It’s been about a week of vacation, nestled in the Vail mountains, where Dodson families converged to share a condo, rest, recreate, and fellowship. I’ve learned, not so much from study, but from seeing generosity.

A Generous Spirit is Hard to Find

My parents generosity continues to amaze me. Their stated goal, even during a recession, is to give generously, not primarily to their kids, but to God’s kingdom. This generosity isn’t a mere act but an act of worship. Their generosity has affected Christians and non-Christians around the world. It extends well beyond finances into (or from) a generous spirit. A mundane example from our vacation…

As a family of five, my family is the largest by far among my two brother’s families. Yet, I’m never made to feel guilty when Dad a picks up the restaurant bill for everyone. There are no cutting remarks, snide comments, or jokes about how many mouths there are to feed. In fact, a number of years ago my father told all of us: “Whenever we all meet for a meal, I’ll pick up the tab. Don’t feel like you have to offer to pay. It’s something I enjoy doing.”

Now, I realize that not everyone has this kind of financial liberty, but we all have the opportunity, every single day, to make others feel as though they are in our debt or as though they are in our blessing. We all have the power to make others feel judged or free, as an imposition or as part of the the family. We choose one or the other many times a day. We do it with time.

Generosity of Time

Are people made to feel as though they are robbing your precious time or do they walk away sensing they are free recipients of it?

My father is the CEO of a company, an elder in his local church, and is currently dealing with several emotionally taxing issues. Yet, he remains open, generous, interested in our lives. He listens and asks questions. He pauses to take great delight in is grandchildren. He pursues us in conversation. He plays tennis and enjoins topics of conversation unique to each person.

My mother is ever-present, serving in the background in silent generosity. Meals, dishes, shopping, and laundry, magically remain in order while everyone enjoys their vacation. She has plenty of vocational responsibilities. Yet, she anticipates the needs and preferences of nine to eleven people, and meets them. Blessing flows out from her.

Emotional Generosity

Generosity also has an emotional expression. Do we listen intently to others as they share their joys and struggles or do we secretly lie in wait to express our preference, experience, or current emotion?

Do people feel emotionally drained or strengthened when they walk away from conversation with you?

My mother is one of the best listeners I know, not because she is silent, or because she nods her head continually, but because her eyes tell me she is listening. And when she does speak, it is with understanding. She speaks, not to hijack conversation but to climb deeper into it, into your life. This is how she has deeply and effectively counseled so many women through so many crises. Whether it is a friend in a small group or a confused, broken woman who walked through the door of a crisis pregnancy center, Kaye remains generously present.

Generous Discipleship

Discipleship is about generosity. Take a mental stroll through the Gospels and you will find, again and again, Jesus giving generously of his time and emotions, even when he is exhausted or overwhelmed. As the multitudes press in, as the marginalized reach out to touch him, as his own followers puzzle over his identity, Jesus remains present, listening, giving, and speaking. With his eyes upon their hearts, he offers extended time and enriching presence.

Jesus is not distracted with “the kingdom”; he is present, building the kingdom. People are not an imposition; they are, very profoundly, his creation, his flesh and blood, his family. Jesus offers both presence and understanding as he climbs deeply into our lives. If Jesus was stingy, he would not have lived thirty-three years with us, three of which have spawned countless disciples and endless reflection.

Jesus’ life also teaches us that generosity requires sacrifice. Time, emotions, possessions, and energy must be subtracted from our lives if they are to be added to others. Jesus did not host events and call it discipleship; he hosted people and called them his own. Blessing poured out of him. From the backwoods of Galilee to wood of Golgotha, Jesus gave generously. This is grace.

Grace gives without demand, offers freedom not debt. Grace remakes men. It makes disciples of consumers, freeing us to spend our time and emotions on others. It reminds us that God has made so much of us in Christ, that we have much to give away to others. When Jesus died, he gave life. And to his disciples he says: Truly I say unto you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (Jn 12:24) Generosity requires sacrifice, but the life it nurtures invigorates both giver and recipient, such that we would say: “You don’t have to offer. It’s something I want to do. You have no idea how much I have received, and how much I love to give.”

While financial gifts can help many, it is the generosity of our own lives that will leave the greatest impression. Disciples of Jesus give generously. They leave an impression of grace.

Guest post by Josh Reeves, who is planting Redeemer Church in Round Rock, Tx.

Recently I made a list of 100 ways to engage your neighborhood. I have found that it is often helpful to have practical ideas to start engaging the people around me in order to be a better neighbor. Most of the things on this list are normal, everyday things that many people are already doing. The hope is that we would do these things with Gospel intentionality. This means we do them:

• In the normal rhythms of life pursuing to meet and engage new people
• Prayerfully watching and listening to the Holy Spirit to discern where God is working.
• Looking to boldly, humbly, and contextually proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed.

