The Gospel Coalition

Pope Benedict XVI declared 2008 to be the ”Year of The Apostle Paul” in celebration of the apostle’s 2000th birthday. Coming to terms with the theology expressed in the letters of Paul has kept theologians and pastors busy for nearly two millennia now.

Michael Bird’s new book, Introducing Paul: The Man, His Mission and His Message (IVP, 2009) is a wonderful introduction to the Apostle Paul that manages to be both brief and substantive. Some books on Paul focus on the theology of the apostle expressed in his letters. Others provide a biographical look at the apostle’s life and missionary journeys.

Introducing Paul combines the best of these approaches. Bird delves into Pauline theology, the specific letters, the story of Paul’s life. And he accomplishes these tasks in less than 200 pages.

Bird is careful to read Paul in his own historical context. Many times in the book, he insists that we first realize that Paul’s letters are not written to us, even if God intends that the letters be for us. If we are to understand Paul rightly, we must read him in his own context.

“If the Paul we claim to know looks and sounds a lot like us, then that is probably a good indication that we do not know him as well as we think we do. There is always a temptation to recruit him to our cause, to make our enemies his enemies, our beliefs his beliefs… If we can be mature enough to let Paul be Paul and treat his letters as windows into his world rather than as deposits of theological dogma, then we stand a chance of meeting him anew, letting him speak for himself in his language, on his terms and for his purposes.” (12, 13)

Bird starts off by talking about Paul the man. He focuses on five important aspects of the story of Paul’s life: the persecutor of the church, the greatest missionary who ever lived, a world-class theologian, a pastor with a heart for the church, and the martyr who died for his faith. Bird describes as a “maverick.”

Bird spends a good deal of time recounting Paul’s conversion experience. He argues for continuity in Paul’s thought after coming to faith in Christ. Against some scholars who argue for late-life shifts in Paul’s theology, Bird believes that his theology remained generally stable from conversion until his martyrdom. The conversion experience is central for understanding Paul:

“This encounter with the risen Jesus had an enormous impact on his continuing religious experience of God, on his missionary drive and upon his theological reflection about God, Israel, Torah and salvation. That grace-event killed Saul the Pharisee and birthed Paul the apostle.” (37)

From there, Bird spends considerable time familiarizing his readers with “the stories behind the Story.” In order to properly understand Paul, we must know the stories about God and creation, Adam and Christ, Abraham and Israel, Jesus and the church. These worldview stories provide frameworks into which we can fit the letters of Paul.

After he sets up the historical framework, he then launches into a chapter that gives a brief overview of the historical circumstances, original audience, and basic theology of each of Paul’s letters. In a single chapter, Bird successfully surveys all of the letters.

What makes Bird’s contribution especially timely is the way in which he weaves together old and new perspectives on Paul. He has great appreciation for N. T. Wright and for other New Perspective authors; yet he affirms the traditional view of imputation of Christ’s righteousness:

“Although no text explicitly says that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to believers, nonetheless, without some kind of theology of imputation a lot of what Paul says about justification does not make sense…imputation is the integrating point for a variety of ideas in Paul’s letters.” (97)

Bird attempts to do what many believe is impossible: incorporate the best aspects of the New Perspective within a largely traditional Reformed framework.

Some of Bird’s views are unconvincing. I disagree with his take on Romans 7. Likewise, though Bird does not advocate egalitarianism or complementarianism, he clearly leaves the egalitarian option open.

I was also disappointed to not see any discussion at all about the inspiration of the Scriptures or at least the inspiration of Paul’s letters (which is ultimately the reason we should pay attention to what Paul says).  Theories of inspiration seem to be assumed in this book rather than stated. Perhaps treatment of this subject is missing due to the brevity of the book.

But overall, Introducing Paul  serves as a wonderful introduction to Paul’s theology. It covers the relevant material in a way that is easy for the reader to understand, and it provides a good overview of the main issues in Pauline studies.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2009 Kingdom People blog

Whenever Simon Cowell gives a brutally honest assessment of an American Idol performance, all of America watches the response of the contestant.

What will they say?

