Promises Promises!

I do my Bible read-throughs slower than most people. The first time I did it, it took me five years. I'm attempting to accomplish my current read-through at a break-neck speed of two years in the Good News Bible. I typically intend to read several chapters in a sitting, but often am hindered. I'm presently in Jeremiah, and was making fairly good time, but then I hit chapter 31 yesterday. Chapter 31 gives me a lot to think about, so I only got through two chapters yesterday.

Today, I made it all the way to chapter 32 . . . so that's one more chapter. When I get to promises that God made to his people, it overwhelms me. Take these for instance from vss. 38-41:

38 Then they will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them a single purpose in life: to honor me for all time, for their own good and the good of their descendants. 40 I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will take pleasure in doing good things for them, and I will establish them permanently in this land (GNB).

• They will be my people.
• I will be their God.
• I will give them a single purpose in life.
• I will never stop doing good things for them.
• I will take pleasure in doing good things for them.

When I read these kinds of things, I have to stop and meditate on them. Do they apply to the church, God's people today? Does it apply to me? What is the evidence of their fulfillment in my life? What in my life hinderes the realization of experiencing God in these ways?

Has God given me a single purpose in life? That almost sounds too simple to be true and I like simple. The first core value of our church is "Simplicity." I think "yes, he has simplified my life down to a fairly simple pursuit with a promise that he'll take care of most of the stuff himself": But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33, NASB).

Does God take pleasure in doing good for me? I needed to come to this one. Though I know, intellectually, that God's approval of me is not based on performance, I tend to be a performance based person. I tend too easily toward, "I" need to do this or that for his glory, or "I" need to do this for his name's sake, or its my duty to do this for him. How about just slowing down to meditate on the things that God delights to do . . . for me. Wow! Those things are there but are easily taken for granted if we're too busy doing, even if it's for him .

I admit it, I got distracted, I only made it through one chapter this morning. If this keeps up, I might have to consider a three-year read-through.

Merry Christmas from Mountain Community and the Abernathys

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Old Underwear

What's up with those old underwear? How worn, frayed and discolored do your underwear get before you discard them? I know, you bought them, paid good money for them and people don't see them anyway . . . right? Really . . . you should just face the facts . . . when it's time, it's time; just throw them out and start over.  

Are all the details of your life going as you suppose they should. You have your expectations for how your personal life, career, family life and church life should pan out. You want a certain salary, position and challenges at work. You want a certain style of preaching, music and certain programs at church. Many of you work pretty hard at orchestrating these things to suit our preferences. Many times, to the distraction of what matters most . . . or matters at all. An old pair of underwear teaches us about what matters and how God might get us back on track with what really matters.

You might be surprised to catch a preacher writing about old underwear . . . I'm not the first. The Lord instructed Jeremiah regarding old underwear and thus the whole of his people (Jer 13:1-11). The Lord had Jeremiah to get himself a new pair of underwear, make them his own and put them in some rocks down by the river. When he went back to get them, they were ruined, ready to be discarded.

       "So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined--of no use whatsoever" (Jeremiah 13:7, HCSB).

The Lord said that that's what he was about to do with Judah's pride and disobedience. The nation was distracted from serving God as they had been instructed. They had neglected the things which were of first importance and had added things that were never imagined by God.

Do things in your personal life, career, family or church add up to "not what God commanded or in addition to what he imagined for you?" Maybe your personal life has become characterized by consumerism and the frantic lifestyle it takes to maintain it. Maybe your church is not what you think it should be. Take a close look at the New Testament to check the details of your preferences. Are they first imagined by God? Like an old pair of underwear, God is apt to throw that stuff out to bring you back into focus.

Underwear are generally a snug fitting garment, right? Like underwear clings tightly to the person (though some of you might cling to old underwear), so he hopes to have his people cling to him.

     "Just as underwear clings to one's waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and Judah to Me . . . " (Jeremiah 13:11 HCSB).

Do things seem out of order in your life, family, career or church? Maybe you need to take a break from forcing your order onto things and just cling tightly to Him. It'll restore your perspective on what his order is.

Three types of praying people.

In Jesus' instructions on prayer (Matt 6:5-15), he mentions three types of praying people. The first of these is the hypocrite (vs. 5). A hypocrite is more concerned of what men think about his prayer than what God thinks. Do you realize that this plays out in two ways? Some men pray out loud in a certain way (maybe very eloquently) because they care that men think them good prayers. Others refuse to pray out loud because they are concerned that men will think their prayers elementary.

