In Austin City Life, we like to say that City Groups are where the church is the church to one another and to the city. This kind of “church” is rare. Unfortunately, much of American ecclesiology has devolved into an inflexible structure that facilitates attendance—a church building. Church equals building or Sunday service. This defective ecclesiology approaches “church” as an event not as a people. Tim Chester and Steve Timmis offer a helpful corrective: “Church is not two events during the week. It is a gospel-centered community on mission.”[1] City Groups are meant to facilitate gospel-centered community on mission. They are where we can be church to one another and the city.
Why Sunday Isn’t Enough
While Sunday gatherings of the church are important, they are an incomplete experience of what the New Testament describes as church. It is impossible to carry out Paul’s “one another” instructions to the church in the context of an hour and a half on a Sunday morning. Therefore, we need some kind of structure to facilitate loving one another, bearing one another’s burdens, encouraging one another, forgiving one another, forbearing with one another, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. City Groups are meant to facilitate this kind of “life together.”[2] They are flexible church structures designed to facilitate the people of God living out their intended life together. While City Groups are not a “purer” expression of church than Sunday gatherings, they are a much-neglected expression of church in North America.
Steady State Community
What then does “life together” look like? City Groups are encouraged to view church, not as two events during the week, but as a steady state of community.[3] Instead of seeing community as something that primarily happens during a meeting, we need to adjust ourselves to see all of life as community. Steady state community is a constant flow of social, gospel, and missional connections throughout the week. It’s not adding special “community building” events to your already full calendar. It’s inviting people into your existing calendar. Invite people into your life not just to your City Group meetings.
*This is an excerpt from my forthcoming book: City Groups: Gospel-centered Missional Community.
When I received Tim Chester & Ed Moll’s extremely helpful book Gospel-Centred Family, I was determined to write an immediate review. Weeks passed. I kept going back to the short 93 page booklet to remind myself of gospel principles in raising my children. After reading through chapter 5, Disciplining a Child’s Heart, again this morning with my wife, I decided it was time to do the review!
Summary: One of a Kind
Gospel-Centred Family is simple, accessible, applicable, and profound. Many of us were raised to think that the gospel was something we should accept, not something we always need. This is equally true of parents. Like our children, we need the gospel to start and continue the Christian life. Instead of stooping to bribery, manipulation, behavior management, or emotionalism in parenting, Gospel-Centred Family lifts us up with gospel principles that point to Jesus as our King (not just example), to the heart (not just behaviors), and to understand how grace (not family goals) will transform a child into the image and beauty of Christ.
Book Structure: Easy to Read
The book is broken up into Four Sections: 1) Gospel-Centred Family 2) Grace-Centered Family 3) Word-Centered Family 4) Mission-Centred Family. Each chapter in each section contains a Principle, Biblical Background, and Questions for Reflection. I’m typically not into this kind of layout. In a lot of books that take this approach make the interaction feel “forced.” Not so with Gospel-Centred Family. Quite the opposite! The questions and principles are helpful and I’m considering using the whole book as the basis for a course in our church.
Disciplining a Child’s Heart: Gospel-centered & Practical
Instead or reviewing each chapter, I will provide a sample review of the book by examining one chapter.
Principle: Addressing the heart matters ore than controlling behavior.
Biblical Background: Colossians 2:20-3:10. This background shows how Scripture does not advocate a rule-based approach to change, but that identity as a new creature in Christ is what changes us from the inside-out.
From Controlling to Addressing the Heart: Using helpful anecdotes, the authors explore common misconceptions about why children misbehave (“influences” not the heart). Many of us fall prey to these misconceptions, disciplining our children in ways that reinforce behavior-centered, not heart-centered parenting. We often try to control a child’s behavior instead of instruct their hearts. Consider some adapted examples:
We all fall into these, some more than others. My wife and I had an honest conversation about where we see one another choosing these behavior control approaches. We encouraged one another to address the heart more often.
Good Discipline
The authors then turn the corner of critique to instruction:
“…if your aim is to teach your child the ways of God, then your discipline will be calm, clear, consistent, and concentrated on the motives of their heart. The goal is not control—that’s your agenda. God’s agenda is a child who delights to know and serve Him.“
They unpack each of the 4 Cs for godly discipline:
Concluding Thoughts
These principles and practices are immensely helpful, but they must be applied together as parents. Make sure you have some discussion time together over these things. Unite in prayerful repentance over failure and joyful resolve to not just change your kids’ behavior but instruct their heart. Parents should never stop talking about how to raise their kids. Fathers should lead out. As children grow older, it is important to move from discipline to self-discipline. As they grow, create times of discussion between parents and children so that you can grow in the gospel together.
