Discipleship Questions To Consider 1

Over the next several months, I’ll be bringing out some thoughts and questions about disciple-making that I’ve spent the last 17 years thinking, attempting, engaging, failing, and eventually learning through the many lives and relationships we’ve been privileged to do life with. I’ve also spent hundreds of hours reading and studying this area and there is a lot of good material out there on the subject. 

In this new role at New Beginnings, I'll be focusing a lot of attention on our involvement with the Relational Discipleship Network. The emphasis here is that we must be intentional with the gospel, intentional with relationships, and intentional with mission. If one of those aspects is dropped--it affects everything else. 

Sometimes, I may bring up questions in an attempt to stir more thought and discussion. 

This week, I wanted to bring out some simple questions that I believe every believer, every church leader, and every pastor/elder serving in churches must deal with. Here’s the first question:

Are you seeing lasting disciples being won to Christ, discipled to maturity by mature believers, and then released to go out and reproduce what just happened to them? 

If you were to ask leaders in the church (pastors/elders/deacons/staff guys/teachers) how well they would grade their church on disciple-making—many of them would admit that they’ve been real busy, they’ve sat and listened to many sermons and lessons given by teachers, and many have given financially to the cause—but they have not been taught and trained in how to engage with difficult people around their lives. 

Many churches have programs, meetings, and committees going on every night of the week at the building. But we must keep before us the oft quoted adage “busy-ness does not equal production.” 

Some churches focus only on Bible teaching—but when we have Bible teaching and lessons without intentional mission and intentional relationships we do not necessarily make disciples who know how to make other disciples. Here we must keep before us the rest of that adage "busy-ness does not equal production...and production does not equal reproduction." 

I saw a quote from Jeff Vanderstelt out on Facebook this week that said:

“If all your discipleship happens in a classroom or at events, people will believe following Jesus is a study or a program.” 

He is exactly right. And some churches that focus ONLY on doctrine and time spent alone in “the Word, the Word, the Word..” never break into the everyday rhythms of life with other people whom God has placed right in front of them. 

Other churches have the end goal of "creating community." But that is not the end goal. We must be communities who are intentional in clarifying the gospel as communities sent on mission. As we go along through life, gospel communities will be created (so there is our community we long for) that are able to create other gospel communities (reproducing disciples) who live on mission. 

Here’s that question again:

Are you seeing lasting disciples being won to Christ, discipled to maturity by mature believers, and then released to go out and reproduce what just happened to them? 

So, first for you as an individual believer, are you intentionally praying & expecting, intentionally planning, intentionally engaging in relationships, and intentionally clarifying who Jesus is and what Jesus has accomplished for us? 

If not, what is your Christianity about? 

For pastors/elders and church staff, are you intentionally praying/expecting, intentionally planning, intentionally engaging in relationships, and intentionally clarifying who Jesus is and what Jesus has accomplished for us? 

If not, what is your Christianity doing? 

And if not you…who is leading people to Christ, discipling them to maturity, and releasing them to reproduce what happened to them? 

The reality is that we are all surrounded by lost culture and people far off from God—some of which know it and some of which confused. 

Jesus is worthy of their worship. 

Sankie P. Lynch

www.nbchurch.info

www.nbfamilies.info

sankie@nbchuch.info

How to spend a snow day

There are lots of ways to spend a snow day. For our family it will almost always include sleeping in. Today, we rested for a while and are currently working on a big breakfast/brunch/lunch (calorically speaking, it will be enough to cover all three). So if the blog has a scent of bacon, this is why. I figure it can only help readership, right. Anyway, what should we do as a family with this rare day off together? We could rest, play board games in front of the fireplace, get cozy on the couch and watch some movies, maybe go outside and build a snowman… While all of those options truly sound wonderful, I wonder if we could perhaps, also strive to be a bit more intentional and capitalize on this unique opportunity we’ve been given.

Let me tell you about my friend Todd and his family. Todd is the founder of EOTE Coffee Company in Chandler, Oklahoma. If you are familiar with EOTE (if not click here or here), then you know that Todd has a missional mindset and a heart for serving. However, before their work with EOTE, Willow Springs Boys Ranch, and Jacob’s Ladder Camps, he and his wife, Jeannie, have the primary role of being the proud and purposeful parents of their four beautiful daughters.