The second of these is described as a Gentile (vs. 7). A Gentile, in Jesus' reference here, is a person who doesn't really know the Living God. Maybe he prays to false gods or the God of whom he merely knows something, but doesn't know personally. So he prays as if he needs to inform God of something that he does not know or as if he has to convince God to be concerned.

The third of these is YOU (vss. 5, 6, 7). When you pray, it's relational and conversational with a father who is already concerned for you and already knows the need. So you pray like this . . .  "Our Father . . . ."

Do you fit in the YOU category? Are your encounters with God relational and conversational?

Relating to the Triune God

I was meditating on how to relate to the Triune God today and thought I would share my thoughts. When I think of God, who He is, what He does, what He loves, what He hates, how He relates, I'm thankful for all that was revealed through the Law and Prophets, but can do no better than to focus on Jesus Christ. Wonder what God is like? Jesus Christ is the fullest revelation we have.

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature . . . "(Hebrews 1:1-3a).

When I speak to God, I speak to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ. This seems the clearest instruction from Jesus himself. 

"Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven . . ." (Matthew 6:9a).

                         &

          "Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son " (John 14:13).

I'm most comfortable with this over other addresses not clearly given in Scripture. For example, I'm uncomfortable addressing Him as Holy Spirit, though He is.

When I hear from Him, I expect attention to be drawn to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the language in which He finally spoke to us (Hebrews 1:2), it's the language we comprehend. We interact via the Holy Spirit, but He brings to our remembrance the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

". . . he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (John 14:26b).

The Holy Spirit does not bear witness about himself, but rather, to Jesus Christ, because the most we can know about God was spoken to us in this language: SON.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me" (John 15:26).

The Coming Theocracy

I’ve been considering writing a series of blogs to challenge current Christian worldview. This kind of action stands the chance of producing volatile reactions. One challenge with sharing worldview issues via a blog is keeping the reader aware of authorial premises without rehashing the same in each blog. So, if I follow through with my thoughts, I’ll occasionally refer back to this post, The Coming Theocracy, a foundational truth guiding my worldview.

I look forward to the consummation of an eternal theocracy. It is present now in measure, but its full arrival will displace or complete all other governing systems. The theocracy I look forward to is the reign of God over the hearts of every person. People’s actions will no longer be guided by political, economic and religious principles and beliefs, but by what they see God doing.

In a nutshell, here’s why I anticipate this kind of theocracy: 

God created people and then commanded them to subdue and have dominion over creation (Gen 1:28). As God intended it, people were given this capacity to subdue the whole cosmos. Created in the image of a creator (Gen 1:26) and walking with God as a norm (Gen 3:8), people had potential to subdue and have dominion over creation (the original theocracy) to an extent that is difficult for us to imagine. However, people decided not to subdue and have dominion according to his presence, a situation where they could see what he was doing (they hid, Gen 3:8). In effect, they just decided for themselves what to do. Apart from subduing and having dominion according to what is seen in God’s actions, exploitation follows, something that certainly persists today. Exploitation would be exponentially worse if man’s authority over creation had not been limited.

Because man’s potential would have been exponentially disastrous apart from relation with God, he introduced a variable that limited potential; he cursed creation for people’s sake (Gen 3:17, see KJV or Hebrew text to get the 2nd person possessive intended here), creation is now against people instead of subject to them. I believe this to be explained more clearly by Paul in Romans 8:18-25. God subjected creation to futility, i.e., purposelessness. Creation’s designed purpose was to be subject to people, it was instead temporarily subjected to “no purpose.” Creation waits eagerly for the restoration of its original purpose. First, though, people have to arrive at their intended place, in the presence of God, where they can see and hear. So the curse, or the subjection to purposelessness, was done in hope. The hope was to bring people back to God. They come back to him because creation is against them, thus exposing their need for him.

We look to Jesus, the first fruit (1 Cor 15:23), to see what will be for all who are in Christ. Jesus did only what he saw the Father doing (John 5:19). He healed, fed, stilled storms and etc. . . . all examples of subduing creation. At the consummation of the Kingdom, we will all obey in the same manner as did Jesus and creations’s purpose will be restored. We will then command it, not according to what we decide, but according to what we see the Father doing.

