The Gospel Coalition

I have written previously about how youth groups in the United States should begin transitioning from an “attraction-based” model to a “mission-based” model. Today, I am adding some thoughts regarding the youth group’s relation to the church and the community.

 In the mission-based model, the youth group is not a church within a church or an island unto itself. The youth minister must never forget that parents have entrusted their children to the youth group. The youth ministry exists as a special ministry to teenagers, for the church. Therefore, the youth group is directly accountable to the rest of the church. I believe the youth group must be going in the same direction as the rest of the church, and the youth minister is accountable to the pastor.

  1. Two Extremes
 There are two extremes in the relationship between the youth group and the church. The first takes place when the youth group is continually being served by those in the wider church but is never given an opportunity to serve anyone else. When this happens, the teenagers form the mindset of expectation, of receiving without giving. Then, the youth group thinks it deserves the support of the church, even though the group has done nothing to show the church why it deserves its support.
 I saw the other extreme in a church that I ministered in during my time in Romania. The youth group did just about everything. The youth ran Awana for the kids; they had a special song service for the adults in every worship service; they taught the younger children to play the mandolins; they even held English lessons for the church. In this situation, the church expected the youth to do all the tough work, but rarely gave back to the youth group by sending them out in mission or in retreats. It was like pulling teeth to get the church to fund anything for the youth group.

  2. Service in the Church
 The mission-based model seeks to strike a biblical balance between these two extremes. The youth group serves the church and the church serves the youth group. Ministers would seek to include the youth in service to other areas of the church.

 The youth should be integrated into the church, making sure their service is employed during major activities (Christmas, VBS, Awana, other ministries). They should also be serving in worship. Perhaps there could be a youth choir or youth ensemble, a drama team, or a puppet ministry to be used occasionally at the children’s worship service. The mission-based model seeks to involve the youth in a variety of church-wide functions, and not just youth activities and events.

When I was a child, my family attended a small church plant. I remember the teenage boys being the ones to take the offering during the church service. I always felt inspired and I wanted to be like those guys whenever I joined the youth group! It is important for the rest of the church to see the youth active and involved in church. When the youth group is isolated, the church misses out on being blessed by the youth, and the youth miss out on the blessing of being a blessing.

The Youth Group’s Relation to the Community
 As the youth grow accustomed to serving the wider church, they will become increasingly comfortable serving the wider community. When the surrounding community thinks of a church’s youth group, I would hope that they would think of great teenagers who are constantly showing up to help in important endeavors. This is not only a good testimony for the community; it is also life-changing for the young people.

Youth can reach out to help the community, whether it is handing out water to marathon runners during the summer, or giving away snacks and water at Band Camp every year, or volunteering at the Salvation Army around Christmas, helping with the Angel Tree ministry, visiting nursing homes every month to sing, talk to and encourage the elderly, visiting shut-ins from the church, helping the elderly by seeing needs and then meeting them, perhaps by doing yardwork for those who can’t, helping paint a house or fix a roof. When parents or grandparents are in the hospital, why not send a group of teenagers to visit them?

Ministers need to lead the youth to look past their own personal needs and attention to the needy in the community and church. This way, they begin to live the Kingdom way now in their young age and will be accustomed to this way of living by the time they are adults.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2007 Kingdom People blog

My dialogue with Brian, a Roman Catholic, continues. See previous discussion here: 

Trevin’s Letter 

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the feedback on the interviews. I’m glad you enjoyed them and thought they were the basis of a good discourse.

I do not wish to dismiss the patristics. There is much that we can learn from their writings, and Baptists (and Protestants) in particular would do well to revisit the ancient church and benefit from the treasures left for us there.

I too am weary of a continual search for the “authentic New Testament church.” When I think of the early church, I consider Corinth and Galatia and other churches that were far from where they needed to be. Which church do we want to imitate? Even the early church had serious problems, with sin and with doctrine. Within a generation after Jesus, Paul condemned the Galatians for forsaking the very Gospel their church was founded upon.

