Category Archives: Teaching

Discipleship, Jesus is the Christ, Leadership, Ministry, Mission, Popular Culture, Teaching

Do You Have A Theological Vision?

This Fall I have spent a great deal of time reading and thinking through Tim Keller‘s excellent book, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. Keller is the Pastor at Redeemer in the heart of NYC and is one of my favorite authors/thinkers. Rather than a “cut and paste, this is how we do ministry-this is how you should do ministry” book, Center Church focuses on developing a Theological Vision that is consistent with what a particular congregation believes and that drives the way ministry happens. Too often the ministry expressions of a church are divorced from or even at odds with their beliefs as well as unconnected from the very people they are trying to reach. This causes frustration within the congregation and confusion from those outside looking in.

Keller defines Theological Vision as an underlying vision that brings your theological understanding (doctrine, beliefs) to bear upon your ministry expressions (practices, programs). It is in essence, a faithful understanding of the Gospel “with rich implications for life, ministry, and mission in a type of culture at a specific moment in history.” Developing a robust Theological Vision is important because it forces the people of God to think long and hard about the character and implications of the Gospel, what the Gospel has to say within your particular culture, and what it means to do ministry in your time and place.

With a Theological Vision in place, leaders and churches can make better choices about ministry expression that are faithful to the Gospel while at the same time are meaningful to their ministry context. That means a greater impact in Worship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Service, and Cultural Engagement.

A Theological Vision helps you determine what you are going to do with what you believe within your cultural setting.

Keller sums up the importance of this vision when he says, “A Theological Visions allows (us) to see (our) culture in a way that is different than (we) have ever been able to see before… Those who are empowered by the theological vision do not simply stand against the mainstream impulses of the culture but take the initiative both to understand and speak to that culture from the framework of the Scriptures… The modern theological vision must seek to bring the entire counsel of God into the world of its time in order that its time might be transformed.”

In order to develop a Theological Vision Keller says that you must spend time in “deep reflection” on Scripture and the particular culture that you minister in. In order to think deeply and reflect on these things, Keller offers 8 questions to help in the development of a robust and significant Theological Vision.

They are:
1) What is the gospel, and how do we bring it to bear on the hearts of people today?
2) What is this culture like, and how can we both connect to it and challenge it in our communication?
3) Where are we located — city, suburb, town, rural area — and how does this affect our ministry?
4) To what degree and how should Christians be involved in civic life and cultural production?
5) How do the various ministries in a church — word and deed, community and instruction — relate to one another?
6) How innovative will our church be and how traditional?
7) How will our church relate to other churches in our city and region?
8) How will we make our case to the culture about the truth of Christianity?

Keller warns that the development of this type of vision is hard but it is essential. The quality of your Theological Vision will determine your effectiveness as you find ways to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ clearly to your particular place in history.

Over the coming weeks, I am planning on meeting with a group of leaders to think through these 8 questions as a group in order to gain a better understanding of our mission to those within our church body and our surrounding community. The Starbucks near us recently built a new location complete with a variety of warm and inviting meeting areas so we are going to wrestle with these questions in the heart of the local agora just like Paul did in Athens. Of course Paul, as far as we know, didn’t get to sit in plush leather chairs sipping a peppermint mocha from a red cup.

If you have not read Keller’s Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City, I want encourage you to pick it up and wrestle with these questions within your own ministry context. I’ll be posting my thoughts and feelings as we go along so you are welcome to join in the conversation here in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter.

So what do you think of all this? Is a Theological Vision important? In what ways have you gained a greater understanding of the Gospel? In what ways have you worked to gain a better understanding of your particular culture?

Collecting Experiences, Leadership, Popular Culture, Teaching

Flipping Failure

Have you ever experienced failure? 

I’m sure you have.

In 1995, actor and producer Kevin Costner experienced a huge career failure when his movie Waterworld failed at the box office. The film had been beset by inflated production costs and on-set disasters. A hurricane destroyed the set at one point and even Costner almost drowned while filming. When it was all said and done the film cost over $175 million dollars making it the most expensive movie at the time. When the movie finally opened to audiences it failed to connect and made only $88 million.

The press was merciless to Costner, the cast, and crew. Waterworld was considered a joke and Costner’s career took a major hit. Before Waterworld, Costner was an A-list superstar with a great box office trace record. Afterward he was damaged goods.

However, Costner didn’t let that failure go to waste. 

