Tweeting the Gospel

Can you tweet the gospel? I’m new to the whole twitter thing, I think sending out a tweet sounds a little shady nonetheless I have a twitter account, well not me per se, the youth group does. (Which you can find on twitter at theROCKyouthmin.) For those who don’t know, Twitter is a website that allows you to post limited to 140 characters, it’s also called “micro-blogging.” Some days 140 characters is a daunting task, some days-most days, it’s not enough, which is what real blogs are for. These limitations can be frustrating, which may be why I don’t fully get Twitter. I saw a challenge issued on one of the blogs I follow: “Can you Tweet the gospel?” Wow! What a challenge, the entirety of the gospel in 140 characters. Doing what any reasonable person would do, I decided to see what others had tweeted. Here are a few of the tweets from other people:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

All are sinners. Christ died to satisfy God’s judgment and was raised on the third day. By this grace you are saved. Repent and believe.

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I'm chief. He who knew no sin, became sin, so I can be the righteousness of God

God creates man, man rebels. God sends Son, Son sacrificed on cross. By faith, man made right w/ God & grows thru Spirit. Offered to all

Anyway, along with a few other Bible verses, a good Martin Luther quote, and even a couple of haiku’s you get the gist. My favorite is probably number two…but wanting to be original I tried my own tweet, this is what I can up with:

The Gospel: Christ died for our sins, he was buried, he was raised on the 3rd day in keeping with the Bible, Repent and trust Him alone.

Why is this important? Why bother when I only have six followers on Twitter? Well, mostly to prove a point, a litmus test as it were, if for no one else me. Because, If one cannot succinctly phrase the gospel are they sure they know it? I challenge you to think this through and tweet, or if tweeting sounds a little funny to you, then write out your definition of the gospel. If your definition of the gospel is longer than 140 characters don’t worry. But here are some questions to ask yourself when you’re done:

Does my definition of the gospel focus on me and what I must do or on God and what Christ did?

Does my definition of the gospel say anything about Christ’s death on the cross?

Does my definition of the gospel say anything about the authority of God’s Word?

Does my definition of the gospel have scripture in context to support it?

Does my definition of the gospel make sense or would you have to clarify it further?

The message of the gospel is important, because it’s the only hope we have. And if you’re a Christian it’s important to have a clear understanding of what it is so that you can share it with others.

The five rules of Youth Ministry

I'm glad to know i'm not the first youth pastor to enjoy a good beat down on the basketball court against a seventh grader.

For clarification: I believe there are WAY more than five rules for youth ministry. I just thought this video was funny.

The Problem with the Purpose-Driven definition of a Christ Follower

I listened to many sermons from churches as Saddleback, Willowcreek, Granger, NewSpring, Elevation, Fellowship Church, LCBC, South Hills, Fellowship of the Woodlands, Mosaic, The Orchard, and National Community, I set out to find one question that could tie all these sermons together so that I could identify the common theme in all of them. Here's the question I came up with:

If I were an unbeliever and I attended these churches and listened to all their sermons week after week, how would I define the term "Christ Follower"?

Here's the answer I came up with after reviewing the sermons preached at these seeker-driven / purpose-driven churches over the last 24 months:

Christ Follower: Someone who has made the decision to be an emotionally well adjusted self-actualized risk taking leader who knows his purpose, lives a 'no regrets' life of significance, has overcome his fears, enjoys a healthy marriage with better than average sex, is an attentive parent, is celebrating recovery from all his hurts, habits and hang ups, practices Biblical stress relief techniques, is financially free from consumer debt, fosters emotionally healthy relationships with his peers, attends a weekly life group, volunteers regularly at church, tithes off the gross and has taken at least one humanitarian aid trip to a third world nation.

Based upon this summarized definition, I've come to the conclusion that the world is full of people who can fit this definition but who've never repented of their sins and trusted in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins. This definition could easily apply to Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. In fact, it could apply to Emergent Heretics, Unitarians, Muslims and practicing Jews. The reason why this definition of a Christ Follower could be applied to those outside of Christianity is because this is a definition based upon deeds NOT creeds. (Which is precisely what Rick Warren's so-called "second reformation" is all about.) Even worse, Rick Warren frequently admonishes the pastors that he trains to measure a person's spiritual growth by their obedience. If obedience were the true measure of one's spiritual growth then Jesus would have held the Pharisees up as an example of the most spiritually mature Christ Followers on the planet. Instead, Jesus called down woes on the Pharisees because they were outwardly obedient to the demands of God's law but inwardly their hearts were far from Christ. Plain and simple, the Pharisees despite their obedience didn't have FAITH. (Matt. 23:25-28, John 5:39-40).