Below is a list of my top 25. The full list of 100 is available to download below the list. Not all of these are for everyone, but hopefully there will be several ideas on the list that God uses to help you engage your neighbors. Would love to hear stories of how you have lived some of these out or other ways you have engaged your neighbors.
1. Stay outside in the front yard longer while watering the yard
2. Walk your dog regularly around the same time in your neighborhood
3. Sit on the front porch and letting kids play in the front yard
4. Pass out baked goods (fresh bread, cookies, brownies, etc.)
5. Invite neighbors over for dinner
6. Attend and participate in HOA functions
7. Attend the parties invited to by neighbors
8. Do a food drive or coat drive in winter and get neighbors involved
9. Have a game night (yard games outside, or board games inside)
10. Art swap night – bring out what you’re tired of and trade with neighbors
11. Grow a garden and give out extra produce to neighbors
12. Have an Easter egg hunt on your block and invite neighbors use their front yards
13. Start a weekly open meal night in your home
14. Do a summer BBQ every Friday night and invite others to contribute
15. Create a block/ street email and phone contact list for safety
16. Host a sports game watching party
17. Host a coffee and dessert night
18. Organize and host a ladies artistic creation night
19. Organize a tasting tour on your street (everyone sets up food and table on front porch)\
20. Host a movie night and discussion afterwards
21. Start a walking/running group in the neighborhood
22. Start hosting a play date weekly for other stay at home parents
23. Organize a carpool for your neighborhood to help save gas
24. Volunteer to coach a local little league sports team
25. Have a front yard ice cream party in the summer

See full list of 100

Verge posted a video interview with me today. In this video I answer questions like:

• Who are you?
• Is the Gospel dangerous?
• What does risk look like in following Jesus?
• How are we called and equipped for the risk that comes with mission?
• How does entertainment prohibit mission?
• How does the gospel compel risky mission?

I wrote a follow up article to work out the idea of a “Dangerous Gospel.”

Book Review: Movements That Change the World by Steve Addison

This guest review is by Josh Reeves, who is planting a church in Round Rock, TX in partnership with Austin City Life.

Overview

In this short 128 page book Addison lays out five keys to spreading the Gospel. Overall Addison does a good job of keeping the language accessible to everyday readers, while also pointing those who would desire a deeper treatment of certain topics to a nice selection of supplemental resources.  One of the things I appreciated most about the book was that it got its point across cogently, making it easy to grasp the key ideas while moving quickly through the content.

The main purpose of the book is to outline what Addison sees as the five key elements present in movements that possess the capacity to spread the Gospel. The five elements identified in the book are White-Hot Faith, Commitment to a Cause, Contagious Relationships, Rapid Mobilization, and Adaptive Methods. Before expanding upon each of the five elements, Addison opens the book by telling the story of St. Patrick and the missionary movement he started among the Irish Celts. It was a great way to excite the readers appetite for radical movements of the Gospel.

Summary of 5 Movement Elements

White-Hot Faith (Chapter 1)

“Missionary movements begin with men and women who encounter the living God and surrender to loving obedience to his call.”

I appreciated that that from the start of the book he makes it clear that any movement is going to be driven by God powerfully working in his peoples heart. Dynamic missionary movements cannot exist apart from the power of the Spirit.  This is what Addison describes as “White-Hot Faith.”

Addison further explains this Spirit led dependence by what he calls, “Crisis” and “Process.” Crisis moments are explained as God’s initiative to “call a person to his service.” It is in these moments of crisis that  “we renounce dependence on anything but the presence and power of God.”

Process is defined as “all activities that deepen our relationship with God.” Addison gives several historical examples of movements that had Spiritual disciplines integrated into the rhythms of their members lives ( The Jesuits’ Spiritual Exercises of Loyola, Methodist and Moravian classes and bands which where accountability groups that met for prayer and confession of sin, Student Volunteer Movement had the “the morning watch”). The overall message was that no movement can be sustained on the initial crisis experience alone, there must be Spiritual disciplines to prepare the way for, and support, life changing experiences.

Commitment to a Cause (Chapter 2)

“Committed people make history by living in alignment with their deeply held beliefs.”

In chapter 2, Addison points out one of the more obvious elements of a movement in the book. Addison once again utilizes a nice mix of scripture, history, and modern examples to make his case.  This particular quote stuck with me and I found to be a valuable take away from the chapter:

“Living organisms are constantly seeking self-renewal by referring back to their essential identity and adapting to their environment.”

