EVERY Sphere of A Man’s Life

For over two decades I’ve been using some version of the phrase, “faith for every sphere of life.” I first started thinking about this obvious nature of our faith (that it’s for every sphere of life) as I began a deep study of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Two of the books that helped with my “aha” moment were Richard Baxter’s Christian Directory and John Frame’s The Doctrine of God.  (click here for more about Richard Baxter)

What attracted me so much to the idea of finally understanding our faith being authoritative and relevant for every sphere of life (besides the fact that the Bible teaches it) was that I, like soooo very many other men, had long been an adherent of a compartmentalized faith. Men, you know the drill: the Christian faith is fine for Sunday mornings, etc., but it has nothing to do with the rest of your life. It’s embarrassing to “say” out loud, but that’s the truth of where I was.

Since that time I have observed that a wholistic view of the Christian faith, whether practiced or not, is gaining some traction (at least by most folks in the church). The secular world would still prefer for the Church to remain silent about anything not having to do with worship on Sunday mornings. Faith, they say, is private. You can’t bring it into the public square. Of course, that’s ridiculous, and I’m not going to spend time responding to that. Others far more articulate than I have thoroughly dismantled such a view.

At any rate, over the years I’ve tried to use various phrases that capture my deep and abiding commitment to the notion that my faith applies to every sphere of my life because Jesus Christ is Lord over every sphere of my life. (My most recent “brainstorm” for this idea that has helped me wrap my mind around it is Kingdom Discipleship.) I have loved Abraham Kuyper’s quote that says something along the lines that there is not a square inch in all the universe about which Christ does declare, “Mine!”

As a United Methodist, I have naturally rejoiced that John Wesley took just such a view of the Christian faith. He called it Scriptural Holiness and said that it was his purpose in life to spread Scriptural Holiness over the land (which, for him, was England). For Wesley, holiness was inward and also outward. It was personal and it was also social. There was no picking and choosing. Faith should permeate every aspect of a Christian’s life – marriage, parenting, work, economics, politics, education, the arts, personal morality, relationships, civic duty and serving the community, etc., etc., etc. One book that has served me well in attempting to understand this concept from a Wesleyan perspective is Mack Stokes’ little book, Scriptural Holiness for the United Methodist Church. I highly recommend it… if you can find it. (Update: Joseph Slife at Methodist Thinker, sent me this link to purchase Stokes’ book. Many thanks Joseph!)

Brothers, I would encourage you to pray over what it would mean to you to understand that there is not even the smallest corner in your life over which Jesus Christ, as Lord, does not shout, “Mine!” How would acknowledging and submitting to that truth change your life? How would it bless your relationship with your family and friends? What consequences would that have for you in your workplace? Can you imagine the possibilities? Men, Christ is calling you to follow him in every sphere of your lives. Do you hear him? Will you follow him?

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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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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Tedder’s Top Ten: Worldview Websites

I have ranked only the first website below in order of my favorites because I regard it as the best website for worldview thinking and living. The others are in no particular order since trying to rank them would have given me a headache.

1.) The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview - Very good and helpful website. It is regularly updated, has great writing, and some good use of YouTube as well. You can also get connected via Facebook and Twitter. (I’m also placing Colson’s BreakPoint here because it’s also very good and it touches on many of the same elements.)

Here’s a description of The Colson Center…

The Colson Center presents a research, study, and networking center for growing in a Christian worldview. The Center provides opportunities for searching a wide range of documents and other materials, joining a learning community, acquiring materials for training others, networking with likeminded Christians, and staying abreast of the latest in Christian worldview thinking.

The Colson Center links with a wide range of worldview ministries whose resources and materials are available by searching this site. In addition, opportunities for personal mentoring, ongoing and customized study and training, and daily email newsletters and devotionals are also available. A comprehensive bookstore of Christian worldview resources serves the needs of readers and students from all walks of life.

Using the writings, speeches, and other materials of Chuck Colson as the “first floor” of its resources, The Colson Center builds upon that to erect an edifice of worldview information, resources, and training from every age and sector of the Christian heritage. Following a Framework of Truth based on the Christian worldview, The Colson Center exists to equip others for the realization of transformed lives, churches, communities, cultures, societies, and times.

2.) American Vision - Gary DeMar and company are making much of YouTube as well providing some great articles on a wide assortment of topics. Not afraid to take on the hard issues.

3.) Catholic Education Resource Center - As a Protestant, I can’t go along with everything on this site, however, on the whole, it’s a fantastic presentation of the Christian world and life view. Lots of great articles.

