I grew up in a traditional Indian family. 90 percent of our meals were Indian food, curry, naan, white rice, and for some special occasions my mom would make her famous lamb Hyderbadi Biryani. Needless to say, Indian culture was deeply rooted and emphasized in my life. However, I always felt a tension between the culture that I went home to and the culture that I found myself living in outside of my home. While the culture in my school and community emphasized a specific way of living it seemed my home life in some areas simply had a difference of opinion and in other areas out right contradicted each other.

It wasn’t long before I experienced this exact tension in the four corners of the church. I found myself going to an “Indian” church that usually met on Saturdays or Sunday afternoons, while also going to “American” church on Sunday mornings. I found the same tension exists between these two churches. Further, I found myself smack in between. Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to be apart of some great conferences that are tackling the ethnicity and race issue within the church. It has been incredibly encouraging and helpful to sit under, listen to, and read pastors and theologians like Crawford and Bryan Lorrits, Derwin L. Gray, Albert Tate, and Matt Chandler deal with the race and ethnicity issue from a biblical framework. As I’ve listened to these incredible men of God discuss, dialogue, and inform this topic I began to consider my own context and dilemma.

The Dilemma – My parents prefer an Indian Church and I prefer an american church. How do we deal with the segregation of churches based on racial/ethnic identification.

So, there we have it. Some would argue that this is an issue that is isolated to immigrants and will not be an issue for those born in the U.S regardless of ethnicity. I would disagree. What we forget is how this issue impacts the children of those that immigrated to the U.S. Speaking as one of those children, the impact is significant. I believe I began to compartmentalize the Gospel based on ethnicity and culture, rather then seeing the holistic beauty of the body of Christ.

As I consider the reasons for a segregation of church based on ethnicity I believe it comes down to some form of comfort. The comfort of language, understanding jokes and having a common framework to build friendship upon, the similarity of being of the same ethnicity and understanding the challenges of coming to a new place. I can empathize with these reasons. However, I believe the healthiest thing for the church is not a “segregation” but an “inclusion” of all people types. Ultimately, my friend Derwin Gray unpacks the core root of the issue as he states, “The reason the church is segregated is that we don’t believe deeply enough in the power of the cross.”.

Colossians 3:11 answers how we should proceed the best. Simply put, there is not race or ethnicity but Christ is all.

Therefore, our gatherings should be reflective of the community that we live in. We should celebrate and invite ethnicity into our church building while leaving a sense of “superiority aside.

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Dr. John Piper describes it this way:

“Where people have died with Christ and been created as a new self in the image of God, this canyon (race/ethnicity)* will not stop love and fellowship.”  – John Piper

Dr. Piper is making an observation that after we have been crucified with Christ and have become new in Christ, there is no distinction, separation, or barrier. This extends into love and fellowship amongst believer.

The issue of comfort can be solved with a church leadership team that is intentionally looking for ways to provide venues to meet such needs. This may be done in the form of a community or small group. Even more important, children see the beauty of ethnicity and culture in how God designed us. Our children grow up with a holistic view of God that includes every ethnicity and culture.

This requires sacrifice. Its a sacrifice to lay what is comfortable aside to do what is best in light of the Word of God and our families, churches, and communities.

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The church is made up of people. People live in cities, neighborhoods, and interact with other people. Each person is influenced in both passive and assertive ways via means of tv and social media. So, how do we engage our culture? Should the church engage culture? How can the church leverage culture for the sake of making Jesus famous?

It’s hard for me to even begin this conversation without considering Acts 17:26-29. We learn that the city, the neighborhood, and even the street that we live in, was ordained and put into place by God. If we have been placed in a specific location by God, it would be good for us to also know the cultural and social climate of that place. In short, we have to be students of our culture. I love traveling and seeing what God is doing in various cities and communities. I love hearing pastors and church planters tell me how they are reaching their communities. There is a real danger for all of us to look elsewhere to see what is successful and attempt to replicate that system, process, or plan. The real work of ministry, in fact, is contextualization. It is looking at our culture and identifying where the Gospel informs the broken and hurting aspects of our communities and neighborhoods.

The church is in desperate need of active, intentional, and balanced contextualization – @Muddamalle
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3 Ways We Can Accomplish This

Be aware of your cultural blinders

We all are predisposed or bent towards a certain way. Tim Keller calls this our cultural blinders. This issue of cultural blinders affects every area of our life, not just the church. It is easy for us to assume a cultural perspective based on one that we lived in. All of a sudden we begin to create, build, and strategize around cultural assumptions that are derived from past experience. Possibly the first thing we must do is recognize that we do have cultural blinders and then intentionally deconstruct them so that we can accurately engage the context that God has placed us in.

