White Church Planter, Black Neighborhood - Article for RAAN

I am honored to contribute another article to the Reformed African American Network. Over the past year, I have been asked many questions about how a white guy can plant a church in a black neighborhood. In this post, I share a few lessons I have learned in my short tenure in Trinity Gardens.

The Good News: We Cannot Do Anything We Set Our Minds To

Christianity is the only religion or way of life that obligates and calls people to do the impossible. It is the antithesis of the cultural message most children and adults hear, that "you can do anything you put your mind to if you just believe in yourself."

When thinking of what "the impossible" might be, many think of very difficult feats like earning a college degree, playing professional ball, or building a large sum of wealth. Some may think of overcoming impossible obstacles such as a severe illness, disability or socioeconomic condition.

But that's not what Christ has in mind when he calls us to do the impossible. If it is, then Christianity is no different from any other world belief system. As a matter of fact, humans have historically accomplished and overcome great feats without believing, trusting, and following Christ.

Many impoverished kids have made it to the league. Many people with disabilities have overcome impossible odds. Many low have become high. Many poor have become rich. Many sick have become well. And most of the stories exclude faith in Christ. The moral of most of them is, if you believe in yourself, you can do anything.

And then Christ steps on the scene and calls us to love.

Just when we say, "That's all? I can do that." he calls us to love our enemies - to love those who actively and aggressively hate us, those who do not reciprocate our good will.

Christ calls us to the impossible task of liberating others from meeting certain beneficiary qualifications in order to be loved by us. As a matter of fact, as the love of others recedes, his call for us to love them increasingly resounds.

If we can somehow accomplish obedience to this command, blessings will overflow. But if we cannot obey, we stand empty, in need of his merciful kindness, and reminded that we are weak and unable to do this one small, yet impossible task.

A man may reach the peak of Mount Everest, but he cannot overcome the monumental reluctance of his own heart.

A woman may give direction and leadership to a large corporation, but she cannot direct and lead her own desires.

The devastating truth that we cannot do the impossible if we believe in ourselves has lead millions into the relentless pursuit of a thousand seemingly significant, possible tasks. When Christ calls us to love our nasty neighbor, we run away dismayed, franticly searching for [other] teachers who can give us commandments we can accomplish. We will go to anyone and ask...

Who exactly is my neighbor? Do I give them money? How much do I give? What if they misuse what I give them?

What strategy can I employ to provide water for the entire continent of Africa? How do I start a ministry that does what other ministries are already doing? What can I do right now to change the world?

What possible thing can I do today that will look like I accomplished the impossible tomorrow? How can I soothe my guilty conscience? How can I remove the stain of my own sin?

How do I do these things while appeasing my wife who is starting to hate my efforts to change the world?

How can I make my marriage argument free and do this ministry at the same time? How can I assure my wife that I love her while working too much saving the world? How can I love her without knowing her? How can I care for her when I don't know how?

How can I refrain from going to bed angry tonight? How can I love her well when I really don't want to?

And after we have read the books, asked the teachers, gone to countless seminars and conferences, our own inabilities continue to stare us (and others) glaringly in the face. We have succeeded at reaching the nations, but have failed miserably to love our neighbor. This is the desperate condition only Christianity can heal. This is greatest human weakness that only Christ is strong enough to change.

The good news is that he does. He loves those who do not reciprocate. He loves sinners who come to the end of themselves - who forsake their own efforts and rely fully upon his grace to work in them what they cannot work within themselves. He is strong to love the unlovable that they might become both lovable and loving to others.

It Makes No Sense Whatsoever to Confess Sins

If the threat of punishment looms around every corner, ready to execute after every morally wrong move or motive, then it makes no sense whatsoever to confess sins. If eternal damnation lurks to condemn us perfectly for our culpable imperfections, then it makes all the sense in the world to hide, blame, and defend ourselves.

We should be tireless in our efforts to divert the critical eye away from our shortcomings, while drawing the celebratory attention of others toward our accomplishments. We should be openly critical of others, and overly zealous to proclaim our achievements to the world.

This is human survival.

Death that feels like emptiness, being rejected and unaccepted by other significant beings. Death that feels like hopelessness, having someone else in control of our destiny after we have squandered it away. And death that feels like darkness, having no good, comforting, or safe authority to speak over and direct us.

The threat of this death keeps us bound. The bible uses words like "dominion" and "slavery" to describe that which controls our lives. Diversion is our feeble attempt to delay the death we know we deserve. Because we know it is rightly approaching, anxiety and fear become close [unwanted] relatives.

If we are found guilty, then we are dead. And so we become enslaved to the sins stated above - lying, blame-shifting, and hiding.

But what if the looming condemnation were to be judicially lifted? What if the death deserved was rightly diverted? What if the cup of God's just wrath was poured out completely upon another, upon someone else? What if our death stung another? What if his life saved sinners like you and me?

Then it would make all the sense in the world to confess and not defend. It would make sense to live honestly without hiding. It would be reasonable to take the blame rather than cast it. It would be natural to draw attention to the strengths of others.

Imagine the marriages! Imagine the relational glory!

