I heard a pastor of a large church say the following, “I’m going to give you the cliff notes version of the Bible:

• Love God
• Love One Another
• Love Your Neighbor as Yourself”

This might sound pretty good to the average congregant, but it presents some serious problems.  Let’s examine these three statements one by one and see what we’re left with.

Love God

We are to love God, there is no doubt.   Isn’t that the very thing we have failed to do since Adam and Eve in the Garden?  1 John 5:3 seems to make it clear that if we love God we will keep his commandments.  It seems the Bible is filled with man’s failure to do exactly that.  Israel never heard of a command they didn’t want to break.  What’s ironic is that the Bible didn’t give them enough rules to break so they made up there own so they could break those too.  This isn’t true only in the Old Testament, it is true in the New as well.   Peter denied Christ, Judas, Paul persecuted the church, the seven churches in Revelation 1-3, etc…all of them have failed at loving God.  This is true in our own experience as well.  If we take an honest picture or our own lives we will see our own failures to love God.  This failure does not mean we should not continue to run the race, press on, or pursue perfection.  It does mean that we are in a lot of trouble because we have failed at what Moses and Jesus said was the most important commandment in all of Scripture…Love God.

Love one Another

Again Scripture is filled with failures to do this very thing.  Cain and Able, Joseph and his brothers, Hosea and Gomer, the Pharisees,  Paul, etc…  Again if we look at ourselves honestly we will find many moments when we have failed to love one another.

Love Your Neighbor

According to Moses and Jesus this is the second greatest commandment.  It is so similar to the previous statement that it doesn’t warrant any further explanation of how mankind and each of us individually have failed to live up to this command.

These three statements are good in and of themselves.  We should seek to obey them with all of our fiber, with every ounce or our energy, but they do not sum up the message of the Bible.  If they did sum up the message of the Bible we are left as failures before a just and holy God.

All three of these statements represent the law given to us.  We are to obey the law but the Bible and our experience clearly reminds us that because of sin we will fail to be obedient to the law and that is where the gospel and Jesus come into the picture.  The Bible can be summed up in three verses and they are these:

• Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
• 1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
• 1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

I hear that Osama Bin Laden was dead last night.  My first reaction was simply to pause.  I didn’t know what to think.  My emotional response to things is often delayed as I try to figure out what I should be feeling.  I went to bed after seeing a few shots of people celebrating outside the White House.  This morning I heard the DJ on the local radio station talk about how his emotions were conflicted.  He was glad because this man had to be taken care of, he was a dangerous man.  He was sad because this was an image bearer of God.  His sense was that we should not be celebrating and cheering.  Though I don’t disagree with either his reasoning for being glad or his reasoning for being upset, I do think his conclusion was wrong.

At first glance this position makes sense.  Actually it is Biblical to have compassion for your enemy and to even pray for them.  Should we pray for a man that was responsible for sending 3,000+ Americans to their grave?  Yes, we should.  We should have been praying that he would repent, turn from Islam, and become a lover of Jesus (The Biblical Jesus).  Should we have compassion on him?  I guess that depends on what you mean by compassion.  If by compassion we mean, we should not kill this man, then no we should not have compassion on him.  If by compassion we should feel sadness regarding his eternal fate and that if given the chance we should have attempted to share the gospel with him in the hopes that he would repent, and if by compassion you mean that we should not pray for his family and followers that they would see the error in Islam and repent, then yes we should have compassion.

The Bible does not simply speak about compassion and praying for our enemies, it also speaks about justice.  The God we serve is a just one and that is one of the primary roles of government given in Romans 13.  David celebrated killing Goliath by cutting off his head and going after the rest of the philistines, Israel often celebrated victories by writing songs and worshiping God.  No, we are not Israel, but justice is God’s and when justice is done it is appropriate to celebrate.  We must maintain a distinction between celebrating justice and unfettered elation because someone is dead no matter what kind of terrible acts they have committed.

I will end by quoting this Psalm in its entirety:
I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds
9 TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO MUTH-LABBEN. A PSALM OF DAVID.

1      I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2      I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

3      When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before your presence.
4      For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

5      You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6      The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.

7      But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
8      and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.

