Reason For God Study

It was our first week of the study and I think it went well.

I had a long day. Last night I drove to Charlotte for a 50B hearing this morning. It got continued, much to my chagrin, and then I drove back to Raleigh for my 2pm cases. Then I made some intake phone calls, and made off for Holy Trinity Church.

We had about 60 people show up tonight at 7pm. I gave an opening welcome and we flipped on the DVD. Keller is the man, and I enjoy watching him in group settings. The topic was 'Is there really only one way to God?' Always provides good discussion. After the DVD my buddy Aaron spoke, then prayed, and we broke into our small groups.

I lead my small group, but it was too easy. Filled with men who have a heart for Christ. We talked about the issues candidly and openly. Really refreshing, and it inspires me to keep running after God. It's all about the community. The church. The relationship. When I'm with others in prayer, I feel so alive in my faith.

My group signed up for a tuesday night volunteer trip to the Rescue Mission. I'm looking forward to getting to know the guys better and hanging out some. I'm invigorated, and I thank God for the opportunity to be a part of The Well.

Until Tomorrow.

The Reason For God Study

I've been working so hard on getting this study together after work that I'm a little bit delirious. As such, I'm just going to post the study guide that I finished typing up as an example of what I've been doing. Exhausted, but excited. Here's a taste of some of what I've been up to:

The Reason For God - Group Leader Guide 

Your Role: 

Not a teacher. These are tough issues, some of which have been debated within Christianity for over a 

millennia. Even Keller during the DVDʼs has to say ʼI donʼt knowʼ a couple of times. Thatʼs OK. You are a facilitator of discussion, as someone who has read the material and have access to the questions. 

You are a loving servant. Make people feel welcome, and safe to voice their opinions. Everyone will be at a different point in their spiritual journey. Trust in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit to guide the way. The issues are deep, and conversation will flow if people feel relaxed and safe. 

First Meeting: 

Have everyone go around and introduce themselves, and why they chose to do the study. Play the name 

game if necessary. Get email addresses, share your contact info and establish the rules of the group. (1. 

confidential, 2. no question is too stupid 3. Weʼre set to end every night no later than 8:45, although 

lingerers are welcome.) 

Techniques: 

1) Always be prepared. Read, answer the questions, and pray. 

2) If unsure, tell them that youʼll research a topic over the week. (Be sure to follow up). Always feel free to take it to Willa or another group leader that week. 

3) Donʼt preach or be dogmatic. Encourage discussion in a way that allows for a variety of perspectives. 

Build the trust. 

4) Donʼt fear the silence after you pose a question. 

5) Use open ended questions like ʻWhat do you think?ʼ or ʻHow do you feel...ʼ 

6) Avoid questions that encourage yes or no answers. Watch Keller do this during the vids. 

7) Use ʻThe Ger Methodʼ. If an answer is confusing or just flat out wrong...nod thoughtfully and 

say...ʼThatʼs great mate...anyone else?ʼ 

8) Model servanthood, love and care. Create friendships. 

Final Thoughts 

This book is sort of like the graduate level course of Strobelʼs ʻCase for Christʼ. It can be a challenging 

venture for people. It will be helpful to the group if you have been diligent in reading the chapters. Because the answers donʼt come from the DVD...they are laid out in those chapters. The DVD 

discussions however, will provide a great example of leading a small group in discussion. 

Lastly...our main objective isnʼt to prove that Kellerʼs right or that any objection to Christianity is baseless. Our objective is to build relationships and model the grace of Christ. In Yates' sermon last week he talked about doing more than just giving. Itʼs all about sharing life with people. Get to know your group. Make them feel welcome, and welcome their thoughts and ideas. Follow up with them. Email them. Care about them. 

First Cor 2:1-5 

And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spiritʼs power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on Godʼs power.

Gearing up for the Keller Bible Study

I've been working on this Bible study that I'm hosting. I pray that it goes well. We've got around 70 people signed up and this book can be challenging. It's not exactly a beach novel. But I'm trusting in the Holy Spirit. I can only offer it up, and people will do with it what they will. 