A while back I was privileged to read their family mission statement. It is simple but powerful. It is clear, yet equally challenging. I’ve found myself thinking of it often as I consider what this might look like for our family. When I asked Todd about how they came up with their purpose statement, he explained that his family had worked on it while being cooped-up during a previous snowstorm. He and Jeannie guided the conversation, but each of their girls contributed with valuable input. They discussed it together in such a way that all could take ownership of this mission. The family’s purpose is hanging in their home so as to always be before them.

In case the picture (above) is hard to see, here is their family mission statement:

“As a family, we want to glorify God in all we say, do, and are.

We will…

Put each other first.

Bring out the best in one another.

Make our home a refuge for our family and others.

Live simply.

Take care of our spiritual, physical, and emotional health.

Be Kingdom minded.

Be world changers.”

Todd & his girls

Now, it is my guess that their girls will remember that snow day for the rest of their lives. I especially think their project will have lasting power because the words on the corkboard have been accompanied with action. In fact, despite the ministries I mentioned above, I first noticed their family mission statement back in November just before they all packed up to spend their Thanksgiving week doing mission work in Nicaragua.

But that is their family… How about us? How about you and yours? What is it that we have all been called to do? Where has the Lord invited us to come play? How has He specifically wired our families to best minister to our neighborhoods and circles of influence? Perhaps you’ve never really thought about it much. Or maybe you have but your thoughts have never been formally articulated and shared with the rest of your crew. Perhaps today would be a good time to start such a discussion.

I’m not trying to add another item to your list of chores; I do not want to burden you with more stuff to do. My hope is that you might be encouraged as I have been. I’m praying the Vinson's example would be helpful. For me, it would seem that by putting our goals in front of us, we might be more likely to achieve them; knowing what we’ve agreed to as a family may also offer a level of mutual accountability. I’m grateful for Todd and Jeannie and the various ways they love and lead. I’m grateful for snow days and the God that ordains them. No matter how you spend your snow day, may it be blessed and aimed at making much of Him.

Matt Fowler
NBC Family Pastor of HS
@fattmowler

3 Deadly Sins In The Church

One of my last classes at Southern is a class on Church Planting. I’ve been looking forward to this class for a long time.  It has some great projects we’re thinking and working through in order to come up with a workable plan for any church to be able to get involved with church planting. I have been reading about church planting and studying some of the newer movements (Redeemer City To City Network, Soma Communities, Acts 29 Network, Sojourn Network, Sovereign Grace Network, etc) for the last four or five years. 

The endeavor of church planting has much to do with the current health of the “mother” church (the one launching the new church). That “mother” church does not need to be perfect or running at full capacity in order to launch another church. In fact, that is one of the biggest misconceptions. Healthy churches reproduce healthy disciples who know how to make more disciples. Some of those disciples have giftings from God in preaching, teaching, administration, leadership, and other areas that fit well with ongoing movement and planting. 

For the existing mother church, when they begin to talk about “planting” or “launching” a new church into a new area, there is something that occurs that brings forth new life in that existing church. There is a fresh flourishing and vitality that springs up where there may have been lack of vision or even decline over several years (or even decades) for the existing church. Many people in the existing church are passionately recharged with the excitement and hope of their lives being connected in seeing several new churches launched to new areas that have little gospel engagement. 

Many church planting networks want to start in larger cities or cultural centers because that is where we find the highest volume of people. Cities, by God’s design, would be cultural influencers that trickle down to surrounding areas. At the same time, people in those cities (including disciples of Christ) may find themselves in a hurried pace of busyness. This pace has much to do with some of the obstacles to getting into relationships with people on a deeper level in order to share life and share Christ with them. 

There are three poisonous, deplorable, and incredibly deadly sins that both the existing churches and these new church plants may be walking in. These are three of the deadliest sins a church can engage in—sometimes unknowingly! 

1. Consumerism  (worst/deadliest)  2 Tim. 4:1-4

—Paul warns Timothy and the churches that a very dangerous time is coming when crowds of people will put before themselves leaders who deny the costly truth of gospel life, and offer words that “tickle the ears” of those listening. These false leaders will tell the people what their darkened hearts desire to hear—instead of what God wants them to hear from the mirror of His word. Think through these characteristics described in 2 Timothy along with this idea of “Consumerism.” 