Will they take the criticism in stride?

Will they incorporate the truth and become better?

Or will they lash out against Simon (who is usually right)?

For years, we have heard the common refrain from contestants: “Well, Simon… That’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it.” Perhaps this reply showcases our culture’s resistance to seeing anything as objectively good or bad. Is beauty only in the eye of the beholder? Or are there transcendent standards of beauty and goodness?

This year, contestants have been more apt to admit that they might have performed badly. But they have often sought to justify themselves by saying: “But at least I had a good time.” Or: “Well, I was having fun up there.”

In other words: “It doesn’t matter whether or not I sounded terrible. It doesn’t matter if the arrangement stunk or if America and the judges thought the performance was lacking. What matters is that I had ‘fun’.”

It has been funny to watch Simon and the other judges respond politely, saying “Good for you” while probably thinking, America doesn’t care if you were having fun. Are you good enough to go on to the next round or not?

I wonder how many people in our society respond to the consequences of their bad decisions in the same way. “At least I had fun.”

I lost my job because I was looking at pornography at work, but at least I had a “good time.”

My wife left me because I was committing adultery, but at least the “affair” was “fun.”

My kids are rebelling because I have been an absent and distant parent, but at least I have had “fun” in all the extracurricular activities I was involved in.

However, people never really look back on their failures and think of how fun it was at the time. Equipped with 20/20 vision into their past, they see the whole picture and regret their failings. Sadly, those without Christ will race forward blindly lacking wisdom, discernment and direction and inevitably slam into more walls of failure and regret.

Our society believes that enjoyment of this life is the primary purpose of life. We are Epicureans now. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Negative consequences may come to us because of negative choices, but we can justify those consequences by appealing to “fun” and “pleasure.”

It is sad to watch people who appeal to the “good time” get voted off the next week. Real life comes crashing down. We face judgment for our choices. Perform badly for the judges on American Idol and the American public who is watching at home on TV and you will be sent packing, whether you had a good time or not.

The judgment of God is similar. Our performance before a holy and righteous God is sadly lacking. We have not reflected him rightly. We have not fulfilled the human vocation he gave us in the Garden. We have rebelled against his rule.

How many people will face the judgment of God in the same way? When those who refuse to bow the knee to Christ (the only one to offer God a perfect performance) will stand before his throne and hear the chilling words, “I never knew you,” how will they respond?

“Well, at least I had a good time…” could be the sad, last words of the sinner doomed to destruction.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2009 Kingdom People blog

“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
- Jesus to Peter (Luke 5:4)

Peter had labored with his fellow fishermen all night long and had not caught anything. Feeling discouraged, exhausted, and hopeless, the men were probably just about ready to call it quits. That’s when Jesus walked up along the shore and gave Peter some advice. “Go a little deeper!” Jesus sent them into deeper waters to try for the catch, and when they obeyed, they couldn’t make room for all the fish they caught! Christ’s power was evident, and Peter could respond only by bowing in humble worship.

Just after this miracle, Jesus told Peter He wanted to make him a fisher of men, and Jesus wants the same for us today. Yet in our modern “fishing” experience, we often choose to wade in the safe shallow waters (staying within our church walls) rather than to put out into the deep.

It’s easier and much more tempting to go and share Christ only in the neighborhoods where people similar to ourselves live than to go out into the deep water where unloved people are, where danger may be lurking, where rejection will be more common and painful. It’s more convenient to hand someone a tract than to become a friend and invest our time and love in a relationship.

If our lives aren’t bringing forth fruit seen in the lives of others, we should prayerfully evaluate our “technique” to see if we are in shallow waters. Maybe we aren’t “deep” enough in our spiritual walk with the Lord. Maybe we haven’t left our comfort zone in obedience to Christ’s call to serve in an unconventional way.