As I was reviewing the vids tonight Keller mentioned a world war one poet named Edward Shillito. He wrote a poem addressing the comfort we receive when we understand that God has experienced our pain. I think it's beautiful.

Jesus of the Scars

If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;

Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;

We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow;

We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.

The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;

In all the universe we have no place.

Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?

Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars we claim Thy grace.

If when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,

Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;

We know today what wounds are; have no fear;

Show us Thy Scars; we know the countersign.

The other gods were strong, but Thou wast weak;

They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;

But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,

And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.

Back In Action

Had an awesome, rejuvenating meeting with The Well leadership team tonight.

http://www.htc-r.org/the-well.htm

We're guiding about 70 young adults through the book 'A Reason For God' by Tim Keller. Getting an eight week program together for something like this is intense. There was 8 of us around a table just getting to work for the glory of God. It felt awesome, and was just what I needed after a week of feeling a bit restless with my faith. We'll have a kick off party in about 10 days. We'll have food and various tables set up with mission opportunities, info about our church, registration etc. Then each week after, I'll give a quick intro to the group, we'll watch a dvd, and then break up into small groups to discuss. The topics are challenging, and deal with the overall theme of reconciling the existence of God in a post modern world.

I am really pumped. It's one of my favorite books. I'll be working this week at getting the study guide together. I'm going to be crazy busy. Work in itself sometimes holds me down for close to 12 hours in a  day. And now I'm gearing up for this study. But I'm excited. I feel invigorated for this. God has me all inspired again. He's truly amazing. If DWI defense law got me this worked up, I can only imagine what kind of attorney I'd be...

Well, I need to sign off. I've got some work to do to get this thing off the ground.

Much Love.

How Can A Loving God Send People To Hell?

More From Tim Keller:

Modern people inevitably think that hell works like this: God gives us time, but if we havn't made the right choices by the end of our lives, he casts our souls into hell for all eternity. As the poor souls fall through space, they cry out for mercy, but God says "Too late! You had your chance! Now you will suffer!" This caricature misunderstands the very nature of evil. The biblical picture is that sin seperates us from the presence of God, which is the source of all joy, and indeed of all love, wisdom, or good things of any sort. Since we were originally created for God's immediate presence, only before his face will we thrive, flourish and acheive our highest potential. If we were to lose his presence totally, that would be hell - the loss of our capability for giving or receiving love or joy.

A common image of hell in the Bible is that of fire. Fire disintegrates. Even in this life we can see the kind of soul disintegration that self-centeredness creates. We know how selfishness and self absorption leads to piercing bitterness, nauseating envy, paralyzing anxiety, paranoid thoughts, and the mental denials and distortions that accompany them. Now ask the question: "What if when we die we don't end, but spiritually our life extends into eternity?" 

Hell, then, is the trajectory of a soul, living a self-absorbed, self-centered life, going on and on forever.

Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16 supports this view of hell. Lazarus is a poor man who begs at the gate of a cruel rich man. They both die and Lazarus goes to heaven while the rich man goes to hell. There he looks up and sees Lazarus in heaven 'in Abraham's bosom':

--So he called to him "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire." But Abraham replied "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross from over there to us." He answered, "Then I beg you father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment!" Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them." "No father Abraham," he said. "but if someone from the dead goes to them they will repent." He said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."--

What is astonishing is that though their status's have now been reversed, the rich man seems to be blind to what has happened. He still expects Lazarus to be his servant and treats him as his water boy. He does not ask to get out of hell, but strongly implies that God never gave him or his family enough information about the afterlife. Commentators have noted the astonishing amount of denial, blame shifting, and spiritual blindness in this soul in hell. They have also noted that the rich man, unlike Lazarus, is never given a personal name. He is only called "a rich man", strongly hinting that since he had built his identity on his wealth rather than on God, once he lost his wealth he lost any sense of a self.