Entertainment Weekly published an article about the production of the movie Battleship. Like Waterworld, this summer’s action packed movie was filmed on the open seas and had the potential to meet many of the same obstacles that Costner and crew faced. While in pre-production, the director of Battleship, Peter Berg, received a phone call from someone offering to help them plan and prepare for their wet and wild production schedule.

It was Kevin Costner.

In the interview, Berg describes their conversation:

I was in my office one day. I get a call. Kevin Costner’s on the phone. I’ve never met Kevin Costner. I’m like, “Hello?” He’s like, “I need to come in and talk to you.” I’m like, “…Kevin?” He’s: “I need to come in and talk to you.” I say, “When?” He says, “Tomorrow.” I say, “Okay!”

So he comes in, he sits down, he says, “I feel compelled to talk to you and I want to tell you” – verbatim — “the stuff we did right and the stuff we did wrong.” And he talked to me for three hours about the perils of filming out on the ocean.

It was awesome. Kevin is a great guy and I think, maybe it was a little cathartic for him [laughing]. He’s probably waiting to have this conversation with someone for a long time. But, yeah, he didn’t have to do that and, you know, I can’t say enough about him. He made a huge difference.

When we experience failure in ministry or in life, often we take our licks and then bury that failure some place when no one will find it. We become embarrassed or angry whenever our failure is brought before us. We act as though we never failed.

Costner saw a crew of people mounting a production similar to his greatest cinematic failure. He took it upon himself to reach out to the crew and share his weaknesses and failures concerning that project. He did all of this in order that someone else wouldn’t have to go through the pain and frustration he did. He did this so that other people would succeed where he failed.

What if you started flipping your failure to someone else’s benefit?

Action Step:
Who could benefit from hearing the lessons you learned from a mistake you made? Invite them to lunch and share your failure in order to help them win big.

via EW.com

Leadership, Teaching, Youth Ministry

Don’t Write Off Your Teens

Seth Godin has a great post up today challenging leaders to do the hard work developing people to change the world rather than to simply follow instructions. As a youth minister it’s my desire to push teens to become dynamic, world changing, Spirit led disciples of Jesus Christ. That desire goes beyond the typical “become good citizens and be kind to everyone” mentalities that most people have when dealing with teens. This mentality sets the bar way too low and, quite frankly, is easier too. The tough work lies behind looking at where teens are today and where they can be tomorrow. Seth puts the challenge this way:

It’s absurd to look at a three year old toddler and say, “this kid can’t read or do math or even string together a coherent paragraph. He’s a dolt and he’s never going to amount to anything.” No, we don’t say that because we know we can teach and motivate and cajole the typical kid to be able to do all of these things.

Why is it okay, then, to look at a teenager and say, “this kid will never be a leader, never run a significant organization, never save a life, never inspire or create…”

Just because it’s difficult to grade doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught.

The challenge for me today is to remember that my job is to encourage, lift up, model, serve, and lead in a way that leads to life change not merely compliant behavior. What’s your challenge?

via Seth Godin

Planning, Teaching, Youth Ministry

Wed Night Wrap Up #1

To give credit where credit is due: This post was inspired by youth ministry guru, Josh Griffin, and his HSM Weekend in Review posts over at More Than Dodgeball. Each week he posts about the weekend youth ministry service at Saddleback. I have been looking for a way to reflect and review my classes and this seems to be a good way to go. I’ve tweaked the elements of this a bit and hopefully over the next few weeks I can find a way to really utilize this format for my Wednesday and Sunday night teaching times. Thanks Josh! Love the site, love the podcast!

Wednesday Night Teaching Series: 1 Corinthinas (Week 3)
(Our Wednesday night is a combined class with Junior & Senior High students. It is designed to drive conversation from the biblical text and to connect biblical truths to everyday living.)

Big Question: Are you maturing in your walk as a follower of Jesus?

Bible: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Understandable Message: The church in Corinth was struggling to overcome sin and petty behavior that was stunting their growth as disciples of Jesus Christ. In this section, Paul tells the Corinthian believers that, while they think that they are mature, their actions actually show that they are still very immature in their faith. Specifically, they are arguing over who is the better teacher- Paul, Apollos, or Peter? He challenges them to see their leaders as the servants that they really are. Their focus should be on God not human leaders.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Paul says that the Corinthian believers were being immature Christians because they were jealous of and fighting one another (v3). What are other examples of Christians behaving immaturely?
  2. If you could wake up tomorrow and find that you had been magically transformed into “a mature disciple”, what would be the first sign that you would see that would confirm to you that you had become a mature disciple? What would be different? What actions would you be doing? How would you approach your life differently?
  3. Paul writes that he planted the seed of faith there in Corith and that Apollos watered it. Who planted the seed of faith in you? Who is, right now, watering your faith?
  4. Have you planted the seed of faith in someone that you know? Have you introduced someone to Jesus?
  5. Who are you watering? Is there someone that you are helping to understand their faith more fully? Who are you helping become a more mature disciple?

