At some point we stopped calling Christians disciples and started calling them believers. A disciple is one who follows and imitates Jesus. She loses her life in order to find it. She steeps in the language and culture of Christ until His Word and his world reshape hers, redefine her, change inside out how she sees and thinks and dreams and, finally, lives. Whatever values she brought into his realm are reordered, ofttimes laid waste, and kingdom values take their place. 

Friends who knew her before scarcely recognize her now.

A believer, not so. She holds certain beliefs, but how deep down these go depends on the weather or her mood. She can get defensive, sometimes bristlingly so, about her beliefs, but in her honest moments she wonders why they’ve made such scant difference. She still feels alone, afraid, sad, self-protective, dissatisfied. She still wants what she’s always wanted and fears what she’s always feared, sometimes more so. Friends who knew her before find her pretty much the same, just angrier.

You can’t be a disciple without being a believer. But—here’s the rub—you can be a believer and not be a disciple. You can say all the right things, think all the right things, believe all the right things, do all the right things, and still not follow and imitate Jesus.

The kingdom of God is made up of travailers, but our churches are largely populated with tourists. The kingdom is full of disciples, but our churches are filled with believers. It’s no wonder we often feel like we’re just going in circles. 

pp 54-55, Your Church is Too Safe by Mark Buchanan (Zondervan, March, 2012)

How often have you read this in the last year? In the last month? In the last week? It’s a premise for a wide variety of ideas about the Church, a repeated refrain that has almost become a cliche. It goes something like this. The church has a bad public image because it is too narrow-minded, too political, too legalistic, too patriarcal, and too a lot of bad things. And there seems to be research to bolster these arguments. Seems every day, some organization is releasing a poll that shows the Church is out of touch and must change. It can be dizzying, actually because if you actually followed every new conflicting prescription, you’d be spinning in circles. Sometimes I imagine how the apostles managed without all that research to help them out.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We need to be wary of our standing before people (Colossians 4:5), we must adorn the gospel well (Titus 2:10; 1Peter 3:3-4), we must strive, as Paul to be “all things to all men.(1 Corinthians 9:19-23)” (Though, let’s be honest, this has been stretched to defend some pretty crazy church ideas.). It’s important that we conduct ourselves in a way that demonstrates the attractiveness of our faith.

However, I think the Church is a little obsessed with its image. I think it’s convenient for us to beat up on ourselves. It’s fashionable to put out a passive-aggressive tweet or Facebook post that hates on some hypocrisy in the larger Church.

The truth is that while the church is often clumsy, sinful, and sometimes irrelevant, we are God’s called-out body. We are His Bride. Furthermore, we have to reconcile ourselves to the idea that the radical discipleship Jesus calls us to is against the ethos of the world. In fact, we are told many, many times in the New Testament that if we follow Jesus, we will not be liked by the world.

Consider these words spoken by Jesus himself:

and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22 (ESV) 

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. Matthew 10:24-25 (ESV) 

How’s that for branding? Jesus said that if we truly lived out calling as disciples, it wouldn’t result in the world liking us more, but in them hating us more. In fact, the Scriptures tell us if the world likes us too much, it should call into question our Christian commitment:

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 (ESV) 

This is why I question our obsession over our reputation or opinion in the larger culture. The Bible says that the more try to be liked, the farther we move from friendship with God. Now to be sure, sometimes Christians are disliked, not for their Christian witness, but because they are jerks. They don’t radiate with the love of Christ. But quite often, Christians are disliked . . .  because they are Christians. So we can change our church styles, we can do more works in the community, we can even call ourselves “Christ followers” (all good things to do), and yet, still, the world will hate us. Why? Because as Romans 8:7 says, the unredeemed mind is “hostile to God.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 says that the carnal or fleshly mind “cannot discern” the things of God.

This explains media bias against Christians. This explains why your neighbor thinks you are plum crazy for going to church. This explains why our belief that Jesus is the only way really hacks people off.