Looking at the patristics, I do see liturgy, heirarchy and sacramental theology. I do not find these so much in the New Testament itself, though. Baptists believe that the early church serves as an example to us, but that ultimately, our authority lies in Scripture – the inspired Word. The New Testament is relatively quiet about church heirarchy and liturgy, which gives me the impression that the church is free to adapt and shift, as long as it remains tied to the pier of Scriptural authority.

The main difference between the RCC and Orthodox churches and Protestants on justification by faith alone is in our definition of grace and our definition of faith.
Continue

Taken by Communion: How the Lord’s Supper Nourishes the Soul (Baker, 2003) is a brief book that takes the reader through each phrase of the Apostle Paul’s relevant teaching on the Lord’s Supper. Dan Schmidt writes eloquently, expounding on Paul’s view of Communion and inserting interesting stories and illustrations. Schmidt is a pastor and he writes like one, showcasing his passion for the subject and his desire to gently nudge his readers to a better understanding of the Lord’s Table.

There is nothing groundbreaking in Taken By Communion. I admit that the title is actually more intriguing than the book, as Schmidt explains in the introduction how we are not “consumers” coming to the Table, but ones being consumed by the presence of God. But Schmidt does not go into more detail regarding this viewpoint, which in the end left me wanting more of what the book’s title seemed to promise.

Preachers and teachers will enjoy the colorful stories and sermon illustrations that Schmidt has included. There is very little indepth study of what actually takes place at the Lord’s Supper, so readers from a variety of denominations will find the teaching helpful. All in all, pastors and laypeople alike can benefit from Taken by Communion.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2007 Kingdom People blog

I recently received an email from a Baptist trying to understand what kind of unity we Protestants believe in. I’m posting the question, then a few thoughts of my own, and then I await your comments.

“The unity that Jesus prays for in John 17 – is that a spiritual unity? In other words we all are united in Christ in the catholic (universal) church? Or is that a physical unity, visible to the world? If it is the latter, then I wonder if the Reformation did more to destroy the unity that Jesus prayed for. And with the plethora of denominations under the Protestant umbrella, it makes me wonder whether or not the ideology behind Reformation breeds more disunity. If Jesus prayed for unity, how can unity not be our passion? Just some thoughts.”

Good question. You have touched on one of the issues that thoughtful Protestants must wrestle with. Was the Reformation necessary? We say, “yes.” Were all the results from the Reformation good? We say, “no.” The splintering of the church is part of the fallout from the Reformation that we are still dealing with today.
Continue

Before we look next week at the first commandment, we need to clarify something pretty important: Are we bound by the Ten Commandments? Is this Law still in force for us today?

Most of us say “yes.” But didn’t Jesus come to fulfill the Law? Didn’t He accomplish the Law for us in our place? So doesn’t that make the Law no longer in effect for believers?

What about the other commands in Exodus?
 Exodus 21:15 – Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death.
 Exodus 22:25 – If you lend money, you shall not exact interest.
 Leviticus 11:7 – The pig is unclean. You shall not eat it.
About mixing two types of clothing? About stoning an adulteress? All the Laws about temple worship? Are those laws still in effect?

How do you distinguish between the laws of the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments? Why are the Ten Commandments still valid? Continue

“You always have the poor with you,
and whenever you want,
you can do good for them.
But you will not always have Me.”
- Jesus to the disciples, after Mary anointed Him (Mark 14:7)

Just days before Passover, Mary, the brother of Lazarus anointed Jesus with expensive ointment out of an alabaster flask. Mary’s “waste” of such costly perfume appalled the disciples. After all, Jesus had taught them to care for the poor and needy. Their lives boasted of little luxury. But Jesus told the disciples that Mary’s action foreshadowed His coming burial. He then reminded them that they “always have the poor with them.”

 Americans often misunderstand this text as a prophecy about the inevitability of poverty. They picture Jesus shrugging His shoulders and saying, “You’re always going to have the poor with you, so don’t get too worked up about poverty.” Yet even a cursory reading of the Gospels reveals how far removed is this mindset from the ministry pattern of Jesus.

