Revival
…the thing above all else that accounts for the fact that the masses of the people are outside the Christian Church today, is the condition of those of us who are inside the Church. Read the story of any revival that has ever taken place and you will find that the beginning of it is always the same. One man, or sometimes a number of people, suddenly become alive to the true Christian life, and others begin to pay attention to them. The world outside is stirred and begins to pay attention. Revival always begins inside the Church, and the world outside seeing it, begins to pay attention.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression, p. 108
Really Believing in God’s Sovereignty
From Paul Tripp:
Grace will take control out of your hands, while it blesses you with the care of One whose plan is unshakable and perfect in every way.
Jason had some kind of distant belief in the sovereignty of God, but it was almost completely separate from his everyday experience. He lived like he had no idea that Jesus was ruling over all things for his sake (Ephesians 1:20-23). So Jason was constantly dealing with the frustration of trying to control people and things which he had little power to control.
He spent way too much time calculating the “what ifs” and regretting the “if onlys.” He seemed like he did not know that his security and rest were not to be found in his ability to predict the future and control the present, but in the faithful love and expansive wisdom of his sovereign Savior, Jesus, so his living always was more anxious than restful.
You see, Jason didn’t need more grace. No, he needed to understand and live in light of the grace he had already been given. Jason was a grace amnesiac and so he lived like he was poor, when grace had made him exotically rich. He lived like he was weak, when grace had made him strong. He lived like life had no plan, when, in fact, he had been included in the unalterable plans of the God of redeeming grace.
Out of Your Depth
Peter and I soon saw that God’s way of dealing with us was to throw us into situations over our depth, then supply us with the necessary ability to swim.
–Catherine Marshall, wife of Peter Marshall. A Man Called Peter, p. 119
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Less is more.
My dad doesn’t talk much. I talk a lot. So my problem in life has never been coming up with something to say or make. My problem has been knowing what not to say, a slow learning that less is more.
If an artist hung all of his art on the wall it might look something like this:
;laklakdnvaoefaprgi-0GA/BNAEFKBHA0E9R-0TI Q;OIGH QRPIQ[e fepfgj oeigjaepfog afpog aeofigha oergh aeo naefvm alfbkalkfg a;eofgjaoghjal;efgn alkjfbhae f jRTIQ309YUQ3LASKFN=T03 LKFJBS ;OFIJH;A;lkjlkfjbljlklkrPROGJao;djg;alkdfgj;DG['epit3oruty98q3r7et02e95q'a;dlfkgjfioqehyosrhjq[3ep0o9][PEKGA;EFLKHGJIOQRUYQ3PRIOYQ/A;LKJFp[OWDgiae'prkghjqa0rhu'a[dgj;aoighua'[r0iyaq;rigjp0ghaoeifjhpqROG=wdgoaelfkbjaoefghiargjaefgaefgafrmlkfguoriuy8934uyq=3-a;dflgjaldiguopriyq3proyjoqirugapefogkjkothu0qoruyiqpaorjalkfghbeautifuljoithuaq’progjfgjafhjqpry8p3aorjtlefkgjalkfbjafhguiy8y7tl4k2w2qpwefjaebgmaelfnalnolifjlaefknalefnalefbnakfjhproigpar9uaprogjalefhnolhjpathiapqoruapgmaflbhmoprihpo4ruypaw4royyupr3yu034y409ys;lfekhjoihulkfjhsofihusop9uhoqureyqoiumx3ef,o2gngt5bhm2po4iqrguacmpwecm,as[ofihlakfjalefkjglaefkbma/lckmvba/lkfbmnalfbm c,.vm a/.alekfjga;lfkvma/.c,vm /.c,m va/.,bm/.bmalefkmbalbm93ua;v0;OI-JP/;LJOLHLKJGpdjhg iUEFYG A ALFBALBJA FLLlz;l;fkhnafohuga;opefij/e;zdhj,ioprsthuaerfbmpsrgoiunbwsmljb,cworamjA”E>,xopwucgmpaqior,ghqpotih.qc
Who wants to look at that?
But if an artist carefully selected the appropriate amount of his work to hang on his wall for his audience, it might look something like this:
beautiful
The same principle applies for conversation, movie making, cooking, preaching, decorating, writing, fashion, design, architecture, etc…
It takes a lot of lkjaoiaorkgan;glkajfghoairua;orga;lkdja;lghaoiu in order to get to beautiful. Your audience doesn’t need to see all your oiruy;oiglng;ouh;ljakgo;eiralng;aog;aoiu;aoriua;lkngaelkghu. Leave that on the cutting room floor. Just show them the beautiful.
