THE GOSPEL AND PATRIOTISM

The Gospel and Patriotism

Dr. John P. Davis

Note: I am indebted to Steve Wilkins’ article on “Biblical Patriotism” for some of the major points and the basic thrust of this blogpost.

Recently in the United States, the last Monday in May was marked by the remembrance of those who have given their lives as members of the Armed Forces of the United States of America. In just one week on July 4 we will celebrate Independence Day. National occasions such as this raise the question of ‘what does it mean for a Christian to be patriotic?’ Were you to draw a continuum of Christian opinions on this subject you would have a myriad of views including pacifists, ‘just war’ proponents, some who will not swear loyalty to any earthly government, others who are actively involved in the political process, etc. Read more »

A synopsis of Sunday’s Message- Encountering an Outcast – Mark 1:40-45

In this text we will be gleaning from Jesus’ encounter with a societal outcast – someone who has been pushed to the edge of a stable life in the city.

Listen to this unusual story:

Mark 1:40-45
⁴⁰ ¶ And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter. Read more »

How we Understand the Relationship of our Gospel-Centered Focus to our TRIM Values and our 4G Commitments

Figure 1 THE GOSPEL – THE INNER CORE

Figure 2 THE GOSPEL EMPOWERS BOTH TRIM AND 4G

Figure 3 THE GOSPEL – THE CORE OF OUR TRIM VALUES

Figure 4 OUR TRIM VALUES ARE REFLECTED IN EACH OF OUR 4G COMMITMENTS

Our vision of a multi-site church for Grace Church of Philly

Our vision of a multi-site church for Grace Church of Philly

This multi-site church would be one church whose members worship and serve in various neighborhoods. Each congregation would bear a geographical identifier that reflects its mission to a particular neighborhood such as Grace Church of Philly (University City) (East Falls) (Overbrook), etc. Each neighborhood congregation would have a site pastor for preaching and leadership at the local level. Each site pastor would regularly meet with the other site pastors for prayer, training, coaching, encouragement and missional strategizing under its lead pastors.

This unified church meeting in multiple sites would be governed by one team of elders that meets quarterly to pray for and oversee multi-site movement. This session would be divided into commissions of elders drawn from each local congregation, in charge of shepherding and oversight of their respective local congregations.

This one church of multiple congregations would share administrative resources such as office, finances, equipment, and other resources. This new multi-site church would come together occasionally for regional gatherings, seminars, retreats, youth groups, community outreaches, etc. This church would work together to promote the formation of new congregations throughout Philadelphia and in supporting a global missions program. All of the sites of Grace Church of Philly would benefit by this union and, even more so, the kingdom purposes of Christ are advanced in the city.

The first site is Grace Church of Philly in University City.

Our Philosophy of Ministry

Along with others on our leadership team, I currently find myself in a ministry context of planting a new church in an urban area that is racially, culturally, and socio-economically diverse. Add to this mixture a highly transient student and young, urban professional population and further challenges to long-term ministry become immediately evident. In this short piece I will set forth my philosophy of ministry in general (regardless of any temporal or geographical circumstances) and my philosophy of ministry in the immediate context of University City, Philadelphia.

The ultimate goal of my life is to serve and minister in a way that is radically Christ-centered, radically gospel-centered, and radically other-centered by the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father (Matt. 22:34-40; 28:18-20). It is the God-man Jesus Christ whose life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension gives meaning to the gospel and displays for me the precious value of each and every human life (John 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-8; 1 John 4:9-10). It is through the gospel that I am reconciled to this Jesus and empowered to love and serve others (Rom. 1:16; 5:5; 1 John 4:19). It is through indiscriminately loving others that I can live out this gospel and serve Christ by serving others (Matt. 25:31-46; 1 John 3:14-19).

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Why Start Another Church?

Why plant new churches?

This question is commonly asked by those both inside and outside of the Christian faith. There are many misconceptions about church planting and the need to engage in this activity.

The following quotations from Tim Keller and J. Allen Thompson’s Church Planter Manual may clarify the absolute necessity of planting new churches.

Why plant new churches? Because it is really the only way of fully obeying the Great Commission:

Virtually all the great evangelistic challenges of the New Testament are basically calls to plant churches, not simply to share the faith. The “Great Commission” (Matt. 28:18-20) is not just a call to “make disciples” but to “baptize.” In Acts and elsewhere, it is clear that baptism means incorporation into a worshipping community with accountability and boundaries (cf. Acts 2:41-47).

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What might a gospel-centered worship service look like at Grace Church of Philly?

Welcome to Grace Church of Philly – Today we gather in the name of Jesus Christ to worship him who loved us and gave his life for us. Please join us as we sing about the greatness of our God.