Pay attention to your immediate context

We can learn a lot from the very streets that we live in. Each of our neighborhoods are made of people that have a culture, past, and story. It is very common for people of the same culture or group to live near each other. Our ability to learn and understand the motivation of these people groups will be vital in our ability to speak to them in a way that is affective and relatable. It’s easy for us to begin talking and sharing and speaking from our own perspective. However, in doing this we loose the opportunity to speak in a way that is winsome and directed towards the persons actual life and context.

Make a serious effort to acknowledge and understand their objections

Its easy for us to jump right into the conversation and begin to give a defense for the Gospel. But, have we actually seriously considered, thought about, and engaged with the objection that people have to the Gospel? We live in a world that is filled with tragedy, turmoil, and seemingly constant destruction. It’s not that difficult for anyone to become negative or pessimistic about the possibility of a good God in the midst of this fallen depraved world. However, its these very objections that serve as platforms to meaningfully engage those within our community in a way that speaks to deepest hurts that they have experienced. In fact, it is in these areas that we must boldly proclaim the good news of the Gospel.

Tim Keller captures all three comments perfectly.

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Earlier in the year I wrote a post about bridging the gap between music and the Word. You can read it here.

I realized quickly that this concept of bridging two worlds is much larger than just music and the Word. It affects all areas of life, church, and ministry. Augustine is famous for his writings on what he calls the two cities in his book “The City of God”. Throughout the pages we read the tension and the contrast between the City of man and City of God.

This same tension exists today, however, we also feel it within the borders of the church and how it relates to modern day culture. With various opinions, methodologies, and preferences, it can become difficult to see what we have in common. It’s even harder to see where our differences can be bridged and become helpful.

What follows in this series are some practical ways we can begin to bridge the gap between:

Culture and Church:

The church is made up of people. People live in cities, neighborhoods, and interact with other people. Each person is influenced in both passive and assertive ways via means of tv and social media. So how do we engage our culture? How can the church leverage culture for the sake of making Jesus famous?

Nationality, Ethnicity, and the Church:

Heaven will be made up of every race, skin color, and ethnicity possible. Yet sadly, the church can be one of the most segregated places. How can the local church relate to ethnicity as it is inevitably apart of the church? What does it look like to be a multi ethnic church?

Youth Ministry and the Church:

As a former youth pastor I know first hand the great joys and sorrows that come with youth ministry. I also know the danger of youth pastors creating a “sub church” culture. How can churches embrace, engage, love, and support youth ministries?

The Goal:

That we would see what we have in common, identify areas that can be come distractions and cause divisiveness, and carefully contextualize in order to see the Gospel advanced within our communities.

The post Introducing: Bridging Two Worlds Series appeared first on Joel's Travels.

Are you more satisfied in Christ when he exalts you, makes much of you, and in your exaltation he is glorified. Or are more satisfied in Christ when he destroys you, breaks you, the world will never know your name, and in that you bring utmost glory to God?

Take a moment and really consider this. It’s a question I ask of myself continuously and it is a sobering reminder of my pride. I am reminded that there is a part of me that attempts to dethrone the creator of the universe and replace His centrality with my own. Yet, the honest truth is that when we attempt to become central in all things it only yields to utter brokenness. We are not capable in the slightest to fix ourselves, our families, our world, or our culture. And the fact that our behavior proves that we think we can is evidence of our pride and our lack of understanding the greatness and majesty of God. There is no need to turn any further than the very first sentences of Genesis 1.

In. The. Beginning. God.

Prior to all created things, existence, nature, matter, there was God. And God in the beginning God initiated an action, he created through his breath and His Word, all things to come into existences (John 1, Col 1:15-20). Therefore, the center piece and focal point of all creation and history is contingent upon God. He is preeminent in all things and our right understanding of who He is and what He has done shifts our perspective of ourselves and our capabilities.

Take a moment to meditate on these scriptures:

While my centrality leads to utter brokenness and failure, the centrality of Christ leads to salvation, freedom, and true liberation.