Element of Fun/Positive Environment: We had brownies!

Music Playlist: (I always play music as my students enter and leave the youth room) In Your Eyes, Times Like These, The Stand, All These Things I’ve Done

Favorite Moment: I loved hearing the teens tell stories about the people who have directly impacted their spiritual journeys. They talked about their parents or siblings, coaches and teachers.

Up Next: 1 Corinthians 3 pt. 2

Popular Culture, Religion, Resources, Resurrection, Teaching

Bible Major Geek Out! Shroud Edition

Archeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered a first-century burial shroud. The find seems to be extremely significant and pretty cool as well.

Jerusalem (CNN) — Researchers said Wednesday for the first time they have found what they believe to be pieces of a burial shroud from the time of Jesus. The find is of importance because tests on the shroud and the body it wrapped revealed the earliest proven case of leprosy in the Old City of Jerusalem. And in addition, the weave of the shroud raises fresh doubts about the Shroud of Turin, which many people believe was used to wrap the body of Jesus. According to researchers involved in the excavation and subsequent testing, the recently discovered shroud lends more credible evidence that the Shroud of Turin does not date to Roman times when Jesus died but from a later period.The latest shroud was found in a tomb complex on the edge of the Old City of Jerusalem. “This is the first time that we have a shroud from the time of Jesus,” said Shimon Gibson, the excavation director.

In my opinion the article places way to much emphasis on the Shroud of Turin (If I’m honest, I could care less about the Shroud of Turin). This new shroud however, is a collossal find on it’s own merit for a couple of reasons.

First, this find seems to corroborate a specific element of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He called such a find in the Jerusalem area unique because the high humidity levels in the city do not normally allow for the preservation of organic material. Gibson said the remains of the man covered in the cloth consisted of different wrappings for the body and the head, which was consistent with burial practices of the era. He also said research had shown that the weave of the cloth was a simple one, much different from the more complex Shroud of Turin’s.

John 20:6-8 says, “Then Simon Peter came along behind (John) and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.” This is just a little throw away detail about the resurrection of Jesus and yet it is these details that often underscore the larger truths. If the authors get the details right- the thought goes- then it lends greater credibility to the whole. Jesus’ body was wrapped and then a head cloth was placed over his face- the exact practice verified by first century traditions.

Secondly, it gives us a better idea as to what the tomb of Jesus may have looked like.

Based on the tomb’s location and the style of the shroud wrappings, researchers have said the shrouded man was an affluent member of Jerusalem society.

Jesus was buried in a tomb donated by a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin named Joeseph of Arimathea. It is very possible that this tomb would share some of the same characteristics. I look forward to filing these pictures away for use as a visual aid in my teaching classes. Let’s hope the archeologist took some great pictures. Hey guys, post those pics on Facebook! Kidding. High Res shots would be much better.

Finally, this find means that we could be close to understanding that age old skin condition known as leprosy. Now maybe we can speak with authority instead of basically making things up.

Because of the unique nature of the find, the remains of the shroud and the bodily remains were subject to molecular and DNA testing. Researchers said they were surprised to find that the shrouded man suffered from both leprosy and tuberculosis. The discovery of leprosy was found in DNA samples taken from the skeletal remains and is the earliest proven case of the disease, according to Hebrew University professor Mark Spigelman. It is likely the shrouded man died from tuberculosis, Spigelman said, and its presence in other remains found at the site suggest “the significant impact social diseases such as tuberculosis had on society from the low socioeconomic groups up to the more affluent families, such as Tomb the Shroud in first-century Jerusalem.”

Leprosy? Are you kidding me! (Allow me to slip into Bible teacher mode) This could mean that I can stop saying things like, “Well… we don’t know exactly what leprosy was…” or “Leprosy could have been a simple skin disorder…” NO MORE! Leprosy can be leprosy! Yay!

I’d encourage you to read the article and to check out the pics for yourself (first century corpse- you’re welcome!). It will be interesting to find out more about this latest find. As the weeks go on I hope that the researchers will release more of their findings so we can find out all we can about the times in which Jesus lived.

Story at CNN.com