1. Adoration (recognition of God’s greatness and grace)
   

   Sing – How Great is our God (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl1k_Q1n-QU&feature=PlayList&p=FBFA602E6C01B00D&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5)
   

   Sing – Glory to the risen king
   

2. Confession (acknowledgment of our sin and need for grace) Please remain standing as we read a portion of God’s word that reminds us of our need of his grace.
   

   Isaiah 6:1-5
   

3. Assurance (affirmation of God’s provision of grace)
   

   Sing – My Hope is built on nothing less
   

   I believe in God the Father, Almighty ..
   

4. Thanksgiving (expression of praise and thanks for God’s grace)
   

   Sing – How Great is your love!
   

   Testimony of God’s Grace
   

   Sing – Hail to the King!
   

5. Petition and Intercession (expression of dependence on God’s grace)
   

   Prayer of Intercession
   

6. Instruction (acquiring the knowledge to grow in grace)
   

   Message from God’s Word
   

7. Communion/Fellowship (celebrating the grace of union with Christ and his people)
   

   Lord’s Table
   

   Worship in Giving
   

8. Charge and Blessing (living for and in the light of God’s grace)
   

   Sing – Not to us (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFlwKpQmmFQ)
   

    

   Benediction: 2 Thess 2:16-17
   

 Endnote: The items in bold are included to show the structure of worship but are not part of the worship service.

Neo-docetism and the Judgment of God

If one asked the average American Christian why ancient Israel was punished by God and sent into captivity, the usual response would probably center around the nation’s disobedience to the covenant, or its idolatrous tendencies, or some combination of both. Rarely, if ever, would one expect to hear anything about the failure of the nation to seek after social justice or care for the poor.

However, the Holy Spirit of God speaks very clearly to Israel through His prophet Isaiah that a failure to look after the poor was a major component in the broader picture of judgment upon the nation:

Is. 1:10 (ESV) Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!  11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.  12 “When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts?  13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly…. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause (emphasis added).

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An Introduction to Grace Church of Philly

The dream for Grace Church is to see God create in University City a Christian Church which clarifies what it means to be “Christian.” We know we live in a culture that has witnessed many misrepresentations of both the Christian life and Christian message and that, consequently, finds neither Christians nor the church very attractive.

The term “Christian” has come to mean just about anything in our time. Everyone who is even remotely connected to Jesus in any way calls themselves a Christian. From Mormons to Roman Catholics; from Liberals to Conservative Fundamentalists; from people involved in New Age belief systems to people who call themselves “born again.” The word “Christian” has become a meaningless term.

Our desire is to bring clarity and re-infuse this term with its proper, biblical meaning. Our desire is to get out of the way so that the Holy Spirit of God can minister to people through the faithful proclamation of His Word. The preaching of the Word will be accompanied by deeds of love and mercy in outreach to the community. Such deeds can only be empowered by the love of Christ that has been poured into our hearts at the new birth. Our prayer is that skeptical attitudes will be changed about the Christian faith, and that it will begin to look attractive to unbelievers who are alienated from God and have never had a saving conversion experience with Jesus Christ.

We believe that Christianity is the most joyful, beautiful, and attractive belief system and worldview that this world has ever seen. We need to stop making this beautiful, precious thing so utterly unappealing to so many.

We want to teach, embody, live, and faithfully represent Christianity before a world and culture that has totally rejected the Church and everything she stands for. We believe that a good amount of the hostility and skepticism that outsiders have toward Christianity is not so much a rejection of the pure, biblical faith of Jesus and His apostles, but is a rejection of the misrepresentations and distortions of the faith that many churches have gotten hung up on.

Many unbelievers think that the Church is filled with arrogant, prideful, materialistic, uncaring, legalistic, homophobic, bigoted people who are primarily focused on promoting a political agenda or party. And unfortunately, their observations are not without merit. We believe that when outsiders look at the Church, they should see love, mercy, and grace rather than hatred, hostility, and hypocrisy. Our desire is to fully embody and incarnate the love, mercy, and grace of God before others.

Acts 2:42-47 tells us that the early Christian community was so filled with people who had humility, confidence, understanding, courage, generosity, sincerity, and joy that they had “favor with all the people” of the surrounding community. There was a beauty resting upon the church (Keller & Thompson, p. 183). Our dream is for this type of Holy Spirit-empowered beauty to rest upon Grace Church of Philly.

Acts 2:47 states that the early Christians in Jerusalem had “favor with all the people.” We want to be a ministry that has “favor with all the people” in University City and in Philadelphia.

