On Saturday mornings at 6:00 am, while the sensible person lies asleep in bed, I join a group of guys at the local Panera Bread to discuss theology.  During this season, we’re going through a course by John Harrington called “Biblical Theology of Mission.”  We’re discussing the purpose of the kingdom of God, His eternal purpose, and how history is driving towards that goal.  This week, we began with a passage from the book of Genesis, chapter 3:

“I [God] will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” – Genesis 3:15, ESV

As we talked about this passage, I was struck with the immensity of the goodness of God.  When disaster strikes on a major scale, for example, Hurricane Katrina or the bombing of the World Trade Center, we always hear news reporters interview spiritual leaders asking the question, “How could a good God allow such a horrible thing happen?”  Most of the world approaches God with an attitude of bitter contempt.  He is viewed as the instigator and sustainer of suffering and unfairness.  ”If you would just get out of the picture,” they effectually say to God, “we could just figure things out on our own.”  In Genesis, however, there is a different story that has the power to open your heart to the extravagant kindness of God.

The Covenant Made

God’s interactions with mankind is built on the concept of “covenant.”  Historically speaking, a covenant was a lifelong, binding agreement between two parties.  If both parties upheld their end of the covenant, there were certain blessings to enjoy.  If, however, one party did not follow the contract, there were significant consequences (curses).  After creation, God made a covenant with the first man (i.e. Adam) that resulted in two important things: rulership over all creation and uninterrupted intimacy with God.  These blessings were dependent on one thing alone, Adam and Eve were not to eat the fruit from this tree called the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 1:17).

The Covenant Broken

We all know what happened next.  Adam and Eve ate from the tree, which led to a break in the covenant.  As a result, the blessings they experienced (i.e. rulership over creation and intimacy with God) turned into curses.  Curse one: Man’s sovereignty over Creation was transferred to Satan and, in so doing, mankind became slaves.  Curse two: the kind of intimacy that man had, the walking-with-God-through-the-garden closeness, was ripped from them by sin.  Man was sentenced to walk through the world alone, servant to a sadistic and twisted master and feeling the distance from God that many still feel today.

The Covenant Restored

In Genesis 3, God is standing in front of Adam and Eve in the garden, while Satan (in the form of a serpent) slithers around their feet.  The covenant has been broken, the couple is guilty, and there are no words spoken to their defense.  Behold, however, the unearthly goodness of God in this scenario.  God knows that there is no way that the covenant can be restored by Adam and Eve.  Even if He did call a mulligan, they would probably make the same mistake again.  But wait, God pulls a rabbit out of His hat that no one expected.  He promises the woman that one day one of her offspring with crush Satan and restore the covenant.  What she didn’t understand, and neither did Satan, was that this was not going to be any ordinary person; this One, this Seed, was going to come from God Himself – Messiah Jesus.  He would be 100% God and 100% Man.  He would relate to both parties.  He would mediate between the two groups.  The Apostle Paul reflected on this after the fact:

“But in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4,5 ESV).

In effect, God sent His Son Jesus to uphold our side of the covenant between Him and us.  When Adam and Eve broke the covenant, God could have legitimately walked away from us, leaving us without hope or restoration.  However, He didn’t!  In this situation, God chose not to be fair.  Fairness would have dictated an irrevocable sentence of death and separation.  Instead, God chose to be extravagantly generous, by restoring the covenant in such a way that it could never be broken again.  Jesus’ death and resurrection re-sealed the covenant that God made with Adam.  No longer were God and mankind seated on opposite ends of the table with no mediator in between.  Jesus walked in and sat down on both sides of the table.  And the beauty of this arrangement is that Jesus will always agree with Jesus!

This was an event that rippled both ways through the fabric of time, permanently sealing mankind’s dominion over the earth and the opportunity for unbroken intimacy with God through the God-Man (100% God, 100% Man), Messiah Jesus.  That is one reason why He will return one day to set up a tangible kingdom upon the Earth, but that’s for another blog post.

So the next time someone tells you that God isn’t fair, you tell them:

“You know what?  You’re absolutely right!  Let me tell you what He is…”

After his martyrdom at the hands of the Gestapo in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer continued his witness in the hearts of Christians around the world. His Letters and Papers from Prison became a prized testimony to Christian faith and courage, read by thousands. Now in Life Together we have Pastor Bonhoeffer’s experience of Christian community. This story of a unique fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years reads like one of Paul’s letters. It gives practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in families and groups. The role of personal prayer, worship in common, everyday work, and Christian service is treated in simple, almost biblical, words. Life Together is bread for all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship.

