...a season of giving

 

 

                November is a season of harvest and gratitude. We celebrate God’s bounty and return thanks. November is a good time to consider the practice of giving. I am rereading Jack Hayford’s book, The Key to Everyting, this month as part of my devotional practice. Pastor Hayford argues that giving is the key spiritual discipline. I would like to share some of his thoughts with you.

                “…learning and applying the Key to Everything involves the growing of a heart attitude of giving, which gives the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reasons. Such giving takes many forms.

·         There are times to give up, not in resignation or in abandonment to despair, but in a surrender of self-righteousness.

·         There are times to forgive, that is, to release what otherwise could be retained as a grudge…

·         There are times to give over, to place into the hands of the Creator-Judge of the universe matters which only his might or his justice can sufficiently handle.

·         There are times to give to, providing with generosity in assisting the circumstances of another human being or group.

·         There are times to give in through simple obedience…

·         There are times to give wisely because we understand reciprocal laws of God which promise a bountiful return if we give. And that return is his way of making possible our learning to give over and over again with increasing resources and joyfulness. “

 

What will you give during this season of giving? Will you give thanks? Will you forgive? Will you give money as a thanks offering so that others may hear? Will you give yourself by giving your time? Give. It just may be the key to everything.

FBC Marion

Our crew is traveling to Marion, MS next week. I will be preaching in an old school revival at FBC Marion. This church is served by Drew and Emily Dabbs. Drew and Emily are a fantastic couple. They both graduated from Truett Seminary and are doing a great job sharing Christ's love with their community. The church is multi-generational and has a vibrant outreach to children in their community. We will focus on the gospel from generation to generation. Pray that I share the gospel plainly. Pray that this church is refreshed. Pray that Jesus is honored.

I am grateful that Todd Still will preach for FBC Waco while we are away.

Sex and Church

Meredith and I have been invited to lead a group of young couples at UBC Waco in a discussion about sex in marriage. This church is attempting to help young couples face the big challenges that impact marital health. I am encouraged by this and hope to borrow a few ideas. Marriage is sacred and fragile and the church has a role to play.  Please pray that we are able to help a little and make a big deal about Jesus. This event is Sunday October 13 @ 6:00.

Nostalgia, Novelty and The Mission of God

 

The mission of God faces two subtle and unnecessary challenges. The first is nostalgia. The second is novelty. Nostalgia sufferers believe that if the world would just get it together then our methods would work like they did when they worked. Methods have a shelf life. The folks that have come down with novelty are devotees of the newest paradigms. They are like children with a new toy. Nothing is a cool. Everything else is lame. Nostalgia and Novelty Christians war with each other and damage the whole.

Instead of: missions vs. missional and cooperative vs. congregational, etc. maybe we can let the past inform bold new moves in the present. We’d then have wisdom and passion. We’d miss fewer things. Fewer holes would exist. This is a second cup of coffee thought and the stuff of prayer.  Have a good Friday y’all.

 

Every Generation Needs a New Outlook On Mission

Schemes

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

“…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”

 

            We’ve all been had. Isn’t it a terrible experience? Worse yet is being duped and not knowing it. That is deception. It is possible that we are being deceived right now. We exist to lead all generations to love God, one another and the world in the Spirit of Jesus. We are to love and lead, lead and love. I truly believe that is God’s intention for the church. There are, however, real principalities and powers organized to combat our loving and leading. How do we confront these powers?

            We confront dark power by loving. We love God through worship and obedience. We love one another through fellowship and service. We love the world through missions. We confront the powers by loving those difficult to love through the Spirit of Christ. Greg Boyd wrote, “The way we fight principalities and powers is by loving those who are unlovable, those who are against us, and putting on display the character of our God and His Kingdom because His character is revealed on Calvary.” We are called to love and lead in the power provided by the Spirit. This is a call to spiritual struggle. Love is a battlefield.

            We confront dark power by leading wisely; by being aware of the schemes. We can avoid being outwitted by living humbly and thoughtfully. From time to time it makes good sense to explore some of the powers’ schemes. My next message series begins October 27 and will be titled, Schemes. We will explore common hindrances to loving and leading in the Spirit of Jesus. The arsenal is full so this series will not be comprehensive. I have selected six schemes that are common to churches like ours. We will explore the schemes: cynicism, nominalism, parochialism, factionalism, materialism and fatalism/universalism.

 I would love for you to be an engaged part of this series. I’d love to hear your thoughts on spiritual warfare.  Twitter, Facebook and Blogger work fine. Send a letter. Email me @ msnowden@fbcwaco.org. Carrier pigeons and smoke signals are cool. Thanks!

       

 

The Priesthood of the Sacrifices

As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5

 

                Baptists cherish the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer. The notion is not unique to us. We believe that it is rooted in scripture and it is shared by other Christian groups. We are right to cherish and protect the doctrine. It is fragile.   The doctrine has been damaged by the individualistic spirit of the age. This is antithetical to the plain teaching of scripture. No wise priest ever swaggered into the holy of holies because it was his “right”.  Priesthood is about the individual before God, the individual in community and the community of faith declaring Jesus in the world. The doctrine is individual, communal and missional. It is up, in and out. It is a doctrine primarily about our grateful response to our gracious God.   

The chief functional of a priest is sacrifice. Any spirituality divorced of sacrifice lacks the thick blooded vitality that is necessary to stand in blinding wind of secularism. We are the Order of the Priests of Jesus Christ. Our call is a call to cheerfully sacrifice. The New Testament calls me (us) to sacrifice:

MySelf – Romans 12:1

My Music - Hebrews 13:15

My Deeds – Hebrews 13:16

My Money – Philippians 4:18

  I am using these sacrificial passages in the New Testament to shape my priesthood. I am often a shabby priest and I do not want to be. I really do not want to be a swaggering priest.  My prayer is that we allow the biblical language of sacrifice to form our ideas of priesthood. I believe that will make a profound difference in the way we live out our faith. Maybe “battlin’” Baptists will one day be known as “sacrificin’” Baptists. We will see.