In short, hell is simply one's freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity.

We see this process 'writ small' in addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling, and pornography. First, there is disintegration, because as time goes on you need more and more of the addictive substance to get an equal kick, which leads to less and less satisfaction. Second, there is isolation, as you increasingly blame others and circumstances in order to justify your behavior. "No one understands! Everyone is against me!" is muttered in greater and greater self-pity and self absorption. When we build our lives on anything but God, that thing - though a good thing - becomes an enslaving addiction, something we have to have to be happy. When you lose all humility you become out of touch with reality. 

No one ever asks to leave hell. The very idea of heaven seems to them a sham.

In his fantasy, The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis describes a busload of people from hell who come to the outskirts of heaven. They are urged to leave behind the sins that trapped them in hell - but they refuse. Lewis' description of these people are striking because we recognize in them the self delusion and self absorption that are 'writ small' in our own addictions. Lewis writes:

"Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others...but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. There will be no YOU left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God 'sending us' to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE HELL unless it is nipped in the bud."

The people in hell are miserable, but Lewis shows us why. We see raging like unchecked flames their pride, their paranoia, their self pity, their certainty that everyone else is wrong, that everyone else is an idiot! All their humility is gone, and thus so is their sanity. They are utterly, finally locked in a prison of their own self centeredness, and their pride progressively expands into a bigger and bigger mushroom cloud. They continue to go to pieces forever, blaming everyone but themselves. Hell is that, writ large.

That is why it is a travesty to picture God casting people into a pit who are crying "I'm sorry! Let me out!" The people on the bus from Lewis' parable would rather have their 'freedom', as they define it, than salvation. Their delusion is that, if they glorified God, they would somehow lose power and freedom, but in a supreme and tragic irony, their choice has ruined their own potential for greatness. 

Hell is, as Lewis says "the greatest monument to human freedom." As Romans 1:24 says God "gave them up to...their desires." All God does in the end with people is give them what they most want, including freedom from himself. What could be more fair than that? Lewis writes:

"There are only two kinds of people - those who say 'Thy will be done' to God or those to whom God in the end says 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell choose it. 


Without that self choice, it wouldn't be Hell.

Thinking Back On Keller

I keep thinking back on this point that Keller made during one of his talks at the Anglican 1000. He said that if you believe in salvation by faith alone, you have to believe in predestination. Keller is a Calvinist. Obviously, there are different variances on the predestination discussion, but it is a sensitive topic for those who can't believe that an all loving God would predetermine that some people are going to hell.

The point Keller made was that if you take any credit, however slight, for believing the gospel message over someone who heard and did not believe, than you are giving yourself commendation for that...and as a result are invoking some sort of 'works based' theology into your faith.

I'm having trouble digesting this. I think it takes away from free will. The only good explanation I have for the existence of evil is that some people choose it. It doesn't make sense that God would preordain some people choosing it. Ugh...I've got to go back to the books it seems. 

I'm going to develop this further on my own and write a follow up tomorrow night. At the very least...I'm going to write a bit on Calvinism's five points and the different schools of thought within Calvinism like Arminianism. 

But for now, it's late, and I want to hang out with my wife before she collapses into a sleepy heap.

Much Love

My Thoughts on the Anglican 1000

Well, I've had a couple days to digest my 3 days away this week.

In case all two of you missed a previous post, I travelled to Texas to spend time with fellow Anglicans, (mostly priests), to reconnect and move forward in my faith. Some notable's present were Tim Keller, ArchBishop Robert Duncan, and Bishop Todd Hunter. I got to spend time with some good friends and reconnect with the former Rector of our Church, who is planting a new church in Baltimore. I met amazing, vibrant people who are working hard to make the planet a better place. I made connections with some wonderful people. I went with a great friend of mine from church. He is similar to me in that we know we've always got to be moving forward in our faith.