4.) Leadership University - I debated whether or not to include this one. On the one hand, it has a bazillion great articles covering everything under the sun. On the other hand, it’s website format is from the stone age and thus, not very helpful. But, the good outweighs the bad in this case, so I’m including it.

5.) The McKenzie Study Center - I’ve been following these good folks for a long time now. Their content is always good and they’ve done a great job keeping their site sharp and user-friendly. The only thing on my wish list for them is to do more with social media.

6.) Orthodoxy Today - Just as I included my caveat for my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters above, I should say once again that, as a Protestant, I don’t agree with everything here either. But their commitment to the historic Christian faith and the impact that it ought to have for every sphere of life is unquestionable. Always good things to read.

7.) Probe Ministries - I think Probe has an article for every topic imaginable. From secular humanism to science to art they have an article for you. They are also in the business of training students to think biblically. (Check out their Mind Games conferences and seminars.)

8.) Center for Parent/Youth Understanding - I couldn’t possibly keep up with all the things that my kids might run into in a given week… even if I wanted to. Fortunately, I don’t have to watch every show, listen to every song, or check out every website since they folks at CPYU do that for me. Good information here.

9.) byFaith Online - This is an e-zine for the Presbyterian Church in America… which I don’t belong to. However, it’s more than a denominational magazine, it’s a great resource that expounds the “every sphere of life” nature of the Christian faith. It also has a strong ministry emphasis of living such a life as an ordinary part of who we are as Christians.

10.) Summit Ministries - God willing, my children will all attend the Summit Ministries worldview training retreats during the summers of their college years. They are the pioneers of this. Summit Ministries is doing a fantastic job providing a variety of curricula, as well as making the most of social media. A great site to check out.

** To be sure there are other very fine sites out there. If there is one in particular that I didn’t mention that you think is worth knowing about, please let me know in the comments section. Maybe I’ll come up with an “honorable mention” category. In the mean time, click here to check out the ones that I didn’t mention.

Honorable Mention

• Center for Christ & Culture (Michael Craven)

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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A Life-Changing Message

Yesterday I mentioned a book by George Grant, that radically changed how I think, minister, etc. It’s called The Micah Mandate. Once again, I highly recommend it! Today I want to share how God used an audio-taped message (also by George Grant) about an obscure man from the pages of history whom most folks have never heard of, to bless my life and ministry in ways I could not even have imagined as I put the tape into the tape-player of my car. Here’s what I wrote seven years ago…

Earlier this year God poured his grace upon me as he placed in my hands an audiotaped lecture entitled, “Gerard Groote and the Brethren of the Common Life.” Providentially, this also was by George Grant. I can’t express how moved I was by what I heard in this message. In this lecture Grant basically revealed what a biblical worldview should look like in the  “everydayness” of a Christian’s life and ministry. He accomplished this by sharing God’s work and power through the life of a man named Gerard Groote. Groote lived in the 14^th century, and, as Grant says at the beginning of his address,

“It would be difficult to find a single page of modern history written about him. But it would be even more difficult to find a single page of modern history not affected by him.”

 Below are the notes I took from Grant’s message on Groote. I’m sure much won’t translate to this format. But I believe the ideas taught and lived out by Groote and expounded by Grant are more than worth passing on and meditating upon. Enjoy, Dale.

Notes on Gerard Groote: Brethren of the Common Life

Based on a lecture by George Grant

• Some men’s greatness may be seen in how largely they loom over the movements that they ultimately launched. But greater men are they whose movements loom large over them. Even to the point of obscuring them from view altogether.  Gerard was just such a man.
•  It would be difficult to find a single page of modern history written about him. But it would be even more difficult to find a single page of modern history not affected by him. 
• Groote was born with a great deal of money and privilege. He was also very bright. But his was a dissipated life. He chased after pleasure. But he desired something more – something more substantive. 
• So he began reading in the Augustinian tradition. But he didn’t take the church or the claims of the gospel seriously. (The church in his day was fraught with corruption, impiety, and schism.) In fact, the church was more worldly than the world. 
• And yet, there was something about the gospel and its claims (especially the doctrines of sovereign grace that he discovered in Augustine) that would not let him go.
   
• And so, in 1374, Groote was converted to the faith. Almost immediately afterwards, he began to use his ability to articulate truth to tell everyone he knew of the mercies that were available in the gospel of grace. It was not a message often heard in those days. He was received well by many, however. One person who received him was John Wycliffe. Together, he and Wycliffe discussed their ideas of…

1.  Translating the Bible into the vernacular of the people
2. Sending out lay-preachers into the community
3. Teaching ordinary people to read so that they could better understand the doctrines of grace.

