Saturday, May 22, 2010

I just read this post from David Fitch about discipleship; some great thoughts from his time at the Ecclesia Network Church Planting Training. I especially liked the point about measuring spiritual growth (bullet point five).

I'm working on a couple of "original" blog posts and currently struggling, so this will have to do for now.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Imperatives

Justin Taylor posted this about sanctification as "becoming what/who we are already in Jesus Christ." Check it out!
Imperatives – Indicatives = Impossibilities

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Sunday, May 2, 2010

The Bride of Christ, part 1

This morning I celebrated communion together with a local gathering of believers. The text we meditated upon was from Revelation 19:

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
"Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear." (Fine linen
stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)
Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God."

The leader spoke of how we, the church, are the bride of Christ; we are currently betrothed and preparing for the wedding which will take place when Jesus returns. We are living in the in-between of the "already and the not yet." We are the bride of Christ, yet the wedding has not been fully consummated. It got me thinking about how this relates to our transformation while we wait for our groom to appear. Think of how a bride prepares herself for her wedding day. She wants to look beautiful for her groom. And what is the centerpiece of the bride's focus? The dress! Will it be simple and elegant? Or, will it be adorned with pearls and lace? Will she have a headpiece and veil or wear delicate flowers in her hair? The bride puts a lot of thought and effort into her wedding day attire. Why does she do this? Because she loves her husband-to-be and wants to please him. She wants to see the look on his face when she walks down the aisle toward him.

Would anyone say to the bride, "Why don't you save money and wear a dress you already have; your groom loves you already, you don't need to impress him. He's not marrying you for your hairstyle, just put it up in a rubberband." I have heard well-meaning people say, "There is nothing you can do which will make God love you more. Stop striving and just rest in His love." While there is truth in this statement (and probably some correction I need to hear), I wonder sometimes if we are minimizing the importance of preparing for our groom? The passage in Revelation says that the fine linen in which the bride is arrayed stands for the righteous acts of the saints. While God loves us now as much as He ever will, Scripture also speaks of things we can do which please Him. We do not earn God's love by doing these things; we are responding to His love and seeking to please Him out of our love for Him.

I want to be a beautiful bride for Jesus. I want to see the look in His eyes when He sees me, arrayed in the fine linen of the righteous acts of the saints. What about you?

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Various models of sanctification

I'm auditing a systematic theology class this semester. This week we began discussing models of sanctification. We will be doing a short overview (generalization) of Lutheran, Reformed, and Weslyan models. This week we learned about the Lutheran model. Now, I grew up in the Lutheran church and my extended family are mostly still active there, so I could really relate to what the professor was talking about. Because of Luther's involvement in the reformation and the commitment to salvation by grace ALONE, through faith ALONE, there is a strong desire to avoid anything that could possibly even hint at some kind of effort on the believer's part, lest we succumb to a works righteousness model. The over-simplification of this view is that the individual just needs to cease striving, focus on Christ, and the Spirit will spontaneously work Christ-likeness in the life of the believer in His timing.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in The Cost of Discipleship, says: "We Lutherans have gathered like the eagles around the carcass of cheap grace, and there we have drunk of the poison which has killed the life of following Christ. It is true, of course, that we have paid the doctrine of pure grace divine honours unparalleled in Christendom; in fact we have exalted that doctrine to the position of God himself. Everywhere Luther's formula has been repeated, but its truth (has been) perverted into self-deception. . . by making this grace available on the cheapest and easiest terms. To be 'Lutheran' must mean that we must leave the following Christ to legalists, Calvinists and enthusiasts – and all this for the sake of grace. We justified the world, and condemned as heretics those who tried to follow Christ. The result was that a nation became Christian and Lutheran, but at the cost of true discipleship. The price it was called upon to pay was all too cheap. Cheap grace had won the day."

What do you think? Is spiritual formation something that spontaneously occurs? If we speak of actively following Christ are we denying God's grace?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

And this is what I'm talking about!

Okay; small example today of being transformed rather than conformed. There is a joke making it's way around Facebook about our nation's president. I saw it because some of my friends had "liked" it, so it was on my homepage. I'll admit that when I read it, my first reaction was, "that's clever." But, then I caught myself. It was very inappropriate. It saddened me. No matter what you may think about the way President Obama is leading, we are to pray for God to bless him and our other leaders, not pray for his demise. Ephesians 5:4 says, "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." Now I like to have a good time and enjoy a joke as much as anybody. But, I needed to stop and consider if I would go with the flow of the culture and hastily share my amusement with all of my friends or if I would take seriously the commands of Scripture. It's not easy; I fall short all the time. But, enabled by His grace, I am being transformed.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

What IS Spiritual Formation?

As I've been pondering this today and reading what others have written, I realize I need to get clear in my own mind, and then make clear to my readers, what I mean when I say "spiritual formation." I emailed a friend about this growing passion of mine and it was obvious from his response that the assumption was that spiritual formation could be considered something wholly other and separate from the truth of Scripture and good doctrine. That is definitely NOT what I mean when I talk about spiritual formation. I guess that's why I named this blog "Spiritual Transformation." I'm talking about the command in Romans, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." It's clear that true transformation happens through the renewal of the mind. Spiritual disciplines and practices certainly have their place in the process, but to suggest that spiritual formation originates anywhere else than in the truth of the revealed Word of God is to wander down a dangerous path.

My growing interest in spiritual formation has been provoked by experiences in the evangelical church where the Word is held in high esteem and the preaching of correct doctrine is highly valued, yet there seems to be a disconnect between the theology learned and the life lived. People know and acknowledge what Scripture commands but choose instead to be conformed to this world. Experiences like these are what impel me to consider the process of true spiritual formation and the pursuit of Christ-likeness. The writer of Hebrews says, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." This is my God-given passion and desire. Thank you for letting me share it with you.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Beginning the Journey

Where do I begin? I have a passion to see lives transformed by the power of God. And it begins with my life. This is not about changing others, although I know God wants to do that. This is about allowing God to change me, and the privilege I have to participate in His transformation of my community and, ultimately, the world. This is about my journey as I try to understand the means God uses to bring about spiritual transformation. And, it's about learning from others' knowledge and experiences. I hope you will join me on this journey.