I flew on a plane. Four times. It became easier, although I was never really comfortable in the air. Three months ago however, the sight of a plane in the sky used to send a shiver of fear down my spine. It really has begun turning into a phobia. I think it's a cross between claustro and aero phobias. But, nonetheless I went boldly into the deep waters at Christ's beckoning. I will always be bold for Christ. He tells us not to fear many times in the Bible. So I took that to heart, manned up and went for it. I hardly whimpered.

Part of my discernment this year is to focus on how the question: How far I want to take my faith walk? Do I want to go to seminary? Will I be as effective as a lay minister? Do I need a degree for that? Can I be an attorney the rest of my life? Do I want to plant a church? I feel like I moved closer to some answers.

I talked about the subject with some smart people. Men and women that have been down the same road, and are still traveling down the road. I think that there's something to be said for connecting to people without a collar on. I think the collar can actually make it harder to build trust at times. As a regular guy, I am easier to approach, and people will often be less suspicious of agenda. I still hunger for knowledge though. We'll see...I think another degree is certainly on my horizon, but with the time devoted to family and the law firm...it may have to wait a while.

I'm convinced that the more you make Christ a priority, the more better you can hear him speak to you through the Holy Spirit. The more you exercise your faith in his plan for your life, the more he'll show up. God rewards the faithful. I want to do His will. Prayer was a constant theme at this conference. Prayer time is key to renewing spiritual energy. If your not healthy spiritually, everything else falls apart. I'm still devoted to praying in the morning and night, and developing my skill at it. It certainly takes some practice. I still want to jump right in to my needs as soon as I get started. That's an awful habit that I'm finding hard to kick.

Anyway...much love. t's back to some real world grind. Caught between two worlds.

Until next time. 

Tim Keller's Third Talk

Dr. Keller discussed the term of art called 'contextualization' in his second talk of the conference. Think of it as: What context should I put the gospel in for my audience?


Contextualization Dr Keller - 1/26/2011

Contextualization - to put (a linguistic element, an action, etc.) in a context, especially one that is characteristic or appropriate, as for purposes of study. giving answers to peoples questions in a way they understand.  The trick is not overadapting or underadapting. Ministry has to be contextualized for the mission culture at hand. This culture can be almost any demographic/social trait.  Most boring sermons arent unbiblical, they havnt properly been contextualized for the audience.

We get to understand the gospel better, because we realize how the gospel is contextualized in our own culture so that we are able to present the gospel to other cultures.

Context is invisible to us. You don't ask a fish about water. We only understand our own culture when we've left it for a certain period of time. To return after some years, may make you even better at contextualizing to your home audience.

-When spreading the Gospel there is no reason not to adapt our gospel to the surrounding environment. You can do that without losing the gospel truth. Your cultural preferences shouldn't be on the same altar as the gospel truth.

Biblical themes that have have the largest effect / motivation on people:

1. Fear of judgment or death

2. Relieve the burden of guilt or shame

3. The beauty of the Gospel itself

4. Satisfaction of unfulfilled longings (woman at the well)

5. Desire for freedom

6. Attractiveness of the grace and love of Jesus. (don't you want him!?)

We have to use all these appeals when sharing the gospel, we cannot simply use the one that appealed most to us. Various cultures and groups will respond to some of these more than others...(this is not a complete list.)

Sme great examples of Paul appealing to different cultures:

Acts 13:16-43 - Paul knew he could assume that the Jews would be living with Old Test. Theology as furniture in their mind.

Acts 14 - Paul presents to blue collar pagans

Acts 17 - Paul appeals to white collar pagans at Mars Hill

Read these and look at the different ways that Paul preaches.

***See John Stott's commentary on Acts!!

Go to 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 Most important of all texts on contextualization. The Greeks seeked wisdom, the Jews seeked for justice and righteousness. The cross was foolishness to both of these groups. Or did it answer both of see groups aspirations?!! Paul skillfully confronts and completes the baseline cultural narrative of both these groups.

