Archive for Christianity

Scott and Jean Adam: Murdered Bible Sailors

By | Published 02/22/2011

Although the four Americans killed by Somali pirates were spending their retirement on a yacht sailing around the world, they most certainly weren’t wasting their retirement. Their mission? “To allow the power of the Word to transform lives. We seek fertile ground for the Word and homes for our Bibles.” Read more about their travels and their mission to distribute Bible on their web site SVQuest.com (sailing vessel Quest).

Although they didn’t finish their work, their journey is now complete. How will you expire?

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The Sacraments and Eschatology

By | Published 02/18/2011

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t always been able to think eschatologically. We’re led to believe that eschatology (the “end times”) has nothing to do with the present and it’s all a muddled debate about millennia and rapture and Apache helicopters. Tosh!

[D]on’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:3-5)

Studying Matthew 14:13-21 (God feeds a lot of people1) and reading Romans 6 very slowly and repeatedly yesterday led me to think about the eschatological dimension of the sacraments2 more so than I had done before. The eschatology of the Lord’s Supper has always been, for me at least, readily apparent, but I just hadn’t really thought of baptism in this way before.

But the goal of baptism is eschatological: that we be united with Christ in his resurrection, not just his death. Read Romans 6:3-5 again, if you need to.

Concerning the eschatological dimension of the Lord’s Supper, it’s interesting to note verbal parallels in Matthew between the account of the feeding of the 5,000 and the Last Supper discourse (e.g., blessing and breaking bread). Also there’s an interesting book by one Geoffrey Wainwright which I would love to check out. It’s called Eucharist and Eschatology. Publisher’s description:

Pulling together themes from 20th-century theology, this text discusses how, from scripture, tradition and practice, the Lord’s Supper is shown to epitomize the Christian vision of the final ends for the individual, the Church, human society and the entire cosmos. At the same time however, at the beginning of the 21st century, just as in the past, people are posing major questions about existence. The debate is contained within.

Intriguing. Is it not true that “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26)?

You know, now that I think about it, the phrase “eschatological dimension” seems a bit…

Oh well!

  1. Titling this section The Feeding of the 5,000 gives away climax of the story too easily when Matthew puts off to the last minute to tell us that “The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Mat 14:21). ↩
  2. I know some in Baptist circles aren’t comfortable referring to baptism and the Lord’s Supper as “sacraments.” I would ask, why not? ↩
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Translating “Son of God”

By | Published 02/11/2011

Commentary

Reports

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Putting the Gospels Back Together: How We’ve All Misread Our Central Story

By | Published 02/08/2011

There’s a guy named Sam Marsh who’s about to be your new best friend. Why? Well, he’s posted a download link for a recent lecture by Tom Wright that will absolutely be worth your time; I promise. Go over to Sam’s blog and download “Putting the Gospels Back Together: How We’ve All Misread Our Central Story” (MP3). Wright brings together some ideas that I’ve been pondering lately and would call “your gospel is too small.” Anyways, don’t fear the name N. T. Wright or the lecture’s jabbing title (“We’ve All Misread”). Just give it a listen.

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Always Pray and Never Give Up

By | Published 01/29/2011

In our latest prayer partner update about our ministry with Wycliffe Bible Translators I shared some thoughts on Jesus’ words in Luke 18:1-10. I want to re-post that section here.

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up…” Luke 18:1-10

This week several of our friends who are also currently raising support to start their ministries with Wycliffe reported that they recently received some negative feedback from individuals with whom they have shared. While we’ve been blessed with largely positive responses, we too at times feel discouraged and start down a path of losing hope of ever actually getting to “the mission field,” in our case Cameroon where so many still wait to have God’s word in their own language. But Jesus’ parable in Luke 18:1-10 provides a rock-solid promise to his disciples, a promise based on the fact that God is the one who is at work. And specifically that he is at work to bring about justice in the world or a putting to rights of everything that sin and sinners (like you and me) continue to mess up. Thus, we ought never give up because he is at work. In this way he is our hope.

Sounds nice, doesn’t it? But what does this have to do with praying for our ministry of Bible translation for which we are currently preparing? Well, lately we’ve been impressed with the notion that we are ambassadors for and the voice of Bibleless peoples all over the world, especially Cameroon. And while it is at times tempting to give up and lose hope due to less than desirable responses we must remember that our ministry fits within the grander plan of God to bring about a grand redemption of all things through the proclamation of the good news that he is at work saving sinners and reversing the effects of sin.

Accordingly, we will pray, we will not give up, for God is at work.