Reading through the Pastoral letters of the New Testament, I’ve been struck by the fact that if I don’t insist on Gospel-centered doctrine in my church, then I will fail you in at least five ways. If I don’t insist on Gospel-centered doctrine, then…
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On Sunday, I shared how we can consistently see through our sin to our “identity of the moment” (Know your Sin), put that false identity to death (Fight your Sin), and turn to Christ for life and joy (Trust your Savior). Here are three easy steps to fight for true joy in Christ!
1. Know Your Sin: Look for the sinful patterns in your life and trace them to “identity of the moment” that you are looking to for worth, meaning (good pastor, faithful parent, creative person, successful entrepreneur). For instance, your sin could be sulking and your false identity could be victim. Acts 29 has recently posted some helpful “X-ray Questions” from David Powlison, which help us see through our sin to our misplaced sense of identity.
2. Fight Your Sin. Once you know your sin/identity issue, you can begin to fight it. There are two primary ways God calls us to fight our sin. First, confess your sin to God and ask for his forgiveness for your God-belittling desires and decisions (1 John 1:9). Follow your confession to God with confession to community so you can experience healing and encouragement of the church (James 5:16). Second, encourage one another to take sin seriously, to “put sin to death” (Rom 8:13; Col 3:5). Don’t let identity-twisting sin just roll off your back. Get tenacious about glorifying and enjoying God!
3. Trust Your Savior. Trusting our Savior for gospel identity instead of an identity-of-the-moment is the most difficult and important part of being a disciple. Robert Murray McCheyene said: “For every look at sin, look ten times at Christ.” How does Christ offer you a better identity than the false identity? My sin was sulking and my identity was victim. 2 Peter 1:3 reminds me that my identity is godly, a partaker of the divine nature. I was sulking in ungodliness because I thought I deserved better circumstances. I felt weak. Peter reminds us that we have “divine power granted to us for life and godliness.” This scripture reminded me of my identity—godly—but it does not stop there. It also offers us a Savior to trust, a counter-promise of divine power necessary to live a godly life, not a sulking life. What a relief! Our identity is godly, and our promise is divine power!
We’ve outlined these basic principles are in Fight Clubs: Gospel-centered Discipleship, a community-based, gospel-centered approach to following Jesus. Pick up a copy, find some friends, and start fighting for true joy!
Do you ever find yourself trying to prove yourself…to Others, to Self, or to God? Here are a few ways we slide away from the approval of the Gospel to proving ourselves. The categories of proving yourself to Others/Self/God are adapted from Tim Chester’s forthcoming U.S. publication of You Can Change, an excellent book for Gospel Change. The explanations are largely mine, as well as the Gospel aphorisms. So, don’t expect all of this in You Can Change, but do expect some great material that thinks about change along similar lines. As you read, consider which one of these categories fits you and let us know how you’re finding the Gospel more reliable than yourself.
Proving Yourself To Others
When we try to prove ourselves to others, we set ourselves on impressing them—a spouse, a boss, a parent, a peer. We want so desperately to be cheered by them, that we’ll overwork or compromise our health or morals. The approval of others becomes the most important standard in our lives, so we sacrifice our beliefs, our convictions, our standards so that we will be accepted by others. When others are our standard, we will always fail to find the approval and acceptance we long for. Performance Fail. The Gospel reminds us that others cannot offer us lasting acceptance. That God not others are our standard. We will never sufficiently prove ourselves to others because we are flawed. God is our standard. We fail to meet it, but the gospel reminds us that Jesus has met God’s standard for us! Others aren’t nearly as forgiving as Jesus is. We need not prove ourselves because Jesus has proven our worth. We don’t’ have to seek approval from others because are approved by grace in Christ. That is Good News.