The consummation will look like this: Jesus will return with the church-dead; the church-living will go out to meet them (1 Thess 4:16, 17; Rev 21:1, 2) and usher them in; when he arrives, he and angels will remove everything that causes sin and law-breakers so that people who desire to subdue according to God’s desire will remain and those who have no desire for God to reign over them will be removed (Matt 13:41-43; 24:40, 41); God will from that time into all eternity be with men (Eph 1:10; 1 Cor 15:28; Rev 21:3-7).

So, I ask myself, what systems will govern in the coming theocracy? I opine that rule will be less systematic and more relational. I imagine the potential of people to subdue the cosmos as they see what God is doing in it. 

We have a responsibility to, as much as is possible, live this theocracy out even now. The Kingdom is now present in measure (Luke 11:20; 17:20, 21), the Holy Spirit in disciples of Christ; it is something that we seek first (Matt 6:33); it is something we pray for and should be the answer to whenever possible (Matt 6:10).

What I anticipate governs how I view and participate in existing systems. Not that I avoid participation, but I appreciate them as temporary stopgaps, many with redeemable aspects.

Mountain Community's Mission Statement

A faith community manifesting the life of Christ in our place and time. 

Why did we choose this for our mission statement? As the church, i.e. the body of Christ, we should continually look back to the life of Christ as he mistered in Palestine and realize that we should do similar things in our place. So this statement provokes us to measure what we do against what he did and does? 

It can be difficult, once a church begins, to reemphasize away from the event that it initially converged around. Many churches initially converge around a Sunday morning meeting...not a bad thing in  itself, but I think its common to struggle from there toward significant missional events. 

Here in Boone, we are presently working toward quantifying community needs. It is our hope to converge around needs, from there move into small communities of faith that take ownership of community need, and from there, eventually, to corporate worship events. We want missional outreach to be the natural and expected gathering draw for our community of faith.

Moved by compassion, measuring by mercy, acting in selfless love and doing only what the Father showed him, Jesus taught, healed, fed and made disciples. Recognizing what Jesus did in his body of flesh, we, Jesus’ body of flesh today, in our place and time, moved by his Spirit, do what Jesus did and does.

We are . . . always carrying in the body the death 

of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also 

be Manifested in our bodies (2 Corinthians 4:8-10, RSV).

Mountain Community Logo

From Anxiety to Peace

An old sermon about something that I continue to bring up when talking to people about difficulties endured in the here-and-now.

The Uniqueness of the Evangelist Role

A colleague recently put me onto an article by Rice Broocks, The Evangelist and the Missional Church, featured on Ed Stetzer’s site. Broocks makes a valid point, i.e., evangelism is not a spiritual gift, rather, evangelist is a role. Let’s take it a step further. The role of evangelist is, as are the other roles mentioned in Eph 4:11, the culmination of multiple grace gifts, a calling and a God-granted personality. I will compare the role of evangelist to both apostle and shepherd, list the duties assigned to the evangelist and briefly consider personality. For the limits of this blog post, I’ll forego calling. I should preface the discussion by three assumptions. First, I don’t think the Lord limits people rigidly to one role for all time with no crossover. He is able to and I think does gift persons to cross lines that we tend to draw and we therefore should remain flexible enough in our understanding to ignore such lines according to the leading of the Spirit. Second, though I appreciate Alan Hirsh’s increasingly popular study and presentation of the Eph 4:11 roles, I doubt that the relationship between roles is quite as linear as as he presents (see the APEST assessment). Third, for the sake of referring to a biblical example, I consider the duties assigned Timothy and Titus by Paul. Paul told Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim 4:5) and Titus was instructed to duties strikingly similar to those assigned Timothy. With these assumptions in mind, know that my description below is not an attempt to draw ridged lines between people serving in different roles.