So how should this inform our faith? First, we shouldn’t begin our ministry with the premise of “how can I get them to like me more?” Yes, we should build bridges and relationships for gospel advance. Yes, we should love our enemies. Yes, we should get our hands and feet dirty in service of the needy.

But not so people like us. Let’s do this because our Lord calls us to. Otherwise, beginning with the premise of “I have to repair the Christian brand,” leads us down a slippery slope of doctrinal impurity. We are tempted to jettison hard truths about God, especially those that are unpalatable in this age. In a sense, we have made the unredeemed person, at enmity with God, head of our theology department, chair of our worship team, and architect of our ministry model.

Secondly, we should disabuse ourselves of the mythical “early church” model. I think the book of Acts gives important and powerful lessons for today’s church. I believe we’d do well to “go back” to some of the fervent prayer and radical discipleship these people practiced. However, let’s remember that these folks were not well-loved by the larger culture. They were not liked by the world. We have this notion that in the early church, there was no infighting, no agendas, no power plays and that these people were so selfless and broadminded that the world just loved them. After all, we say, they met in houses and just loved on each other. Right?

Well, no. First of all, if you read the epistles, you’ll find that the early church suffered with the same issues our churches endure today. And secondly, let’s remember that most of the early church were rounded up, arrested, and killed for their faith.

How’s that for branding? Their brand was terrible. But their discipleship was radical.

Christians should be concerned somewhat about their perception in the world. No doubt. We are the representatives of Christ in the world. But let’s not be so obsessed with how the world views us. Because persecution is not a sign of unfaithfulness, but of faithfulness.

I have a feeling that American Christians are going to have to come to terms with this idea or else risk losing their faith all together.

Then there where new and fresh seasons of Mother’s Day. When I married Angela, I added another mother to my life. Angela’s mom, Linda, was a wonderful new addition. And then, when we began having children, Mother’s Day was given a whole new meaning. The first year of parenthood I didn’t fully appreciate this. That Mother’s Day I went about as usual, buying gifts for my own mother and making sure we took care of Angela’s mom. Big mistake. I had forgotten that this was a day to honor my wife, who is the mother of my children, who was laboring hard to make our house a home for the children God entrusted me. It was a lesson I didn’t ever forget.

This year, as Mother’s Day rolls around, we’re experiencing yet another season. In January of this year, Linda Sullivan, Angela’s Mom, my mother-in-law, slipped from this life into glory. It was a tragic loss for us. This Mother’s Day will be especially difficult for Angela, the first without the woman who so shaped her life. It’s also a hard day for me, to lose a wonderful friend, listening ear, compassionate soul, cheerleader, and mentor. The ten years I knew Linda were good years. We wish we had at least ten more with her, but we don’t.

In a way, the varied seasons of Mother’s Day are helping to shape my own ministry to others. Until this year I didn’t realize the mixed feelings or even outright pain most feel on this holiday when it seems everyone is celebrating motherhood. If you’ve lost a mother, this particular Sunday in May revives those emotions afresh. If you’ve experienced the sting of infertility, this is a day in which you’re not sure how to act. Anger, jealousy, sadness, embarrassment, grief. If you’ve lost a child, you may just want to roll right past this Sunday in the calendar.

As I get up to preach on Sunday, I hope to offer Jesus as solution to the empty parts on Mother’s Day. I hope each new seasons allows me, like Paul, to care for God’s children “like a nursing mother taking care of her children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7). But ultimately, I know that each loss we experience on Mother’s Day is a fresh reminder of God’s sovereignty over all things and that even the best relationships, the ones we’ve experienced with our mothers or mothers-in-law are but small pleasures pointing us to the ultimate joy found in relationship to Christ, who fills all the empty places in our hearts.

Sunday, I will do my best to help Angela grieve the loss of her mother and to honor Angela’s own efforts as mother of our four small children. Like most on this holiday, I suppose we’ll limp along less triumphalist as we may have in the past when everything was just right on Mother’s Day. And I encourage you to do the same.