As we obey, we must keep one thing in our mind at all times: when God gives the increase and allows us to see success, He must always get the glory. After Peter caught all those fish, he fell to his knees in recognition of Jesus’ power. When the Lord allows us to bring others to Him, we must recognize the manifestation of His power alone. As we go deeper with Him, He will receive more and more glory.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2009 Kingdom People blog

O God,
who for our redemption
gave your only-begotten Son
to the death of the cross,
and by his glorious resurrection
delivered us from the power of our enemy:

Grant us so to die daily to sin,
that we may evermore live with him
in the joy of his resurrection;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The proclamation of the cross sounds like folly to many, when in fact it is God’s wisdom.

What looks like powerlessness is God’s power.

What sounds like a tragedy is stunning victory.

The death that looks so shameful has established God’s honor.

What appears as a cause to mourn is a cause for inexpressible joy.

God has triumphed in the cross of Jesus, and we share the triumph with him.

- Michael Bird, Introducing Paul: The Man, His Mission and His Message, 113

If you are a Southern Baptist, you need to pay attention:

Dr. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, gave an historic address yesterday at Southeastern’s chapel. Entitled “Axioms for a Great Commission Resurgence,” this message lays out a detailed vision of where the Southern Baptist Convention should go and how we should arrive there.

Every Southern Baptist should listen to this message.

There are several ways you can do so. First, Doug Baker has helpfully summarized the message and its initial response here. Secondly, you can read the entire sermon manuscript here. Or you can watch or listen to the message here.

Related Posts:
Screwtape on the Southern Baptist Convention
7 Types of Southern Baptists
Bridging the Generation Gap in the SBC

The Boyce College Panel Discussion on N.T. Wright’s new book on justification is now available online. The panel includes Brian Vickers, Mark Seifrid, and Tom Schreiner. Denny Burk is the moderator.

What happens when abortion meets totalitarianism?

Ray Ortlund on why Nashville needs churches.

How Liberalism left Karl Barth speechless regarding the Titanic tragedy.

The Eastern Orthodox view of the substitutionary atonement.

Tony Kummer is giving away more than $400 worth of books at his new site: Devotional Christian.

Here’s an online directory of gospel-centered blogs. Good stuff!

Check out the latest Insight podcast. This one features an interview with Tullian Tchividjian.

Top Post this Week at Kingdom People: Lost & Found – An Interview with Ed Stetzer

The Gospel is “good news.” It is good news only to the degree that the bad news can be understood first.

The world is a messed-up place. It is not just our generation that is notices this, but every generation has had to deal with their share of problems. Today is not really any worse than it was 100 years ago or 1000 years ago.

The good news is that God is fixing what is broken in every generation. This is called redemption. Redemption means to “buy back” or restore to a previous condition.

God is in the process of putting his messed up creation back in order. The Gospel is the good news that that which was broken is being fixed.

But the brokenness had its genesis in us, mankind. God is different. He is perfect and demands perfection because of his character. In other words, as the Bible puts it, God is righteous. Our brokenness is due to choices that we have made. All of us have messed things up. This is called “sin.”

We have sinned through our selfishness, pride, hatred, and perversion of his creation. It is not the way it was supposed to be.

God allows us to reject him and suffer the consequences, but he also offers us hope. This hope is the Good news. It is the hope that God has not abandoned us. It is the hope for redemption.

God loves us in spite of our perversion of good. God loves us in spite of our rejection of him. He did not wait for us to live up to his standard, which can never happen, but he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, 2000 years ago to live a life that we could not.

God the Son became man and never failed, never perverted, and showed us who God is. Because Christ lived a sinless life, he could take the place of man, creating a new race . . . a redeemed race.

Christ was rejected and killed on a cross by man. But God allowed this so that Christ could take the punishment that man—that you and I—deserved. In doing this, he died instead of you. He took your penalty of death and separation from God on a execution cross.

But since he was God the Son and since he never sinned, he did not stay dead. After three days he came back to life and proclaimed victory over all the death, perversion, sin, and penalties that man had afforded creation.

But this Good News does not apply to everyone. It is only for those who believe and trust in what Christ did for them. If you believe in him, you will have life. If you trust in him, not in yourself or your works, but in him alone, you will live forever, witnessing and being a part of a redeemed creation.