Proving Yourself To Self
When we try to prove ourselves to ourself, we set ourselves on improving upon our past. We try to perfect ourselves. “I used to look at porn but now I don’t.” “I used to not go to church, but now I do.” “I used to not be missional, but now I am.” This may work for a while, as long as we succeed, but as soon as we fail ourselves the bottom of our worth drops out. Our sense of worth and acceptance comes from moral or spiritual self-improvement, not from Jesus. Our standard is Self not God. Peformance Fail. Self isn’t nearly as forgiving as Jesus. The Gospel reminds us that we have not sinned against ourselves, but we have sinned against God. But the Gospel reminds us that we must look to God for the ultimate standard. God provides a righteous, not relative standard, and it can be met alone by faith in Christ, by resting in his acceptance. From our place of acceptance and rest in Jesus, we can live a life that reflects God’s holy standard, instead of striving against ourselves. We don’t have to perfect ourselves because imperfect people cling to a perfect Christ. This too is Good News.
Proving Yourself To God
When we try to prove ourselves to God, we set ourselves on impressing God. We try to perform for his acceptance and approval. “Look how devoted I’ve been to you.” “I’m involved in so much mission and church ministry, surely God is happy” We content ourselves with proving ourselves to God. We try to be good enough, missional enough, spiritual enough. We may even secretly believe that even though we’ve been forgiven in Christ, God’s favor is based on our performance after salvation. We think to ourselves: “If I practice enough spiritual disciplines, then I will gain the spiritual intimacy I long for.” We think that we can put God in our debt. Our standard is God, which is good, but the problem is that we can’t reach his standard. Performance Fail. The Gospel reminds us that we are still sinners, never good enough apart from Christ AND it calls us to stop trying to prove ourselves to Him. The Gospel calls us to rest in God’s approval of us in Christ. To receive his forgiveness for sinful performance and rely on Christ’s performance for us. We need not impress God, because Jesus has impressed God for us. This is Good News!
Gospel Approval (it’s so much better!)
Here are a few gospel aphorisms that might be helpful to memorize when you are tempted to prove yourself to others, yourself, or God.
Read why we dropped Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship $1.50 and how you can get it even cheaper in bulk!
Check out the new post from Justin Hroch on Gospel-centered Questions for Fight Clubs:
The purpose for being in a Fight Club is to attack sin at its root and see Christ in the height of his glory. Too often our focus is on the external symptoms of sin, where we strive for victory by working tirelessly to control our sin.
I have found it helpful to ask personalized gospel-centered questions to uncover the deep-rooted idolatries of my heart. Because we encounter temptation and sin in different ways, personalized questions can be very helpful in leading us to repentance and faith in Jesus.
Justin proposes we form specific questions to suit one another, keeping three things in mind:
Check it out here.
The famous Christmas hymn, Joy to the World, didn’t start out as a Christmas song. The hymn was written by Isaac Watts, a famous 18th century preacher turned hymn writer. With his health in steep decline, he turned from the pulpit to the pen, composing around 750 hymns.
Christ-centered Hymnody
Watts diverged from the traditional church practice of strictly adapting Scripture to song, by adding his own lyrical reflections to Scripture inspired hymns. Mike Cosper notes: “Isaac Watts recognized that people needed to see the gospel in the psalms and hymns of the church, and they needed to sing them in language and metaphors that they understood. In this, he became not only the father of the modern hymn, but the pace-setter for contextualizing the gospel for the people ofGod.” Joy to the World was included in Watts’ 1719 hymnal, Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament.
Origins of “Joy to the World”
Joy to the World was a poetic reflection on Psalm 98. Reflecting on this psalm, Watts bridged Davidic joy in the Lord to its prophetic fulfillment in Christ (the Lord). The original title of the song was “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom.” His aim was “to show David as a Christian” by revealing the Christ-centered character of Davidic psalms.
Joy in the Story of Scripture
Using the larger Story of Scripture as an interpretive guide, Watts locates “the joy of the world” among the various chapters Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation (Genesis to Revelation). He weaves a redemptive thread that begins on the fateful day of Adam’s fall and finishes at the future return of the Christ:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
In his first coming—Christmas—the Second Adam relaxes the curse by redeeming human hearts. In his second coming, all of heaven and nature will joy the song of redemption. The joy of salvation is for both creature and creation:
Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
Every person and nation will be called to account for their response to the “good news of great joy”. God is gracious but he is also just. Those that respond to his grace will be spared his judgment and enter into an everlasting joy to the world that forever glories in his righteousness.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
May our hearts receive Jesus as King with fresh joy and exultation this Season, as we join the refrain of all creation singing: “Joy to the World, the Lord is come!”
Check out the music of Sojourn in the Isaac Watts Project.