9      The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10      And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11      Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12      For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

13      Be gracious to me, O LORD!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14      that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may rejoice in your salvation.

15      The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16      The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.   Higgaion. Selah

17      The wicked shall return to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.

18      For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

19      Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
20      Put them in fear, O LORD!
Let the nations know that they are but men!   Selah

The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ps 9:title–20.

Perhaps these will not be new ideas to you, they weren’t to me, but they were encouraging.  The following is the result of listening to Scott preach, watching the students I brought, and listening to their comments in response to Scott’s style and content.

First some observations about Scott and his preaching style.

• Scott was not especially energetic.  That is not a put down in any way, I just didn’t see Scott running and jumping on stage.  He didn’t wave his arms incessantly, dance, or yell.
• Scott was not that funny.  Again, not a put down.  He was funny at times and he certainly wasn’t dry either.  When he was funny, it fit with the message and often made a point.  It didn’t seem like he got up on stage with the focus of making everyone laugh the whole time.
• Scott taught Biblical truths.  As I sat there and listened I got the feeling that he was more concerned about the content then he was about the delivery.  He did a good job with his delivery, but the content of his message carried with it a depth and simplicity that made it accessible to everyone and yet he preached deep theological truths important for every believer.
• He didn’t use movie clips, lyrics from secular songs, or some other form of secular media.  Granted I didn’t hear every one of his messages, so it is possible that he did this once or maybe twice, but it wasn’t a theme.  I don’t remember a single instance of any of these things.  Scott did tell some stories and use good illustrations.

My general impression of Scott’s teaching is that he really didn’t try that hard to be relevant.  Yet I think he was exactly that!  Perhaps some observations about the students I brought and their response to Scott will explain things.

• The students I brought took notes.  I know that seems crazy, but for the most part they were writing things down.
• These students seemed like they wanted to hear the word of God.
• They were seeking to hear how they could apply God’s word in their day to day life.

After the sessions we would often have some small group time where we would talk about the message and how it applies to us.  I love how my students responded to the messages.  Not only were they willing to be open and honest about their own struggles, but they showed a desire to understand more clearly what God’s word said.  They said a lot of good things about Scott and the other speakers, but the one that I most remember is, “he makes God’s word so…relevant”  followed by agreement from the others.

What made Scott great wasn’t his delivery (though he was technically solid), his familiarity with pop culture, or his energy.  What made Scott great was his desire and to teach the word of God, bring out the theological truths found in it, and explain those truths in a way that helps students apply that truth.  It has been my belief for a long time that we don’t have to make God’s word relevant; all we have to do is explain it and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.  Greg Koukle puts it this way, “preaching is reading and explaining.”  As ministers, teachers, and leaders in the Kingdom of God we don’t have to make Scripture relevant to people, we instead need to help people realize how relevant it already is.

I have been told by many people that they have “never seen anyone come to Christ because of apologetics.”  This is an amazing statement to me, because virtually every person I have ever lead to Christ has come to Christ because of apologetics.  For a long time I had a hard time with this statement.  I couldn’t figure out what people who made this statement were thinking.  Why did people come to Christ if it had nothing to do with reason?  Now I know people have all kinds of different reasons for believing things.  Sometimes people believe things because their parents believed them, they are looking for approval, logic, etc…  I wonder if peoples definition of apologetics is too narrow.  Let’s define apologetics as giving reason for ones beliefs.  It seems this is exactly what Peter had in mind when he wrote, “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; ¹⁶ yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

It seems to me that when we are witnessing we are giving testimony to the story of God and Man.  We are in essence telling people why we believe in Jesus.  Isn’t this apologetics?  Apologetics doesn’t mean arguing, spewing facts, appealing to archeology, or being obnoxious.  When apologetics is done well it sounds a lot like a normal conversation.  Asking questions, talking about what Jesus did, why we need to be saved, and when it is helpful providing useful information for someone who is contemplating making a decision are all forms of apologetics.  In the process of sharing the gospel I have answered all kinds of questions giving reason for what I believe.  Once while sharing the gospel, the person I was talking to expressed to me that they had asked all kinds of people about the problem of evil and had never had a satisfactory answer.  After spending some time in conversation answering that question he told me that his question had been satisfied.  Though he didn’t accept Christ that day, one objection was removed and maybe the next person will lead him to Christ.  Apologetics when rightly understood and practiced is not arguing or debating, it is giving reason to why a person should trust Christ.

Students need to learn apologetics as part of the Christian story, not as an add on to the gospel or a separate track.  When we share the gospel we should be reminding people that Jesus was a real guy, who really died on the cross and rose again.  Paul believed this was pretty important (1 Cor 15).  Just as my parents continually spoke truth to me when it came to eating vegetables, so we must continually speak truth about who Jesus is, what He did, and what He will some day do for those who believe.  In essence that is apologetics.

Who am I?

“Who am I?”  This is the question virtually every teen asks themselves.  Identity is important in more ways than most could imagine.  It isn’t just about a sense of self worth, it is much more.  Students gather into groups based on ethnicity, dress, activities, and all kinds of other things in an attempt to fulfill their need for an identity.  Everyone wants to belong, they desire a purpose for their own existence or at least a group of people to exist with.  Growing up my mom used a phrase with me, it was “guilty by association.”  The principal is simple, you are who you hang out with.  This certainly has limits, but lets think about this.  We tend to act like those we are around.  When I travel to the south after a few days I start talking slower, saying “ya all,” and if I am there long enough I might even develop a little bit of an accent.  This is especially true for teenagers.  They want desperately to be accepted, to belong!!

When it comes to identity, it can be one of the biggest obstacles a person faces in sharing their faith, it can also be their sources of strength.  Let me explain.  Who we are, and who we identify with isn’t just about self –esteem, it spills over to how we behave and what we believe.  This is exactly why Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”  The point was clearly not hate, but identity.  Jesus knew that a person who found their identity somewhere else would not allow him to be the most influential person in their life.

Think about being in tenth grade.  You go to school and you find yourself surrounded by others who love _____________ like you do.  They believe in God, but they certainly don’t practice their faith or they believe in a different god.  You attend youth group and your youth pastor, or leader tells you that you need to tell others about Jesus.  You begin to get excited, but then he says, “let’s start with your friends at school.”  When you think about it, when we ask many students to share their faith, we are asking them to abandoned their identity.  If they share their faith they might be ostracized by the very people that give them their identity.  It is in circumstances like this that identity can be a huge obstacle for evangelism.

This is why it is so important to develop a place where students feel like they belong, a place where they find their identity outside of school, a place where believing Jesus and telling others about Jesus is celebrated.  If this is the case and a student begins to find their identity at church and, most importantly, in Christ, their identity becomes their strength.  Making a decision to follow Christ is not only about heaven and hell, it is about finding our understanding of who we are and who we were created to be in the God we serve.

Fear of rejection is a symptom of false identity.  A closer look at 2 Corinthians 5 helps us to see this:

Versus 1-10

These verses are filled with what is commonly called eternal perspective.  Our earthly bodies or tents (as Paul calls them) are not permanent.  Ultimately our identity should be based on our relationship to Christ.  One day we will lose these bodies and get new ones, and when we do we will be with Jesus.  That is the day we should look forward to.  Until that day comes, we must realize the purpose we were created for, to please God.

Versus 11-15

Because our identity is found in our citizenship in heaven, our eternal bodies, our never ending, glorified tents given to us by God, our lives are to be lived for Jesus because it is in Jesus that we also died.

Versus 16-21

Though we died in Christ, we were also raised with Him, made new creations, and given the ministry of reconciliation; that is reconciling people to God.

So in this passage seems to be a logical order, first we realize that this life is temporary, then we begin to understand that our focus need to be long term, eternal, then we are free to do the ministry given to us in Christ.  So where is identity in this?  It’s all over.  Our identity is in the eternal not the temporal, rejection on earth is not important because we find love and acceptance in the eternal.

Helping Students think through this

Have students read verse 1-10 and ask these questions:

• What is death?  What happens to us when we die?
• One hundred years from now, when we are all no longer among the living, what will be our relationship to our friends?
• If we wer to say that our life here on earth in some ways prepares us for eternity future, what should we be doing with this life?