—They do not like nor want to hear sound doctrine

—They multiply teachers who tell them what they want to hear

—These teachers accommodate their cultural and sinful preferences

—They no longer hear truth, but instead believe false versions on what life is about

• It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that most cities are fast-paced, consumer-minded, instantaneously-gratifying (or frustrating) centers of expectation. For example, most of us get really frustrated when a drive-thru lane at Starbucks or a fast-food chain takes too long. 
• Let’s be honest, when you have to start memorizing “Thou shalt not murder…Thou shalt not murder…Thou shalt not murder!!!” because the person in the car in front of you asks for a listing of all the new holiday flavors and then which ones come in non-fat—you may have a busy, consumeristic, instantaneously-gratifying expectation. The very idea of “drive-thru” is pretty convenient in itself, no matter how slow, if you really think about it. 
• God forbid we have to find a parking spot, park, do the treacherous labor of getting out and walking into a building, standing in line, ordering (BTW surrounded by other annoying people taking up my time), wait for the drink while safely fixated to a 4 inch screen in order to avoid personal human interaction, get the drink, walk back to said car, and then leave. But maybe that’s just me. I’m the only one experiencing this type of suffering for the gospel. 

The point is that we are a people with a consumer-pleasing mindset. We want it fast and furious. We want it with the most convenience and the littlest cost or sacrifice. We want “Easy-Button” everything. And that overflows into our spiritual lives as well. 

Truth be told--we want that for our church experience as well. 

Me: "Siri..."

Siri: "Yes"

Me: "Which church offers me the most convenient, fastest (nearly) drive-thru, low-commitment, self-indulgent, self-esteem-boosting experience?" 

Would your church be the answer she lovingly offers? 

Churches, both existing and new plants, must fight the temptation to allow “Consumerism” to dictate the message we preach and the methods of what we do. 

• True following of this man, Jesus, brought with it the very idea of cost, death to self, and sacrifice (see Luke 9:23-25). None of those things are quick or easy. 
• Following Christ means commitment and obedience to Jesus, His word, and His mission. Again, none of that is quick or easy. 

So, when we recognize that many churches are simply trying to accompany “busy consumers” we are in a very dangerous place. And remember, this is not trying to point out specific church names or pastors, but is an overall perspective on the American church and how she is handling these cultural shifts. Add to that the concerns of planting churches who set their vision according to some of these false measuring preferences. 

Do you see how dangerous a Consumeristic accommodation for churches can be?

• If a business owner realized his five employees were all stealing 80% of his cash profit out of the register each week—would he simply start providing them paper bags each shift in order to make it easier for them? 
• We do not just give up and not set any kind of expectation in fear that people will reject any kind of high expectation. We trust God. We set the standard God has given us. We allow Jesus to reclaim what has been stolen. This requires hope, trust, and diligence on our part.
• When we are consumers without noticing it—we begin to focus on ourselves instead of the mission of God. It leads to Isolationism. 

2. Isolationism     (hate/indifference to different peoples)  1 Cor. 12:11-27

• We don’t really do well with people who are different from us. That may be different races, different nationalities, different socio-economic levels, or differences of preference. 
• If we’re not careful, in pursuing our own preferred status or our own preferred ways—we never think of others. We don’t recognize we are trying to put distance/space between us and “people who are different” instead of MOVING TOWARDS those in need. 
• Our children are going to inherit our separating mindset. They are going to inherit and internalize our isolating patterns. 

Do your children learn to move towards people who are marginalized or are they learning to climb ladders of success in order to remove themselves from marginalized people? 

• Are we spending all our time moving forward—that we truly begin to look down on people who 1) don’t make as much  2) don’t dress like we do  3) aren’t in our circles? 
• How does that fit with Jesus who was always concerned about those who were marginalized?
• And this Isolation leads to the next step—Individualism. 