Apostle vs. Evangelist

Apostle simply means “sent one.” There were apostles who were with the Lord during his ministry and witnesses of his resurrection, either present during events as were the twelve, or via visions as was Paul. I think we appropriately distinguish them from other sent ones. There were and are other apostles in a more generic sense. Biblically speaking, Apollos was enumerated with Paul and Cephas (1 Cor 1:12); Barnabas was enumerated with the same (1 Cor 9:5, 6); Andronicus and Junias seem to have been referred to as apostles (Rom 16:7); James, Jesus’ brother was an apostle (Gal 1:19); and, of course, the apostle who was sent the furthest, Jesus (Heb 3:1). Not everybody, depending on grace gifts and personality, could handle being sent. I think that “apostle” in its regular sense is very general. Paul, an apostle, was also prophet and teacher (Acts 13:1). Peter, an apostle, was also a fellow shepherd (1 Peter 5:1). "Apostle" seems to have been used fairly generically in some cases. Additionally, the close connection between Paul's work and Timothy's blurs the line. Paul told the Corinthians that Timothy was doing the same work as he (1 Cor 16:10) and should therefore be sent as well (1 Cor 16:11). The role distinction between apostle and evangelist therefore is not stark.

Shepherd vs. Evangelist

Likewise, I think shepherd and evangelist roles necessarily intersect. However, we should view the evangelist’s role as a unique and valuable convergence of gifts, calling and personality that the church at large ought to under-girded for the equipment of the saints. Expecting the evangelist to take on too many shepherding roles denies the kingdom the needed ministry of evangelist. I have observed that 2 Timothy 2:2 often gets used to ends that I question, blurring the differences among equipping roles more than appropriate. Many people treat the instruction to “entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach to others also” as an apprenticeship function to raise people up to the same role. Maybe . . . and maybe not. Those men that Timothy taught may have been gifted and called to the role of shepherd, never to move to the role of evangelist. I suspect that most shepherds remain shepherds and most evangelists remain evangelists. I’m not suggesting that Timothy never taught people who became evangelists. I am, however, suggesting that it was not to move people in a hierarchal upward leadership direction in the organization; rather it was to equip according to gifts, calling and personality.

An Evangelist’s duties

This is just a quick bullet list run-through of the equipping duties (forgoing attention to the many personal instructions) assigned Timothy and Titus in the so-called pastorals:

• 1 Timothy
• 1:3 - instruct.
• 1:18 - fight.
• 4:6 - point out (i.e., doctrine, Christian behavior and elder and deacon qualifications).
• 4:11 - prescribe and teach.
• 4:12 - be an example.
• 4:13 - read Scripture publicly, exhort and teach.
• 5:1 - appeal to people according to their generational roles.
• 5:7 - prescribe instructions about widows.
• 5:20 - rebuke sinning elders.
• 5:21 - maintain principles.
• 6:2 - teach and preach (social relationships).
• 6:3 - instruct in regard to appropriate use of wealth.
• 2 Timothy
• 1:8 - suffer.
• 2:2 - entrust teaching to faithful men who will teach.
• 2:14 - remind them of the Gospel.
• 2:15 - handle the word accurately.
• 2:25 - correct.
• 4:2 - preach, reprove, rebuke and exhort.
• 4:5 - endure hardship and do the work of an evangelist.
• Titus
• 1:5 - set order and appoint elders.
• 2:1 - speak the things which are fitting sound doctrine.
• 2:7 - be an example.
• 2:15 - speak, exhort and reprove.
• 3:1 - remind (of Christian behavior in society).
• 3:8 - speak (of Christian behavior in society).
• 3:9 - shun controversy.
• 3:10 - reject factious men.
• 3:13 - send others supplied.

God-granted personality

A bit of a digression maybe, but one connection that strikes me as interesting from Broocks research is his finding that only 1% of the people in a faith community are suited to this role. Compared to this, the Church Planter’s Assessment Center looks for what is generally termed an “entrepreneurial characteristic,” so identified, in-part, as a High-D personality trait in the DISC assessment. High-D personalities account for 2-3% of the U.S. population. Could there be a correlation here? Is a person an evangelist solely due to grace gifts or is the convergence of grace gifts and God-granted personality?

As it relates to church planting

There’s a difference between the pastor who plants a church and in doing so gathers a flock around his gifting, calling and personality which is suited to shepherding and an evangelist (maybe and apostle) who goes out to start multiple churches, appointing shepherds as he discerns the Lord has gifted and called them. Shouldn't we recognize at least a meandering distinction between the equipping roles of shepherd and evangelist?

Should a church planter be paid?