When Sunday approaches, make sure you give your mother and your mother-in-law quality time and affirm your gratitude for their contribution to your life. If you’re married, honor your wife. If you have children, doubly honor your wife. And when the day is over, whisper a silent prayer of thanks to your Heavenly Father, who sustains and holds all things in His loving hands.

I’m humbled and honored to received these endorsements for my upcoming release: Real. 

“Daniel Darling knows that faith cannot be inherited; it must be owned. In REAL, he shows us exactly how to develop an organic and authentic faith. This compact but powerful book will revitalize the spiritually bored and burned out by helping them glimpse Jesus in fresh ways.”

Jonathan Merritt, author of A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars

“Dan Darling’s spot-on perceptions, honesty, and gentle kindness permeate this insightful book for understanding and helping today’s generation. I found various emotions welling up inside as I read the stories, the interviews, and the insights shared in REAL: Owning Your Christian Faith. His engaging and informative style of writing quickly drew me into each chapter with anticipation of what was coming next. This book is contemporary, raw, humorous, eye-opening, and valuable for today’s church to read. I appreciate Darling’s lists of legalistic rules, questionable doctrines, required behaviors, stifling traditions, and unrealistic expectations found in too many churches that have served to repel people rather than drawing them to Christ through a gospel-centered life. I like Darling’s plea for churches to “remove the impurities” from the gospel we serve people so that they can know the truth, the heart, and soul of the gospel and accept it for what God intended it to be and not what we have shaped it to look like. This book is well done and helpful to parents raising kids in this generation as well as for pastors to preach and any church leader who hopes to slow or stop the mass exodus of young people leaving our churches today.”

Rev. Dr. Tom Blackaby, author; speaker; international director, Blackaby Ministries International

“REAL: Owning Your Christian Faith may just be the book God uses to prod second-generation believers from a stale ‘inherited faith’ to a more vibrant, authentic faith. For those of us parenting or mentoring second-generation kids, you won’t find simplistic solutions here, thank goodness, but there will be plenty aha! moments to illuminate the way forward. Dan Darling has done the church a vital service.”

Leslie Leyland Fields, author; speaker; editor; columnist and writer, Christianity Today; Stones to Bread Ministries

“Learn how others, even as my own children, had to take ownership of their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is a much-needed message for all Christian families. Read and pass on.”

 Johnny Hunt, senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Georgia, former President, Southern Baptist Convention

This is a tough, sensitive issue that didn’t begin with President Obama, but bubbled up from the culture. In my view, this was a battle that the church lost years ago, the product of a pragmatic evangelicalism that offered a “lowest common denominator” Christianity  heavy on personal happiness and short on gospel proclamation and spiritual depth. So now we face a hollowed-out culture that has rejected Biblical norms because they never knew them in the first place. I also think evangelicals have often been sloppy in their political engagement, making their political opposition personal to particular politicians and waging unnecessary fights that have diluted their influence.

But enough of what I think. Here are five really great reads on the subject of gay marriage: 

1)How to Win the Public on Homosexuality - Collin Hansen – Gospel Coalition

We’re fighting today over authority, yes, but it’s not straightforwardly biblical. Many gay-rights advocates have excused themselves behind a professed love of God’s Word. You won’t likely win a debate with them by citing Bible verses they’ve been trained to explain away. Rather, we’re losing a more fundamental struggle over the very definition of God. Straight or gay, Reggie or Brett, we’re not satisfied with a God who calls us sinners. Who calls on us to deny ourselves. Who calls our gaze heavenward to receive his blessing: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14).

I’ve spoken to a number of conservative legal scholars about the subject, and I’ve always heard the same thing: the church lost the battle over same sex marriage three decades ago. How, you ask? Because the church was silent when state after state passed no-fault divorce laws. These bills essentially removed the state from any interest in preserving or defining marriage. No fault divorce laws defined marriage as an agreement between two individuals that may be entered or dissolved as the individuals desire without state interference or prejudice.

