My Life for Theirs: A Multi-Generational Vision

Here’s a snippet from a new post at Pursuing Godly Manhood…

My life for yours. Training and nurturing our children in the Lord – when we rise, when we go to bed, as we live throughout the day, when it’s convenient, when it’s inconvenient – making sure that our children are not merely “taught at” but saturated in the things of God each day, all day – because they are eternal beings and heirs of the King. “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

Are we leaving a godly legacy to and for our children and our children’s children for a thousand generations? Are we dying so they can live – really live? Can we think outside our individual lives to see how our own deaths will extend the Kingdom of God by producing many seeds? Will we believe the promises of God that he has made regarding faithful, covenantal parenting? My life for yours and for a thousand generations after you. Talk about a payoff!

Click here to read the whole post.

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Transforming the World: Reclaiming Our Methodist Legacy, Part 3

by Dale Tedder
click here to read Part 1
click here to read Part 2

Story #2

To begin our next story, we need to fast-forward about 1,700 years. John Wesley was born on June 17, 1703, in the small town of Epworth in northeastern England. Here are just a few descriptive phrases about this England into which John Wesley was born.

England had just come out of a bloody civil war. Political tensions were high. There was extreme poverty.

 Regular employment was uncertain. Housing was often inadequate and unaffordable.

 Pure drinking water was scarce. Food was in short supply. Disease was rampant.

 Alcohol, violence, prostitution, and gambling were popular means to escape feelings of desperation and hopelessness.

 Children as young as four or five were employed as chimney sweeps or in mines and factories. Life was insecure. (I got these excerpts from a biography of Wesley’s life by Charles Yrigoyen. Its title is, John Wesley: Holiness of Heart & Life. It’s a great biography and could be used very profitably in a small group.)

 That was the condition of England that still existed as John Wesley began his ministry. It has some pretty remarkable similarities to our own day, doesn’t it?

I wish I could spend a few hours with you telling you all that Wesley preached and did. But here’s the short version of his ministry (and this is key): He preached the whole Gospel for the whole person.

He didn’t preach merely a Gospel message that promised heaven once you died. It, of course, included that… but it was much bigger than that. He preached a Gospel – the biblical Gospel – that changed lives in the here and now.

And as people were won for Christ, Wesley made sure that they were discipled. That means that he encouraged them to get involved in what we would call Bible studies, small groups, accountability groups. It would be in those settings that they would worship God, study his Word, take communion, pray for each other, hold each other accountable for growing in holiness.

As the Apostle Peter would put it, they were seeking to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wesley gave these early Methodists “General Rules” that served to keep them moving in the right direction. Our church family here at Southside studied a basic summary and explanation of those rules a few years ago when we all read the book, Three Simple Rules, by Rueben Job. I want to share just a few of these rules so that you can get a sense of what was being emphasized…

“It is therefore expected of all who continue therein that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation,

 First: By doing no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind, especially that which is most generally practiced, such as:

• The taking of the name of God in vain.
• Drunkenness:
• Slaveholding; buying or selling slaves.
• Fighting, quarreling, brawling, brother going to law with brother; returning evil for evil,
• The giving or taking things on usury—i.e., unlawful interest.
• Uncharitable or unprofitable conversation;
• Doing to others as we would not they should do unto us.
• Doing what we know is not for the glory of God, as:

 It is expected of all who continue in these societies that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation,

 Secondly: By doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men:

• To their bodies, of the ability which God giveth, by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the naked, by visiting or helping them that are sick or in prison.
• To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse with;
• By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith; helping each other in business,.
• By running with patience the race which is set before them, denying themselves, and taking up their cross daily;

 It is expected of all who desire to continue in these societies that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation,

 Thirdly: By attending upon all the ordinances of God; such are:

• The public worship of God.
• The ministry of the Word, either read or expounded.
• The Supper of the Lord.
• Family and private prayer.
• Searching the Scriptures.
• Fasting

 Now let me ask you something: What might happen to a city where genuinely Spirit-empowered, Spirit-guided people were faithfully and regularly practicing these things? Well, I’ll tell you what happened in England. It turned England upside down, just like it began to do in Rome 1,700 years earlier.

The Methodist movement, according to secular historians with no special fondness for the church, saved England from the same bloody revolution that happened in France.