Have students read verses 11-15

• If we were to think of death as a doorway between what is temporary and what is eternal how should we live now?
• Considering that this life is temporary, and that the next life is eternal, where should we find our identity?  Which life should be more important?

Have students read verses 16-21

• What one thing stops you from telling your friends about Jesus?  Is it rejection?
• Should we find our identity and self worth in our friends or in Jesus?    Why do you think Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”?
• What friend are you going to try and have a conversation about Jesus with this week?

As I looked through his Bible I started to think about a certain verse.  I then wondered if he had underlined this verse.  As I flipped the pages I started to hope that he had underlined.  When I finally arrived to the page the verse was on I realized it wasn’t underlined.  For a moment I was bummed, but then I realized this verse wasn’t for him it was for me.  I have decided to rename it “The Heroes Verse”.  Let me explain.

Heroes never die, they live on.  Of course they live on in heaven, in the presence of Jesus.  They live on in another way as well.  Second Timothy 2:1-2 says, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ² and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”  My grandpa is gone, but his legacy and the message of Jesus live on because of my grandpa and people like him.  He certainly did find strength in the grace that is in Jesus and encouraged others to do the same.  What’s more is that he passed the message of Jesus on to faithful men (I hope that I am included in those who are faithful) who are passionate about spreading this message to others.

Some heroes save lives in times of crisis like those on 9-11 who risked their life to save others, some heroes are down in Haiti right now saving lives, still others give a kidney to save a friend.  These are all heroes and they deserve the respect of us all.  My grandpa was a different kind of hero.  He saved people’s eternal lives.

His kind of hero never dies because it lives on through people like me.  His influence in my life and many other lives will never die.  I hope that when my time comes forty or fifty years from now I will be a hero.  I don’t know if I will ever save some one’s life physically, but maybe I will be able to spread the message of Jesus and entrust it to faithful people who will do the same.  Second Timothy 2:1-2, the hero’s verse is my new life verse.

John Byrne talks about youth ministry models, what they are, and how we use them.

John Byrne explains why it is important to develop a good theology of ministry before you figure all that other stuff out.

Teach This

“In the second place, combined with the earnest desire to become a pastor, there must be aptness to teach and some measure of the other qualities needful for the office of a public instructor.”  -Charles Spurgeon, Lectures To My Students

I remember the first time I walked up on stage at church to do anything.  I had done virtually no public speaking of any kind.  All I had to do was get up and read some scripture.  I was in high school, and to be honest I don’t know why I was asked.  I thought I was going to be really nervous, but as the time grew closer I grew more confident not less.  There were no butterflies, sweaty palms, or anything.  I went up there and read the scripture and sat down.  Over the years I have absolutely been nervous from time to time, I have messed up, I have done well, and everything in between.  Nervousness is not a measure of a person’s talent when it comes to teaching, there are many factors of which this may or may not be one.  For me though it was one of the clues that maybe I could teach and preach some day.  There have been several clues over the years.  Some however think they can teach when in fact they should not.

Over the years I have heard a lot of people who thought they could teach but in reality could not.  I have also heard some people who thought that they were not very good at teaching or preaching and still do a good job of that very thing.  Perhaps there is much more to determining our own ability to teach than our own thoughts and feelings about the issue.

I have watched the first couple shows of American idol for the last couple of seasons.  I always wondered why some of those people who were trying out didn’t first sing for a friend who would be honest with them about their own ability to sing and perform.  Perhaps it would have saved them a lot of trouble.  Sure it is entertaining for us, but I would think it is embarrassing for them.  Some of them just think the judges (especially Simon who is actually my favorite) are stupid and don’t know a good thing when they see it.  Maybe some of them go away and realize they are not as good as they thought they were and find something more productive with their life.

Scripture makes this demand for those who would be elders or “overseers” in 1 Timothy 3:2.  Of course a person can develop their ability to teach, but this is an important part of determining calling.  So how do we measure that?  I don’t know that I have a definitive answer, but here are some things to consider:

• Is the person able to understand Scripture
• Can this person help others understand scripture
• Can this person help others apply scripture in their life
• Humor and storytelling doesn’t necessarily make someone a good teacher
• Can this person keep the attention of the audience