3) 5 Reasons Christians Should Continue to Oppose Gay Marriage - Kevin DeYoung

The temptation, then, is for Christians go silent and give up the marriage fight: “It’s no use staying in this battle,” we think to ourselves. “We don’t have to change our personal position. We’ll keep speaking the truth and upholding the Bible in our churches, but getting worked up over gay marriage in the public square is counter productive. It’s a waste of time. It makes us look bad. It ruins our witness. And we’ve already lost. Time to throw in the towel.” I understand that temptation. It is an easier way. But I do not think it is the right way, the God glorifying way, or the way of love.

Have you heard any of these statements lately? I have. And I’ve made these statements. Our generation is in the midst of a good discussion on the connection between faith and politics. We’re a bit weary of a previous generation’s highly partisan nature. We feel the Christian brand has been badly damaged. We’re not culture warriors.

Or so we think. Except isn’t interesting how hypocritical we actually are. I was thinking about this the other day. There are some issues that have been labeled divisive. For instance, to be loudly pro-life is to be considered too partisan. Stop fighting the culture wars. Preach the gospel instead. Love people.

And yet, if you were to replace your advocacy for the unborn with, say, advocacy for starving children, both here and overseas, you’d be lauded as a hero. You might even have one of those blog widgets where you encourage everyone to get involved. You’d be considered a compassionate Christian–a different kind of Christian than those angry, right wing types that talk too much about those babies being killed every day in increasingly heinous ways.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Child poverty is a tragic social ill, one that the Church should quickly work to alleviate. Those organizations that compel us to sponsor children are on the side of angels.

But . . . isn’t this a social issue too? Isn’t this a cultural thing, too? Aren’t those who harang the church for not doing more to alleviate poverty, aren’t they culture warriors like the prolife folks are?

Do you see how easily we dismiss issues we wish would go away? Or issues we lazily engage without fully knowing the facts?

Truthfully, we are all culture warriors. There are issues we are all passionate about, about which we compel our leaders to act. But I sense, in my generation, a bit of smugness. That we’re not going to do things the way our fathers did. We’re smarter, better, more Christlike.

Perhaps we’ll avoid some of the unhealthy lust for power and unnecessary party loyalty of the past. Maybe the Christian brand might be more distanced from the conservative movement. Perhaps we’ll talk less about “swinging elections” and more about gospel transformation. If so, that’s a good change.

But if we are to be faithful to what God has called us to do, there will be times when our advocacy will have the media and the opinion makers singing our praises. And there will be other moments when our faithful positions will bring us derision.

Which will make us, yes even us enlightened ones, culture warriors. We’d better get used to it.

Loving the Way Jesus Loved by Phillip Ryken

I’ve heard many sermons on the famous “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13. It’s often read at weddings, quoted by people of all persuasions and motivations, and often misunderstood. But Phil Ryken, President of Wheaton College, approaches this chapter in a fresh new way. Taken from a series of message he preached while pastor of Philadelphia’s famed Tenth Presbyterian Church, Loving the Way Jesus Loves adds the life of Jesus as the backdrop to this chapter. And so with each characteristic of love, Ryken digs into the life of Christ and how he perfectly exemplifies this. What makes this approach so much richer is that you begin to treat the impossible demands of supernatural love as something Christ generates in you rather than something you must work hard to produce in yourself. Gaze on Jesus, Ryken seems to be saying, and you will see in him the perfect embodiment of love and will find the supernatural ability to begin loving this way.

I love Phil Ryken’s preaching and ministry. I love his gospel-centered approach and his easy, understandable writing style. This is not a book you will labor to finish. It’s not a book you’ll struggle to understand. I highly recommend it as you will begin to see love, not as some ethereal emotion, but as an act of faith.