There are some things about Christianity that will resonate more with people.

Popular doctrines = logs (grace & love)

Unpopular doctrines = stones (pre-marital sex & predestination*)

If you want to get your doctrines across the river, you must lash your logs together, and place your stones on top. You cannot lash your stones together and put your logs on top.

With contextualization, do not over adapt, or under adapt. But when you do adapt, you must confront the false issues of the day...if you do not confront these issues, you run the risk of becoming a club, not a church. (Don't forget to attach the stones to the logs).

There are different ways to talk about sin, for example...so if you culture looks at being good as being more important than being free...then talk about sin as idolatry.

*John Calvin interpreted predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others. Keller is a Calvinist. Point: You can only believe in free grace (which is one of the five points of Calvinism) if you believe in predestination. Otherwise, you have to admit that the reason you follow Christ and someone else doesn't is because you are a bit better than them. Your works have put you in a better position to receive Christ. You must take credit for something you've done, over something they've done. As soon as you begin doing this, your faith isn't something that was completed through christs work, and given freely to you...It's salvation by works, by your own merit.

The Bible gives you an entire medicine chest to use to treat spiritual illness, you just have to pick the right medication for the patient(s).

When trying to get around a boulder do not:

1. Put your explosives on the outside of the rock, then run away; or

2. Drill a hole all the way to the middle of the boulder, but not put any explosives in the center.

You have to drill all the way to the center of the boulder (or person) and the ignite the explosives (the Gospel)

Tim Keller's Second Talk

Tim Keller - Revival - Spiritual Renewal


Keller's Experience With Revivals
Tim is a product of the Jesus movement. 60's on college campuses. Asbury revival. inter varsity in college, it began to grow. The same thing was happening on other campuses. It was a revival, a spiritual renewal.
The same thing happened when he started his Presbyterian Church in NY. Maybe for 18 months, a couple hundred came to the faith. 


19th Century Revivals
Charles Spurgeon saw more people come to faith in his 3 years in London than during the rest of his ministry. George Whitfield, John Wesley etc. Other Anglicans started revivals. Why?Then industrial revolution, America too big for parish system and no national church, and people started reading the scripture. The question became...have you been born again? Have you really been converted? Yes you've been circumcised in the flesh, but have you been in the heart? Youre observing all the ordinances, but have you been born again? Phil 3


What is a Revival?
We must do more than play church. We must promote revival in our congregations. Revival is an intensification of the ordinary operations of the holy spirit. The holy spirit anoints and convicts and assures. When those things are intensified, for one year or one night...whatever, 1857-1860 80k people joined churches in NY city. 1/3 of northern Ireland came into the church. When it happens, sleepy Christians wake up, nominal Believers in God come to you and say...I had no idea this was possible. I must be converted to Christianity. Skeptics come to the church because the legalism is replaced by grace.

Means for promoting Revivals:
1) extraordinary prayer (there should be ordinary prayer anyway)
2) the recovery of the gospel (unite with Christ, faith alone)
3) people become a case study for revival (the penny drops, and the formerly average person becomes remarkably filled with grace)
4) places, venues, experience meetings - (william williams brought people together to process what was happening to them.)
5) creativity - Wesley and whitfield started outdoor preaching. (tears down the miners faces) (getting the gospel out in a new way).

If revival really comes, it's the end of the delta affect. Theology, worship and liturgy, social justice aren't specialties for each church, but vital churches combine all those things.

Alexander the great. One of his generals sent word saying his daughters was getting married. A sent a treasurer out there. The general asked for an exhorbative sum. A the great says, give it to him. He must believe I'm both rich and generous! Don't be afraid to ask for a lot. He is both rich and generous.


Pray for a Revival.

Tim Keller's First Talk

At the Anglican 1000 conference, hosted by Christ Church in Plano, TX, on January 25, 2011, Tim Keller answers the question, “What is a movement?”