•  Groote returned home and began his labors among common people. His desire to was to spread a vision for radical discipleship. He did. And his followers/disciples who gathered around him called themselves “the Brethren of the Common Life.”
   
• They described Groote’s vision as the Devotio Moderna (the modern way of serving God). . It was a vision of discipleship that had a number of distinctive elements. It was also unheard of in the 14^th century.

 The Devotio Moderna was to be a comprehensive lifestyle rooted in a biblical worldview. Let’s take a look at the distinctives of this “radical discipleship.”

1.)   The Devotio Moderna , first of all, emphasized holiness for every Christian – not just for a few. Groote wanted common piety for common folk – this was the heart of his message.

• He said the difference between the City of God and the City of Man is demonstrable. Christ’s followers should be imitators of Christ (by grace, through faith – not of themselves). This was the great aim of discipleship according to Groote. He wanted to instill in a while new generation, an appetite for those things that mattered most.
   
• Groote was a very controversial person because of all this. His vision was the gospel of Jesus Christ, but this vision pitted him against very powerful forces in the culture. But the worse his (and the Brethren’s) reputation became, the greater their following became.

 2.)   Secondly, the Devotio Moderna emphasized the importance of self-examination, as a way of cultivating humility.

• Groote was famous for saying, “I am tired of just being right.” Instead, he wanted to communicate truth to the world and minister to the needs of others.
   
• It’s a spirit of humility that affords us the best opportunities to grow, mature, and achieve in the life of the mind. It’s knowing how much we do not know that allows us to fully embark on a lifetime of learning – to recover to any degree, the beauty and goodness and truth of Christendom.
   
• Groote took seriously the high call of Scripture to walk humbly before God and man.

 3.)               Groote’s Devotio Moderna emphasized the importance of covenantal communities, as the real-life context for discipleship.

• The idea was for people to live out particular graces with one another. He wanted his disciples to go to the least likely places and gather the least likely students – and invest in those students. He wanted them to plant themselves in those communities, and then allow the gospel to flower whatever the Spirit would bring. This was to be “home.” He believed that it was at “home” that the beauty of Christian civilization was best comprehended.
   
• For Groote, the best Christian education would bring about such virtues as hospitality, care for the poor, for the sick, strength in families, reaching out to neighbors. It would root people at home.

 4.)               Groote’s Devotio Moderna emphasized the importance of a Confessional Standard (standards rooted in the biblical antithesis).

• It was for this reason that Groote believed that one of the first tasks of Christian education was to translate the great classics of Christendom into the vernacular language – to give students the tools of translation – to build up libraries, and to initiate literacy among the least and the last – not just the first and the foremost.  (Thomas Chalmers, of the 19^th century, relied on Groote for his own education reforms)
   
• Groote proclaimed that there is no neutrality in education. Facts are not neutral. History is not neutral. Math is not neutral. The world is sundered by a great antithesis – where the City of God and the City of Man never intermingle. We must teach truth – truth in terms of God’s Word – because the Bible is God’s own revelation of wisdom, knowledge, understanding and truth. It is not merely a marvelous collection of quaint sayings and inspiring stories. It’s God’s message to man – his instruction. It is God’s guideline, his plumb line, his bottom line.

 5.)               Therefore, Groote’s Devotio Moderna placed a high premium on teaching every man, woman, and child, the Bible.

• The Bible was not merely tacked on as one additional class to all the other classes. The Bible was not, for Groote, an appendage to all the other scholastic disciplines.
   
• Curriculum was not simply to be dipped in Bible passages in order to make it appear to be Christian. Education’s purpose was to facilitate the catechizing – the discipling process. The goal was not simply to make the students bright and successful students in society, but to make them sober, discerning, wise, and fruitful members of the Kingdom.

 Together, these distinctives: Holiness, Humility, Covenantal Community, Antithesis, and Catechizing – comprised what Groote called “Classical Christianity” or what we might call, “Biblical Orthodoxy.”

• Groote believed that the key to reforming the church in his day was to begin at the grassroots level, and reform education – by finding places of fruitful ministry at home – and then investing in the people found there.
   
• Groote’s vision was a multi-generational plan – a strategy that would stretch across the covenantal generations. He looked at his world and said that there was nothing he could do about the Babylonian Captivity of the church; nothing he could do about the universities; nothing he could do about the civil wars…FOR NOW.  But, if we lay foundations, enduring foundations – if our vision extends just beyond our own lifetimes – if our vision extends just to our children’s lifetimes – if we trust the gospel for the future – then real and substantive change is not only possible – it is promised!
   