Jonathan Edwards by George Marsden

Jonathan Edwards was someone I knew little about. Sure, I learned of his life while growing up in a Christian school and had some vague notion that he was a learned pastor/scholar. But I longed to know the man and what motivated him. He’s had such a lasting impact on the church and the nation.

Marsden delivers a well-written, in-depth look at Edwards, whose ministry may have shaped America more than we realize. Edwards perished before the American Revolution, but his intense piety and desire to see a nation shaped on Christian ideals may have sown the seeds.

Edwards was a pious, learned, devoted man. He held himself to very high standards and expected those around him to live up to them. He was not a man without flaws and sometimes his rigidity could descend into legalism and could be misunderstood by those around him. He was also not without his share of troubles, having been kicked out of his church in Northhampton and having to endure the death of a daughter. He also had a curious fascination with the end times, issuing specific apocalyptic predictions. I’m guessing these would be largely mocked in today’s evangelical church. He was also a slave-owner, a subject not given much treatment by Marsden, but broached recently by others such as Thabit Anyabwile.

At times I had to discipline myself to finish this book. Not because it was poorly written, but because the subject was so vasty and weighty. But I’m glad I finished it. It’s a worthy read. I came away in admiration for the discipline, the piety, and the awe with which Jonathan Edwards felt toward God. In spite of his flaws, his is a life worth emulating.

The Gospel for Muslims by Thabite Anyabwile

If you have a desire to see Muslim people come to faith in Christ, this is a book you must read. There seem to be two types of books published by evangelicals when it comes to Muslims. There are the sort of fear, war, and jihad type books that are full of apocalyptic fear and loathing. Much of the content of these are accurate–there is a threat of terrorism from radical Islam. Then there are the books which have a more missional intent, but are so deeply invested in encouraging the reader to learn Muslim doctrine as a way of evangelizing.

Thabite’s book is neither. A former Muslim, Thabite is now the pastor of 1st Baptist Church of Grand Cayman. He is a powerful, gospel-centered preacher. And this book reflects this. Thabite’s encouragement for the Christian with a desire to reach Muslims is twofold: don’t fear them, but love them, embrace them, seek their salvation and know the gospel of Jesus Christ well. The more you know the gospel, Thabitie’s argument goes, the better your chance of reaching Muslims. He also encourages hospitality and certain aspects of the gospel which force the Muslim to confront his own beliefs. I came away from this book encouraged that I, even I, could share Christ with Muslims.

This is a wonderfully written book, thoroughly soaked in the gospel narrative. You will want to read this book.

In the first part we concentrated on a pastor’s role in shaping the attitudes of Christians toward immigrants, both legal and illegal.

In the second part, we dived into specifics in terms of legality, laws, and advocacy for a more updated system.

This is an important conversation for the Church and something many ministries are wrestling with. I appreciate The Gospel Coalition’s willingness to engage this issue.

I reviewed the book here and felt that, despite some weaknesses, this was a worthy book. What makes Jonathan different than the rash of books that have been released in recent years (Alisa Harris‘ Raised Right, for example) is that Jonathan is still fairly conservative in both political beliefs and theological practice. He is on staff at his father’s church at Crosspointe Church outside Atlanta. And if you read his Twitter stream, he is clear about his belief in the gospel. In other words, unlike many voices in our generation, he has not replaced a fondness for the religious right with one for the religious left. He’s not calling for wholesale abandonment of Christian orthodoxy.

Still some conservative evangelicals have found fault with Jonathan’s conclusions. Most recently, Owen Strachan, assistant Professor of Christian Theology and Church History at Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky published a piece interacting with an essay Jonathan published for USA Today. Strachan is one of the most articulate voices in the evangelical world. I thoroughly enjoy his work.

I pointed out Strachan’s piece on Twitter and remarked that perhaps Jonathan Merritt would agree with most of it. Jonathan agreed, but Owen still had some criticisms, particularly about three things: 1) Jonathan seemed to advocate evangelical retreat on long-held important issues like abortion and marriage 2) Jonathan “called out” (Strachan’s curious words) highly political evangelicals like Tony Perkins 3) The data present in Jonathan’s USA Today Piece.