There is a necessity of commitment to a core identity, but also an element of adaptability that must be present in a movement for it to be sustainable.  Addison gives historical evidence for movements that declined due to losing their essential identity, as well as those who held their identity but failed to adapt (see pg. 63-64).

Contagious Relationships (Chapter 3)

“It does not take vast amounts of money to fill a nation with the knowledge of the gospel. What it takes is ordinary people, on fire with the love of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, who are willing to tell their families, friends and casual acquaintances what God has done for them.”

Chapter 3 was practical and immediately applicable. It was a great reminder of the existing relational networks that God has put us in that we often overlook. It reminds us of the importance of relationships and how historically movements have spread along these network lines.

“Movements appear to grow spontaneously and randomly, but on closer inspection they are spreading within and across networks of relationships.”

Addison helpfully clarifies that these relational networks must maintain some level of tightness, but remain open enough that others can come into the network. The chapter is full of very helpful information tidbits on this idea. Much of what I gleamed from the chapter was immediately transferable and applicable to my own endeavor of church planting.  I walked away with a renewed vigor to prayerfully and strategically think through the existing relational networks in my own life, identifying what Addison describes as “connectors,” and utilizing those people to help us expand our relational network. All of this so that we might deepen relationships and tell others of what God has done for us in Jesus.

Rapid Mobilization (Chapter 4)

“It does not take vast amounts of money to fill a nation with the knowledge of the gospel. What it takes is ordinary people, on fire with the love of Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, who are willing to tell their families, friends and casual acquaintances what God has done for them.”

Chapter 4 was helpful but also proved to be the chapter I had the most concerns about. I loved the “Mobilization” part of the chapter (making disciples who are released to go and make disciples) but I struggled with the idea of doing this “rapidly.”  Nonetheless there was a great deal of good to take away from the chapter. One very helpful take away were the two lists Addison gives from Roland Allen.

List one listed Roland Allen’s seven conditions in which spontaneous expansion is inhibited:

1. When paid foreign professionals are primarily responsible to spread the gospel, causing the gospel to be seen as an alien intrusion.
2. When the church is dependent on foreign funds and leadership.
3. When the spread of the gospel is controlled out of fear of error, and both error and godly zeal are suppressed.
4. When it is believed that the church is to be founded, educated, equipped and established in the doctrine, ethics and organization before it is to expand.
5. When emerging leaders are restricted from ministering until they are fully trained and so learn the lesson of inactivity and dependency.
6. When conversion is seen as the result of clever argument rather than the power of Christ.
7. When professional clergy control the ministry and discourage the spontaneous zeal of nonprofessionals.

Allen’s other list was equally helpful. It lists 5 conditions that enhance spontaneous expansion:

1. When new converts immediately tell their story to those who know them.
2. When, from the beginning, evangelism is the work of those within the culture.
3. When true doctrine results from the true experience of the power of Christ rather than mere intellectual instruction. Heresies are not produced by ignorance but by the speculation of learned men.
4. When the church is self-supporting and provides for its own leaders and facilities.
5. When new churches are given the freedom to learn by experience and are supported but not controlled.

Overall the chapter produced some challenging questions for us to consider. It rubs against much of the institutional wisdom that has dominated the recent history of the church.

Adaptive Methods (Chapter 5)

“To fulfill their mission, the most effective movements are prepared to change everything about themselves except their basic beliefs. Unencumbered by tradition, movements feel free to experiment with new forms of the church and new effective methods of ministry.”

Chapter 5 gives some helpful tools with understanding past movements that are in rapid decline as well as ways to avoid that same fate. While affirming an unchanging message, Addison reminds us that our methods must be adaptable.

He very helpfully points out that once fruitful methods can become formalized and seen as the “right” methods. An organization can become so convinced what they are doing is right (because it worked at some point) that they stop paying attention to the world around them. Sadly, history shows us a long list of examples that prove this true of the church.

Conclusion

Overall, Movements that Change the World was a solid and concise work. It provides a wealth of practical insights while clearly defining the key components of dynamic movements. It puts forth a vision for world changing Christian movements that are rooted in orthodox Christian doctrine, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and adaptable to every context.  It challenges the church to take an honest look at our methods, and consider if they are accomplishing the mission at hand.

The Verge Network is running a series of interviews with some great folks who are leaders in missional community. They recently interviewed me (video posts next week) on the topic of Risk & the Gospel. The more I think about this topic of “Risk”, the more I’m convinced it is a helpful word to challenge consumer impulses in American Christianity. Risk, of course, comes with some theological baggage as it relates to God, but Verge (& Alan Hirsch) is more concerned with human risk. Should we risk? Is the Gospel dangerous? If so, what does risk look like in the life of a disciple and his/her community?