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Bible Translation is a Social Justice Issue

By | Published 01/24/2011

A pastor blogs about hearing Eddie Arthur, Executive Director of Wycliffe UK, speak about Bible translation:

Eddie talked about the fact that nearly 340 million have no access to the Bible. He said many have said this isn’t a big deal considering there are 6 billion people that in the world. But, most of those 340 million live on the margins of society. They are the poor who live with no education. They are those with no power who have been pushed away by those with power onto the land that is on the high mountains or the land that is near impossible to farm. Those are the people God is on the side of. Translating the Bible into these languages mean that people have better access to education, which empowers women and children in particular when they are the ones often kept illiterate. Eddie then told a heartrending story of a mother whose child was ill, but she didn’t have the money. Some missionaries gave the money which enabled the mother to get the life-saving medicine. Only, the baby died two hours later. The mother couldn’t read the instructions that said she was supposed to take the medicine and it would be given to the child through breastfeeding.

Bible translation is a social justice issue, and here we can see that the line we draw between ‘spiritual’ and ‘social’ issues is false. Evangelism and mission intertwine with each other wrapped in God’s concern that people know him spiritually and that he cares for justice.

HT: Eddie Arthur

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The Prayers of God’s People Will Mess You Up

By | Published 01/20/2011

Praying for the Bibleless

I was not prepared for the beautiful, powerful prayers of God’s people at Union Missionary Baptist Church. We went last night to cast a vision for what God is doing through Bible translation to bring his message of hope and redemption to Bibleless communities all over the world, but we left having caught a vision of the people of God rising up to pray for the Bibleless all over the world and for workers to be sent out. How warmly we were welcomed as advocates for the Bibleless!

Last night two prayers in particular messed me up, put me in shambles.

Pastor Gene read from the Cameroon entry in Operation World, the country in which we’re preparing to serve as Bible translators. But Gene read not from the latest edition of Operation World, which just came out at the end of last year, but from the previous edition. In the Cameroon entry in the previous edition the country’s suggested prayer needs include most urgently the need for Bible translators and Bible translations in order to combat spiritual poverty and nominal Christianity. Gene then pointed to Emily and me on the front pew and said, “Here’s an answer to this prayer request.” I’m an answer to prayer!? Hearing God’s people last night praise him for sending us out was too much for me. The prayers of God’s people messed me up…in a good way.

Secondly, in the picture above you’ll notice a large banner-like printout. This printout is a list of all the languages in the world that still do not have a Bible translation; there are over 2,000 all over the world! When fully rolled out, the list stretched from the pulpit all the way to the back of the sanctuary. Before we prayed God’s people gathered on either side of the list, picked it up and chose a language for which they would pray out loud. The prayer of one gentleman whose face I never saw absolutely messed me up. He held his portion of the list and prayed, “Lord, I had no idea. How many of us went through today without thinking one bit of any of this. I’m ashamed.”

He went on to offer a passionate plea for the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. His prayer messed me up and continues to mess me up…in a good way.

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A Christological Reading of the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl (Matthew 13:44-46)

By | Published 01/15/2011

The parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl found in Matthew 13:44-46 are assumed to be so easily understood that arguments in favor of a particular interpretation are rarely given. Jeff Gibbs in his commentary on Matthew in the Concordia series, however, challenges the “traditional discipleship reading” of these parables and argues persuasively for a Christological reading.

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (NIV 2010)

While the traditional discipleship reading quickly equates the object of high value for which one sells everything (the hidden treasure and the pearl) with the kingdom of heaven for which a disciple must give up everything in order to enter, Gibbs’ Christological reading equates things differently: the object of high value is the disciples not the kingdom of heaven and the central figure is Jesus not the disciples. The message of these parables is then similar to the Christology famously hymned in the Philippians 2:6-7 kenosis passage so that “what Jesus is accomplishing in restoring God’s reign in Israel and the world is compared to the action of a man who, because he had found an object of great value, extravagantly sold all that he possessed in order to purchase that valued object and to make it his own. Jesus himself is the man.”1

In support of his Christological interpretation, Gibbs offers the following arguments:

  1. The kingdom of heaven (or the reign of heaven) is about what God is accomplishing in Christ. He’s the central figure.
  2. “Whenever a reign parable has a lone human figure acting in the symbolic narrative, that figure always represents (more generally) God or (specifically) Jesus, and when there are multiple characters…[the] central figure always represents God/Jesus.”2
  3. The refrain common to both parables highlights selling all or “whatever he had.”
  4. Nobody is able to give up anything in exchange for his life (cf. Matthew 16:26)
  5. Jesus alone is able to give something in exchange (cf. Matthew 20:28)
  6. The Old Testament theme of God’s people as segula, his treasure.
  7. The discipleship reading does not fit well with the previous parables in Matthew 13.