But there was a cost. There’s always a cost of discipleship… which is why Jesus wants us to count the cost before we commit our lives to him.

These disciples of Jesus Christ, called Methodists, were insulted, slandered, attacked in newspapers. And just like what happened in Thessalonica 1,700 years before… mobs physically attacks them. They were beaten, their houses were burned down, their property was stolen: Simply because they were Methodists!

And so, what happened? Did they give up and return to their old ways of living? Far from it! Methodists grew in faith and numbers. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was declared in more places with greater impact. Lives were changed. That little corner of the world called England was transformed. What a great witness for Christ!

As I draw to a close, let me leave you with two big ideas.

Scripture says that the early disciples turned their world upside down with the message of the Gospel and that lives were changed by it. History shows us that John Wesley and the early Methodists turned their world upside down with the message of the Gospel and that lives were changed by it.

And so here’s my first big idea: The Gospel of the Kingdom doesn’t actually turn the world upside down. It turns it right-side up!

You see, our fallen, sinful, broken world is already upside down. It’s values, beliefs, attitudes, desires, actions –and all the rest – are contrary to those of God’s Kingdom. Jesus came to set things right – in every sphere of life.

But that far-reaching, socially impacting, worldwide transformation that we all want has to first begin in the hearts of individuals. Each of us must become new creatures in Christ who will faithfully follow him as his disciples. Only then, as we take our new life – our new values, beliefs, attitudes, desires, and actions – with us, wherever we go, can we transform the world… or at least our little corner of it.

It starts with us. It moves to our families. It affects our church, our workplaces, our friendships, our community, our city, our state, our country, and eventually our world. But we have to first start where we are. We have to first be faithful where we are.

That’s my first big idea.

Here’s my second big idea: As followers of Jesus Christ, and spiritual descendents of the Apostle Paul and John Wesley, this is YOUR spiritual legacy as United Methodists. You see, their stories belong to you. In fact, this is YOUR story. You are a part of it.

And so, let me ask you this: What legacy will you leave to those who follow you? How will you keep the story going?

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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God Will Provide

by Dale Tedder
Selected verses from Genesis 22

Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his son – the son of promise – the dear child that Abraham and Sarah had waited a century to have. It was this very son, Isaac, whom Abraham was to take to the mountaintop and sacrifice – to kill.

Abraham obeyed.

As Abraham and Isaac approached the fateful place, Isaac looked around, saw the fire and wood, but no animal for the offering. “…Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Isaac asked his father.

“Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide…’” And he did. We know this story well. As Abraham prepared to offer his son, the Lord stopped him, and provided a ram to take Isaac’s spot. God provided.

The Lord tested Abraham (verse 1). A test from God is designed to move you forward in faith. The purpose of Satan’s temptations is to trip you up so that you might fall backwards. This was a test. And Abraham passed. He was blessed accordingly (verses 15-18). Why the blessing? Because Abraham obeyed God (verse 18).

This is the nature of covenantal living. If you obey God and the conditions of his covenant, God promises blessings (because he graciously sets the terms of the covenant… not because he has to). If you disobey, he promises curses. What either of those  may look like is not so clear. That God promises to work this way is very clear.

I wonder what blessings God desires to pour out upon us for our obedience today…and for tomorrow. Deeper faith maybe? More influence for the Kingdom perhaps? Greater responsibility? God specifically said that Abraham’s descendents would be blessed through his faithfulness. Might our obedience now impact our children and our children’s children after them (for a thousand generations)? I believe the answer is yes to all of those questions.

If God chooses to bless us in material ways, that’s fine. (And we really ought to point out that he already has and then some.) But shouldn’t the blessings we desire be things like, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is heaven”? And shouldn’t the provisions that we hope God will bestow upon us be along the lines of an ever-increasing knowledge of him (John 17:3), a growing conformity to him, an ever-expanding influence for his Kingdom, a radical extension of his Kingdom into every sphere of life – that everyone in our “territory” would bow before our King in willing and joyful submission?

Abraham was obedient and God blessed him. Will you be obedient too? How? How is God calling you to faithfully follow him today? Abraham was asked to sacrifice the whole world to him – his beloved son. What form of sacrificial living is God calling you to? Will you obey?