Suddenly, our old way of doing things becomes wholly unreasonable. If someone were to confront and expose our sins, we should no longer feel the need to defend and divert. The fear of death has been removed. Life has been promised to repentant sinners.

So we admit our guilt. We show our hand. We expose our faults (saving others the stressful trouble!). And we humbly proclaim that we are the freed men and women of Christ - our substitute. We trust him so much that we are fearless to open our lives up in vulnerability to others. We trust him enough to confess, repent, and believe. We love him enough to love others.

We cling to him so tightly that our confessional actions make no sense whatsoever to a watching world.

How to Make World Changing Resolutions

I recently wrote an article entitled How to Make World Changing Resolutions. You can read the article in full on the Reformed African American Network (RAAN) website. In the article, I address the reasons why our resolutions don't last, the faulty nature of our resolutions, and things we can do to ensure they last and make a difference in the world. I hope you enjoy! Happy New Year!

Why I Threw the Berenstain Bears in the Garbage

So I'm reading the Berenstain Bears to my little boy the other day and couldn't make it through the whole book without trowing it in the garbage. Yes, that's right. I threw the Berenstain Bears in the garbage.

The storyline went something like this: Baby bears were watching too much television and eating too much junk food. Mama Bear notices this is becoming a habit for her children. She also notices they are getting a little overweight. So, like a good mother, she turns off the TV and throws away all junk food in the house. She then instructs the children to go outside to play.

So far so good.

Well, Papa Bear comes home and heads straight for the refrigerator. He asks, "Where's my soda?" Mama Bear replies, "It's gone. I threw it away." Then Papa Bear goes over to the cupboard looking for some cookies. He doesn't find any. Mama Bear says, "Yep, threw those away too." Disappointed, PB goes to the television and is quickly told it is not allowed anymore." Even more disappointed, PB bends down to get something off of the floor, and RIP!, his pants tear because, just like the kids, Papa has gained one-too-many pounds.

The moral of the story was decent enough - Resist the temptation to watch television and eat junk food all day. Playing outside is a good alternative.

But there was another message that went something like this - Papa Bear is a goofball and is just another child that Mama Bear has to manage and instruct, because she ultimately has to rule the roost.

This book is just another indication that our culture has no clue about true manhood or masculinity. Examples of manhood range from the Bundy's (when I was growing up) - Al being the lazy, uncaring, father with one hand down his pants and a remote in the other. Then there is Raymond, the clueless and careless man-child who serves more as an object of laughter than a leader. People may love him, but they'd never follow him.

Then there are the athletes - oh, the hailed athletes, who are honored and glorified more for the strength of their bodies than of their character. UFC is on a come-up as well, a man is someone who can beat the crap out of another.

The pendulum swings to the other end of the spectrum as well. When men don't wear pads or boxing gloves, they wear pink sweaters and become another voice on The View concerning decorating or hair styling. Please excuse the expression and receive the point.

From being overly masculine (which is not really masculine at all) to more feminine, manhood is completely distorted in our day. Rarely do we find in the media a faithful husband, who loves, protects, and provides for his family, friends, and enemies. Rarely do we see a man relating in a godly way to women - rather, we get men who act like women or totally take advantage of them.

You have to wonder why athletic masculinity is always accompanied with women in bathing suits (from cheerleaders, to the girls who walk around with a sign that says, "Round 2."). It's an indication that men aren't portrayed at all, but cave-men.

Men are either dominating women, or being dominated by them.

And the worldview is promoted at an early age. Even with the Berenstain Bears.

Why I Dislike the Word "Journey" as a Description of the Christian Life

This past Saturday, my wife and I were without three of our four children. The in-laws took em. Given this "freedom" I was ready for a nice day of rest. My wife, on the other hand, was ready for something else. While I had sleeping on my mind, she had shopping on hers. Christmas shopping. Dang.

Needless to say, she got her way :) As we were on our way to the first store, I looked over and asked her the very important question, "What's the plan?"

I cannot handle shopping without a plan. I need a goal - an end in sight. Something to keep us focussed and to keep us from wandering around the stores from one sale sign to the next. If I am going to endure shopping, I need to know that it will be over in the future. Shopping for me is a mission.

She was reluctant to give the plan. Why? Because shopping for her (that day) was a journey.

There is a huge difference.

Missions have goals that, once accomplished, the mission is over. Men and women are able to endure all sorts of hardship, suffering (I'm shifting from the shopping analogy at this point), and tribulation, as long as they know these things will end once their goal is reached.

This is why Christian hope is necessary for enduring sacrificial living.

People on a mission have little patience for journeying.  It doesn't make sense walking unless we are walking somewhere. Without an end in sight, there is only wandering - sometimes for years...in circles.

As we travel through this world, we always long to know where we are going? If the answer from our leadership is unclear, then they are not really leading. And as followers, we quickly become hopeless grumblers, rather than obedient soldiers.

This is why I have a distaste for the word journey as a description of the Christian life and faith. The only good example of a journeying people in the Scriptures is the children of Israel in the wilderness. They were journeying because they were rebellious, refusing to follow the leadership God provided. They longed for Egypt and had little hope in the Land of Promise.