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If you have been paying attention to my social feed at all you may have noticed an insane amount of Tim Keller quotes. There is a reason for this, aside from the fact that Keller is brilliant. I am currently in a church planting class in Seminary and Keller’s books “Center Church” and “The Reason for God” are key resources. These books are gospel saturated and leaves the reader longing for the gospel not just for themselves but for the gospel to transform the communities that they live in.

One particular section covers Gospel Renewal. Keller is immensely helpful when it comes to unpacking what biblical revival looks like, and points us to Gospel Renewal as the catalyst for Biblical Revival. Most importantly, Keller points out that revival is not something that we can cause, rather it is something that God does. The following are 6 quotes that encouraged me, and I pray also encourage you.

1. “Revivals and renewals are necessary because the default mode of the human heart is works-righteousness”
2. “Because we don’t really believe the gospel deep down – because we are living as if we save our selves – our hearts find ways of either rejecting or reengineering the doctrine (as in liberal theology)”
3. “All revivals are seasons in which the ordinary operations of the Holy Spirit are intensified many-fold”
4. “You must let the gospel argue with you. You must let the gospel sink down deeply until it changes your views and the structures of your motivation. You must be trained and discipled by the gospel. The gospel, if it is truly believed, helps us out of the extreme neediness that is natural to the human heart.”
5. “Holiness affects both the private and civic lives of Christians”
6. “Ultimately, we can only prepare for revival; we can’t really bring it about. God must send it.”

What are your favorite quotes that relate to renewal, revival, and the Gospel?

Bonus quote:

“Personal gospel renewal means the gospel doctrines of sin and grace are actually experienced, not just known intellectually”

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Although a difference in opinions or modes of worship may prevent an entire external union; yet need it prevent our union in affection? – John Wesley

This las year I’ve had the privilege of traveling to various conferences that have roots in a variety of streams, traditions, and denominations. Interestingly, while some of these conferences have a clear dividing line in terms of secondary issues concerning doctrine, theology, or church ordinance, the essentials remain the essentials. Further, it seems that at times the body of Christ has mistakenly taken preferences and turned them into convictions which in turn become dividing lines amongst brothers and sisters in Christ.

As I consider this past year I am encouraged by the conferences I attended. In fact, the church at large would benefit from each other. While it seems that there is a resurgence of a pursuit of Christian unity, this really should be a priority for church and ministry leaders. I love what John Wesley says regarding church unity.

Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? – John Wesley

While it is inevitable that there are differences of opinions, the challenge is when those opinions become convictions. Rampant examples of this occurring in the local church are:

Music

Music may be the most visible preference that can quickly become a conviction for some. In the past I have served as a Worship Leader/Pastor and so I find myself very sensitive to conversations involving music type, style, and creativity in the arts. In my experience, a major challenge is two fold. First, there are a lot of young and immature worship leaders out there (I was in this group when I first started). These young and restless worship leaders have a chip on their shoulder and the burden to bring excellence, innovation, and creativity into the church! Sadly, they blatantly overlook the second issue; context. The ability to contextualize is not only important for a pastor and his sermons but equally important to the worship leader and the songs that he chooses. Simply, music should never be a dividing line in the local church which causes hurts, anger, and resentment.

Tip: I think Shane and Shane have one of the best resources for worship leaders that want to pursue both musical excellence paired with a foundation in the scriptures. A pursuit of these two things will be incredibly helpful as you process music and style in your local church context. Check out their new project – www.worshipinitiative.com 

Technology

I work for a technology company that serves the church. You can only imagine the amount of conversations with pastors that I have in regards to technology and their local church. Conversations from church leaders that want to move from the faithful hymnal to “that projection stuff”. Then the very next conversation with a church leader who has an entire creative/arts team and they are working through environmental projection, mapping, and playing around with the development of a church app.

Tip: If you are looking for good church app check out www.bibleandjournalapp.com

The type of technology that you use or do not use should not be a predicating factor for unity in…
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Final Thought

Ultimately, this all boils down to a heart issue. Regardless of preferences, it is more than possible for churches and ministry leaders to partner together for the common goal of the advancement of the gospel. It’s ok to have preferences. However, its never ok for those preferences to cause hurt, resentment, gossip, or other forms of destructive behaviors within the body of Christ.

The post When Preferences Become Convictions appeared first on Joel's Travels.

The most important aspect of this situation is the reality that the church should be in sincere prayer for Pastor Mark, his family, and Mars Hill.

Because the scriptures tell us to:

Because pastor Mark is human, flawed, and in need of grace:

Because there is more at stake than just Mars Hill Church:

“What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men—men of prayer.”

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