We want to be a church that has an “outward” stance toward the world rather than a church that is “inward” in its focus. An “inward” church is one that pours all, or nearly all, of its energies back into itself and the saints present in that ministry. Churches with that are inwardly-focused usually have a hostile stance toward unbelievers and the world. We desire to have an “outward” stance, dedicated to engaging our culture for Christ, faithfully and lovingly bringing the saving Gospel to unbelievers whom we love and who desperately need our Savior.

GRACE

We have chosen the word ‘grace’ for our church as a starting point in clarifying and communicating the essence and simplicity of Christianity.

Grace is that undeserved, unearned blessing of God that meets us where we are and transforms us. Grace is what we want to show to others, indiscriminately serving them and loving them in the name of Jesus.

We ask you for the opportunity to share life together with you in an environment marked by grace. At the outset, we confess the imperfections of our grace and our need for more grace, but we desire to meet you as you are and to grow with you in understanding and living the magnificent grace of God.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

OUR DISCIPLESHIP COMMITMENTS – 4G

•We gather each Sunday to worship our great Lord and Savior in spirit and in truth.

•We grow through small group Bible study and fellowship to lead grace-filled lives of genuine significance for the glory of God with other believers.

•We give our resources and time to support the work of God and to love our community with acts of kindness.

•We go to intentionally make disciples both locally and globally in announcing the Good News of God’s grace to all peoples without regard to ethnicity, gender, or social standing.

Our discipleship commitments are our discipleship process. This is part of our overall “simple church” philosophy of ministry (following Rainer and Geiger). Our philosophy of ministry includes the following concepts: clarity, movement, alignment, and focus.

Clarity – Our commitments and process is simple to communicate and easy to remember. It is not overly complex or complicated. We believe that the discipleship process should never be left up to chance and should never be a mystery.

Movement – Our focus is going to be on moving people through this process, facilitating their building up and edification in the faith.

Alignment – All of our ministries, from the youth programs to small groups to mercy ministries, will be aligned around this simple 4G process.

Focus – We will not be a “program-heavy” church. Our philosophy is not “more programs,” but excellence for the glory of God in the programs that we will have.

OUR CORE VALUES – TRIM

Being transformational means that we are prayerfully depending upon the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit to transform any life. The grace of God means that there is no one alive who is beyond the hope of redemption and transformation in Christ Jesus.

Being relational means that we are joyfully offering love and grace to everyone, regardless of where they are on their spiritual journey. First, this means we will actively cultivate redemptive relationships with believers as well as non-Christians. Second, we will be conscious of and welcoming of non-Christians in our midst. Third, we will communicate not just what we believe but why, in a way that invites questions, engages people in dialogue and take a process approach (not a crisis approach) to communication. Tim Keller observes, “Many people simply have ‘process personalities’ – they will never come to faith if they are pushed. They need to come in stages.”

Being incarnational means that we will strive to live out and model the gospel of grace within the culture. We want to be deeply involved in our communities. Ed Stetzer remarks, “We don’t back away from godless people but instead embrace godless people because we understand the hearts of lost people conquered by the lordship of Jesus builds the Kingdom.”

Being missional means that we are intentionally committed to engage those who either do not know or misunderstand Jesus. We are intentional about and absolutely committed to adapting everything we do in worship, instruction, community, and service so as to be meaningfully engaged with the non-Christian society around us. Being missional, we understand that we are co-citizens with non-Christians and seek to build redemptive relationships in the culture instead of totally separating ourselves from the culture.

Each of the TRIM values undergirds and empowers every aspect of our 4G discipleship commitments. How we fulfill out 4G discipleship commitments should always reflect our TRIM values.

OF IMPORTANCE TO US

We believe that God calls every believer to wholehearted discipleship. A church full of Christians running hard after God, living with intent as His children and using their gifts to extend his kingdom, brings God great glory and is a powerful witness to the world. We are eager to help every Christian live as a learner, minister, evangelist, and steward.

We believe that the church is a ‘glocal’ mission outpost. By ‘glocal’ we mean being missional both locally and globally. As a mission outpost, the church actively seeks ways to penetrate the community, the nation, and the world with the Gospel. Bob Roberts, Jr. states, “When we start a church, we realize we are doing so not just for the community but for the world, based out of that community. Every church you start is a church for the world” (p. 124).

We believe that effective ministry must be biblically based as well as culturally relevant. We do not need to sacrifice either biblical truth or cultural relevance. All of our ministries will be in the ‘vernacular,’ speaking directly to the immediate culture and people without compromising Scripture or theology. Regarding speaking directly to the culture: Christians, frequently, are great at speaking to each other, but not so great at communicating with the wider culture. Our desire is to speak to the non-Christians of the culture in a powerful, compassionate, Scripturally-saturated manner.