For church planters seeking to plant New Testament churches as they appear in the New Testament (i.e., no buildings, no specialized staff, no denomination and etc.), the critique often goes something like this . .. “why don’t you just get a job and make disciples?” Should a church planter hold a full-time job? I’ve struggled with what’s best/prudent/biblical/pragmatic for my role. It depends a lot on the calling and grace gifting. The biggest determination is whether the planter is really a pastor/shepherd/elder/overseer type or an evangelist type? Will he make disciples, and therefore start a church and take care of the sheep in it or will he make disciples, entrust the oversight to elders and then start more churches. Biblically speaking, there were those who pastored locally and those who were sent to make disciples, equip churches and appoint elders.

We often stress the “Paul making tents” deal and press that on missional guys nowadays (really, I think it would be a blessing to function like that . . . but would missional guys then get accused of not spending enough of their time missionally?). Paul didn’t charge the Corinthians while at Corinth, but the Macedonians supported him. Paul did not want his motives to be misconstrued with the churches he was beginning, so he worked and accepted support from churches behind him. The disheartening reality today is the misconstruing of motives from churches behind.

Another favorite piece of advice put forth to missional guys is the Luke 10 “carry no purse, no bag, no shoes” bit. I admit, I brought my shoes, my wife brought her purse (though there’s not much of value in it) and we are here with about one bag of clothing each. Jesus gave these instructions to be followed while he was present. He then said that He was going to go . . . told them to take purses, bags and swords next time (Luke 22:36) . . . and left. I didn’t bring my sword . . . should I correct this deficiency?

Mature churches should always be willing to send missional guys forward. Look at this concept from a biblical perspective. New Testament writers use the word Pro-pempō nine times. The word means to “send supplied.” After the church at Corinth supposedly matured beyond the point of misconstruing motives, Paul instructed them to send him supplied (1 Cor 16:6) and forthwith instructs them to send an evangelist (i.e., Timothy) supplied (1 Cor 16:11) because he is doing the same work (1 Cor 16:10). Beyond this incident, Paul instructed the Roman church, a church he did not plant and had never even visited, to send him to Spain supplied (Rom 15:24). And, he instructed Titus to send supplied a couple of other missional guys even though one of them was a lawyer (Titus 3:13). Outside of the Pauline corpus, there’s another incident worthy of consideration, 3 John 2-8.

The case is not clear-cut. However, a simple church/house church/organic church pastor/elder/shepherd/overseer does not seem to be a position financially supported by the church, but rather a role played in the life of a local church. On the other hand, it seems that it’s much more likely, though not necessarily 100% of subsistence, for an apostle or evangelist to be supported financially as he is constantly moving to catalyze kingdom growth.

We've moved into a new old house (built in 1900) in the Valle Crusis area of Watauga County . . . that's about 8 miles from downtown Boone. The area is know for it's historical use as a Christian mission. Here's a photo of the house we're living in:

I've got some awesome kids!

We hosted a benefit last night to raise money for Haiti earthquake relief. We sold donated art, crafts and food (sno-kones were my favorite). Several musicians volunteered their skills and played sets throughout the evening. The money raised will go to Haitians through Haitian churches and missionaries via I.D.E.S.

My thanks to the musicians, artists, cooks and volunteers. But what I'm thinking about most as I write this blog (allow me a little father's pride please) is how proud I am of Shelby and Tate--they're my kids. Shelby birthed the idea and was the event coordinator. Tate managed setup and followed through with the many details during the event. I've got some awesome kids.

Reproducing Disciples

Reproducing Disciples from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

"Restoration Movement" or "Restored Position"

Are we a restoration movement or a restored position? The Restoration Movement was birthed out of struggle. Men like James O’Kelly, Barton Stone, Thomas Campbell and Alexander Campbell, for the sake of their own faith and the future of the Lord’s church, struggled with disconcerting issues that had crept into the church. O’Kelly struggled with the issue of church hierarchy, Stone struggled with the issue of creeds, T. Campbell struggled with the issue of disunity in denominational systems. Their personal struggles produced in them movement, which in turn produced movement in others. Each of them desired church unity and to emulate New Testament Christianity, so they moved toward the same.

“Restoration” and “Movement” are both verbal nouns. They imply continued action . . . a movement from hinderances toward the simplicity of New Testament practice. If unity in all of Christendom is restored and if New Testament simplicity is restored, then we should call ourselves the “Restored Position.” If the struggle needs to persist, if unity and New Testament simplicity elude us, we need get moving in the direction of restoration or cease to describe ourselves with verbal nouns.

Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:12).

A sermon about marriage.