 Jesus is not declaring ministry to the poor as pointless or ineffective. Notice what He says: “you always have the poor with you.” When Jesus said these words, He was in the home of a former leper – one of society’s outcasts. Jesus is claiming that His disciples, because they are His disciples, will always be in close proximity to the poor. Followers of Jesus enter the difficult places of poverty and lift up the downtrodden.

Why then do so many churches avoid rubbing shoulders with the poor and needy? Can it truly be said of us that we have the poor “with us?” Are we close enough to the poor to be able to do good for them “whenever we want”?

 Jesus’ words challenge us to be present in the places of greatest need. But sometimes even good ministry can get in the way of our worship. The disciples rightly saw that the expensive ointment could have been put to more practical use in ministry to the poor. But we are not always called to devote our money to what is most practical. Sometimes God wants the best and the most beautiful displays of our love and worship for Him. As we magnify His worth by our gifts, He receives the glory.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2007 Kingdom People blog

Our Father in heaven
    Everlasting Father of the fatherless,
    Heaven is Your throne and the earth is Your footstool.
    The heavens declare Your glory,
         and the sky above proclaims Your handiwork.
    O Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name
     From the rising of the sun to its setting,
         may Your Name be praised and be great among the nations!
     Let Your glory be over all the earth!
     Let heaven and earth praise You,
         the seas and everything that moves in them.
Your Kingdom come
     May all the ends of the earth remember and turn to You,
         and all the families of the nations worship before You.
     For kingship belongs to You;
         You rule over the nations.
     You are the strength of Your people - 
         the saving refuge of Your anointed!
     Oh, save Your people and bless Your heritage!
     Be our Shepherd and carry us forever!
     You are our King, O God!
     You are the King of all the earth!
     Your throne is forever and ever.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
     Make us to know Your ways, O Lord.
         Teach us Your paths.
     Teach us to do Your will!
     Let your good Spirit lead us on level ground!
     Not our will, but Yours be done!
Give us this day our daily bread.
     You, our God, will supply every need of ours
         according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
     Give us neither poverty nor riches;
         feed us with the food that is needful for us,
     lest we be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?”
     or lest we be poor and steal and profane the name of our God.
     Satisfy us with righteousness.
Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.
     We confess our iniquity; we are sorry for our sin.
     Have mercy on us, O God.
     Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity,
         and cleanse us from our sin!
     For Your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon our guilt for it is great.
Lead us not into temptation…but Deliver us from Evil
     We do not ask that you take us out of the world,
         but that you keep us from the evil one.
     Restore us; let Your face shine, that we may be saved.
     For the glory of Your name, deliver us and atone for our sins,
         for Your name’s sake!
     You are our steadfast love and our fortress,
         our stronghold and our deliverer!
For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever and ever.

Scriptures compiled by Trevin Wax  © 2007 Kingdom People blog, originally delivered at National Day of Prayer Luncheon in Shelbyville, TN, May 3, 2007.

Is it just me, or does anyone else see the irony in this quote? 

“Such action would violate the ancient customs of the church.”

- The Episcopal Church (TEC) Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supported the consecration of gay bishop Gene Robinson and who once referred to “Mother Jesus” in a convocation sermon at a TEC convention, on Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola’s planned move to install Martyn Minns as head of a new denomination for conservative Episcopalians.

Source: World, May 12, 2007

Over the past two weeks, I have been corresponding with a Roman Catholic via email. Brian has graciously allowed me to make our correspondence public, so I will begin posting on this blog our letters to each other. 

Trevin’s Letter

Hi Brian,

It was nice to meet you on Friday and to hear of your mission work to India.

[You asked about my view of the Eastern Orthodox Church.] I have definite opinions on the Orthodox Church, since I did work for 5 years in Romania, which is an Eastern Orthodox country. I have had good and not-so-good experiences with the Orthodox, but I have sought to understand the theology better by reading Orthodox authors and books laying out the differences between Orthodoxy and Protestantism.

I did an interview on my blog with an Eastern Orthodox convert from evangelicalism, and then an interview with a convert the other way. If you are interested, here are the links to those interviews, as well as my thoughts on them.