I came away thinking that perhaps Jonathan and Owen agreed more than they disagreed and seemed to be talking past each other. This is a generation that is wrestling with our political engagement, so these discussions are good and vital.

I won’t engage the polling data Jonathan presented, mainly because I think Jonathan cleared up the questions on his blog and because I feel polling data is speculative and not necessarily the strongest argument for Jonathan’s thesis that Christians should engage culture more smartly. But on the other questions:

First, does a new tone always translate to retreat? If you’ve read A Faith of Our Own, you’ll understand that Merritt is not necessarily advocating evangelicals stop fighting against abortion on demand or stop fighting the redefinition of marriage. He’s advocating for more Christ-like tone, for Christians to be influencers and to abandon the lust for power, to stop acting as if “we could just get our guy in”, then we’ll have the America we so desire. I wish Jonathan had better laid out a plan for engagement. This is where I think his book could have been stronger, something along the lines of City of Man by Michael Gerson and Pete Wehner. Perhaps a follow up book that smartly lays this out would be good.

I also agree with Strachan that to label all our political engagement in the culture wars is a bit simplistic. Consider abortion. Yes, we have failed to overturn Roe-v-Wade, but we have successfully educated a generation on the horror of abortion. Polls continue to show that younger generations of evangelicals are actually more prolife than their parents. And abortion clinics around the country have rescued babies from abortion and have launched many young unwed mothers into successful parenthood.

However, in Merritt’s defense, there is a certain unhealthy defensiveness among conservatives whenever a leader calls for a more Christlike, civil, tone in our engagement. I’ve experienced this myself. Whenever I call for folks to love and pray for President Obama, even as they oppose his policies, inevitably I get the charge that I’m “liberal” and “moving to the center.” But there’s a big difference in moderating your tone and backing off on your positions. Sometimes I feel conservatives confuse nastiness with action, that to be fully engaged means to adopt harsh rhetoric. This is a sloppy and unfair charge. 

Strachan also took issue with Merrit’s citing of the “Q” conference in DC, where evangelicals gathered to address the declining evangelical witness in the culture and offered pragmatic solutions for Christian engagement. Strachan assumed that all the attendees were liberal or progressive Christians (not true. I know several very conservative folks who attended). And he raised the attendance of several thousand at the Together for the Gospel Conference in Louisville. But I think this actually undermines Strachan’s point that millenial Christians are not less partisan. Yes, it may be true that T4G attendees are highly conservative. But they weren’t attending T4G as a political rally. I didn’t attend, but I listened to several of the main sessions and panels. This was not a political convention. In fact, implicit in much of the content was the idea that the gospel is the only hope for America. And there is quite a synthesis between the T4G/Gospel Coalition/Gospel Centered movement and the movement of folks like Jonathan who advocate a less strident, partisan Christianity. Guys like Russell Moore, Jared C. Wilson, Matt Chandler, David Platt, and others have been preaching against the sort of patriotic idolatry they saw in previous generations. For example, check out J.D. Greear’s enagegment with the marriage amendment in North Carolina. While he came out in favor of it, you’ll find his articles and video on the subject much more sensitive, biblically rooted, and compassionate than what you might have typically found on the issue a generation ago.

Lastly, Owen, at least on Twitter, took issue with Merritt’s “calling out” of Christian Right leaders such as Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. He called this “bad form.” And while I think perhaps Jonathan’s thesis is a bit too reliant on caricatures of past Christian Right leaders, I felt Strachan’s charge a bit hollow. Mainly because I’m curious when is it right to critique other leaders in print? I’ve read men like Dr. Al Mohler and Russell Moore offer critiques of evangelicals like Joel Olsteen and others in print (critiques I wholeheartedly agreed with). Was that bad form?

To end a very long post, I’d like to say this. I think the wrestling in our generation is good. We, as the Church, need to think through our political engagement. Are we reflecting Christ in our tone and actions? Is a quest for power hurting our mission? The questions Jonathan raises are good ones. And the counterpoints Owen raises are good as well. I think both men are articulate voices and likely agree more than they disagree. And whether or not the polling data bears this out, I feel like younger evangelicals, while still fighting worthy battles against social evils, are calling for a more gracious, gospel-centered tone. And this is good.

Update: I thought Trevin Wax had a fair critique of this book as well. 

On April 26th, 2012, I had the opportunity to teach at the small group I attend through my local church Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Nampa, Idaho. The teaching went well and the Lord blessed our time in the Word of God. As I was reflecting on this event, I wanted to share some thoughts from this experience with you.

While I realize some people take a full manuscript with them when they preach, I am not one of those guys. I take an outline of what I’m going to say because it helps me to remain focused throughout my time of preaching or teaching. During the middle of the small group I realized I was focusing too much on my notes and not enough on ministering to the people present through the Word. This experience taught me a valuable experience which is the point of this post. Notes aren’t bad, they help me to stay focused, but it’s better to be Spirit-dependent, Word-saturated and drenched in prayer.

Before I preached a sermon for my preaching class in front of family and friends a few weeks back the associate Pastor at my local Church told me to love the Word and love people. These words, “Love the Word and love people” have been bouncing around in my head so much lately as I recently accepted a pastoral internship at my local Church to learn from Pastor Rick and Pastor Matt.

I was recently asked by a friend what I thought when preachers preach from notes or don’t use notes. What I told him is I don’t care if a preacher uses notes or doesn’t use notes as long as their confidence is in the Gospel and they are confident in what they are preaching or teaching.

On April 26th, 2012 at the small group, I learned an important lesson that whether I’m preaching a sermon or teaching a small group study having notes is important, but not all important. For me, having notes helps me to not go off on tangents. I’ve also learned that I need to be aware that I can rely too much on my notes at the expense of being dependent on the Spirit
as I minister the Word. Whether preachers or teachers use notes or not is not the focus of my post, but my point is whether you use a full manuscript, an outline or no notes at all make sure you make much of Jesus by being Spirit-reliant, Word-saturated and drench yourself in prayer as you preach and teach the Word of God to the people of God.

The lesson I learned on April 26th, 2012 is one that will stay with me the rest of my life as I continue to mature not only as a communicator but as a Christian. The focus of Christian preaching and teaching should be on preaching Christ and Him crucified in the power of the Holy Spirit. The goal of Christian preaching isn’t just to give an information dump or lecture, but rather to preach the Word in such a way that believers and non-Christians are confronted with their own sin and the truth about what Jesus has done in His death, burial and resurrection. In other words, the Gospel isn’t a suggestion nor is it secondary. The Bible teaches that the Gospel is of first importance (1 Cor. 15:1-4), and the “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans. 1:16). “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor.1:18). Loving the Word and loving people is important even vital to growing in maturity in ministering to the people of God, but as I learned in teaching small group it’s not only loving the Word and loving people that’s important; its loving the Word, loving people and relying on the power of God in the Gospel through the Spirit to minister to the people of God. Whether you use notes or no notes at all in your preaching or teaching isn’t the issue. The issue is are you Word- saturated in your teaching, Spirit-dependent as you prepare and as you teach, and do you spend significant time drenching yourself in prayer with your Savior before you preach and teach.

As you continue to grow in your relationship with the Lord Jesus, I encourage you to saturate your heart and mind in the Word of God, to increasingly depend on the Spirit to instruct you in the Truth of His Word (as He promises to do) and spend quality time growing in an abiding relationship with our Risen Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who bought you with His own blood and rose again to give you new life. The more you saturate your heart and mind in the Word, the more you rely on the Spirit and grow in your prayer life; the more the Lord will use your teaching to bless the people of God and equip them to serve Him in His mission of seeking and saving the lost, and making disciples to the glory of His name.