Gibbs concludes by providing the practical import of this Christological interpretation for Jesus’ disciples: “Though we disciples may often feel buried under the challenges and dangers presented by our own sinful flesh, by the hostile world around us, and by the great enemy and father of lies, there need be no doubt that we belong to Jesus. We have been acquired. Christ has purchased us at the price of everything that he had. In the breathtaking reckoning of grace, we are as a treasure to him. Secure in that confidence, we can continue to follow him.”3

  1. Jeffrey A. Gibbs, Matthew 11:2-20:24, Concordia Commentary (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2010), 720. ↩
  2. Gibbs, Matthew, 716. ↩
  3. Gibbs, Matthew, 721. ↩
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Three Teachings from John’s Gospel (MP3s)

By | Published 01/15/2011

Our Sunday School class–what our church has re-termed Bible for Life–has been going through the Gospel of John for more than a year. I’ve had the opportunity to fill in on the odd occasion that the esteemed Dr. Finn has been away on a speaking engagement, or, more recently, welcoming the newest Finnling into the world. Congratulations!

My first teaching was back in November and covered the whole of John 13:1-20, “God the Son Dressed as a Servant” (MP3). In preparation for teaching that Sunday I researched the historical and cultural background of footwashing. I was blessed to discover what a deep and unique exhibition of love God the Son’s washing was. I understand it to be completely unprecedented in the ancient world for a superior to wash an inferior’s feet. But not only did Jesus wash his disciples’ feet, even more staggering than that, he washed his betrayer’s feet. This is the sort of radical savior we have, who made himself nothing, assuming the garb of a lowly servant to actually, physically serve his disciples by washing their feet. I was quite frankly overwhelmed at meditating on Jesus’ love in this story. Amazing.

My second teaching was only two weeks ago and covered John 16:4b-15, “The Ascended Sovereign Sender” (MP3). I love the fact that I got to pick up at John 16:4b. Well, versification isn’t original anyways, so why not accent it with letters of the alphabet, too! What I loved about teaching this passage is the surety of the savior’s ascension. “I was with you.” He speaks as if he’s already gone. Too, we daren’t miss the eschatological perspective of the ascended savior’s sending of the Spirit. We get a clear picture of this through Peter’s Pentecost sermon in Acts 2. It’ll come as no surprise to most readers that in my preparations for teaching this section I disappointingly found a dearth of Reformed/Calvinistic material on the Holy Spirit. The Reformed systematic theologies I have on my shelf (both physical and virtual) give little space to the One who fills all space. So, to what better place to turn than the Apostle Peter’s interpretation of Joel and the sending of the Spirit. That’s good enough for me!

Last week in my third teaching I picked up where my second left off and covered John 16:16-24a. I titled this “I Will See You Again and You Will Rejoice” (MP3). Here Jesus poses somewhat of a riddle to his disciples and, fortunately for us, he goes on to clarify what he means. While I found J. Ramsey Michaels’ new commentary on John (NICNT) really useful for preparing, on this particular section (Jesus’ “riddle” in particular [my quotes not his]) he proceeded with a somewhat idiosyncratic interpretation for which he didn’t convincingly argue. In plain, whether naive or not, I stuck with what I think to be a common sense reading of the passage that sees “after a little while you will not see me” as Jesus’ crucifixion, death and burial, and “after a little while you will see me” as his resurrection. Additionally, I was sure to leave room for a second adventual dimension to Jesus’ statement as we see hints of future eschatology in the subsequent verses (e.g., Jesus’ childbirth parable [allusion to  Isaiah  66?] and his words “in that day”). Overall, I loved teaching this section. As sure as Jesus is truth he will see us again and we will rejoice! Halelujah, what a Savior!

Man of Sorrows! what a name
For the Son of God, who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
“Full atonement!” can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in Heav’n exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

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Missions is Too Important to Be Left to Professionals

By | Published 11/16/2010

Here’s a good word from MissionsMisunderstood.com:

More often than not, “partnering in missions,” means small churches give what little money they think they can afford to a larger church or a missions sending agency that will handle mobilization, screening, indoctrination, training, sending, and maintenance of missionaries on the field. This is not “partnering,” it’s outsourcing.

The difference is subtle, but detrimental to our efforts and disastrous for our missiology. The myth of “insufficient resources” perpetuates the distinction between the “professionals” and everyone else. But the Great Commission belongs to every local church. The missional church thinks and acts like a missionary at home and abroad.

For me now is a particularly good time for this good word on partnership and missions. My wife and I are preparing to serve in Cameroon with Wycliffe Bible Translators. We’re in what you call the initial stages of “partnership development” which means that in order for the ministry we hope to have to get off the ground people and churches are going to need to “partner” with us by committing to pray for us and by give financially.

The last effect we want partnership with us to have on the individuals who partner with us is that they see their missions obligations outsourced to us. “This is not ‘partnering,’ it’s outsourcing.”

The truth is God has gifted all of us to bring his message of redemption to this battered and broken orb. I know that he has made me to be a linguist, working with African pastors to translate God’s word into their language. I know that he has gifted you–made you–to do something for his glory. So do it! And let me help you along while you help me along and we’ll both build for Christ’s kingdom that we eagerly anticipate.

Let me know what I can do to partner with you. Here’s information on what you can do to partner with me.

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