3. Individualism   (my/myself/I—bootstraps mentality)  James 2:1-9

• When we’ve unknowingly become extremely BUSY CONSUMERS focused on PREFERENCES IN ISOLATION—we move from God’s desire of us being committed to a family of faith or a community of faith. 
• Individualism, which is one of our highest virtues as Americans, is actually one of the most dangerous and deadly characteristics in killing Gospel-centered community. 
• I remember several years ago at a family camp as we were eating our evening meal, two guys who were members and highly involved in our church body who sat down across from each other, paused in awkwardness, and then said, “Hello, I’m so-and-so, I know we’ve been sitting fifteen feet from each other for the last sever or eight years—but we’ve never met.” And this was a church of around 150 people including children. That is a perfect picture of many individuals in churches across America. People who sit extremely close together and pass by each other several times each week—but who never take the initiative to actually meet each other. This is a glimpse of how our individualism affects our ability to build true community. 
• What allows us to think that we could be good at “loving our neighbor…loving one another…or loving others as Christ loved us” when we spend years 15 ft away from people in our own family—in our own congregation—in our own local assembly—and never move out of our individualistic freedom to meet them—much less care about them or serve them. 

**What are the implications of being consumeristic in our approach to church?

**What are the implications of having churches who begin to cater to consumeristic, individualistic, isolated cultures? 

Ask yourself:

**Am I a consumer in my relationship to church? 

**Am I becoming more isolated or growing in many diverse relationships? 

**Am I becoming more individualistic or am I growing in fellowship and community to the point of caring and serving others who are in my immediate space? 

Sankie P. Lynch

www.nbchurch.info

www.nbfamilies.info

sankie@nbchurch.info

Faith and Family

My level of faith continues to grow as I get older. I have seen more, experienced more, learned more about how God is working in my life, in and through my children, my wife, my family and friends. Now that I have turned 50 years old  and having more grandchildren come into the family, I seem to be spending more time reflecting on the past. However, I am also looking forward to the future. In the past, I was looking forward to the future and trying to forget the past. You can't do anything about the past anyway, so why dwell on it, right?

I see the direction of the Family Ministry model at New Beginnings and I have my own regrets about the things that I could have or should have done with my children as they were growing up. Now they are adults and some are now having their own children. So in this reflecting process I am reminded about what kind of parent I was when I was their age.

Here is one of the things that I have learned that I wish I would have known early on in my parenting. Parenting is a life long process. It doesn't end when the children turn 18.The little things that you may not think are making a difference will make a difference over time.

Some examples of those "little things" are having Faith Talks and Faith Walks with your children and creating milestone events that make memorable moments for you and them, that they want to pass down to their children, with hope that those things will get passed on to their children, etc. The hard part in the process is that we parents get busy. Busy with life, job pressures, relationship pressures, time pressures and then time slips away and before you know it, your children are now teenagers and then adults. Will you stay the course? Do you believe it will make a difference? You may not see immediate changes in your children. You may not see immediate changes in your teenagers. But will you have enough faith, that God will help you in the process, IF you remain faithful in doing your part too?

Most Christians know this verse that defines the word "faith"  from Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen."

But not many may know the "why" explained in the very next verse in Hebrews 11:2   "For our ancestors won God’s approval by it."

 Will our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren be saying the same thing about their ancestors?

  

 

BEAUTIFUL FEET, DAVID PLATT, AND A RADICAL RESURGENCE

OH, HOW BEAUTIFUL THE FEET…

Beautiful Little Feet

I walked away with tears streaming down my face and a painful lump in my throat. I got in our Tahoe and Jamie asked what was wrong. I turned to see my three loud, excited little boys bouncing around in the back of the vehicle. “Get your seat belts on,” I proclaimed as I tried to fight back the tears. Jamie was still asking what had happened. 

Our boys were so excited because we had been helping some of our close friends pack up the vehicle they had borrowed from another pastor at New Beginnings after being on furlough for the past six months. Our friends were now headed back to the Pacific Rim for another three years. They had been playing with our missionary friend’s children in the yard over the last few minutes. 