This is why a lack of Christian hope produces a life of little to no sacrificial endurance.

We must also pay attention to the context and content of Moses' exhortations to the second generation. In an effort to keep them from the patterns of their parents, he kept the goal in front of them - urging them to obediently follow the Lord's commandments as he led them across the Jordan, into the Promised Land.

The crossing of the Jordan and the conquest of the Land was no journey. It was a mission. Joshua was a leader, not a wanderer. He had a clear command, motivation, and goal (Joshua 1). His leadership produced soldiers, who knew and expected the conquest to be tough. But they also knew it'd be worth it because of the end.

Similarly, the Christian life is a mission, lead by Christ's commands, empowered by his Spirit, and motivated by the inheritance he has purchased and promised. We must always be looking and hoping for what is ahead.

When the Christian asks, "Where are we going?" Christ's answer is clear, not ambiguous. The Word of God is a relatively small book with clear instructions, intrinsic power, and hopeful promises.

Disclaimer: I understand that there are some temporary situations in the Christian life that may be accurately described as a journey. However, it should not be a description that is allowed to stick around too long. People quickly lose heart.

Disclaimer 2: I am not saying that those who shop are journeyers in the Christian life. I used shopping only as an analogy :) If you know of a way that I can rightly judge all journey-shopping as inappropriate for the Christian life, please tell me! I am looking for any excuse to outlaw the practice.

Encouragement for the Christian: Hope in heaven. Attentively listen to Christ's commands. With the power he provides, make it your mission to love like crazy.

Longing for Egypt Because We Don't Long for Eternity

I think there is a part in all of us that longs for our own Egypt - the places we once were, the things we once did, and the enjoyments we once had. As we look back, we tend to block the bad and focus only on the good. Nostalgia has a tendency to overshadow previous pains that flowed out of our previous passions. Too often, it is the passions of the past that throw us into wishful thinking for the past, accompanied by discontentment with who we are and what we have, now.

This is all pretty reasonable. As life moves forward, the weight of responsibility grows. The pains of life increase. People around us die, argue, and divorce. Money is made and lost. Children grow up and struggle with life - a progression we attempt to protect with all our might. Some of their struggles are our fault. This we cannot take. Because we are sinners, our failures pile up - some of them have repercussions that will follow and taunt us the rest of our lives.

These shadows eclipse the thousands of mercies and joys we receive every day. Our natural bend, it seems, is to focus on the dark fabric of life, all the while the diamond of redemption shines directly upon our faces. We continually fail to realize that our Lord specializes in bringing treasure out of tribulation and tragedy.

We also fail to realize and recognize that, through this wilderness, a redemptive road winds. And that short road (though it seem long) ends in the Land of Promise. In a very real and practical way, we have no concept or expectation of this Land, nor the promise that secures it for us. Our perception of the promised future has little gravity compared to the greatness (again, in our perception) of our parochial past and present. Therefore, it rarely perceive it as feasible.

How many of us, while in agony or in a time of great temptation, have been truly comforted by the promised inheritance? How many have been prescribed reflection on eternity when seeking godly counsel? And how many of us have been counseled to hope upon heaven, only to toss the person's advice to the side as impersonal, unloving and impractical?

Unfortunately, hope for eternity does little to make us feel better.

Because of the present anxieties of our wilderness, we cannot fathom a future better than what we once had. We are all addicts of Egypt who chase the first high (Exod 16:1-3). Because of this, the Christian experience, in this life, is reduced to inconvenience. We do just enough to ease the discomfort of conscience - the discomfort that usually follows relapse.

But the remedy is so clear. The greatness of the Promised Land should be, and indeed is, enough to keep our eyes focused ahead. It should have enough gravity in our lives to draw us into obedient progress. When we do look back to Egypt, we should always see it through the historical Cross (Gal 6:14). We should always see just how bloody our Egypt was; and how our life there cost Christ his.

And when we look forward, we should be amazed to see a Land where the Lord promises pleasures and joys forever. No sin. No tears. Glorified body. Glorious relationships. Eternal and unselfish enjoyment of all possessions. Laughter that doesn't have to end. Intimacy that throws sex into extinction. Men will work without sweat and stress. Women will be loved without worry of abandonment. Our backs will not ache, nor will our brains forget. We will, Christian, be with our Lord, praising him together, with no less days than when we had first begun. All of this, and more, without end.

Egypt pails in comparison. Egypt is hell in comparison.

This is what makes a tough life now bearable. This is what makes loving difficult people worth it. This is what takes the stoicism out of sacrifice, and adds reward back to responsibility. Without hope for the future, there is no real reason to obey in the present. Without eternity, there is only Egypt.

Christ purchased for us an inheritance we cannot even come close to fully understanding. The Scriptures, however, are full of descriptions; and this life is full of glimpses - wives, children, churches, and good food, to name a few. By grace, I hope we can see that these great things are merely tastes of what's to come. By grace, I pray that we all long for an eternity that puts Egypt to shame. Only then will those who are now in Egypt be enticed to leave, and thus be with us in the Promised Land for eternity!