Keller contrasts movements with institutions in 4 distinct ways:

    •     Movements are held together by a compelling vision VS. Institutions are held together by rules and procedures. 

    •     Movements advocate for others and are characterized by a culture of sacrificial commitment VS. Institutions advocate for insiders and are characterized by a culture of rights, quotas, and obligations. 

    •     Movements cultivate a culture of innovation, risk, flexibility and quick decision making VS. Institutions cultivate a culture of static ideas and slow decision making. 

    •     Movements attract, and are lead by,  energetic and ambitious people that do not struggle in raising resources; these people produce results VS Institutions struggle with leadership development and raising resources while being lead by people with tenure and connections.

Biblical Mandate. Keller goes on to talk about the Biblical mandate for movements by pointing to the book of Acts where we see “the word of God multiplied” and “the disciples multiplied” numerous times. But, Keller also notes that there is precedence for institutionalizing or at least organizing. In Acts and other New Testament letters, we see the Apostles appointing elders and overseers to protect the early churches from false doctrines.

We see that while churches must be part of a movement there is also room and a mandate for institutionalization in an effort to create order and protect the church. The challenge is balancing them. You must institutionalize a movement to execute a vision. If the vision changes every week it doesn't work. If the vision is over-institutionalized then it becomes benign and lifeless. There is a danger of holding on to a vision too long, and it's difficult to discern when to let go. Keller recommends 5 ways to maintain a movement.

5 Ways to Maintain a Movement: 

1. Spiritual Revival & Renewal. If people are white hot spiritually, then they will continue to engage sacrificially. You must smite people with the presence of God. These are the people that will live sacrificially. Fear, pride, selfishness, and self-righteousness are the great protectors of the over-institutionalized church.

2. Vision. There must be a distinct, simple, and compelling (persuasive) communication of the vision. You must have all three pieces. Make sure your vision statement is a vision and not just a tactic. Your vision must be Biblical, distinctive, and true to your gifts. You must be able to describe your vision for the future so that people can see it and want to go there. 

3. Innovation. You must create a culture of innovation. If you ask for feedback, you must respond to the feedback; if you don’t ask or do not respond, you will crush the spirit of innovation. It's equally important to associate with people that share your same core tenets of the faith but work in a different tradition or do things differently than you. These people will prophetically share with you your weaknesses.

4. Organic Systems for Producing Leaders. Movements attract leaders. If you are going to participate in a movement you must have a leadership pipeline and infrastructure to train and support new leaders.

5. Movements are enhanced by church planting. Church Planting is the best research and development for your network. 

Dynamic churches are self-sustaining and propagating standing on their own and are in no need of being propped up or assisted. To be dynamic the church must balance between movement and institution, ever aware of the natural tendency to migrate toward institutionalization.

Anglican 1000 Conference Day 1

Got up at 4am Raleigh time. Picked up by my buddy and his girl at 445. Rolled into RDU in a sweet range rover. Met 3 priests on the plane from chapel hill all saints anglican. Arrived in Texas at around 1030pm. Got a Nissan Altima, and rolled towards Plano from the airport. Stopped at chipotle. My burrito weighed 11 pounds. Got to Christ Church just as the 12noon prayer began. ArchBishop Duncan was there for the service. Partook in the Holy Eucharist. Filtered in to the conference hall. Saw Mike Boone and David Drake. So awesome. Learned that JY3 would be getting in later that night. Got some updates from church planters around the country. Listened to a talk by Keller on 'movements'. Went to dinner with JY3 and Jed Roseberry. Talked about church planting. Back to Christ Church for Evensong. Scripture took us through the apostle pauls journey from persecution to prosecution. Keller gave the homily on revivals. Beautiful choir voices, beautiful sanctuary. Long line for Keller after the service. Exhausted. Went to sleep after being up from 3am to 11pm Texas time. Stayed at a hosts home. Great amenities and wonderful graciousness shown to us by the hosts from Christ Church Plano.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Plano Texas