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Thoughts on Church Membership

At some time or another, most pastors wrestle with issues concerning church membership. Whether it’s the old 80/20 principle… where 20 percent of the members do 80 percent of the work and give 80 percent of the money or whether it’s trying to deal with the fact that the majority of folks on the membership roll aren’t in worship on a Sunday morning… membership issues are constantly on a pastor’s (and church staff’s) radar screen.

My own observation, and that of many of the folks that I read, is that church membership doesn’t seem to mean a great deal today. (In fact, some churches have stopped keeping up with membership. But that’s a topic for another day.) Some folks, who claim to be members of a particular church, haven’t been inside the sanctuary of that church since Jimmy Carter was in office. Furthermore, they don’t seem to be the least bit embarrassed by that. Indeed, it doesn’t seem to be something that should even be a concern. They have little problem in requesting to have their wedding at the church or to have their baby baptized… and they are quite indignant to be questioned about their relationship with the church.

I’ll never forget the first time I read these words from Thom Rainer’s book, High Expectations…

Choose a typical Sunday morning in the United States. And on this typical Sunday, let us take a hypothetical visit to a church selected at random. The church is a Christian church; it may be independent, or it may belong to a denomination. Let us stretch our imagination a bit and make ourselves visitors from first-century Jerusalem, where the first Christian church is experiencing explosive growth.

While we are amazed at the world two thousand years later and marvel at all the technological advances, we are visiting for another purpose. Our brief journey into twenty centuries of future is made to see how the church is doing after two millennia. We have chosen a church in a relatively new nation called the United States.

Before entering into the church building for worship services, we are told that the church has five hundred members. We are pleased that a typical American church has such a healthy numerical membership. Our pleasure, however, is quickly turned to despair when we enter the sanctuary. Our quick count of those present tells us that only slightly above two hundred members are worshiping together on this typical Sunday. Where, we exclaim, are the nearly three hundred who are absent?

We are further dismayed to discover that only 175 attended the time of Bible study that is called Sunday School. How could it be that only one-third of these Christians come together to study God’s Word? We had originally expected to find all 500 members present, worshiping together,  studying Scripture, and doing ministry. We become physically ill to find out that less than 70 members of this typical American church are involved in ministry. We return to first-century Jerusalem with heavy hearts and a report that the future church is very unhealthy, perhaps even dying.

And then Rainer shares these words…

Indeed, the early Christians would have trouble imagining the plight of the American church today. But it comes as no shock to us two thousand years later that less is expected of church members today than civic organizations expect of their members. We have dumbed down church membership to the point that it means almost nothing! (emphasis mine)

 I guess the reason why I’m feeling so concerned about this lately is because I realize that the problem is not with (or not exclusively with) these supposed “members” who essentially aren’t a part of the Body of Christ in the local assembly. I’m realizing more and more that the church at large isn’t doing such a great job communicating what genuine biblical church membership is… either before folks join or after (as a reminder). (Though some churches are doing this very well and thankfully are sharing with the rest of us.)

Membership has its privileges, as the saying used to go. However, it also has its responsibilities, requirements, expectations, etc. It seems that many churches today are so overly concerned about not “turning off” folks who come to visit, hiking their numbers as high as they can, not appearing negative, etc., that they’ve shirked their responsiblity to God and to their membership and, as dramatic as this may sound, have put souls at risk. (By the way, I’m pointing a finger and fully aware of the three fingers pointing back at me!!)

In the United Methodist Church we have a “cleaning” or “purging” process for inactive members. But that process seems fairly anemic because all a person has to say in response when they’re contacted is, “yes, I want to remain on the church role” and they stay there. They don’t have to start attending or becoming a part of the life of the church (though one would hope they are encouraged to. One would also hope that a person being asked if they wanted to remain on the membership role would awaken that person to their inactivity).

I know we always want to hold out grace and love to folks. But isn’t there such a thing as cheap grace.. and can’t that cheap grace actually be very unloving? Can’t we be in danger of saying to these folks, as Jeremiah warned us about with the false prophets of Israel, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” Aren’t we misleading, at best, and lying, at worst, to these “members” about God, salvation, regeneration, holiness, discipleship, and membership… just to name a very, very few?

I’m praying much about this lately (and I covet your prayers!). I’m also reading a great deal on this matter because I believe it is so very important. I’m additionally reminded that shepherds will give an account to our heavenly Father on how we shepherded those entrusted to our care. Much repentance is required of me and I hope to start moving in a more faithful direction regarding this.