I wrote an article addressing these questions called: “Is the Gospel Dangerous?”

Summer is a great time for books, but anytime is a great time for books! For those interested, here’s what I recently finished or am currently reading:

Fiction

Nemesis

Sociology

HIP: the history

Modernist America: Art, Music, Movies and the Globalization of American Culture

American Grace: How Religion Divides & Unites Us

Theology

Did Adam & Eve Really Exist?

The Doctrine of the Christian Life

Faith & Culture

Should Christians Embrace Evolution?

The Call: Finding & Fulfilling Your Purpose in Life

Mission

Heart of the Gospel: The Theology Behind the Master Plan of Evangelism

As we close in on Elder Training at Austin City Life, we are spending the summer doing contextual theology. Every other week our elders-in-training get together to cover theological issues that are relevant to our progressive context.

Hope in a Brave New World

Any Christian must be able to give an answer for the hope they lies within them (1 Pet 3:15). This task is increasingly difficult in our time, particularly because what lies without is rapidly changing. America has moved away from traditional values into a “brave new world” of technological innovation, globalizing homogeneity, ethnic diversity, and moral change.

This “cultural change” has resulted in a shift away from traditional values, ethics, and viewpoints. Some of these shifts are long overdue (hypermasculinity, politicized faith, etc.), while others are regrettable. We are living, raising families, and making disciples in a city that is leading the way in many of these changes. How can we respond to changing context with grace and truth? As elders, it is not only our responsibility to have an answer for our hope but to lead others in discovering answers for their hope. In the words of Peter, we are to “shepherd the flock of God with oversight” (1 Pet 5:2-3). Grace and truth. Not either/or. Our changing cultural context calls greater insight if we are to shepherd God’s people well.

Approach to Study

To that end, we will cover 7 Priority Topics that reflect controversy or challenge in leading the church in Austin, Texas. Prepare at least a one page summary of your findings, writing out your answers to three areas for each topic:

1. Biblical Teaching – Read and study the assigned texts. Establish the biblical meaning of the text and support your view.
2. Cultural Positions – Be prepared to argue and state the cultural counterpoints, using contemporary material, i.e. a conversation with a co-worker, an article in The Chronicle, an interview on a talk show.
3. Theological-Pastoral Response – How does the biblical material address the cultural position? Reject, Redeem, Rejoice? If unclear, what theological principles should be applied to gain wisdom with the cultural issue? How would you counsel someone in your City Group on this topic?

Seven Priority Topics

#1 Gender Identity – what does it mean to be male and female? Are these artificial cultural distinctions or does gender run deeper than sexual preference? What does it mean to be essentially male and female? How should this affect church and marriage?

#2 Homosexuality & Trans-sexuality – Is sexuality a choice or a biological fact? Is homosexuality sinful? How should the church respond to same-sex relationships or people who change sex?

#3 Freedom & Authority – What does it mean to be “free”? How do cultural views of freedom compare to biblical views of election? How does our view of freedom affect the way we treat the church and authority?

#4 Abortion & Culture of Life – Abortion has been a hot political issue for decades. Is this a conservative issue or a biblical issue? What stance should the church take? Does abortion carry equal or greater weight than other culture of life issues like poverty?

#5 Creation & Evolution – Is evolution compatible with a biblical view of creation? What is at stake in this debate? What stance should the church take, if any?

#6 The Problem of Evil & Suffering – Does God cause evil? If not, why doesn’t he stop it? What is the purpose of suffering and evil and how can it exist when God is good? How do we lead our church through these questions?

# 7 Pluralism & Christian Faith – Are there many ways to God? If not, what about those who haven’t heard the gospel? How is it just for God to send people to hell who haven’t heard the gospel?

If you are still reading this post, would you pause and pray for our elders and church to gain wisdom, conviction, and skill in these areas?

In the prior four posts, we examined, all to briefly, the claim of Christ and the claim of pluralism: the belief in Jesus as the only way to God and belief that the many paths lead to God. Which is the better claim? We’ve seen that religious pluralism is inaccurate, arrogant, and intolerant. Is Christianity any better? I’d like to suggest three ways that Christianity is better from the claim of Jesus himself. He said that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Let’s take each point.