AN INVITATION TO BECOME PART OF OUR GRACE COMMUNITY

We ask you to prayerfully consider becoming part of the GCP core group for the birth phase of the church for as long  as the Lord leads you for the following:

1. To pray daily and persistently for the city of Philadelphia and for the launch and establishment of Grace Church of Philly in University City.

2. To be involved in the lives of the believers and unbelievers in that area; to build bridges with them that might serve to further the kingdom of God.

3. To maintain a consistent devotional life and consistent walk with Christ.

4. To open yourself to the Lord as to what types of ministry roles He may have for you at Grace Church.

5. To give to the work of this ministry as you are able to do so.

We want to encourage people to commit for as long as they believe that they are being ministered to, for as long as they believe that their gifts are being effectively used for kingdom purposes, and for as long as they believe that this is what the Lord wants them to be doing.

Grace and peace be with you.

References:

Keller, Timothy J. and J. Allen Thompson. Church Planter Manual. New York: Redeemer Church Planting Center, 2002.

Rainer, Thom and Eric Geiger. Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples. Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2006.

Roberts, Bob Jr. The Multiplying Church: The New Math for Starting New Churches. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008.

Note from Launch Team Meeting (Aug 1, 2009) – What does it mean to be ‘missional’?

What does it mean to be Missional?

Luke 5:27-39 ²⁷ After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.”  ²⁸ And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.  ²⁹ And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.  ³⁰ And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”  ³¹ And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  ³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Introduction:

Are you ready to follow Jesus in a Missional way? – By missional I mean living with an awareness that the world we live in needs Jesus and intentionally seeking ways to bring Jesus into that world.

From the call, response, and subsequent actions of Levi and the circumstances that surround him, Jesus, and the disciples, we learn a bit more about what it means to follow Jesus in a missional way.

Missional is being RADICAL and at times seemingly irrational.

Levi responds immediately to Jesus’ call to follow (literally – ‘keep following me’ and ‘he kept following him’). He left everything.

I say this act of following is ‘seemingly’ irrational, because it is truly irrational only if Jesus is not who He claims to be. If He is Messiah, Lord, Son of God, and Savior, to not follow Him fully would be irrational.

Missional people are moved by the call of Jesus and understanding who it is that gives the call.

Missional is being RELATIONAL – Following Jesus means that we remain as friends of sinners.

Usually everyone is a friend of sinners at some point in life. Though it is possible to grow up in total isolation (Christian home, church, school, friends), this is not the norm. Most people when they come to Christ have a network of relationships that include many non-believers. Unfortunately early on this network is broken.

The enemies of Jesus called both Jesus and his disciples “friends of sinners” beacuse this was an obvious reality in their lives.

For Levi, he has just answered the call. He hasn’t burned the bridges of relationships. He still has friends who aren’t followers of Jesus and he seeks a venue to which they would come and where he could introduce Jesus to them. This leads to my next point.

Missional is being RESOURCEFUL – Following Jesus means that we create opportunities for our friends to meet Jesus Christ.

I love church gatherings with God’s people but at the same time, I love the words of C. T. Studd, that brilliant young Englishman who gave away a fortune that he might go out to the forests of Africa. He put his philosophy this way:

Some like to dwell
Within the sound
Of church and chapel bell.
But I want to run a rescue shop
Within a yard of Hell.

Levi knew his friends well enough to know what kind of venue they would come to. I believe that all of us need to be more thoughtful, prayerful, and intentional in creating venues where we can invite our friends and neighbors and Jesus. The choice of these venues is driven by what honors Christ and what is attractive to sinners, rather than what is ‘approved’ by institutaional Christianity.

Missional is being RISKY.  Following Jesus means that we live with the risk of criticism and misunderstanding

Being missional often means that you act contrary to religious culture. This is not the intent (how can I PO other Christians), but is often the result, when your sensibilities are such that you think about pleasing God and loving and reaching people, not looking over your shoulder for approval from man.

• Criticism arises from a false comparison (disciples of Jesus to disciples of John and Pharisess).
• Criticism arises from the failure to see the uniqueness of Christ and His mission.
• Criticism is based more on the fear of change than a question of what honors Jesus Christ.
• Criticism is often rooted in a fear of loss of power.

Missional is being REDEMPTIVE

I take Jesus words about ‘coming to call sinners to repentance’ as a probing invitation to everyone as much as a rebuke to the Pharisees.

Everyone listening would have had to ask themselves the question: Am I sinner? If I don’t think so, if I think I am righteous, then Jesus did not come for me.

Being missional must always come back to the question: Why did Jesus come? Lk 19:10 - “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (which by the way was spoken to another tax collector).

Conclusion:

Grace Church of Philly is looking to build a core launch team of believers who desire to follow Jesus in a Missional way – living with awareness that the world we live in needs Jesus and intentionally seeking ways to bring Jesus into that world.