I’ve been reading Mark Dever’s “The Deliberate Church,” which is an outstanding (and very convicting) book on just this issue. I would quote from it here, but this post is already long enough. I definitely recommend it if you’re interested in exploring some of the issues I’ve raised. (Rainer’s book too)

I would love to hear from any of you who have some wisdom on this matter, any book suggestions you may have, etc. Don’t be shy!

May the Lord bless his Church as we seek greater faithfulness.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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A Few More Notes on Family Worship

Here are the rest of my notes from this past Sunday’s lesson on family worship. Click here to get the notes from part 1.

Possible outline for your family time together…

Caveat: What I have provided in this packet is a variety of different resources for Family Worship. By no means would or should you try to do all the things I have provided. I tried to include things that would be appropriate for the various ages that might be around the table in a variety of families. In fact, it might be better to use these resources throughout several days, not just during one day. Here’s a sample of what you might include during your time of Family Worship…

Open in prayer (it might be a good time to pray for the Lord’s blessing during your time together and to thank God for the opportunity to get together.)

Read something from the Bible. (in your packet I have included a chapter from the Psalms as well as a Bible story from the book of Acts). Not all children’s story Bibles are created equal. Of course, the best book to read is the Bible itself. But there are some fine Bible story books that faithfully capture the biblical text and yet communicate the text in a way that is helpful to children of a variety of ages (including the adults). Click here to learn more about the one that we use.

Sing a hymn or praise chorus (or even the Doxology or Gloria Patri). Remember this is Family Worship. Worship includes singing. When your kids are young, they think you sing great, no matter what the truth is. Worry less about how you sound and more about doing it. If you need to, buy some CDs with songs you know. As my children get older, we’re able to sing hymns from our hymnals. You can purchase used hymnals at used bookstores, flea markets, etc. Buy one whenever you see one. Old hymnals are great spiritual investments.

Read a devotional. (the good thing about devotionals is very often they come with questions, prayers, etc. You can really get the children involved with these.) One of our favorites is called, Sticky Situations. A moral/spiritual dilemma is presented for each day of the year. And for each dilemma, four or five possible responses are offered along with an appropriate Bible verse to help your family reflect on what the right choice should be. My kids LOVE doing this.

Apostles’ Creed, Lord’s Prayer, or Catechism. Work on memorization. Catechisms were used throughout most of Christian history to teach children (and adults) through a sequence of stated questions and answers (with scriptural support). There are some good children’s catechisms available. You’ll be amazed at what your children can memorize. Memorizing is key (understanding it will grow as they get older). Of course, memorizing Scripture should be your top priority.

Prayer – Have time of prayer. Initially mom and dad lead. Take prayer requests. Remember the church, the sick, family, friends, etc. Also, pray for the day (or the next day). Start teaching your children to be thankful. Find things to thank God for. Also, start teaching your children how to pray for forgiveness (repentance). You’ll also want to spend time praising God for who he is. We also pray for missionaries and Christians around the world.

You don’t need to cover every aspect of prayer every single time you pray. But throughout a week, you ought to cover most of it. You don’t want your children growing up thinking that the only time you pray is when you need something from God.

Offer your family a benediction or blessing at the end. Make up something your family might remember and that will be meaningful to them throughout their lives (it could become a family tradition… as well as comforting). Or even better, find a blessing in the Bible and tweak it to make it your family’s official blessing.

Last thoughts…

Again, you won’t always cover all of these components every single time you gather for Family Worship. Sometimes you might. It might be that you do different things throughout the day (in the morning, at dinner, before bed, etc.).

At the end of the day, there’s no magic formula or resource. What will work best for your family will be what you follow through with. In other words, no matter how many resources you have, if you don’t use them, they won’t work for you. Find what works! Don’t stress out. But do something. Be intentional. Trust God.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Covenantal Blessings

Genesis 7:1

The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

 God works through families. He blesses through families. He curses through families. This is the covenantal nature of God’s work throughout Scripture.

Noah found favor with God (Gen. 6:8). Noah was found by God to be a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and walking with God (Gen. 6:9). Because God saw Noah in such a condition, Noah’s whole family was blessed – his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law.