Christianity Should Make Us Incredibly Humble

First, Jesus is the Way. What does this mean? Does it mean that Jesus is our trailblazer, clearing the other religious options aside so we can hike our way to heaven through spiritual or moral improvement. If I keep the Ten Commandments, if I serve the poor and love my neighbor, if I pray and read the Bible enough, then God will accept me. No. As the way, Jesus doesn’t create a path for us to hike. We can never make it, do enough spiritual, moral, or social good to impress God. Much less love him with all our soul, mind, and strength. We cant make it up the path. We all fail to love and serve the infinitely admirable and lovable God. In fact, we love other things more, that’s a crime of infinite proportions. It’s against an infinite God. The sentence for our crime must be carried out.

When Jesus takes the arduous hike for us he goes down into the valley where the criminals die. He hikes down into our sin, our rebellion, our failures and he heaps them all on his back and climbs on a cross, where he is punished for our crime, a bloody gruesome death. The innocent punished for the guilty. If he doesn’t take our punishment, then we must endure it—forever separation from God. If you reject Jesus, then you will pay the infinite consequences. However, if you embrace Jesus in his sin-absorbing death you get forgiveness, and Jesus hikes not only through the valley but up the mountain to carry your forgiveness to God, where he pleads our innocence (Heb 10). This is what it means for Jesus to be the way. He hikes into the valley of our just punishment and up the mountain for our forgiveness. He is the redemptive way. He takes our place. This understanding of Jesus as the way should make us incredibly humble not arrogant. We realize how undeserving we are and how much mercy we have been shown.

Christianity is Wonderfully Enlightening

Jesus is also the Truth. What does that mean? In John chapter 1, we are told that God became flesh and was full of grace and truth in Jesus. The truth is that God is Jesus. This is enlightening. Christianity is the only religion where God comes down to man, becomes man. All other religions man has to work his way to God. The truth is Jesus, the truth is a person, who dies in our place, for our crimes, and in turn gives us his life. The truth is that God, works his way down to man, and dies for us. That’s grace. See, the truth isn’t a special prayer or a codeword we say at the pearly gates. In Christianity, the truth is essentially revealed in a Person, Jesus, full of grace and truth. All other religions God is impersonal, but in Christianity we meet God in Jesus. The truth is a Person who dies for us. Wonderfully enlightening, moving.

Christianity Should Make Us Persuasively Tolerant

Finally, Jesus is the Life. As if it wasn’t enough to be our way, incredibly humbling, and the truth, truly enlightening, Jesus caps it off by offering us not just his death but his life. What life? Later on in John, Jesus says he is the resurrection and the life, and that whoever believes in him, though he die yet he will live” (11:25). He does down into the valley to take our death, and raises up from the dead to up the other side of valley where he prepares a new place for us to enjoy life with him forever. The hope of that life should break into the lives of Christians today, making us persuasively tolerant. We tolerantly extend people the dignity of their own beliefs. We don’t minimize the differences between religions. We honor them. The life of Christ produces in us true humility. But it also produces in us true enlightenment. We’ve come to grasp grace, that God works his way down to us, dies for our moral and religious failures, and offers us life. If this is true, we must lovingly, humbly try to persuade others to believe in Jesus, who alone offers the wonderful promise of the way to God, the truth of God, and life of God.

See, in the end it doesn’t matter how nice or moral a person is because there is not enough niceness or morality to pay for our rejection of God. Either we must be rejected or we turn to Jesus who was rejected for us. This is the heart of the gospel. Jesus lays down his very own life for those who reject him, for his enemies, for those who don’t believe in him, and offers them forgiveness. Why would we reject such a man? So you see, Jesus claim is better than the claim of the religious pluralism. In fact Christianity delivers where pluralism cannot. Instead of being unenlightened, Jesus is truly enlightening as the God who is full of grace and truth. Instead of being arrogant, Jesus should make us incredibly humble, he created the way to God for us at the expense of his own death. Finally, instead of being intolerant, Jesus should make us persuasively tolerant, granting people the dignity of unbelief in Christ but pleading with them to believe in Christ for true life!

So, in the end, you have to decide where to place your faith. Will you place it in the unenlightened, dogmatic, and intolerant pluralism? Or will you place it in Jesus, who is the incredibly humbling way, the enlightening truth, and the persuasively tolerant life? Both require faith. Leslie Newbigin said: “Doubt is not autonomous.” What he meant is that you can’t doubt alone. We can’t doubt one thing without placing our faith in another. You doubt Jesus and trust pluralism or your trust Jesus and doubt pluralism. You cant say “I believe Jesus is the only way” and say “I believe all religions lead to God.” So, will you place faith in Jesus who is the way, truth, and life? Or will you place your faith religious pluralism? I hope you’ll choose Jesus.

VERGE is turning out, and centralizing, some of the best missional community resources. They recently ran my 8 Ways to Easily Be Missional. Check out their videos and other resources to help you follow Jesus and spread his grace.