Theron’s Story: Why I Left Evangelicalism for Eastern Orthodoxy
John’s Story: Why I Left Eastern Orthodoxy for Evangelicalism
Sola Scriptura: The Dividing Line between the Orthodox and Evangelicals

God bless you Brian, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Brian’s Response

I read the articles and came away thinking “What a great discourse!” …And you preserved a sense of fairness and impartiality irrespective of your Baptist background (with minor exception addressed below).

On the whole, I have a few thoughts. First, don’t be quick to dismiss the patristics. There are many first and second century writings (some purely secular historical accounts and others penned by early Christians) that give a detailed accounting of what Christian life was all about. Some of these writings are from men who learned the faith at the knee of Apostles, for example Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. Reading these one sees that the early Church closely resembled the Orthodox church. It was deeply liturgical, hierarchical, and sacramental. These accounts will not reveal a church which in any way resembles Protestantism.

Most of the earnest Protestants I know espouse, “We want to go back to the church of the upper room,” and then they cobble together their vision of what this might have looked like, not realizing that we have solid account of exactly what this church looked like. I highly recommend a book called “Four Witnesses” which examines the life of four of the early church fathers.

Secondly, in Theron’s interview it appears you’ve confused justification by “faith” alone and justification by “grace” alone. Such confusion is common, but the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches (RCC) have always condemned as heretical any teaching that there is salvation aside from God’s grace alone. Theron recognizes this and shifts the discussion to salvation by “faith” alone, although I’ve never heard salvation couched in “medical terms” as you eluded too – familial terms, yes, but not medical. Too lengthy to address here, I’ll simply state that Orthodox and RCC teach that faith and works flow from God’s grace, and they are inseparable (like two sides of the same coin). Mysterious yes, but fully supported by scripture. (Perhaps in some later correspondence I’ll produce supporting scripture.) Our faith is a gift of God’s grace, as are our works, and faith alone is not sufficient for salvation, nor are works wrought by our own effort (pelagianism).

One criticism where I see some unfairness in the treatment of Theron’s interview was bringing up the priests who threatened to cut off fingers. This seemed like dirty pool. With the roles reversed, Theron I’m sure could easily produce unsavory activity by Baptist pastors or youth ministers if he so desired, yet doing so might seem unfair, and indeed would be.

Is sola scriptura is the dividing line as you say? In a sense, but ultimately the dividing line is a broader question of where one’s authority lies. Did Jesus form one Church? If so, I want to be a part of it and want to submit to it (Mt 18:17, 1 Tim 3:15). Where is that Church? Is there a lineage that can be traced, or is it invisible? What role does scriptures have within this church? Does holy scriptures belong to the Church, within her bosom, or has the Church sprung from scriptures? Might Mt 16 more aptly said, “Thou art Peter, and on later writings I will build my church”? All such questions are important fodder for finding truth.

Lastly, like others who responded to your blog, I feel sad about the Orthodox guy who left for Protestantism. Don’t get me wrong… I’m glad he’s on fire for Jesus. But, it reminds me of how the social and political forces negative impacted the RCC, and how similar forces in Geneva negatively affected Calvin’s efforts. Governments and monarchies, acting in the name of Christianity, will muddle things every time. It’s sad that it happens, and it’s sad that John couldn’t find the proper perspective which would enable him to see Jesus, both in the Eucharist and in general in the Orthodox church.

This conversation continues here.

The president of the Evangelical Theological Society, Francis Beckwith, has converted to Roman Catholicism. Read his letter here (as well as the responses) and also David Neff’s interview with Beckwith. Whoever said the Reformation was over? 

Joe Carter on the “Ten Deadly Trappings of Evangelicalism”

Scot McKnight’s terrific article on how we get results from the gospel we preach. Download this article, print it out, and read it several times. It’s worth it.

It finally happened. The Anglican/Episcopalian schism has arrived.

Read Timmy Brister’s notes from an important sermon by Paul Washer – Evidences of the Miracle of Conversion. A must-read!

The tomb of Herod the Great has been found. Yep, he’s still dead.