The Mount Hermon Bookstore
I’m spending this week at Mount Hermon. If you live in the Bay Area you need to visit the Mount Hermon Bookstore. It is, by far, the best Christian bookstore in the entire 8 million person Bay Area, probably in all of Northern California.
My good buddy from seminary, Todd, is the buyer for the bookstore. For the past few years he’s made sure this isn’t your typical Christian bookstore filled with precious moments figurines. This is a store stocked with solid books.
Visit the store.
Go to Where Your Men Work
Pastors, go to where your men work.
Over the last few years as a pastor in the Bay Area I’ve discovered that one of the most important things for me to do is to hang out with men in my church at their workplace.
This helps the men. It shows them that I care about their callings, how they spend 50+ hours of their week, and the people they work with.
This helps me. It teaches me about the unique opportunities and challenges men are facing in their different workplaces, it opens my eyes to a world bigger than our church, and it helps set new trajectories for my preaching and discipling.
This is how I do it:
-Schedule a lunch-time visit with a man in your church. The best use of your time is to make most of these visits with men who are leader types. Schedule to meet the guy at his office, not at the lunch spot.
-Once you show up have the guy show you around his workspace. If you’re naturally curious like me, you’ll quickly have 20 questions about all that you’re seeing around you. Ask your questions. Learn the man’s world.
-Introduce yourself to his co-workers. Don’t tell people you’re a pastor, unless asked or introduced that way. They will find out eventually and they’ll be incredibly surprised that a pastor looks and talks like a normal person and doesn’t spend all his time on church property.
-Once you get the tour, take the man out to lunch (if there’s a lunch place on the work campus, go there, it will lead to more learning about the workplace) and let him talk to you at length about his work. You’ll quickly discover how you can best encourage and empower the man in his calling.
-Always speak out against the “higher calling of ministry” idea if it surfaces. Three out of five times when I meet a man at his work he talks to me about how the work I’m doing as a pastor is “so much more important” than what he’s doing as a software engineer, financial analyst, etc. I always immediately crush and correct this unbiblical view of vocation. Your men need you to tell them that all work is a means of glorifying God, and that working for a church is not superior to working for Google or working as a plumber. It’s your job to empower your men, to help them see the nobility of the work God has called them to do.
Men need pastors to jump into the fire of their work world with them and empower them to keep their eyes on Jesus and do their work in Jesus’ honor, whatever that work might be.
Also, at least for me, doing this is a whole lot of fun. It’s a blast visiting men at their workplaces here in the Bay Area. I’ve been able to see:
-The financial analysis & game development sector at Electronic Arts.
-The inner workings of a Secret Service office.
-A two-person flower shop in the financial district of San Francisco.
-A small architect firm’s hip office quarters.
-A contractor’s truck-office.
-The sprawling, impressive campus at Google.
-Several software companies who do things I still don’t fully understand.
-The venture capital world on Sand Hill Road.
-Several impressive work-from-home offices.
-(And when I didn’t have a man working there, AnneMarie gave me a great tour of Facebook).
Pastors, if you’re not already doing something like this, start incorporating it into your schedule. I think you should aim for a minimum of 1 workplace visit per week. Doing this is part of what keeps my calling fresh and alive, and what keeps me connected to men and the larger working world.
And make sure you budget for this. This is just as important as your book budget. Budget funds to cover meals and mileage for these crucial visits.
(PS. I’ve written this post from an architect/contractor’s home office)
Photo: Took this shot last week of Boston firefighters fighting a 3 alarm fire in Beacon Hill.
Next Week: Mount Hermon Family Camp
One of my favorite places is Mount Hermon, located in the redwoods of Santa Cruz. Founded in 1906, it was the first Christian camp west of the Mississippi. My memories with Mount Hermon began back when I was a freshmen in high school and I attended my first camp there.
Next week I’m preaching in the evenings at Mount Hermon’s historic Summer Family Camp. I’ve been told I’m the youngest speaker they’ve ever had for a Family Camp. I’m honored to have been given this opportunity. It’s going to be a great time, especially as my wife and my boys will be enjoying the camp with me for the week.
I’d appreciate your prayers for my speaking sessions. I’ll be preaching from Genesis, a series I’m calling “Four Unforgettable Encounters with the God of Grace.”
If you’re not familiar with Mount Hermon, check out the links above and consider a visit. And, pastors, you should learn more about Mount Hermon’s Pastor Cabin Program.
The Secret Powers of Time
This is a fascinating 10 minute video by professor Philip Zimbardo & RSA Animate articulating the 6 different approaches people have to time and what that means for our world. Pay special attention to what is said at the end about young men, video games, and porn.