One day Christ will come back to call into account all people. You can either stand on your own, giving account for your own sin or you can accept the free gift of salvation and stand with Christ. The bad news is that without Christ, you stand alone and hopeless. The Good News—the Gospel—is that you can stand with Christ full of hope.

- Michael Patton, director of Reclaiming the Mind Ministries

Today, I am excited to post an interview with Ed Stetzer, head of LifeWay Research and the author of numerous books. Ed maintains a very insightful blog and continues to be an inspiration and source of encouragement to a younger generation of pastors and teachers. Today, we’re talking about his newest book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them, which I reviewed yesterday.

Trevin Wax: Did you encounter any surprises as you sifted through the data as you were researching this book?

Ed Stetzer: Yes. Not only did we see some surprises, but also we actually were really encouraged by these findings. It would have been unfortunate had the younger unchurched expressed interest in things that we simply couldn’t offer.

But much of what the younger unchurched are looking for is found in the character of God and what our churches are called to be. Note that I said what our churches are called to be, not necessarily what they are.

Our churches have an opportunity to connect, however that doesn’t necessarily mean they are doing it. One of the great aspects of this book is that we share the approaches of many of the churches that are finding success.

As for what is most surprising in our research, that’s tough. I think what seems to be surprising most of our readers so far is the overall receptivity of the younger unchurched to Christianity, not just general spirituality.

Consider a stat like, “89% of non-church-going young adults said they would be willing to listen if someone wanted to tell them about Christianity.” Our research really accentuates this interest, even to the point of their willingness to participate in Bible study if asked. This is some surprising to some and should be exciting for us all.

Trevin Wax: You write that a sense of community and belonging is important to the younger unchurched. What are some ways that evangelicals have dropped the ball when it comes to fostering genuine community in the past? And where do you recommend we go from here?

Ed Stetzer: The church has, for generations, spoken of community. However, most of us would agree that community has been an aspiration rather than an expressed value. We have “aspired” to build community, but it has scarcely been realized. And that has not gone unnoticed by young adults, both inside and outside the church.

I believe we are often guilty of focusing more on the programs that we’ve established to foster community rather than the people within them. It’s not that our churches and their leaders set out to miss the mark on community. In fact, it is usually good people with positive intentions who have simply lost focus on what’s most important.

In the book, we lay out some key elements to what community needs to look like for this generation. These things include authenticity, transparency, a connection to personal conviction, an openness to ask questions, and much, much more.

Trevin Wax: You write that the younger unchurched are attracted to depth of content. They don’t want to wade around in the shallow end of the pool. What are some ways that churches can provide this kind of depth?

Ed Stetzer: Very simply, we heard the younger churched tell us that if they were going to stand for Truth in a world that isn’t, then they need to be equipped. For those that were unchurched, they told us that if they were to ever make a commitment for Christ, it would be an informed, educated decision.

When we consider both of these perspectives, it’s absolutely essential that our churches are providing in-depth Bible teaching as well as an emphasis on apologetics, worldview, and even other religions. But it’s not just about giving more information either. Instead, young adults told us that he opportunity to wrestle with this information was extremely important.

For some, the process was even more important than the answers. These insights help us establish what our teaching should look like in small group Bible study and in our preaching.

Trevin Wax: You write that serious conversations with the younger unchurched must address issues of gender and sexuality. Yet polls also show that the overwhelming majority reacts negatively to the church’s stance on homosexuality. How can churches remain faithful to the Scriptural teaching on homosexuality and yet still reach the younger unchurched?

Ed Stetzer: It is essential that we as Christ followers teach Truth in a loving, gracious manner manner. With that said, we’ll never reach this generation for Christ with the true gospel if, in the process of “reaching them,” we move away from biblical truth.

This isn’t an either/or situation. We can and should do both. We’re not suggesting that churches compromise on scriptural teachings. We do, however, need to have an accurate understanding of exactly who were are hoping to reach. Churches wanting to connect with this generation need to be informed and prepared.

Trevin Wax: How should churches respond to the recent development of missions/ministry becoming an entry for the younger generation?