Click here to download the gleanings for “Life Together”(PDF)
(Right-click and select “Save Link As”)

GLEANINGS – What are They?
Several months ago, I decided to go through the time-intensive labor of typing out passages from books I read. The collection of quotes and comments came to be known as “gleanings.” If you want to read the gist of a book without flipping through all the pages, this format is for you. Consider it my version of “Cliff’s Notes.”

Churches have tried all kinds of ways to attract new and younger members—revised vision statements, hipper worship, contemporary music, livelier sermons, bigger and better auditoriums. But there are still so many people who aren’t being reached, who don’t want to come to church. And the truth is that attendance at church on Sundays does not necessarily transform lives; God’s presence in our hearts is what changes us. Leaders and laypeople everywhere are realizing that they need new and more powerful ways to help them spread God’s Word.

According to Neil Cole, if we want to connect with those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate. Cole shows readers how to plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed— restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms, and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows the practical aspects of implementing it.

While it may seem revolutionary, these simple, organic churches—bringing God’s message where people are rather than expecting them to show up at church—is in keeping with the message of Jesus, who lived among the people of his time. Organic Church shows how we can return to those ancient roots by letting the church be alive, organic, growing, spreading in the most likely and unlikely places.

Click here to download the gleanings for “Organic Church”(PDF)
(Right-click and select “Save Link As”)

GLEANINGS – What are They?
Several months ago, I decided to go through the time-intensive labor of typing out passages from books I read. The collection of quotes and comments came to be known as “gleanings.” If you want to read the gist of a book without flipping through all the pages, this format is for you. Consider it my version of “Cliff’s Notes.”

When you sit in church on Sunday, do you ever get the feeling that something is missing? Do you long for a deeply genuine connection with God and other believers but often walk away empty and unsatisfied?

You are not alone. Many church-goers are stumbling onto a path that leads out to the other side of the stained-glass window. They are finding God there and discovering a powerful truth – we are the church!

As a journey guide, this book delivers compelling answers to some difficult questions:

• What was Jesus’ original church like?
• How is God reshaping Christianity today?
• Has God left the building before?
• Do I have to leave too?

In Jesus Has Left the Building you will find inspiration and courage to follow Jesus down a road towards spiritual freedom and release from the oppression of religion.

This book paints with vivid colors the beauty of how Jesus and his close friends lived life together, and the product of the author’s honest quest to return to a simple and ancient expression of Christianity.

Jesus has left the building – don’t you want to find out where He’s going?

Click here to download the gleanings for “Jesus Has Left the Building”(PDF)
(Right-click and select “Save Link As”)

GLEANINGS – What are They?
Several months ago, I decided to go through the time-intensive labor of typing out passages from books I read. The collection of quotes and comments came to be known as “gleanings.” If you want to read the gist of a book without flipping through all the pages, this format is for you. Consider it my version of “Cliff’s Notes.”

It could be the pilot script for a sitcom: a pastor hires an atheist to help him critique several Christian churches throughout the United States. For the authors, however, this experiment was no joke. Henderson, a veteran Protestant minister, truly believes that evangelism requires listening to the good, the bad and the ugly about Christianity in order to be a better minister. So he hired Casper, an atheist copywriter and musician, to serve as “fresh eyes” and observe how a variety of Christians engage the Divine through worship.

Their travels took them to a mission-minded church, an Emergent church and to Joel Osteen’s megachurch, among others. In the book, Henderson peppers his partner with questions about each service, and Casper comments on everything from preaching to music to the geographical location of the churches.

The take-home point, which is simultaneously simple, profound and of great importance to Christianity is, “Why are there such glaring discrepancies among churches regarding what it means to be a follower of Christ?” The two authors include some banal dialogue at times, but this is a minor distraction. Anyone interested in contemporary evangelism, especially pastors, will enjoy and learn from this humorous and heartening travelogue.

Click here to download the gleanings for “Jim and Casper Go to Church”(PDF)
(Right-click and select “Save Link As”)

GLEANINGS – What are They?
Several months ago, I decided to go through the time-intensive labor of typing out passages from books I read.  The collection of quotes and comments came to be known as “gleanings.”  If you want to read the gist of a book without flipping through all the pages, this format is for you.  Consider it my version of “Cliff’s Notes.”