I was crying because of two scenes: first, after loading up all the kids in our vehicle, I walked back to their vehicle to make sure everything was good before following them to the airport. As I got back there, my missionary friend’s mom was leaning in one door and her dad was leaning in the other door on the other side. Their bodies were shaking and heaving as they wept and clung tightly to the three little kids already buckled inside their vehicle. They were grandparents doing one of the most difficult things a grandparent could do—send their own kids and their grandchildren overseas to areas out of the safety and security they had always dreamt for them. It had been three years since they had seen them last. And it would be three years before they would see them again. I wanted to take a picture to capture this dualistic moment with depths of sacrifice/loss while at the same time gloriously and eternally enjoyable. It was a sacrifice for the missionary friends, for their children, and for the grandparents. At the same time, it was gloriously and eternally enjoyable because this beautiful Man Jesus Christ deserves this as the worthy Creator and Redeemer of every person present in these memorable moments. I didn’t take a pic because I wanted it to remain a private moment between these people and their Savior who called them to this difficult work. 

Secondly, a few moments later as I got back in the car already weeping from this scene, I see the seven-year old son jump out of the vehicle and run back to our missionary friend’s brother who had just got into the car behind them. When he saw his little nephew running towards the car he jumped out and met him with a huge bear hug. Another lump formed and I stared in the mirror at my own kids and thought through the whole scene and how my own family would handle this calling. 

This is part of the extreme, though worthy, sacrifice and cost that most every missionary goes through. It’s not just the simple comforts of air conditioned rooms, warm showers, shopping centers with tens of thousands of choices for our every craving—it’s watching your mother and father weep knowing that life is truly a “vapor” and no one is guaranteed another week—much less another year. So those moments your parents get to spend with their grandchildren are truly treasured indeed. It brings a more true perspective that life and breath and children are truly gifts from God. Yet this Man, Jesus, assumes His blood and His cause are worthy of wreaking havoc on our lives and our emotions and our plans for His glory. 

This is the reality for missionaries. 

(Romans 10:13-17 ESV)

[13] For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

[14] 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? [15] 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!” [16] But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” [17] So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

How beautiful are the feet that have understood the gospel message and considered it so valuable and such a treasure that they cannot keep it in their own breast! They understand that the Holy Spirit brought them new life and removed the blinders from their spiritually dead eyes as someone else was obedient in clarifying the gospel to them. They understand the gospel is gaining traction and Jesus’ Kingdom is an onward moving force that overtook them and captivated them as it is still on it’s way to other people. 

Oh, how beautiful are the feet of those who have treasured this captivating Christ enough to spread His saving gospel to those without it. 

DAVID PLATT — NEW PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD (IMB)

For those missionaries who serve under the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, there was a new President named last week. Dr. David Platt (author of well-known Radical), was voted in as the new President of the IMB. Dr. Platt earned an M.Div, Th. M, and a Ph.D from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He became the Senior Pastor of The Church at Brook Hills several years ago in Birmingham, AL. 

This comes as exciting and encouraging news for many in evangelicalism. But there were also some concerns about Dr. Platt taking over the helm of such a large organization in a time where many questions and transitions have the opportunity to take place. 

Some of those concerns stem from the recent discussions over the state of the Cooperative Program of the SBC. These are exciting, but crucial times for the SBC, other denominations, and fellow mission agencies striving to get the gospel to the remaining unreached people groups in the world. 

For some other’s blogs concerning David Platt being named President of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention:

J.D. Greear 

“COOPERATIVE PROGRAM” — SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

(Don’t fade off now—this may seem like raw data, but it is actually quite informing)

The Cooperative Program supports several institutions within the Southern Baptist Convention. 

The Cooperative Program uses a little over 49% of it’s received givings to support:

1. NAMB North American Mission Board (this is mainly church-planting stateside); 
2. The six Southern Baptist Seminaries 

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary  (Louisville, KY)

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary  (Wake Forest, NC)

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, TX)

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary    (Kansas City, MO)

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary  (New Orleans, LA)

Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary  (Mill Valley, CA)

     3.  The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission   (Washington, DC)

     4.  The Executive Committee  (Nashville, TN)

The Cooperative Program uses the other 50.41% for International Missions Board (IMB) budget. 

The way this works out: 

Johnny Baptist gives $10 to his church designated in the memo as “missions.” 

Out of that $10, in most states, $6 stays in the state to cover the state conventions/administrations. So we have $4 left. 

Out of that $4, the first $2 goes to North American entities (see above, NAMB, Seminaries, etc). So now we’re down to $2. 