Ed Stetzer: This generation is continuing to show their desire to be a part of something bigger than themselves, a cause. It is our responsibility to affirm the church as an outlet where they cannot only find opportunities to serve the world, but even find a greater reason behind doing it.

The social action movement shouldn’t intimidate the church. We don’t need to be looking for ways to retrofit our message into it. Instead, we simply need to help others see that it is our message.

Jesus shows us in Luke 19 that he came to seek and to save the lost. But, we also see that very same Jesus in Luke 4 who is serving the hurting and the oppressed. If we are going to join Jesus on his mission, he modeled both “serve” and “save,” and we would do well to follow his example.

It’s important that we, as believers, are choosing to do both also. We also speak of how many churches are not only serving the lost and hurting, but also serving alongside them in an effort to build relationships. These are interesting findings that we discuss at length in the book.

Churches are beginning to wake up to the fact that our congregations are missing large numbers of young people. The “missing generation” includes young people who have either ”dropped out” of church or who have never had a church background at all.

What to do? How can churches reach 20-somethings? Some books focus on reclaiming the “drop-outs” – those who once were in church, but have since left. Essential Church, by Thom and Sam Rainer, is a book that focuses on reclaiming what we have lost.

Ed Stetzer’s new book puts forth a vision that is more expansive. Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them (Broadman & Holman, 2009) focuses on churches that are seeing success in reaching the younger unchurched from across the spectrum – including those without any Christian background whatsoever.

Co-written with Jason Hayes and RIchie Stanley, Lost and Found sets forth an optimistic tone:

“This book is not entitled Lost and We Just Wanted to Tell You (and it’s the Church’s fault by the way). We’re calling it Lost and Found because that we want you to know that young adults are being found – effectively engaged in their culture, coming to faith in Christ, and being incorporated into congregational life.” (1)

Stetzer focuses on this question: “Who are the young unchurched and how can they be reached with the good news of Jesus Christ?” By simplifying the question, the authors are able to move past all the debates about church growth methodology and discussions about style. In fact, they are unapologetic in their focus on discipleship results: 

“A movement may be emerging, contemporary, reformed, or whatever, but if it fails to produce new followers of Jesus Christ, it is only a fascinating and engaging dead end.” (3)

Lost and Found is indeed about church growth, but Stetzer’s brand is what I like to call church growth with brakes. He remains tethered to Scripture and the centrality of the gospel. There is no sense in watering down the gospel in order to gather a crowd. But neither is there any sense in clinging to methods or traditions that distract people from the centrality of the gospel and our commission to evangelize.

The first part of the book describes the younger unchurched (their assumptions, opinions, values, and convictions). Introducing us to the younger generation is Stetzer’s way of preparing us to be ”good missionaries” – people who understand the context in which we live and who have a passion for reaching the lost where they are. 

I admit that statistics don’t do much for me. And part 1 contains plenty of stastics that make my eyes glaze over. Thankfully, the authors continually incorporate summaries to help along readers like me. By transforming the statistics into concrete examples, the authors make the data easy to comprehend.

Part 2 lists four markers that are common to young adult concerns:

• Community
• Depth
• Responsibility
• Connection

Part 3 shows how churches are reaching young adults, by taking the markers listed above and fleshing them out in practical ways. The authors come up with nine characteristics common to churches that are reaching young adults:

• Creating deeper community
• Making a difference through service
• Experiencing worship
• Conversing the content
• Leveraging technology
• Building cross-generational relationships
• Moving toward authenticity
• Leading by transparency
• Leading by team.

Lost and Found gives me hope for the next generation. God continues to seek and save the lost, even among this “missing” generation. We are not a lost cause.

Stetzer’s analysis is not particularly innovative, and that’s a good thing. Instead, he marshalls the polling and statistics in support of his call for churches to go back to the basics of the Christian faith. Lost and Found challenges the status quo. But the book is also encouraging. The authors strike an optimistic chord regarding the future.

The call to witness to the truth of the gospel goes out to every generation, young or old, churched or unchurched, missing or present. Whatever the context, our task remains the same. And Lost and Found makes me want to take part in God’s mission with greater passion.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2009 Kingdom People blog