It is frightening but absolutely true that ANYBODY can modify their actions, just like the Pharisees, so that their behaviors conform with this purpose-driven definition of what it means to be a Christ Follower without ever believing the creeds of the Historic Christian faith and without ever trusting in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins.

Tragically, the "Jesus" that is presented in the sermons that promote this definition of being a Christ Follower isn't the savior of the world who died on the cross for the sins of the world and calls all nations to repentance of their sins and the forgiveness of sins won by Christ on the Cross. Instead, the "Jesus" that is presented in these sermons is a "life coach", a training buddy and the supreme example of an emotionally well adjusted risk taking leader who lived the ultimate life of significance and purpose. This purpose-driven "Jesus" is there to help you achieve what he achieved and invites you to follow his examples and methods so that you can be Christlike too.

This seeker-driven / purpose-driven definition of what it means to be a Christ Follower is fatally flawed and I fear that there will be many people who appear before the judgement seat of Christ saying, "Lord, Lord, we were emotionally well adjusted self-actualized leaders who lived a life of significance and purpose, took risks, enjoyed healthy sex lives in our marriages, celebrated recovery, tithed, volunteered at church and helped dig fresh water wells in Africa" and Jesus will say to them "Depart from me, I never knew you!" (Matt. 7:21-23)



This is not my article but I re-posted with the utmost respect to Chris Rosebrough, the author, because he is 100% correct. You can find more of His stuff at his blog www.extremetheology.com.
~John

Funny Sign

Meditation

Most often when people think of “meditation” they think of sitting in the lotus position and chanting “Om-Om” but that’s not the kind of mediation I’m speaking of. That kind of meditation is all about emptying your mind and the kind of meditation I’m speaking of is about filling your thoughts with scripture. Mediation is mentioned in the Bible at least 20 times, the most familiar verses are: Psalms 1:2 (But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.) and Philippians 4:8 (Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.) Practically speaking the best way to mediate is just to think about a Bible verse over and over, ask yourself “what is the author really saying here” and “how does this apply to my life” Remember though that not all scripture applies to our lives in a direct fashion, some of it was written for a specific people in a specific time or simply for narrative purposes, mostly the stuff in the Old Testament. Start reading through a book of the Bible and thinking about what the message in that passage really is saying and how it applies to you. I would suggest taking the Gospel of John and reading through that, but that’s just my opinion. I would also suggest getting a good study Bible that has lots of notes in it. If you don’t have one already may I further suggest getting The MacArthur Study Bible it’s an excellent Study Bible I use it with the youth all the time. Or odd as it may sound, the Lutheran Study Bible (ESV) has lots of good theology in it plus a ton of really good Martin Luther quotes.

Funny Stuff

Funny Stuff

lessons learned from making youth announcments

Apparently you’re not supposed to end a sentence with “So…”

This little bit of information would have been useful had I been able to actually recall it at the time. I do slightly better with the written word, maybe it’s because I don’t have hundreds of pairs of eyes gazing on me. Or maybe I should have planned out what I said that day a little better. Maybe you’ve experienced this yourself, not in a large room full of people but an occasion when someone has said something to you so unexpected that you literally had no words to reply with or you’ve been speaking and everything you had to say suddenly cannot be recalled by your brain. Possibly someone has said something to you so wrong it was the equivalent of beating a unicorn to death with a bag of rainbows.

What do you say when someone has just told you something so heart wrenching or shocking that you’re completely speechless. Do you whip out a Christian cliché like, “I’ll be praying for you” or “God has a better plan”? Or do you do what I did when I make announcements and say “So…” and let the room fill with an awkward silence and then walk away? Depending on what’s said or who is speaking it can be hard to know what to say or do. It’s important to remember in those times that there are no words… that Christ died for that person too. And in those times that life isn’t all glitter and rainbows… God is sovereign above all. There will be times when you run out of words, when you don’t know what to say, when you say the completely wrong thing or even when there is nothing to say at all and that’s okay, God is still sovereign above all and His grace is sufficient.

My grandma had a saying “you can either laugh about it or cry about it but you can’t always change it.” Grandma had a lot of other corny sayings too, but that one has always stuck with me because of its truth. How you react under pressure says a lot about the content of your character. And honestly there will be times when we totally blow it, we’re all sinners in need of God’s grace and because of Christ’s death on the cross we can have that grace. So in those times that you run out of things to say or there is nothing to say or even when someone has said something wrong to you or that you didn’t want to hear or weren’t ready to hear… remember that God is sovereign above all, it’s all in His hands and we can trust in His Grace.

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
         My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
         My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalms 18:1-2