Good Ministry, Bad Ministry, You Decide...

Good Ministry - Proclaiming the glorious truth of salvation in Christ alone with an unsaved friend, sharing your wonderful testimony, then inviting them over for dinner and Bible study.

Bad Ministry - Not bridling your tongue when you speak of them to others while you air their dirty laundry in the prayer meeting when you have not even went to the prayer closet for them yourself.

(James 1:26)

Missionary in the Pew

Have you ever stopped and thought about your personal effort to reach those around you for Christ. I mean seriously? Besides the exhortation that is given from the Pastor of your church during a sermon that has covered evangelistic passages, do you witness on a regular basis? Do you reach out to your neighbors or talk to strangers about Christ?

Is this a question that is best asked of our fellow Christian who is better at doing this type of thing? You know who they are! They're always doing outreaches, working at soup kitchens, and handing out tracts at the campus they attend school at. That is such a blessed thing that they do that, aren't you glad that God has given them that gift? If only you had that gift too, you would do the same. Wouldn't you?

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
(Mat 28:18-20)

And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
(Mark 16:15-16)

and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
(Luke 24:46-47)

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."
(John 20:21-23)

Or, better yet, make sure to share these verses with the missionary in the pew, you know, the one sitting next to you on Sunday.

Book Review of "The Jesus Paradigm"

(From the Website, and the rear cover of the book) The Jesus Paradigm challenges modern Christians to become completely sold-out followers of Jesus, to make ministry and mission the work of every believer, and to give their primary allegiance to the kingdom of God rather than to any nation, political party, or movement.

At a time when Christianity is often identified with nationalism, a political party, a particular denomination, or even an isolated small group, Dave Black looks to the Anabaptists and their call not for reform, renewal, or revival in the church, but for rebuilding. He echoes that call to Christians today. From church structure to national government, from the personal economic responsibility in the marketplace to parental responsibility in raising children, from torture and militarism by our government to hierarchical authority in our churches, he calls for Christians to look for their answers in the person and message of Jesus, revealed in scripture.

“The author told me that nobody will really be happy with this book,” said Henry Neufeld, owner of Energion Publications. “I’ve read it, and I agree. In fact, I expect it to offend some people. That may sound like an odd thing for a publisher to say about a forthcoming book. But sometimes offense is needed when we have gotten far enough off track. What I do expect is that readers will find it challenging, informative, and above all convicting. I did. You may be annoyed, but you won’t be bored.”

In all the spare time I don't have, I have managed to barrel through this new book that was slated for release yesterday. You can purchase it on Amazon few reviews out there that have already done it justice. Arthur, and Alan, have both posted theirs online and will provide you with two good perspectives on the whole of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the onset. I am hesitant to say that I affirmed all of what David Black has written, but found myself nodding in agreement often. From the onset of the book Black establishes his purpose, and quite remarkably remains true. Unfortunately, some of Black's assessments will be taken from the typical perspective that is adopted by those who are cautious and bold in their commentary of the modern Church. Its intriguing to see that those who have served as missionaries (like Black) develop a view of people that changes how we adhere and put into practice the commands of Christ. This 'Paradigm' that Black tries to illustrate is heavily described by his comparisons and descriptions of the ever unpopular Anabaptists. Like so many in the days of their persecutions, the Anabaptists, or those who would align to their teachings in our day, are marginalized and seen as antagonistic toward the established norm. Black does a fair job at assessing the current pragmatism we see today and challenges it not with reform, but restoration. As the book's title suggests, Black creates the 'Jesus Paradigm' by using scriptural practice as the standard and calls for an analysis of what we've become. The end surprised me with it's seemingly political commentary and spun the context of the previous chapters into a different direction than I had anticipated. The end brought it all to an amicable conclusion. To my pleasure I found this to be a fun read. It was smooth and hit the hard points fast and intelligently. By no means was it systematic or ever gave the impression as such, but what it did do was show the political nature of our current church practice, and why restoration is often rationalized away or ignored. The implications of such a paradigm shift would shake the fetters of nominal and institutional Christianity so much that the culture we know as 'Christendom' would give way to the true witness of those who hear the commands of our Lord, and obey.

