A Community of Cruciformity

I want to write a book.  I think I am going to go for it after I graduate from seminary next May.  I want it to edify the church by using the word, "cruciformity", and how it fits within the missional framework of what the church is called to know/be/do.  For me, it all started with the book by Michael Gorman called, Apostle of the Crucified Lord.  In it, Gorman writes:

The inseparable interconnections of Father, Son and Spirit in Paul's experience lead to (or perhaps derive from) an important, and distinctively Pauline claim: that God is cruciform, or crosslike.  (The word 'cruciform' literally means 'in the shape of a cross,' but it can be used metaphorically.)  That is, we learn from Paul that the cross of Christ is not only initiated by God, it reveals God.  Christ crucified is the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-25). (Pages 118-119).

Also Gorman writes,

For Paul the death of Jesus is not only revelatory, representative, and redemptive...but also paradigmatic. The essence of believing existence is conformity to the crucified Christ, or cruciformity.  Though cruciformity may involve suffering, it is much more comprehensive than that.  Paul twice refers to it as the "law of Christ," or the narrative pattern of the crucified Messiah (Galatians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 9:21).  This narrative pattern refers specifically to the kind of "faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6) that is rooted in the cross, where the Son of God expressed his faith (faithfulness, obedience) by giving himself in love (Galatians 2:19-20).  He did not seek his own welfare but that of others, as Paul's master story tells it (Philippians 2:1-11).  This is the pattern of life for all believers: faith toward God, love toward others.  Faith oriented toward the future is hope; thus Paul summarizes believing existence as a life of faith, hope, and love. (Page 140).

I wonder what the body of Christ in America could look like if we were to embrace suffering. I am not saying that we are to be stupid (God has given us brain power!); rather we ought to be living in such a way that we not only reflect Christ, but embody him as well.  It would seem historically that when the Church grew the most, it was when she was persecuted. Maybe we've gotten a little too comfy here in the US of A.  I want that book someday to empower churches to take risks for the sake of Christ. Try something different and pray that God would use it.  Be a cruciform community of faith.

Missional Mondays: Ed Stetzer vs. Al

Wanna Be Missional?

Think Dell Computers and then take the time to read this post from Ed Stetzer dot com.  Seriously.  Even coming from a Mac guy, this is good.

Lead For The City

I'm doing my best to try and watch this today and tomorrow (I'm way to busy during the day with a little thing called work), but there is a conference going on in St. Louis called Lead For The City .  It is sponsored by the Acts 29 Network and the Resurgence.  They are doing a free web-cast of the event here and the schedule of the events can be seen here.  Check it out!

One-Point Calvinist?

Scott Thomas, director of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network, recently blogged about Calvinism and the need for all 5-points because each of them directly rely on the other.  He writes,

As a church planter, I received more arguments over our position of Reformed Theology than I did everything else combined. It angered the most faithful of Christians and confused others. Only a handful, I believed, truly understood the doctrine of salvation as described in the Bible. It was a point of contention that got people off mission--even though it was not presented in a polarizing manner.

Recently I read The Five Points of Calvinism co-authored by David Steele, Curtis Thomas and Lance Quinn (P&R Publishing). I felt it was a shepherdly treatise on the doctrines of grace that can help the layman to understanding the centrality of God in the salvation of man. The book quotes JI Packer, whom I had the pleasure of spending the day with recently. I think his explanation of Calvinism as "one point" is brilliant.

Packer said, "The very act of setting out Calvinistic soteriology [the doctrine of salvation] in the form of five distinct points (a number due, as we saw, merely to the fact that there were five Arminian points for the Synod of Dort to answer) tends to obscure the organic character of Calvinistic thought on this subject. For the five points, though separately stated, are inseparable. They hang together; you cannot reject one without rejecting them all, at least in the sense in which the Synod meant them. For to Calvinism there is really only one point to be made in the field of soteriology: the point that God saves sinners.

"God – the Triune Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit; three Persons working together in sovereign wisdom, power and love to achieve the salvation of a chosen people, the Father electing, the Son fulfilling the Father’s will by redeeming, the Spirit executing the purpose of Father and Son by renewing.

"Saves – does everything, first to last, that is involved in bringing man from death in sin to life in glory: plans, achieves and communicates redemption, calls and keeps, justifies, sanctifies, glorifies.

"Sinners – men as God finds them, guilty, vile, helpless, powerless, unable to lift a finger to do God’s will or better their spiritual lot. God saves sinners – and the force of this confession may not be weakened by disrupting the unity of the work of the Trinity, or by dividing the achievement of salvation between God and man and making the decisive part man’s own, or by soft-pedalling the sinner’s inability so as to allow him to share the praise of his salvation with his Saviour. This is the one point of Calvinistic soteriology which the “five points” are concerned to establish and Arminianism in all its forms to deny: namely, that sinners to not save themselves in any sense at all, but that salvation, first and last, whole and entire, past, present and future, is of the Lord, to whom be glory for ever; amen."

J.I. Packer, “Introductory Essage,” in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, by John Owen (London: Banner of Truth, 1959) 4-5.

Very good.

John Piper's New Jacket

The Gospel in North Philly

Epiphany Fellowship in North Philadelphia recently had an event called: Concert, Classroom, Corner.  Thousands came by, interacted with the saints from Epiphany, and heard the Gospel loud and clear.  Praise God for breaking through the Urban, Hip-Hop culture in Philadelphia!  Read more from Shai Linne , who performed at the event, here .

ESV Translation...

Rather than completely re-hashing why I like the ESV, take a look at the article written by Mark Driscoll, that explains why the ESV is a great translation and why their church uses it.  I had a long post almost done and I realized that I could have written more but with time being of utmost value to me and my family, I'll just let you read someone else's views that I would completely agree with.  Enjoy.

PS: Check out the ESV Website for things like: Philosophy of Translation, Gender Issues, and Interviews.

Death By Love

Missional Mondays - Living on Mission

I've found that this shift in thinking, brought about by the Emerging Church, is scary for people.  They think it's a cult, or some form of heresy that has resurfaced, like Socinianism.  The term itself is a junk-drawer term that really has a lot of facets to it, but at the heart of it all is four letter word: sent.  The idea is simple.  We Are Sent (this is a sermon that I preached a while ago).  It's easy.  God, being a sending God, sends his Church.  We are to Go.  We don't stand idle...we go.  And that is what living on mission is.  It's a reorientation of your thinking and philosophy of life that brings you back to Scripture.  It brings you back to what the Church is supposed to be doing.  Live on a mission because you are on a mission.  To spread the Gospel.  To spread the Supremacy of Christ in all things.  GO!

Entertainment-Driven Ministry?

My wife and I had the exhausting pleasure of attending a service at a "church" this past Sunday.  I had heard about it before and wanted to see the new plant.  I have a headache right now trying to describe to you the atrocities that we saw.  The story begins...

"Hey how ya doing?" said the 'pastor'.  "Good" we replied...as the conversation went to an end, he replied: (I'm not lying about this.  He really said it). "Have fun in there".  I thought to myself "Have Fun?!?"  My wife even scowled as the phrase resonated through our brains.  Have fun. In there.

The first 5 minutes of the 'experience' was interesting, and after hearing this phrase, we knew we were in for a treat.

As we walked in, Bon Jovi was playing through the speakers (mind you, this was in a middle school cafeteria too).  Bon Jovi? A Christian?  Interesting.  As we sat down the band was on stage and ready to start.  Their opening song? That's right.  You guessed it.  U2's "I Still Can't Find What I'm Looking For".  Nobody stood, and the song title was the only thing that appeared on the screen.  Everyone 'watched'.  (If they can't find what they are looking for, then they should go to a different church!)
After this, the band received a warm round of applause.  THEN...the next song title appeared on the screen.  It read: Show Me The Way.  The drummer started to sing, and sure enough, it was the song by Styx.  Again, nobody stood, no words were shown, and everyone clapped when the 'concert' was over.

After this, the 'pastor' got on stage and began to talk about amusement parks.  Lucky for us, we were there during the series entitled: "Amusements Parks and Spirituality".  I'm not joking.  I should have guessed it when I saw a huge dart game on stage, along with a dice game and a circle 'o fun.  Yup.  REAL props were used.  Quite frankly we did feel like we were at an Amusement Park.

It must have been a VERY special Sunday because the 'pastor' went ahead and interviewed a Carny. This Carny had been in the business for 30 some years! The 'pastor' went ahead and interviewed him by asking him questions about how a Carny goes about getting people to play.  After a pathetic/tiring 20 minutes, the interview was over and I think the 'pastor' then gave his sermon.  The 'topic' from the 'pastor' had to do with Desire and Deception and how those things interact in our 'spiritual' lives.  The example used of course was the amusement park. (I could hardly follow his points to be honest).  Mind you, at this point, the name of Jesus hadn't been said once, and neither was a bible verse discussed.  Much to my surprise, a verse from James appeared on the screen.  It was James 1:14-15.  Apparently that verse talks about amusement parks and deception/desire.  I swear up and down it was a proof-text if I've ever seen one!  And the 'pastor' only spent about 5 minutes on the verse.  After that he went on to give what felt like a Joel Osteen lecture.  After finishing this discussion, he prayed (even in 'Jesus' name'!), invited a few people on stage who were going this week to New Mexico for a missions trip (prayed for them again in Jesus' name) and the band picked up the rest of the service by playing a song called "Collide" by who knows who.  

The name of Jesus was not hallowed.  Scripture was not taught.  Ideas were tossed to and fro about 'how to have a better life'.  Worship was not there.  Heck, the Spirit wasn't there.  At all.  I promise.  Yet again, during that last song, everyone sat down and watched and they received an even bigger applause when they were done.  Sadly enough, (pray for this church) 200 people walked out as if they worshipped God that morning.

Social Justice?

I've been thinking a lot lately about society as a whole and even more specifically, how society views what we will call the "social outcasts". Maybe these people don't have as much money or possessions as the rest of people. But simply because you don't have the same thing doesn't necessarily mean you are an "outcast". Let's dig deeper...

The Emergent people often talk about "social justice" and even Bono from U2 talked about it at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2006.  The term has really gained steam through people like Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Rob Bell, N.T. Wright (their ringleader), America's Pastor (Rick Warren) and many more.  The common denominator for these names is relative to "emergent/emerging" or even a propensity to social things.  

Now, before I go on to slam (Read: critique) these people, I want to make it clear that I am a Social Worker.  I understand these things because I work in the nitty-gritty of inner-city Philadelphia.  I'm not ignorant to this, but I can say with certainty, they need more than a hand-out.  Which leads me to my next point.  What is the Gospel?

I've heard countless quotes from the people listed above and each speak of "feeding the hungry" and "helping the poor" because "that's what Jesus did".  Actually, I'm pretty certain that Christ was ushering in the Kingdom (not in FULL yet Mr. Emergents who want to bring the Kingdom to the earth NOW...Greg Boyd) and preach the good news that pertains to...ready for this??? FORGIVENESS OF SINS...THE MESSIAH...THE MEDIATOR...THE BRINGER OF THE NEW COVENANT...GOD HIMSELF...etc.

Is helping people nice? Yes, but if they don't get the Gospel, then it's not nice because then they go to hell and then what?  (Unless you deny hell...which doesn't make it go away of course). Point being this: taking care of the "oppressed" is a direct result of the Gospel, not vice-a-versa. To make things worse, this "new and improved Gospel 2.0" leaves out forgiveness of sins and then puts Jesus on the cross needlessly because He's really "not" the only way to heaven.  Bull-Junk.  It's heresy.  Nonetheless,

It's not actually "justice".  It's mercy and grace.  Justice is something different.  That has to do with righteousness and being "fair".  Guess what? This is an important distinction because we live in America and the same freedoms are offered to every individual.  We aren't to make the people who have less have more based upon the standard of someone else.  That's not justice, nor is it really mercy.  I myself don't have as much as Bill Gates, but does that mean that I'm oppressed? No.  So the standard ought not to be what people have, rather how people are treated.  A homeless person in Philadelphia has the same opportunities that I have had in life. Is he homeless because of a drug addiction? Well...that's just bad decision making.  Do I still love him and give him the gospel? Yes. But to say that it is "justice" to make someone fit a certain category is hypocrisy and downright wrong.  That's not Justice.  That's consumeristic America trying to call all the shots.

The greek word used in Matthew 5:3 is Ptochos. It's used 35 times in the New Testament.  Rick Warren and Tony Campolo believe that there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible that speak of 'social justice'.  Sure the book of Amos and the prophets speak of this (not 2,000 times!), but let's keep it in context.  Don't place your 2008 understanding of American culture and force it on the Old Testament.  

Also, we must keep in mind that there is a difference between "poor" and "persecuted".  I know some VERY happy/blessed Christians in Senegal West Africa who would be considered "poor" to American standards.  They don't see it this way, but we do.  Therefore we think we have to jump in and just fix everything.  Don't get me wrong, parts of Africa simply need a nice well to drink from.  But again, we as Christians must preach the Gospel, otherwise, again, we are simply making this world a better place to go to hell from.  And that's not nice.

Sorry...

for the lack of blogging.  I know tens and tens of you depend on a daily dose of Jason Garwood Dot Com.  The reason for my lack-of-articulation is because I have been drowning in a sea of book reading that turned into a massive amount of work at school.  Literally I had to digest two books, and give a presentation on each...and the second book actually was broken into 2 separate presentations.  Nontheless, you didn't pay your money to listen to me rant.  The books I read are:

The Missional Leader: By Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk

Leading Congregational Change: Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem & James H. Furr

The Missional Leader is a solid book, dealing with discontinuous change in a postmodern world.  Getting away from programs and getting to relational ministry is the scope of this book. I highly recommend this book to leaders trying to understand the postmodern ethos.

Leading Congregational Change is another solid book that deals with change in a congregation.  The model takes a change-leader through 8 steps of change while keeping in focus 4 leadership disciplines.  At the center of this model, a congregation must have a vibrant and ready Spiritual and Relational Vitality.   Anyhow, get the books...especially if you are a leader.  They are goooood..

The Loneliness of Leadership.

This past weekend I was away at a retreat for my school. The topic of loneliness in leadership was well presented by my good friend Pastor Anderson. We talked about how being leaders in ministry can be a VERY lonely place, especially when dealing with issues like: betrayal, ethnicity's, gender, theologies/doctrine, busy-ness, etc.  Leaders are often put on a pedestal, so how does one remain humble through it, and give Glory to God instead?  How do you deal with being so busy that you start to sacrifice things like family, work, job, spiritual walk, etc.

Being lonely is a real thing for leaders.  We talked about how setting up leaders that walk next to you (rather than behind you) can prevent some of that.  We talked about God's calling in our lives as leaders and how that is what we are to do and we can't let other things keep us busy (i.e., don't watch so much television!).  While we didn't exactly get any direct answers, we didn't need them; we did get to discuss a lot and hear from a lot of different perspectives, which can be very edifying.  It was an 'iron sharpens iron' type setup and I loved it.

9Marks.org

Check out the site here.  GOOD stuff....9 Marks for a church:

1. Expositional Preaching

2. Biblical Theology

3. Biblical Understanding of the Good News

4.  Biblical Understanding of Conversion

5.  Biblical Understanding of Evangelism

6. Biblical Understanding of Church Membership

7. Biblical Church Discipline

8. Promotion of Christian Discipleship and Growth

9. Biblical Understanding of Leadership

Can you tell there is a high emphasis on Scripture?

Is your church a 9-Marks church?

Going on right NOW.

Check out the site here.

Audio will be posted here and here when it is available in a couple weeks. Definitely worth checking out!

The "M" Word and Philadelphia...

...it's not that bad.  It's just a word right?  Would you dare say it in front of women and children?...

I vote YES.  (Even in front of a man!)

Not all people have accepted the "junk-drawer" term, (we know this by horrible ecclesiology and/or horrible cultural engagement) but I think the word needs to be said.

Missional.  (There.  I said it.)  Why Philadelphia?

Because people in Philadelphia NEED JESUS and they need Him NOW.  What did Paul say in his letter sent to Rome?  {I'll give it to ya anyway}

Romans 10:14,15

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

If you read my post a few days or so ago, I mentioned a Metro-Philly gathering.  It was yesterday, and it was awesome.  Guys from all sorts of backgrounds came.  (Even SBC & A29!).  Church planters, established plants, bi-vocational pastors, and "I just wanna tell people about Jesus" people came too.  I'm going to have the audio on the ReaLife Church website someday soon so check it out if you can.

The "M" Word in Philadelphia is the means by which we preach the Gospel (along with other means of course) and Christ ought to penetrate the city with the help of everyone.

Have a good weekend.

Oh, and Ed Stetzer wrote up a piece about his experience being the speaker at this event here.

Mission...

On December 14th, 2007 there will be a "Metro-Philly Missional Church Gathering" here in Philadelphia.  Come one come all.  Topic of discussion: THE GOSPEL.  The city needs the Gospel and this city needs it now.  We want to get anyone in the sphere of influence to be involved so Church Planting can be at its most effective state-of-operation.  For more information visit: www.realifephilly.org

Hope to see you there!

church planting

I had the pleasure of joining the planters and potential planters for the Acts 29 Network boot-camp here in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I was unable to confirm any preconceived bias because I had never been to one before and let's face it: we should always be teachable.

The boot-camp consists of 2 days  of intense sessions geared towards the realities of church planting and the Biblical justifications behind it.  The highlight of the events were most indeed the sessions taught by guys like Chan Kilgore from Orlando, Ed Stetzer, Daniel Montgomery, Tyler Jones and Pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle.  O how God has gifted these guys.  I never understood church planting too much and after 2 days of intense training, I left with a different mindset.

I had the privilege of meeting every one of these guys and have felt extremely blessed because of it.  The heart of every church planter that I've met in the A29 Network is the Gospel.  It is reflected in their families, lives, and churches.  I have been challenged to the point of no return and leave you with this Scripture:

1 Corinthians 2:2

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