We find God’s covenantal faithfulness in the New Testament as well.  The Syrophoenician woman’s daughter was possessed by an evil spirit (Mk. 7:25). So her mother went to Jesus and begged him to deliver her from it. After testing her, Jesus rewarded the mother for her persistence and faith by healing the daughter from the spirit (Mk. 7:29). The child was blessed because of the mother’s faith. This is how God works.

Psalm 128:1-4 reminds us of this.

    Blessed are all who fear the Lord,

        who walk in his ways.

    [2] You will eat the fruit of your labor;

        blessings and prosperity will be yours.

    [3] Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

        within your house;

    your sons will be like olive shoots

        around your table.

    [4] Thus is the man blessed

        who fears the Lord.

Noah was blessed in such a way. So was Abraham. So was the Syrophoenician woman and Lydia and the Philippian jailer.

If this is how God works, does it not then behoove us to pursue righteousness and blamelessness for all we are worth? Should we not desire to walk with the Lord daily? Wouldn’t fearing the Lord be wise? The personal blessings that would flow from such a life seem reason enough. But the covenantal blessings on your children and your children’s children seem to make this absurdly obvious and compelling. Even in the land of rugged individualism, we can grasp this.

In light of this, let us resolve to give our lives for our spouses, our children, and to all to whom we can minister. Our lives for theirs. It is only in this kind of death that we might find life – for ourselves and for our families.

Stand Firm,
Dale

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Covenantal Repentance

2 Chronicles 7:14

…if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

 The Lord was pleased with the Temple that Solomon had completed. God said he would take up residence there to receive sacrifices. He then mysteriously (seemingly) changed the tone of his words to Solomon by telling him that he may shut up the heavens to prevent rain from falling. Or, he may command locusts to devour the land. Or, he may even send a plague on “his own” people (v. 13).

It’s hard to understand where God was coming from here. All Israel had just celebrated the dedication of the Temple, the assembling of which, was a community project to say the least. And then we get the words of verse 13.

Perhaps it was the nature of that (the Temple) which they were celebrating – the place from which God would receive sacrifices. The sin of a covenant people against the Holy One with whom such a covenant was made was no trifle to be winked at. It was a great offense. But God offered hope in verse 14. He declared that when these calamities befall his covenant people, there was (is) something they could do.

First, his people must humble themselves. There is no room for pride and self-dependence here. Instead, God’s people must, as it were, fall on their faces before God as an act of spiritual poverty and brokenness. They have neither strength nor wisdom in and of themselves. God is the Source for all of that and more.

They must also pray. Prayers of adoration, confession of sin, expressions of their helplessness, and complete dependence upon the sovereign God come to mind.

Next, they must seek the face of God. Imagine that great Day when we will behold the face of God. It is that face which we are to pursue in this life. This idea expresses our need to cultivate the character of God in our lives, trust him alone, follow his commands, seek his presence, and enter into intimate communion with him. 

God also said that his people must turn from their wicked ways. The rest of the chapter gives us a glimpse of what those wicked ways look like: Turning away from and forsaking God and his decrees and commands, serving other gods, and worshipping them. This is wickedness in the sight of God and is why God might bring disaster on his own people (v. 22). God’s people must abandon such spiritual adultery at once.

But when they humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from their wicked ways, God promises to hear them, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Ours is a land in desperate need of healing. Whether it’s our culture, our denomination, our local church, or our family, there is much need for the healing power of God. But it will not come merely because we recognize the need. That’s a good first step, but much more is required – genuine change – change that results in humbling oneself before God and clinging to him alone. Saturating ourselves in prayer regarding our transgressions before God and the need for forgiveness and restoration is essential. Seeking the face of God – his will, his commands and decrees, his presence, his pleasure – should be our life’s pursuit. And biblical repentance is necessary – turning from our wicked ways and leaving them behind and turning in a Godward direction. Our prayer should certainly include pleading with God to enable us to do such.

We want to see our land and our lives forgiven and healed. But change (renovation) will have to first take place. Until then, we should expect the discipline of a loving and holy Father – one who loves us too much to let us continue on a destructive path, and who, therefore, will do much to bring us back. Because he is holy, he will never overlook our transgressions. He loves his own character and glory too much for that.

God calls us away from the gods of this age. He calls us back to obedience and submission to his Lordship and Word. And with that comes his promise to forgive us and heal our land. Thanks be to God – the great Promise-Maker and Promise-Keeper.

Stand Firm,
Dale

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