Out of the $2 remaining, usually less than $1 actually makes it to the most difficult places like the 10/40 Window where over 95% of the world’s least churched areas remain in spiritual darkness. Out of that $2, much of it goes to already “reached” areas where many churches and much evangelical work is currently established. 

The question began to be asked, “If the sole purpose and premise of starting the Southern Baptist Convention was to truly take the gospel to all the world—with an emphasis on world missions—then why is so little actually reaching those places that have no church, no gospel, and no Jesus?”

{ For a pdf flowchart click here:  }

This type of questioning caused quite a debate back in 2009-2010 when there was a resurgence of many pastors, laypersons, and theologians asking to see more monies allocated to the unreached people groups of the world. 

Now, if those numbers are somewhat concerning to you, I want to both calm your concerns and at the same time stir you to more involvement and more accountability. 

Many pastors and churches have recognized that that seems to be a somewhat broken system for truly allowing people’s “missions” giving to reach the unreached people groups lying in the 10/40 Window. This is where the discussions, prayer, and involvement are needed. 

On one side of the aisle, pastors who had long supported this system took this as an offensive attack on the way they had led the SBC during the last few decades with this set up in place. Other pastors began to lead their churches to give a smaller portion to the Cooperative Program, while some were writing much larger checks directly to other missions organizations that focused primarily on unreached people groups in the 10/40 Window. 

Now there was a real problem: Pastors and churches inside the SBC who had fed from the hand of the long-established Cooperative Program through providing top notch seminary training for their pastors, as well as all the other institutions these churches and pastors benefit from having, were now writing checks to other solid missions organizations (Pioneers, Wycliffe, New Tribes Mission, Frontiers, SEND, TEAM, etc) because they saw their laser-focused pipeline of resources and monies connected directly to the 10/40 Window. 

This was not so for most Southern Baptist churches across the country, but some of the larger churches throughout each state with more spotlight, if donating large amounts to outside agencies, were pointed out. Add to this that some of these were churches that were Southern Baptist in their affiliation, but also connected to the Acts 29 Church-Planting Network (or other networks). Some of the large, mega-churches that had pastors (David Platt, Matt Chandler, etc) with large followings through media or podcasts were usually the ones brought into the discussions. This is where some of the concerns came from. 

On the other side of the aisle, the pastors, laypersons, and denominational leaders who were asking for relocating more funds to the areas with less gospel involvement wanted the SBC leadership to consider what the entire denomination was founded upon (making disciples of all nations) and if the resources within our denomination were being used best at fulfilling that task. If it was found that more monies should be moved, namely removing more money from the state conventions—then we should take steps towards that goal. Some of these leaders saw this as a somewhat “broken” system. 

There was great need for Christlike attitudes, patience, love, cooperation, and consideration of many complex factors. The issues of finance and structure are not of first importance. The mission of Christ’s church and fulfilling the Great Commission while revealing Christlike attitudes is of first importance. 

The “Great Commission Resurgence” was formed in 2009 by strong and Godly voices such as Johnny Hunt (President of the SBC at that time), R. Albert Mohler Jr. (President of Southern Seminary), Danny Akin (President of Southeastern Seminary), and several trusted pastors like Ronny Floyd (FBC Springdale, AR). But there were also very Godly and seasoned leaders who opposed this questioning of the system. At the end of the day, after much discussion and debate at the annual meeting, there was shift in 1% of the monies towards the IMB and least reached areas. Now, 1% may not sound like much, but in a denomination this large it is a good and measurable first step. 

This is where I believe the hiring of David Platt as the President of the IMB will have see great fruit in the future for our King. 

A RADICAL RESURGENCE

Make no mistake about it—the International Mission Board (IMB) is an incredible, focused, well-trained missions organization with passionate Great Commission zeal. This is the greatest missionary force on the planet. They have over 4,800 missionaries which makes them the largest mission organization in the world (they had over 5,700 back before 2009). And remember, these are people who have left parents and friends and family and churches and are raising their children in difficult, uncomfortable, sometimes very dangerous settings away from the love and involvement of their grandparents and families. 

I am very excited to see Dr. Platt as the President of the IMB because I believe he shares a passionate, radical resurgence in his own heart for seeing a laser-intensive focus of resources of the SBC to further our church-planting in the 10/40 Window and the darkest corners of the earth. 

