but that is often nothing more than an illusion. This is sometimes even tragically made visible by the moral failure of a senior leader who needed more ground war in his own life as well as his church. 

       Conversely, a church with only ground war may have mature people but does not grow or see new converts meeting Jesus regularly. Despite their crummy band and a preacher who is as clear and compelling as the teacher from the Peanuts cartoons, he's a really nice guy who loves everyone to the degree that they will endure the Sunday services...

       The air war is where the prophets excel and the ground war is where the priests excel. The only way both can work together in harmony is if the kings ensure that things are organized. The kings pull the air and ground wars together in such a way that there is unity between their respective teams and mutual respect and appreciation for the work of the other.

So all of this got me to thinking about Origins, about its leaders -- both who are leading now and men and women who aren't even thinking of being leaders. 

As a quick clarifier, let me explain prophets, priests, and kings -- the three leadership roles in ancient Israel. Prophets excel at vision, preaching, teaching, doctrinal truth, refuting error, and calling people to sin. Priests are compassionate and merciful and excel in counseling, conflict resolution, and small group relationships. Kings excel at systems, policies, procedures, planning, team building, mission executing, and taking steps to get the job done. 

Seems like Origins would be strongest if we have people who understand whether they are most gifted for air war or ground war. We need to mobilize. Yet the prophet and priest in me -- and absence of the king -- doesn't even know how to mobilize. So I need to best figure out how to identify air and ground war people, and I need the kings to make sense of it all. 

Abiding Traits

I know I want to abide in God, to have a peace that comes from resting in the company and security of God. I need more than circumstantial happiness though. Nor do I want that glassy-eyed, cliche "God is good all the time" spirituality when life really sucks. I want something rooted deep. I want to abide, anchored to the bottom of the ocean of God's love when the hurricanes of life blow their winds around me and toss everyone else about.

I know what the traits of an abider are, how he or she looks, but I am not always sure of how to get there. Abiding seems so passive. Who will teach me how to abide? First John 2 has so much to say of abiding. Today, the apostle John is my teacher.

1 John 2:6. "Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way he walked." The abider lives as Jesus lives. He or she moves at the pace of Jesus and goes to the places which Jesus would frequent. Where would Jesus go? And how fast -- or slow -- does Jesus walk?

1 John 2:10. "Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling." The abider walks in the light. He or she evidences it by loving his brothers and sisters -- not just Christ-followers, either, but all of humanity. The abider has no reason to stumble. In fact, if I'm constantly stumbling, tripping over myself and my surroundings, I don't believe I am abiding. Abiding doesn't mean life is easy, but it is less complicated because I live for an audience of One and he is my guide. Who in my circle would Jesus love?

1 John 2:17. "And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." The abider abides forever, while the one who goes it alone or in the company of the world will waste away, atrophy, erode, and vanish or perish. I hate that wasting-away feeling. Abiding is the surest remedy for it. The abider also invests in things and desires that outlive him or her so that he or she abide forever along with our eternal endeavors attempted for the glory of God. What or who would Jesus invest in?

1 John 2:24. "Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father." The abider abides in the word heard from the beginning -- the simple, received with faith-like-a-child, saving Gospel -- and it abides in him. The abider doesn't have to reinvent, rewrite, complicate, or question Jesus, the Bible, the faith, the Gospel, the church, or the friendship we have with God in Christ. In fact, when I constantly doubt or question, whittling away what I know deep down to be true, I am doing the exact opposite of abiding. What would Jesus keep simple? What would Jesus accept as bedrock truth?

1 John 2:27. "But the anointing that you received from Christ abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie -- just as it has taught you, abide in him." The abider is consumed with continuing to abide in God and have God abide in him or her. He doesn't need all the truths of the world, but he craves the wisdom of heaven. Though he can find truth in the world's wisdom, he knows it is, simultaneously, authored by and yet a poor reflection of God's timeless Truth. How much intimacy with the Father would Jesus strive for? What would Jesus teach me?

1 John 2:28. "And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming." The abider lives confidently before God. He or she has nothing to hide. Though he or she sins, God is forgiving and Jesus is our advocate and redeemer (1 John 2:1). And sin is now a choice, a stepping down to live like the old man since the abider knows that Christ made us altogether new. The abider is unashamed. How high would Jesus hold his head before the Father? How high would he have me hold mine?

New Year's Resolution

"For I resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

These were Paul's words to the church at Corinth, a small band of Christ-followers wrestling out their faith and the implications of it on their lives. He told them he didn't have to learn more, speak more eloquently, or be more likable. He only resolved to live in the power of Jesus.

Last week I made out my list of things I am resolved to do in 2011. You know... the usuals. Read more, live healthier, love my family, and so on. And in the midst of all my list-making, that still small voice in me spoke and asked, "Is all this stuff for me or for you?" Ouch. It continued, "Are you doing this to point people to something higher or just to feel better about yourself and to be more liked or admired?" My love of self was exposed. I realized that if we aren't careful, the outcome of our resolutions, if we stick with them, can be to make us more independent, arrogant, and disconnected from God.

How about another route? Resolve in 2011 to know Jesus and him crucified. Make your resolution to be to abide in him as John 15:1-17 speak of. Rest in Jesus. And let all the stuff -- all the well-intended resolutions -- be to bring him fame and to know him more.

Back to my list. I'll read more... as a reminder that I am a work in progress and that smarter men and women have walked the road before me and have much to offer. I'll exercise and drink more water... as a statement that my body is not my own, that I am just its steward. I'll love my wife and family well... because that's how God has loved me in Christ, and I pray they get to experience the love I have.

And at the end of it all, on December 31st, I don't have to be a smarter, more fit, more at peace, or more liked version of the me of early January. I pray I'll be more conformed to the image of Christ. And I pray I will be closer to him. That's a resolution worth keeping, a resolution that empowers all the others.