• Groote had this great faith that the gospel is not only true for the here and now, but that the gospel could transform entire cultures and change civilizations. That foundations laid in righteousness would ultimately endure when all of the foolishness of the world collapses under the weight of its own absurdity.
   
• Groote never lived to see the day of how powerful and successful his vision was. He was forgotten because the movement he launched loomed so much larger than he did.
   
• And yet, because of his faithful labors; because of his vision of discipleship; because of the band of disciples that he gathered around him and invested in – within a single decade, the world was changed forever.
   
• I don’t just want to be right. I want something that endures for all the generations.
   
• Wouldn’t it be wonderful to look across all the covenantal generations and to know that one day, because of the penance we’ve invested, in these short hours, that in the future a Luther or a Calvin, or a Whitefield, or a Wesley, or a Wilberforce – or all of them combined – would come forth from faithful covenantal parents, and change the world.
   
• The great assurance of the gospel is that change is not just possible, it’s promised when God’s covenant people exercise covenant faithfulness.
   
• Is there a Groote in you? Are you willing to die in obscurity to lay foundations that will endure across the generations? Like Groote, we must yearn for that which will change, and change for all time.
   
• Groote taught that Satan would have us offer an alternative, any alternative to the truth, the one truth, the central truth of the gospel. He would have us affirm anything, anything at all, as long as it is not that Jesus is Lord – that he is the Lord over the totality of life, and that he has spoken authoritatively, definitively, and finally. Anything is acceptable to him, everything is acceptable to him – except the notion that the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and that his sovereignty rules over all. Anything is acceptable to Satan except the sufficiency of Scripture. Thus, even Satan underscores the inescapability of antithesis in his resistance to them.
   
• In our quest for the excellent; in our quest for the substantive; in our quest for the effective, let’s never lose sight of the fact that all of that is perfectly acceptable to the enemy. The one thing that sets us apart is our desire to move from mere knowledge to understanding, and from understanding to wisdom.

 Groote said,

“Lay foundations that will endure in the hearts of your children. For there are only two things that are eternal in all of the created order: the children under your care, and the Word of God.”

 Grant’s Prayer at the end of the message…

     O Father; Almighty Father, I confess to you that I am often diverted by pleasant alternatives. I am often tantalized by that which will bring success, effectiveness, suasion in the here and now. I pray that you would give me eyes to look beyond the horizon of just this moment. Enable me to invest for all eternity. Enable us to have a distinctive vision of discipleship – like that of Gerard Groote before us. Enable us to quest for holiness, humility, covenantal community, antithesis, catechizing – classical Christianity – in the hearts of our children – first and foremost.

     Lord God, I pray that we will produce not just successful businessmen, or men and women effective in their vocations. We yearn for REFORMATION. Change the world, O God! And use us in the process.

 We pray this in Jesus name. Amen and amen.

*****************

Here’s a short little introduction I just found on Groote that’s worth reading.

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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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Transforming the World: Reclaiming Our Methodist Legacy, Part 2

by Dale Tedder
click here to read Part 1

Story #1

Our first story beings with Paul and his companions, who had just come from Philippi. In fact, they had just gotten out of prison there and had been escorted out of the city by the officials. Their next stop was going to be Thessalonica, which was about 100 miles away. On their way there, they passed through a couple of cities, Amphipolis and Apollonia, staying at each only to spend the night before heading out the next morning.

When they arrived in Thessalonica, Paul began his usual routine of going to the local synagogue of the city. Why did he go there first? Take a look at verses 2 and 3…

As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, [3] explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said.

 Paul was a Jew. His heart was for his fellow Jews. He loved them. So even though he was called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, he just couldn’t help himself. He would always go to his own people first. What did he do with them? He reasoned with them. He taught and preached from the Old Testament. He used it to explain and prove that Jesus was just who he said he was… and that the prophecies in the Old Testament were fulfilled in Christ.

Furthermore, he showed them that Christ had to suffer and die on the Cross for the sins of the world – but that he had to also rise from the dead for our salvation. Paul proclaimed that Jesus of Nazareth was no less than the Christ – the Messiah of God.

Beloved, this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ… the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel first calls us to turn away from our own sin – our fallen, broken, and selfish thinking, desires, words, actions, and attitudes.