Submission & Honor, (1 Peter 3:1-7) from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

A Resurrection...Therefore, (1 Corinthians 15:58)

A Resurrection . . . Therefore (1 Corinthians 15:58) from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

United with Christ

United with Christ, (Romans 6:3-11) from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

Who should send church planters?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about going. The best “going” scenario is “being sent.” Here’s a story of a man who was sent.

Sending starts with prayer. In Matthew 9: 35-38, we get the picture of Jesus looking out upon the people of this world in great need of hope and commands disciples to pray that the Lord send laborers out into that harvest. So now we disciples are praying that the Lord would throw laborers out there. Yes, “throw out.” The word Jesus used here is ek-ballō, which means to throw out. So the word here has the sense of sending with some amount of force to get the laborer out in the field. So who gets to be the victim of this prayer of the faithful disciples.

One such victim from our history is Saul, also known as Paul. You remember his story right? He aggressively persecuted Jesus' disciples, he got knocked down, blinded and confronted by the living Christ. There was indeed some force in that sending. Inasmuch as Paul had been victimizing the church, it's only fair that he became the victim of the faithful churhes' prayer?

Paul regularly referred to himself as an apostle. The word apostolos means “one who is sent.” However, it was actually several years before he was sent to the field.

In Acts 13:1-4, we find the story of Paul’s (and actually Barnabas’s too) entry into the field as we think of it. In verse 4 we read that the Holy Spirit sends him out. Here the word is ek-pempō, which, excepting the prefix, is a common word for sending. The prefix “ek” means “out.” So the Holy Spirit is the one who sends Paul out. We also find here that the Holy Spirit is not the only sending agent.

In verse 3 we find that the church also sent Paul. Antioch had become Paul’s home church. Paul had been teaching at Antioch for a whole year. You know how the church always loves to send their most gifted teachers right? Right! The word here for sending is different yet. It is apoluō. This word means to “let go” or “release.” It happens to be the same word used for a divorce. The church at Antioch released Paul with a blessing.

There’s one more type of sending that this victim of prayer seeks. For example, Paul wrote to the Roman church, a church that he had never visited, and asked them to send him (Romans 15:24). Paul explains that he plans to pass through their city as he seeks more places to do the work to which he was sent. This time Paul asks a church, not his home church and not a church that he had planted, to pro-pempō him. Pro-pempō means to “send supplied.”

All churches everywhere need to pro-pempō their victims of prayer.

Am I a Planter or a Launcher?

I grew up in rural Indiana. There in rural Indiana, against my druthers, I was a planter. We had a 60 acre farm and a 1/2 acre truck patch. Planting was a year-round project for me. Plow, disc harrow, plant, fertilize, herbicide, cultivate, hoe, walk the beans, pull the tomato worms, harvest the crop, glean the fields, shell the corn . . . you get the picture. Though planting requires caring attention, it also involves something that is completely beyond our control. In fact, you could put seeds in the ground and something happens whether or not you follow through for the best possible crop. It requires a miracle from God and his faithfulness to follow through with seasonal necessities that are only in his control.

To be honest, as a kid, I didn’t like planting. It took too much patience. If you’ve ever spent 10 hours at a time riding around in circles on an H-International tractor dragging a disc, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

I grew up, went away to college and became a constructor. I became a launcher. It didn’t take nearly as much patience. On behalf of owners who needed buildings, I hired design professionals (i.e., architects and engineers), managed the design process, made a schedule, scoped the work, bid to contractors, contracted to winning bidders, and managed the construction. I pushed it all along the way. Patient I did not have to be; I just pushed harder.

Launches are engineering feats, whether in construction or otherwise. It takes careful engineering, a whole lot of resources, force and energy to pull off a launch. We might more readily think of a NASA shuttle project as a launch project. It requires a whole bunch of money, professionals and a huge payload of fuel to get it off the ground. In the beginning, it truly is a marvel to wonder at, but, in the end, it’s also a huge maintenance project.

Am I a planter or a launcher?

I suspect that what often occurs is a church plant and launched crowd. Planters move into their new communities and gather a tight group who are committed and buy into the vision and then together they engineer a crowd. From this crowd disciples are drawn, but at what maintenance cost? Is this any more effective than disciples making disciples?

Seth Godin writes, “People don't coalesce into active and committed tribes around the status quo.

The only vibrant tribes in our communities are the ones closer the edges, or those trying to make change. The center is large, but it's not connected.

If you're trying to build a tribe, a community or a movement, and you want it to be safe and beyond reproach at the same time, you will fail.

Heretical thoughts, delivered in a way that capture the attention of the minority--that's the path that works.”

Maybe Disciples making disciples in lieu of engineered crowds keeps everything at the progressive edge.

With What Kind of Body? (1 Corinthians 15:35-57)

What Kind of Body? (1 Corinthians 15:35-37) from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

What kind of body will you have at your resurrection? Will you be wearing the clothes you were buried in? Will you be naked? Will you be a ghost-like spirit? Will you have a white robe, wings, harp and halo? Listen to this message to find out.

The Afterlife Door

The Afterlife Door, (Matthew 27:45-54) from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

The Best Resurrection Sunday Yet

We did several normal things on this 2010 Resurrection Sunday. We had a sunrise service with prayer, two songs and a devotion as we stood in the graveyard, we ate a pitch-in breakfast, we had a worship service with participation from all age groups, my family shared lunch and the afternoon with my a family in our church who loves abundantly and readily, Tate and I even went to the driving range with a good friend who is helping us understand golf, but there was more today.

Today something happened that made me proud to be a part of this community of faith here at First Christian Church of Clemmons. Today 36 people went from our resurrection worship service to stand in a yard to sing resurrection songs to Becky and John Atwood and Sara Stewart. Becky has been very sick for a long time and unable to attend corporate worship services. So we stood in their yard and sang while they listened and participated from their porch. It's the kind of thing that really helps you experience what the church really is.

Sober Up, (1 Corinthians 15:29-34)

Sober Up, (1 Corinthians 15:29-34) from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

Resurrection Sequence, (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)

Resurrection Sequence, (1 Corinthians 15:1-19) from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

The Gospel Truth, (1 Corinthians 15:1-19)

The Gospel Truth, (1 Corinthians 15:1-19) from Stacy Abernathy on Vimeo.

Something cool happened last night

I lead a small group that meets every other Friday evening. For me, and I think for others, it's a meaningful time of teaching, fellowship, prayer, and breaking bread. In too many ways, small groups can be limited by the persons leading them (in this case...that's me). Considering Ephesian 4:18,19,

(be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart)

I have often thought how much I would appreciate adding to the four things above a sharing of music and other creative outlets that glorify God. However, I'm completely inept at music and not very creative either. I don't know how to begin to lead such a movement.

Last night a 13-year-old girl in our group shared a song (Jesus take the Wheel). This is the first time something like this has happened at our small group. She stood right there in our living room with all of us gathered around and sang out. It was moving for me, the song, but also her willingness and that she felt safe enough with us to sing it for us. I looked around the room and saw tears rolling down the faces of several people.

I pray that we continue to have 13-year-olds as well as people younger than that and older than that step up and help us be what we can be in Christ.

HOPE

The Apostle Peter exhorts disciples of Christ Jesus to be prepared, and therefore able, to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15). This exhortation begs two questions: (1) what is our hope? and (2) why would anyone ask. This paper is the long answer to these questions as an effort to help the reader to “be prepared.”

Our Hope

There are many in the world who would accuse Jesus’ present day disciples of being escapists. What they mean by this is that they hope only to escape the earthly realm to go to the heavenly realm where they will experience no more difficulties. Inasmuch as these people live in the real world where hope realized is needed today, this neither makes sense nor is it attractive. I would like to say that the world is incorrect, that they just don’t know the hope that we really have. However, I think that their assessment all too well describes a typical Western disciple’s misunderstanding of hope. The world seems to be more hopeful for the world than are many of Jesus’ disciples. Escape is not the hope that Scripture sets forth.

Why Is Hope Needed?

Understanding hope begins with understanding God’s intention for creation, including humanity and what happened that creation came to need hope. First, God created everything and it was good.

And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (Gen 1:25).[1]

Second, God purposed creation to be subject to humanity.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen 1:28).

Third, God created humanity in his image and maintained direct fellowship with them for his own pleasure.

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Gen 1:26, 27).

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed (Gen 2:25).

Fourth, they decided for themselves what was right and wrong in lieu of trusting God and thus experienced shame and fear before the Living God with whom they had been in fellowship. This sin created an unintended dichotomy between humanity and God, between the earthly realm of creation and the heavenly realm of God’s presence. They gave up fellowship for god-like rights.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate (Gen 3:6).

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸ And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" ¹⁰ And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself" (Gen 3:7-10).

Fifth, God, in hope, imposed a curse for their sake. I know; that sounds like a conundrum, but it’s his plan and it’s working.

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; ¹⁸ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; ¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Gen 3:17-19 KJV). [I depart from ESV in this verse because I believe KJV to have the highlighted section correct. Though it’s possible to translate the Hebrew as ESV, KJV matches NT theology, as you will see below].

So there you have it. Hope is in high demand today because creation is under a curse . . . for our sake. God purposed creation to be under subjection to humanity, but now we, a humanity that chooses a god-like right to choose right and wrong for ourselves, are subject to a creation that is full of chaos, sickness, disaster, and etc.

The Curse For Our Sake . . . God’s Hope

A creation subject to a humanity in perfect, intimate, and obedient fellowship with God would permit both a realization of creation’s original purpose and great gain for humanity. However, a creation subject to a humanity apart from fellowship with God, a humanity deciding for themselves what is right and wrong, would be a catastrophic formula. Ergo, the curse is for our sake and, if you will, for our good. Read this passage before we move on:

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience (Rom 8:19-25).

Creation which was to realize its purpose in subjection to humanity is now subjected to futility (i.e., purposelessness) . . . in hope. God intends for humanity to have a reason to come back to him. When humanity arrives back in at his presence, creation will be freed to realize its intended purpose, subjection to a humanity that is in fellowship with God. We should ask ourselves this question, if there were no curse on creation working against us, why would we need God and therefore want to come back to him? Additionally, in humanity’s current insistence on using its selfish and petty god-like ability to choose for themselves what is right and wrong, how can creation be better off subject to humanity? The answer is the restoration of a correct hierarchy: humanity in subjection to a God who is love and creation in subjection to a humanity who loves. God’s hope is that the futility, chaos, and even suffering will compel humanity to reach out to him.

Our Hope

Our hope is a new heaven and new earth. Our hope is the removal of the dichotomy between the earthly realm of our experience and the heavenly realm of God’s presence. There will be a day that these two will be reunited.

as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Eph 1:10).

A day will come when everything will be new just as it was when it was created. God will dwell with humanity once again.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴ He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." ⁵ And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true" (Rev 21:1-5).

Creation will at that time be able to finally realize its purpose (i.e., be subject to a loving humanity). Humanity will finally be able to realize their purpose (i.e., be in fellowship with God and enjoy a harmonious creation).

A Few More Details that We Hope For

• God will be all in all, i.e., everything to everyone (1 Cor 15:28).
• We will have a new body, one that will be suitable for the renewed and reunited earthly and heavenly. It will by like Jesus’ resurrection body (1 Cor 15:12-23, 42-49).
• Death, presently a power over us, will be defeated (1 Cor 15:24-26).
• All causes of sin and law-breakers will be removed, ergo, no more exploitation, injustice, oppression, greed, selfish purposes, people who choose for themselves what is right and wrong (Matt 13:41-43).

The Interim Between Hope and Hope Realized

A growing group, disciples of Jesus, lives this hope. It is more than lived; it is experienced in part. Reconsider a couple of verses from our Romans passage:

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies (Rom 8:23).

We who are in Christ have the Holy Spirit, which is a firstfruit. When the Jews offered a firstfruit to the Lord, it was the very first of any crop that came ripe. They offered that portion because it anticipated an abundance more. Disciples of Christ have the firstfruit that anticipates an abundance more. Paul, in another passage, calls the Holy Spirit a guarantee or down payment (Eph 1:14). Disciples experience a taste of what is to come; it keeps us hoping.

When Will Hope be Fully Realized?

Jesus is coming back. When he comes back, what is not made right by the work of the church, will be dramatically corrected—the correction is depicted in apocalyptic language in 2 Pet 3:8-13—via a separation, the removal causes of sin and law-breakers. The separation at that time will be the culmination of our hope. Jesus speaks of the separation, specifically stated in Matt 13:41-43. It will be the removal of evil things and people, not good things and good people. Ergo, I take passages like Matt 24:40, 41 to be the removal of people who are not interested in participating in a renewed heaven and earth where God will be deciding what is right and wrong, where God will be everything to everyone.

At Jesus’ second coming, he will bring disciples who have died. