Our Glorious Ruin: Tullian Tchividjian on the Suffering that Sets You Free

MATT SMETHURST|10:00 PM CT      FOUND HERE

Ever since the revolt in Eden, suffering has been inescapable. All of us live and move and have our being amid the wreckage of the Fall. Pain---universal as it is real---haunts us, stalks us, plagues us.

In his new book, Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free (David C. Cook), Tullian Tchividjian offers a unique angle on this perennially vexing subject. Rather than focusing on the why or the how of suffering, Tchividjian zooms in on the who, demonstrating that the answer to our pain isn't finally found in a syllogism but in a Savior---a suffering Savior. If your faith is stirred by this interview and the book, come to Orlando next April to hear Tchividjian lead a workshop at The Gospel Coalition 2013 National Conference on "How Suffering Sets You Free."

I corresponded with Tchividjian, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, about why we need another suffering book, the importance of pressing past why, how the gospel informs our pain, and more.

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There are a lot of books on suffering. Why write another one? 

When I set out to write this book, I researched suffering books---both Christian and non-Christian. And what I discovered was a lot of books written on the why of suffering and a lot written on the how of suffering, but very few written on the who of suffering.

The why books attempt to explain why a good and sovereign God allows pain. And while much smarter people than me have constructed elaborate systems in pursuit of this answer, they are all finally exercises in speculation. To know the why would be to grasp the mind of God---something none of us can do.

We also have many books tackling the how---how suffering can and will transform our lives, or how we can leverage pain and tragedy to make us better people. Results, results, results! Underneath this hopeful veneer, however, such philosophies tend to fall flat when things don't go according to plan---when we discover our power, especially in the face of suffering, is a lot more limited than we thought.

This isn't to say how and why aren't honest questions, only that they can be a prison. They can leave us cold and confused, just as they left Job when his friends formulated their own tedious answers.

The question I emphasize instead---and the only one that will ultimately point us toward the truth---is the who amid our suffering. And this is the only question God has seen fit to answer, concretely, in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This isn't a book on suffering in the way that we typically think about suffering. When most of us think about suffering we think of death, disease, depression---the "big" stuff, crises. But I wanted to broaden the scope and talk about suffering in terms of living life in a broken world as a broken person with other broken people. It's really a book about how the gospel intersects with real life---not only the big problems we face but also the seemingly mundane, everyday stuff like frustration, disappointment, anxiety, stress, and sadness.

My goal was to describe suffering in such a way that every single reader---healthy or unhealthy, rich or poor---could say, "You just described my reality." In my experience, the most direct route to the gospel is down the avenue of pain and brokenness.

Pain is an inevitable reality of life, yet Christians never tire of asking, "Why?" How do you respond to that question?

It's totally natural to ask "why?" when we are going through the crucible of ache. Why me? Why now? Why him? Why her? Why this? But I've discovered that asking "why?" assumes information has the power to heal. If I just knew why the suffering is happening, we conclude, the pain would be easier to endure. I've learned, however, that information can't mend a wounded heart. We see this in the story of Job. Even if God had told Job why he was suffering, Job still would've had to deal with the loss of his health, family, and wealth.

The truth is we may never fully understand why God allows the suffering that devastates our lives. We may never find the right answers to how we'll dig ourselves out. There may not be any silver lining---especially not in the ways we'd like. But we don't need answers as much as we need God's presence in and through the suffering itself. Explanations, I've learned, are often a substitute for trust.

For a believer, God's chief concern in your suffering is to be with you and be himself foryou. And, in the end, we discover this really is enough.

How does Martin Luther's distinction between a "Theologian of Glory" and a "Theologian of the Cross" affect contemporary suffering?

These two divergent views are as old as the hills; Luther simply gave them names.

"Theologies of glory" are approaches to Christianity (and to life) that try in various ways to minimize difficult things, or to move past them rather than looking them square in the face and accepting them. Theologies of (human) glory acknowledge the cross, but view it primarily as a means to an end---an unpleasant but necessary step on the way to personal improvement or the transformation of human potential. A theology of glory has a very hard time, then, knowing what to do with real brokenness that plagues real people in a real fallen world. Theologians of glory try to make something bad sound like it's good. They (we) put pressure on themselves and others to be "overcomers"---to be "victorious." To the theologian of glory, life is a ladder we climb. Each little victory or improvement brings us one rung closer to the top---which is always just out of sight. A sign you're operating with a theology of glory is when your faith feels like a fight against the realities of suffering instead of a resource for accepting them.

The house of religious cards "that glory built" collapses, however, when we encounter unforeseen pain and suffering---when the waters rise and the levee breaks. Suddenly the mask comes off, and the glory road dead ends. We come to our ruin, to our knees, to the place where, if we're to find any comfort or help, it must come from someplace outside us. And this is precisely where the good news of the gospel---that God did for you what you couldn't do for yourself---finally makes sense. It finally sounds good!

A theology of the cross, in contrast, understands Calvary to be the ultimate statement of God's involvement in the world this side of heaven. It accepts the difficult thing rather than immediately trying to change it or use it. Indeed, those willing to struggle and despair may be those among us who best understand the realities of the Christian life.

A theology of the cross defines life in terms of giving rather than taking, self-sacrifice rather than self-protection, dying rather than killing. It reorients us away from our natural inclination toward a theology of glory by showing that we win by losing, we triumph through defeat, and we become rich by giving ourselves away. For the suffering person, this is a word of profound hope.

The idea that the Holy Spirit comforts us in our grief isn't uncommon, but what does the gospel itself have to do with our suffering?

Through many throbbing trials I've discovered that painful circumstances themselves cannot rob us of joy. Only idolatry can. Joylessness in the crucible of ache happens when we lose (or are losing) something we think we need to be truly happy---something that "makes us."

When I was going through a painful transition during a church merger, I thought the source of my joylessness was my circumstances. Fear, anxiety, anger, frustration---all of these things, I assumed, would go away if my circumstances were different. If those out to get me would simply start being nice or leave the church, then my pain would vanish. But the truth was that God was breaking down my idols. I never realized how dependent I'd become on human approval and acceptance to "justify" me until God took it away. I never realized just how much I was relying on the validation of others to make me feel like I mattered until it was gone. God reminded me that when we're united to Christ, we don't need to spend our lives trying to earn the approval, acceptance, or affection of those around us because Jesus has already earned God's approval, acceptance, and affection for us.

Interestingly, even though my circumstances worsened in the ensuing months, knowing that everything I needed was already mine in Jesus set me free. I wasn't immediately set free from my pain, but the good news of the gospel set me free in my pain---free from bitterness, anxiety, fear, anger, and so on.

Or maybe you're suffering through a less-than-satisfying marriage, and you're ready to throw in the towel. While your marriage may indeed be racked with difficulty, it's not so much the painful circumstances that ultimately cause your joylessness. It's the fact that you're depending on your spouse to be for you what only Jesus can be.

The gospel comes in and announces that, because Jesus has done everything for me, I can do everything for you without needing you to do anything for me. So, for example, I enjoy receiving love from my wife. Something in me comes alive when Kim expresses affection toward me. But I've learned that I don't need that love, because in Jesus I receive all the love I need. This then liberates me to love Kim without apprehension or condition. I get to revel in her enjoyment of my love without needing anything from her in return. I get love from Jesus so I can give love to her. The gospel frees me from the pressure to extract from her (and others) what I think I need in order to be secure, significant, and happy---since my identity is locked in what Christ has already given me, not in what I can get from others.

What are the purpose of suffering and the ultimate hope in Job's story?

There's nothing like suffering to remind us how much we need God. As John Zahl has said, "God's office is at the end of our rope."

This was Job's experience. After suffering tragically---never receiving an answer to his whyquestions, but only getting a glimpse of who God is---he says, "Before my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you" (Job 42:5). It was pain that opened Job's eyes to see God.

The good news of suffering is that it brings us to the end of ourselves. It brings us to the place of honesty, which is the place of desperation, which is the place of faith, which is the place of freedom. Suffering leaves our idols in pieces on the ground, and positions us to see that God sent his Son not only to suffer for us but also to suffer with us. Our merciful Friend has been through it all. And while he may not deliver us from pain and loss in this life, he'll walk with us through it. That's simply who he is.

10 Reasons Why God Allows Suffering

Found HERE

Jared Wilson, in Gospel Deeps, writes that “while we may not be satisfied with what God has revealed about his purposes in suffering, we cannot justifiably say he has not revealed anything about his purposes in suffering. We may not have the answer we are laboring for, but we do have a wealth of answers that lie in the same field.”

Here’s an outline of ten reasons he identifies in God’s Word:

1. To remind us that the world is broken and groans for redemption [Rom. 8:20-23].
2. To do justice in response to Adam’s (and our) sin.
3. To remind us of the severity of the impact of Adam’s (and our) sin.
4. To keep us dependent on God [Heb. 12:6-7].
5. So that we will long more for heaven and less for the world.
6. To make us more like Christ, the suffering servant [Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 1:5, 4:11].
7. To awaken the lost to their need for God [Ps. 119:67, 71].
8. To make the bliss of heaven more sweet [Rom. 8:18; 1 Pet. 4:13; Ps. 126:5; Isa. 61:3].
9. So that Christ will get the glory in being our strength [John 9:3; 2 Cor. 4:7].
10. And so that, thereby, others see that he is our treasure, and not ourselves [2 Cor. 4:8-9].

See Jared C. Wilson, Gospel Deeps: Reveling in the Excellencies of Jesus (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), pp. 114-120 for an elaboration of each point.

The comments to this post also listed the following suggestions:

That God may suffer and through it be glorified [Rev 5:12].

#2 – Gen 6:13; Job 4:8
#3 – Gen 3:16
#5 – Acts 5:1-11

12. Like Job, we may not know this side of the grave. Perhaps some of us serve as God-ordained examples to the heavenly realm. I lean toward the possibility that Job is not unique in this.

Sometimes we need to be careful explaining “why” people suffer. We may not know for sure WHY a particular person is suffering at that exact moment. Yet, we can say 100% WHO suffered for us all. The one we turn to in suffering has suffered for us.

Read the Same Biblical Passage from Multiple Perspectives

By Justin Taylor

Luke 18:35-43:

As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Vern Poythress writes in Symphonic Theology:

[Ethics]

Suppose first that we read the passage to see what it says about ethics. There are no direct ethical statements in the passage, but we would certainly detect some general principles. We can say that (1) we ought to ask Jesus to supply our needs, as the blind man did; (2) we ought to have mercy on people in need as Jesus had mercy on the blind man; (3) we ought not to turn people away or discourage them from coming to Jesus, even if they are being a nuisance; (4) we ought to have faith in Jesus, as the blind man did; and (5) like the blind man and the crowd, we ought to praise God for his mighty works.

[Devotion]

Now suppose that we read the same passage again, this time with a devotional interest. We will probably recognize that Jesus’ healing of blindness is symbolic of his healing spiritual blindness (see especially John 9:39-41). Jesus has had mercy on us in saving us from spiritual blindness. As Christians we come to him again and again in prayer, just as the blind man did. We ask Jesus to take away our remaining blindness and cause us to see him as we should.

[Doctrine]

We might next read the passage for its theological doctrines. When we do so, we notice particularly what it reveals about Christ. His healing miracles testify to the fact that he is the divine Messiah. They also show the immeasurable power of God to work miracles in the physical world, as well as to work the miracle of spiritual sight and regeneration.

[Different Focuses of Attention]

And so we may go on to still other readings of the same passage, each time with a different focus of attention. Consequently, each time we may notice something new or something that did not realyy capture our attention before. If we are to sound the depths of a passage, we need to come back to it again and again.

If we read the passage from ten different perspectives, we still should not feel as if we are reading ten distinct passages. If we are reading carefully, we notice many of the same things each time. But each time certain different things stand out. Each time we force ourselves to pay direct attention to something new in order to make sure that we do not miss anything.

FOUND HERE 

Toward a Theology of Church Unity

Toward a Theology of Church Unity  by Kevin DeYoung

If there are any aspiring doctoral students out there looking for a profitable subject for research and writing, may I suggest to you the subject of church unity. For the past hundred years, church unity has largely been a liberal concern. At times the concern has been an admirable reminder, or a necessary rebuke, that our unity cannot be merely “spiritual.”  At other times, unity has been a blunt instrument with which to bludgeon conservatives who don’t share the same doctrinal latitudinarianism and ecumenical pipe dreams. “Unity” has become a byword among evangelicals, especially those in mixed denominations who can be shamed into silence by the mere whisper of the word.

But no matter the abuse, we must conclude from Scripture that the union and happy communion of the saints are precious to God.

Just as importantly, it’s easy to see how problems of “unity,” even among Bible-believing  Christians, continue to baffle and confuse. Can Baptists partner with Presbyterians? Can we associate with those who associate with those we wouldn’t associate with? What is the role for denominations? What is the role for broad parachurch ministries or organizations? How should we understand confessional identity? If we are to have unity in essentials, what are those essentials? Where should Christians agree to disagree? Where should churches agree to disagree? What are the right doctrinal boundaries for churches, for denominations, for movements, for institutions, for friends?

I have a lot of questions racing through my mind about church unity. I started writing a book on the topic once, but it seemed too difficult and required a level of scholarship I wouldn’t have time for. The issues are complicated and tremendously important. Thinking through church unity is not a luxury, but required theological homework for any pastor, especially those belonging to imperfect denominations (all of them!) and working with various networks and broader coalitions.

So in an effort to get going on some of that homework, let me offer several points that can be drawn from Ephesians 4:1-16. This is the classic text on church unity (along with John 17) and the most practical for day to day church life. Make sure you read the sixteen verses before reading the following points I glean from the text:

1. Unity is a relational good we are called to maintain where true spiritual unity is already present. Having just finished explaining how the mystery of the gospel brings together Jews and Gentiles, Paul exhorts the Ephesians to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (v. 3). The assumption is that the Jews and Gentiles in Ephesus already share the most important things in common. The goal now is to be patient with each other and bear with one another in love (v. 2). The call to unity is the summons to show in relational practice what is already true in spiritual reality.

2. The spiritual reality on which relational unity is based is described in seven parts: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Paul wants the Jews and Gentile Christians in Ephesus to get along because, despite their historic, ethnic, and cultural differences, they have these deep spiritual realities in common.

3. Presumably, then, Paul is not exhorting everyone willy-nilly to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Indeed, there is no unity of the Spirit to maintain without, for example, a shared allegiance to our one Lord Jesus Christ and a shared commitment to our one faith. That Paul is thinking of an objective standard of faith in verse 5 (ala Jude 3) is confirmed by his use of “faith” in verse 13. This is an absolutely critical point. Church unity is dependent upon a common set of doctrinal beliefs. If we do not share “one faith” with Mormons or liberals or Unitarians, then we have no unity to maintain. Of course, this begs the question: what core doctrines constitute “the faith”? The ecumenical creeds are a start. A shared understanding of Scripture, justification, the resurrection, the atonement, basic Christian morality, the Trinity, and the person of Christ are certainly some of the non-negotiables. But however “the faith” is defined, the important point from Ephesians 4 is that it can be defined and circumscribes our shared unity.

4. Paul celebrates diversity in the midst of this unity, but the diversity is not theological. He expects an ethnic diversity (Jew-Gentile) and a diverse array of gifts and offices all working toward the same end (vv. 7-13)

5. Unity is something we have; something we maintain; and something we grow into (v. 13). While Paul expects there to be a common faith, he also allows that we will have to mature and grow into this unity of faith.

I believe the previous five points suggest a few other points by way of application.

1. There is no command to have unity with those who do not share the same basic elements of our faith.

2. If the command to “maintain the Spirit of unity in the bond of peace” is mainly a call to relational oneness in view of spiritual oneness, there is nothing in Ephesians 4 to suggest that Baptists and Presbyterians (for example) must necessarily be in breach of this command because they do not belong to the same ecclesiastical institution.

3. The “not yet” of verse 13 may, in fact, be our allowance (though not our desire) for some difference of opinion here on earth. Hopefully as we love and listen to those who are truly are brothers and sisters, we can increase in our knowledge of the faith and some of our disagreements can be minimized, even if we don’t completely attain the unity of the faith.

Like I said at the beginning, we need some of our best pastors, theologians, and historians to help the church understand what it means (and doesn’t mean) to be one. I’m only sketching a few bullet points. There are too many important issues at stake, and too many opportunities to bring God glory (or bring him dishonor), to ignore the biblical command to maintain the unity of the Spirit.

Street Pastors

You can find STREET PASTORS HERE 

Street Pastors is an inter-denominational Church response to urban problems, engaging with people on the streets to care, listen and dialogue.

It was pioneered in London in January 2003 by Rev Les Isaac, Director of the Ascension Trust, and has seen some remarkable results, including drops in crime in areas where teams have been working. There are now some 9000 trained volunteers in around 250 teams around the United Kingdom.

Each city project is set up by Ascension Trust and run by a local coordinator with support from Ascension Trust and local churches and community groups, in partnership with Police, Council and other statutory agencies.

Mr. Bean Goes To Church

KNOWN

Mission Forum

Here is a great blog about culture/Christianity/anthropology etc...  
MISSION FORUM

Tullian Tchividjian - Liberty University Convocation

Tullian Tchividjian


Rethinking The Christian Life

This past week I had the privilege of, once again, speaking at Liberty University’s Convocation (North America’s largest weekly gathering of Christian students). I love the students there.

Assuming that many of them grew up, like I did, thinking that the focus of the Christian faith was the life of the Christian, my goal was to remind them that this whole thing is riding on Jesus’ work for us, not our work for him. In fact, I told them that the way many of us think about sanctification is not very sanctified–it’s downright narcissistic. We think way too much about how we’re doing, if we’re growing, whether we’re doing it right or not. We spend too much time brooding over our failures and reflecting on our successes. I admitted that the more I focus on my need to get better, the worse I actually get. I become self-absorbed–the exact opposite of how the Bible describes what it means to be sanctified.

I reminded them that spiritual growth is realizing how utterly dependent we are on Christ’s cross and mercy–It’s not arriving at some point where we need Jesus less and less because we’re getting better and better.

In short, when we stop focusing on our need to get better, that’s what it means to get better. When we stop obsessing over our need to improve, that’s what it means to improve!

Check it out…

The Man At The Bottom

Tullian Tchividjian

The Man At The Bottom



Contrary to popular belief, Christianity is not about good people getting better. If anything, it is about bad people coping with their failure to be good. That is to say, Christianity concerns the gospel, which is nothing more or less than the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). “[Christ] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). The gospel is a proclamation that always addresses sinners and sufferers directly (i.e., you and me).

The prevailing view in much of contemporary Christianity is more subjective. It tends to be far more focused on the happiness and moral performance of the Christian than the object of faith, Christ Himself.

Think about it: How often have you heard the gospel equated with a positive change in a believer’s life? “I used to __________, but then I met Jesus and now I’m ___________.” It may be unintentional, but we make a serious mistake when we reduce the good news to its results, such as patience, sobriety, and compassion, in the lives of those who have heard it. These are beautiful developments, and they should be celebrated. But they should not be confused with the gospel itself. The gospel is not a means to an end, it is an end in itself.
What happens in this scheme is the following: well-meaning Christians adopt a narrative of improvement that becomes a law (or an identity, which is often the same thing) through which we filter our experiences. The narrative can be as simple as “I was worse, but now I am better,” or as arbitrary as “I used to have a difficult relationship with my mother, but now it’s much easier.” Soon we wed our faith to these narratives, and when an experience or feeling doesn’t fit—for example, when we have a sudden outburst of anger at someone we thought we had forgiven—we deny or rationalize the behavior.

If the narrative we’ve adopted says that in order for our relationship with God to be legitimate, our life has to get better, we set up an inescapable conflict, or what social scientists call “cognitive dissonance.” When our view of ourselves is at risk, honesty is always the first casualty. That is, when the gospel is twisted into a moral improvement scheme, (self-)deception is the foregone conclusion.

There’s a classic New Yorker cartoon of a man sitting down with a woman, having dinner, saying to her, “Look, I can’t promise I’ll change, but I can promise I’ll pretend to change.” I hope that line doesn’t characterize your church, but it does characterize more churches than you think. Instead of a hospital for sufferers, church becomes a glorified costume party, where lonely men and women tirelessly police each other’s facade of holiness. The higher up in the pecking order, the less room for weakness. Perhaps it should come as no surprise when we read headlines of pastors of legalistic churches acting out in self-destructive ways (Rom. 5:20).

God is not interested in what you think you should be or feel. He is not interested in the narrative you construct for yourself, or that others construct for you. He may even use suffering to deconstruct that narrative. Rather, He is interested in you, the you who suffers, the you who inflicts suffering on others, the you who hides, the you who has bad days (and good ones). And He meets you where you are. Jesus is not the man at the top of the stairs; He is the man at the bottom, the friend of sinners, the savior of those in need of one. Which is all of us, all of the time.

(Excerpted from Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free, pg. 78-80)

The Next Resurgence/Confessions

The Next Resurgence?



Guest Blogger: Jason Helopoulos

The resurgence of Reformed theology over the past ten years has been very exciting. I am hopeful that the next resurgence will find the YRR folks making their way to a more explicit adherence to confessional reformed theology.

What are the benefits to confessional Christianity? I think about it this way. The confessions and/or creeds are helpful because they:

Tie us to Scripture

We must understand the whole of what the Bible teaches concerning a certain subject. And the confessions are a faithful attempt to do this very thing. Thus, the confessions do not lead us away from Scripture. Rather, they lead us to the Scriptures in what they articulate in a systematic way.

If I asked you, “How many persons are there in the Godhead?” You could turn to John 10:30 where Jesus states, “I and the Father are one,” and make the argument, as some have, that God is one person. But this would be wrong, because you took the Scriptures only in part and not as a whole. A good student of the Scriptures must be informed by all the Scriptures. Therefore, you would also want to turn to Matthew 3:16-17. And there it is clear that there are three persons of the Triune Godhead distinguished one from another. But you couldn’t stop there. One must also look at passages like John 15:26, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Galatians 4:6, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:2-3, and on we could go. All of this needs to be considered together as a consistent whole.

Tie us to Orthodoxy

These confessions and creeds are the products of painstaking dialogue, theological wrangling, and years of hard fought established truths. The Church has never existed in a vacuum as heretical teaching has found its way into the church in every age. And many of these teachings have struck at the vitals of our faith. In such cases, the Church has often risen to address these errors and safeguard itself by articulating the truths of Scripture in carefully worded documents. As we read, study, and compare these confessions/creeds to the teaching of Scripture they encourage our own orthodoxy and serve to check our own inclination to theological wandering.
Tie us to the past

The Church of Jesus Christ is older than any church we sit in on Sunday mornings. For that fact, it is older than any of our denominations. Confessions bind us to the historical church. It helps to stymie fascination with whatever is fadish and expedient. It encourages trust and waiting upon the Lord as one reflects upon the faithfulness of God through the generations. It reminds us that the Church to which we belong is nothing new. It includes all those in the faith who have preceded us. It directs us to old teachers and teachings in the church that have stood the test of time and scrutiny.

Tie us in the present

The confessions allow us to have true unity and accord with others in the faith. It provides the basis for ecclesiastical fellowship, ministry endeavors, labor together, and accountability.

Tie us to the future

Confessions (and their attendant catechisms in particular) provide a means to pass this great faith on to those of the next generation. Every Christian must have a concern for the Church in the next age. We labor to pass on the faith to our children and grandchildren. And the confessions provide a wonderful pedagogical tool for our use. They summarize our faith and articulate the essentials. They provide a systematic and concise understanding of what “man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man” (WSC Q/A 3).

Calvinism, More Than 5 Points

It would not be correct simply to equate Calvinism with the “five points.”…In the first place, Calvinism is something much broader than the “five points” indicate. Calvinism is a whole world-view, stemming from a clear vision of God as the whole world’s Maker and King. Calvinism is the consistent endeavor to acknowledge the Creator as Lord, working all things after the counsel of His will. Calvinism is a theocentric way of thinking about all life under the direction and control of God’s own Word.  Calvinism, in other words, is the theology of the Bible viewed  from the perspective of the Bible–the God-centered outlook which sees the Creator as the source, and means, and end, of everything that is, both in nature and in grace.  Calvinism is thus theism (belief in God as the ground of all things), religion (dependence on God as the giver of all things), and evangelicalism (trust in God through Christ for all things), all in their purest and most highly developed form. And Calvinism is a unified philosophy of history which sees the whole diversity of processes and events that take place in god’s world as no more, and no less, than the outworking of His preordained plan for His creatures and His church. The five points assert no more than that God is sovereign in saving the individual, but Calvinism, as such, is concerned with the much broader assertion that He is sovereign everywhere. - J.I. Packer

Compelling Cultural Encounters: Seven Ways to Connect People with the World

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Compelling Cultural Encounters: Seven Ways to Connect People with the World  By Marti Wade Hey, mobilizers! You've got the missions bug and want to spread it. What can you do? Here's a starter list of ways to create compelling events and encounters of a cross-cultural kind. Some of them can be done without much time or money, though putting more heart into themwill likely improve the results. Ready to think outside the box?    1. Cultural simulation  Get people's attention and lodge an experience in their memories by creating a bit of tension. I know none of us likes to be  uncomfortable for very long. But the few moments of pain and surprise that come with a cross-cultural simulation can be great teachers.   Mission mobilizers have facilitated this by re-creating a border crossing, a police raid on an underground church, or simply what it's like to be in another culture. Sandra, with World Relief, offers a good example: she coordinates The Refugee Project. This three-hour simulation transforms groups into refugees who are escaping for their lives, seeking safety somewhere, anywhere. Carefully handled, a simulation like this can help us understand a bit more what life is like for someone with whom we may have never felt a point of identification.   2. Make it a meal Maybe you'd like to avoid the "wow, those people are so different from us" dynamic. You can still go for the cultural simulation, but instead of dramatizing the differences, design it to build on more common ground.   Coordinators for Encountering the World of Islam tell their students to come to the next class session hungry and on time, because they'll be sharing a meal. Praying for students' appreciation for Muslims and Muslim cultures to increase, they simulate what it's like to visit a Muslim home for dinner (complete, of course, with yummy food). Write them for a document that includes tips and recipes.      Such an experience helps students appreciate that while they may not feel up to debating the theology of the Trinity with a Muslim they may meet, they can sit down and eat together and make some new friends.   3. Fun for kids means more fun for all Plan your cultural exposure event with fun in mind. Make it a family event, complete with games, food, music, videos, and other creative bells and whistles designed to hold the attention of the younger set. Have the kids participate by singing a song, leading an activity, or serving snacks. Chances are good the kids will want to be there and probably bring their parents, too. Maybe everyone will find it more fun than a more grown-up event would be, and the memories are more likely to "stick." Shane took this idea and turned it into a field trip. He took families from his church to a nearby city full of refugees. The kids went into shops and tried things they'd never seen before, hosted a kaleidoscope of refugee kids for a homegrown carnival, and worked like dogs deep-cleaning a local community center. A year and a half later, people still talk about it and want to do it again. It's one thing to have a cultural experience in the safety of, say, your home or church, but you can take it a step further by venturing out on someone else's turf.   4. The best way to serve may be letting them serve you Matt used to live in the Middle East. He recognizes that the Muslim community in his California town wants more than anything to be respected and known as people who are friendly and hospitable. During Ramadan he rounds up small groups of Christians interested in reaching out to people from different cultures and takes them to visit the local mosque for iftar, the meal served at sunset after a long day of fasting. If that sounds too intimidating, a little research can probably identify festivals and events near you that celebrate specific cultures or holidays. Round up friends and family and take them there. Honor your hosts by giving them the chance to show you all they have to offer.  5. Get out of the mission trip bubble If you are organizing a short-term mission trip in a cross-cultural situation, look for ways to make sure those who go get out of the foreign bubble. A real, ongoing friendship would be best, but even a brief encounter can be a highlight of the trip. Maybe you can finagle an invitation to join a soccer game or attend a wedding. Visit an English class and hang out with the students afterwards. Pair up your short-termers and send them home with a trusted local friend for lunch or, better yet, make it an overnight home-stay. When your local partner makes this opportunity known in the community, you may have no lack of volunteers! "Divine appointments" can't be controlled or arranged in advance, but when you take a team overseas, put this on your to-do list: look for someone born and raised in your host community to give you and your teammates a culture briefing, language lesson, city tour, or all three. Any of those things will help you get a look behind the scenes.   6. Coordinate a cultural scavenger hunt Most of us need a little push before we're willing to embarrass ourselves or ask for help, but few things do more to endear us to others than to let them laugh at us or just give us a hand.   When short-term teams come to visit Angie, she makes sure they get a cultural orientation and sets up a cultural immersion experience:   "We take the group to the largest market in South America, pair them up, and tell them to write down a dictated list of items. Here's the catch: the list is in Spanish. We give them some Bolivian money and tell them to go buy the things on the list."   "If it works out right they are forced to interact personally with Bolivian people in the heart language of the people. Any fears or barriers start to crumble or disintegrate completely. What fun to discover, with the help of kind and patient Bolivian shop owners, what crazy things you can find, like pomelo, goma eva, guantes,pil frut, and un cuaderno. They come back to the bus with a sense of accomplishment and a connection with the Bolivian people that lasts for the whole trip and hopefully beyond."   Want to know what those words mean? You'll have to look them up, or make your own trip to the market!    7. Be neighborly with someone from another nation Maybe you'll never get on another airplane, but you're in luck: the nations are coming to your town. Can you put out the welcome mat for them? You've heard the statistics about how few international students ever visit a local home. Consider being one of those rare people who bucks this trend! I don't know about you, but when I think of hosting internationals, what comes to mind are the exchange students from Germany or France who came to my high school for a year at a time. Many schools and international student ministries set up home-stay situations that do not require such a big commitment. You might be able to host an Arab or Chinese student for just a meal, a weekend, or a week. As a bonus, your own kids (if you have some) will never forget it. They'll be more likely to reach out to people different from them when you set the example yourself. Explore the cross-cultural hospitality options in your town, then let your church or network know about them. Set the example by hosting someone at your place! Fuel inspiration and encouragement for this kind of ministry with a fun event like those described above or a you-can-do-it book like Donna Thomas' Faces in the Crowd.  Conclusion There you have it, seven creative ways to break down the barriers and create cultural encounters. Have you done some of these? We'd love to hear about it. Go to our website or Facebook page to tell your stories or share more ideas.   August 22, 2012   In This Issue Compelling Cultural Encounters: Seven Ways to Connect People with the World About Us Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely! Questions, comments, submissions? Contact publisher and managing editor Marti Wade.  Quick Links About us Events calendar Subscribe to emails Get RSS feed Make a donation   Marti Wade is a writer, speaker, and project manager for the Church Partnerships Team at Pioneers. Since the mid-90s she has also helped prepare cultural research teams to explore unreached communities and mobilize efforts to serve them. Marti has managed and published Missions Catalyst since 2004 and is the author of Through Her Eyes, a book about the lives of women serving cross-culturally in the Muslim world. She married Chris Wade in May 2012.