It also calls us to trust in Christ alone to forgive us, to save us, to heal us, to mend us, lead us, and to make us holy. That’s the Gospel… and that’s what Paul preached and taught in Thessalonica… and people responded. Take a look at verse 4…

Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

 People responded. Lives were changed. Supernaturally speaking, disciples of Jesus Christ had been made.

But, as often is the case, some folks weren’t happy about this. In fact, where the Gospel is preached and where God is doing a great work of deliverance, there will often be opposition.

Take a look at verse 5…

But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.

 You see, the Jews weren’t at all happy about this work of Paul and company… nor the message they proclaimed. So they got the meanest, toughest, nastiest folks they could find to stir up trouble for Paul and Silas and their newest converts. Thessalonica was something of a harbor town. There were plenty of drifters roaming around the market place with a lot of time on their hands. It wouldn’t have been a great effort to round up and “encourage” some of these folks to cause a little trouble for Paul and company.

And that’s exactly what they did.

But there was a problem. Paul and Silas evidently got word of this and got out of there. And so the mob did the next best thing. They grabbed Jason and a few others. Jason was one of the converts who was hosting Paul and Silas. It seems that Jason and some of his new brothers in Christ were guilty by association.

At any rate, I’ve now arrived at the whole reason I chose this text. Let me read verse 6 for you…

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here,

 Those who have “caused trouble all over the world”… have now come here.

That translation from the NIV is my least favorite. Here are a few other translations of that verse that help to capture what was being said…

These men who have upset the world have come here also; (NASB)

 These people are out to destroy the world, and now they’ve shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear! (The Message)

 Here’s my favorite…

These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, (ESV and KJV)

 What were they referring to? How could this little insignificant group of people do anything to the mighty Roman Empire? They weren’t even armed. Or were they?

They were indeed. They were armed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul tells us, is the power of God for the salvation for Jews and Gentiles alike. And everywhere that disciples of Jesus Christ went throughout the Roman Empire, both Jews and Gentiles were being transformed into new creatures in Christ. Their lives were changing. Their values were becoming different. Their new beliefs were colliding with their old beliefs.

They were upsetting the established comfort zone. The kingdom of this world was being turned upside down with the message and order of a new kingdom.

Look at the second part of verse 7…

“They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”

 Do you see what their accusers were doing? The same charge that was brought against our Lord Jesus – namely treason against Caesar and the Empire – was now being leveled against Paul and Silas. They were accusing them of declaring that there was a new king, one called Jesus. They knew that was the way to get Rome’s attention.

Well, after the city officials decided that there was no reason to hold Jason and his companions, they basically made Jason promise that Paul wouldn’t preach anymore… or at least until they were out of office. Paul probably wasn’t happy about having to leave, but he seems to have honored Jason’s promise and left for a season. Of course we know from the two New Testament books, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, that Paul had an extended relationship with them. This doesn’t appear to be his only time there. That’s the first story I wanted to share with you.

We’ll take a look at Story #2 tomorrow.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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Transforming the World: Reclaiming Our Methodist Legacy, Part 1

by Dale Tedder
Based on a sermon preached February 27, 2011

  On the very first page of our United Methodist Book of Discipline, we are reminded of the mission of the United Methodist Church. Our mission is…

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

 That’s why we’re here. That’s why Southside United Methodist Church exists. Our ultimate purpose is to glorify God and we do that by making disciples of his Son who will change the world with his Gospel.

Once again, I love the way our Discipline puts it. It says…

The local church provides the most significant arena through which disciple-making occurs. It is a community of true believers under the Lordship of Christ. It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by persons divinely called and the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers, and the redemption of the world.

 Amen! I love that mission and the language used to express it.

And who could argue that our world is presently in serious need of redemption? In Egypt, Iran, New Zealand, Libya, China, and in our country – just to name a few – we find overwhelming sin, devastation, unrest, brokenness, war, death, and more. The fallen, sinful, broken human condition is on display for all to see.

If ever the world-at-large needed faithful disciples of Jesus Christ to bring redemption, it’s now.

But it’s not just “over there,” is it? It’s here in our own backyard. It’s our own lives, our families, our workplaces, our local community. Every sphere of our lives needs the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why we’re called to make faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

I want to briefly share with you two stories. The first is about an incredibly tiny and seemingly insignificant group of people who began turning the greatest empire in the world (at that time) upside down with nothing more than the Gospel. The second story takes place about 1,700 years later. It involves another small group of people who, armed only with that same gospel, helped turn England upside down.

We’ll take a look at Story #1, next time.

Grace and Truth,
Dale

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