(Energion is offering free worldwide shipping, order yours today! You won't regret it!)

Temporary Display Problems

It appears that there are some issues going on with the image hosting of the blog. I am going to wait them out and see if they fix themselves. They'll be fixed soon if not. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Get Ready to Rumble!

Normally I would've posted something related to my recent anniversary. It has been a pleasure of mine to reflect back on the former life I once lived and praise God for His mercy and grace. The 13th of this month has passed and gone and one more year (counting 5 now) has come since the last time I was in bondage to drug addiction and living in the streets. I wish I had time to offer up some sort of inspirational musing, but I don't have time! It's funny, the book of Ecclesiastes says that the sleep of a laborer is sweet (Ecc 5:12). Indeed, I'm sure that it is, especially once you finally get it! I am so looking forward to the day when I will go to bed without homework needing to be done!

I suppose the one reflection I could offer at this very moment is this. God is good. He has kept me and has been sanctifying me for this purpose this very day and I continue to look forward as I am transformed by the renewing of my mind (Rom 12:2) and going from glory to glory (2Cor 3:18)! What great inspiration this has given me and sustained me in the past few years as I've weathered much adversity, trial, even persecutions, and tribulation. At this point, the purpose of all these things is still only assumption, but where goal setting as served as motivation in the past, true motivation can be sought after be desiring to glorify God and the name of His son Jesus Christ (1Cor 10:31-33) regardless of the results of my labor. If it isn't for Him, it is in vein.

I do not wish to waste my life, and in all my busyness, still feel as thought I am. What a struggle. At this point I am wrapping up 3 major papers, 200 more hours of interning and preparing for graduation with a degree, an accomplishment that I would've never imagined. My hope and prayer is for a continuation of ways to redeem the time (Eph 5:16) that was once wasted but is now given for harvesting and the work I've been allowed to study for and prepare for will be used of God to help others and to serve them in humility. This is my desire, this is my hope. If I were to sum it up now in a single statement this is what I would say,

"Down with upward mobility and class assertion amongst my peers and our dignified social persona. Up with downward mobility, humility, and sacrificial servitude for those who are yet to hear the glorious Gospel. Let not my accomplishments be for my benefit and well being, but for the labor to be done amongst the nations, and those who are waiting to meet our Lord."

Hear the prayers of your servant Lord, hear my cry, and please let others beckon to this call.

Peace be with you,

John Calvin's Birthday and Celebrity Veneration

As the Christian world has officially celebrated the man who was John Calvin on the 500th anniversary of his birthday, I only have one question and comment related to the whole ordeal.

What good does it do to scratch your head and comment about the reverence given to a dead entertainer (ie. Michael Jackson) when we've managed to execute the exact same idolatry for a man who has not only been dead for 400+ years, but also to plan the idolatry years in advance?

Seriously.

Darlene Rose : I Will Never Leave Thee

"Why someone would be so afraid to answer the call to be a missionary I will never understand." -Darlene Diebler-Rose

Quite simply, I've heard a few powerful accounts of the working of God in the life of a missionary and this is one of the best I can recall. I would highly recommend you set aside an hour to listen to this message. It will move you beyond tears and encourage you to weep for joy that our Lord knows and tends to His children. It is an oldie, and you can still purchase the CD from Focus on the Family for $12.00.

World's Oldest Christian Bible Digitized

I had heard that this project had been underway for quite sometime. Glad to see that it has been completed! I tried accessing the link this morning to no avail. Hopefully it will work when you try!

LONDON (AP) — The British Library says the surviving pages of the world's oldest Christian Bible have been reunited — digitally.

The library says the early work known as the Codex Sinaiticus had been housed in four separate locations across the world for more than 150 years. It became available Monday for perusal on the Web at http://www.codexsinaiticus.org so scholars and others can get a closer look.

The library says the work will allow scholars to further study the "unique treasure."

The project united organizations from Great Britain, Germany, Russia and Egypt. Each possessed parts of the 1,600-year-old manuscript.

They worked together to publish new research into the history of the Codex and transcribed 650,000 words during a four-year period.