missio

Yesterday, I headed to Raleigh and Vintage 21 with Pablo for an Acts29 Network luncheon. It was wonderful and uplifting,as usual, and I really learned a lot. I’ll probably total it up in a future post. But for now, I really want to key in on something that Tyler Jones from Vintage21 brought up: the Gospel-driven church. We are increasingly seeing this at Harmony, which is good in that it lets us know that the Gospel is being preached and taught and lived out, but it does indeed increase the “mess.” Here’s a brief diagram that I worked up, and I’ll then explain it after the jump.

Miranda and I are flying out today at 5:45pm. We’re headed to the Desiring God in Minneapolis. I’m stoked about this conference, for a number of reasons:

It’s not going to be flashy. The past few conferences I’ve been to have been mainly about entertainment instead of the Gospel. I couldn’t stand it. Not naming any names, but if you’re headed to Atlanta in a few days, I’m sorry…. It’s going to be on an issue that hits home. This year’s conference is about words. Using words to glorify Christ. It’s an issue I struggle with (yes, pastors struggle). I make many coarse jokes. I belittle people closest to me. I wrestle with how to provide a clearer picture of Jesus to the people I teach. All of these things are going to be brought up and taught at the conference. If nothing else, it will at least bring the topics to the forefront of my mind. It’s in Minneapolis. A major city I’ve never been to. I love traveling, especially with my woman. It’s probably our favorite thing to do together. No family, no friends, no enemies, no church stuff, no work. Just she and I. Relaxing and unwinding while taking in different cultures and places. Miranda gets to fly for the first time. I’m really anxious to do this with her. She and I have been together for a little while now, and there’s been a lot of things that she’s never done that I’ve had the joy of introducing her to. This should be a fun one. The church goes on without me. Echo Groups, Sunday morning, the whole shebang. This is the first Sunday that there will be multiple Echo Groups and a Sunday am gathering without either Miranda or myself. I’m delighted in the leaders that God is raising up in our church, and the community that is forming. From Proctor and Beamon to hosting the Echo Groups to the Vicks’ leading in my absence, to Justin preaching on Sunday morning, it’s awesome to see the vision spread.

To give you a glimpse of the fun this weekend, here’s a little video from Desiring God on using words to the glory of Christ (beware, rated-R language):

This is the third part in the Shalom in the Home blog series. So what do children raised in the Gospel look like? Spiritually speaking, we are the Father’s children, adopted by Him through the blood of His Firstborn, Jesus. As such, we should look at our children in the same way: deserving of our endless love, mercy and grace. At the same time, whenever we sin against God, He brings His discipline upon us. In the same way, we should discipline our children when they sin against us. Let’s look at some Scriptures regarding parenting and child-raising.

The first Scripture section I’d like to take a look at is in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

What this tells us is that children are to be taught the ways of the Lord, from the outset. Right along with reading, writing, and arithmetic, they should learn holiness. To neglect their spiritual upbringing is to neglect their soul, and indeed, to neglect this section of Scripture. Notice that we are to teach them not in a prude way or lackadaisically. We are to teach them diligently. This means faithfully, with hard work. This fits right along with the New Testament teaching that leaders are supposed to “fight the good fight” and are to be “like an ox”. As Christian parents, we must pastor our families with the same intensity that we are to love Jesus as individuals.

Secondly, let’s look at an oft-quoted section of the Psalms, regarding children:

Here we see that the origin and source of children comes from Jesus alone. To have kids is to be blessed; to be rewarded with the “fruit of the womb”. What’s interesting in the next section of Scripture is that children are compared with weaponry. Arrows in the hand of a warrior show that the warrior is armed, and is to be respected. Likewise, children in the hands of a God-fearing man is to be respected, as he is armed to change the world…one little person at a time. To have one’s family full of children is to be blessed with “weaponry” for the Kingdom.

Lastly for our purposes, I want to talk about the parent-children relationship as it is mentioned in Scripture. Check out Ephesians 6:1-4:

This section directly follows the section concerning wives and husbands that we looked at last time in Ephesians 5. Just as before, Paul relates the familial relationship with the Gospel of God. Children obeying their parents is right. We should be raising children to obey their parents, not simply out of respect for them as wise elders, but rather out of respect for the Law of God. It shows the world Christ when children listen to their parents. This is a marvelous revelation! The next phrase has echoes of Jeremiah 29: that when children honor their parents, they will be well and will live long. This too is amazing. It brings to mind the command to the exiles in Jeremiah that they should take wives, build houses, and desire for the prosperity of their city. In doing this, they will be prosperous. In the same way, if children are a part of a Gospel-centered family, they are bringing prosperity to their city, and in turn, they will be made prosperous by the Lord!

Lastly, as always, I want to put a special emphasis on the fathers here…because Paul does. Note that in between verses 4 and 5 there is no admonition to the mothers. There is simply a command to the men to not provoke their children, instead pastoring them in the Gospel and Kingdom of Jesus. Men: it is vitally important that you are not simply masculine figures for your sons and daughters. You must be masculine pastors for your sons and daughters, providing them with discipline, instruction, and example in the faith. That is the command of Scripture.

Where do you measure up, and where do you fall short? Think about it.