I believe he will use a patient approach in partnering with pastors, theologians, and church leaders, who have differing theological views, to bring vision and execution to the IMB leadership for furthering our gospel initiatives. 

I believe Platt has a beautifully radical vision of what true resurgence can look like if churches and congregations celebrate what God is doing through the SBC and IMB to help make disciples of all nations. 

Will you join me in praying for David Platt, the IMB missionaries, and the SBC leadership as they cooperate together in living for this great and worthy Savior?

Will you join me in praying for some of those unknown, disappearing beautiful feet that are taking their families and the gospel to peoples who have no idea of the beautiful saving grace you and I enjoy everyday?

Will you join me in praying as Jesus instructed us concerning the global cause, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray, therefore, for the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His field.” Will you join me in praying for laborers to be sent into the harvest fields? 

Sankie P. Lynch

www.nbchurch.info

www.nbfamilies.info

sankie@nbchurch.info

A God who dines with sinners...

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:1-2

The above verses bring tremendous comfort to my soul. What a sweet thought it is: Jesus dines with sinners! He graciously engages those that are far from Him. As He says in another place, He did not come for the healthy, but for the sick (Luke 5:31-32). Yes friend, the Great Physician came for you and me.

While I sip from this cup of comfort, I must also admit its bittersweet notes of conviction; for it was Jesus’ very dinner party that infuriated the Pharisees. “How dare He dine with them!” Has such hardness of heart ever described you? Have you ever been guilty of gazing upon this lost world or even worse, Christ’s bride, with the foggy log-blurred vision of the self-righteous (Matthew 7:3-4)? Unfortunately, not only has this been me before, but my flesh still attempts to usurp the Spirit’s power each day. I’ve inwardly celebrated my exterior appearance and basked in the false security of my own rule-keeping and apparent “goodness.” Even worse, I’ve neglected the fact that Jesus dines with sinners and that I am counted a faithful member of such a group.

A soul that misses the message communicated through our Savior’s interaction in this passage may miss the Savior Himself. Jesus came for the lost (please read the rest of Luke 15). He came to seek and save! And believer, are we not called to do the same? Have we not been commissioned to share gospel hope to the downcast, to push back forces of darkness with the glorious Light of the world, to seek the marginalized and social outcast, and to love like those who have been forgiven of much?!

Now to be clear, Scripture does not say that Jesus caroused with the ungodly and reveled with the rebellious; nor does it say He debased Himself with those indulging in debauchery. Therefore, may it never be said of us either! What it says is this: Jesus dined with sinners…and because He did, they were all drawing near to Him. Perhaps it has been so long ago that you’ve forgotten, but dear brother, remember that He once paid visit to you in your kitchen nook as well. He came to dine with a sinner like you! Oh, but your heart’s home was well kept you say… There were no stories of drunkenness or addiction, no divorce, abandonment or neglect in your family story - no struggles with sexuality, no lusts, no fits of rage. You’ve never misrepresented yourself or others, and you can’t remember desiring anything that wasn’t yours. To sum it up, you really have no big regrets from chasing the world’s empty promises of fame and fortune… While that is remarkable and something one should be grateful for, it doesn’t disqualify you from being in desperate need of the Savior’s seeking and saving; for your very best is as filthy rags before a perfect, holy, and righteous God (Romans 3:9-12).

Our Jesus not only has the power to transform the staunchest of sinners to saints, He is gracious to save us from our own wicked self-righteousness too! May we not live in the poisonous judgment of the Pharisees but in the freedom of the redeemed. Might we also not use such a passage to cover our own sinful desires under the guise of “missional living” but might the Lord develop within us, hearts that seek to genuinely reach this world in which we live.

Father, make us a church and a people composed of families that find comfort in a God who dines with sinners and help us to obediently respond in repentance whenever Your Spirit convicts us of our sinfulness and self-righteous error. Sweet Jesus, come and dine with us! Lord, save us from ourselves… Lead us to new tables where Your grace and mercy might be both shared and received. Let us tell of Your works of redemption and be part of Your future stories of grace and growth. For our joy and your glory, may we make much of You…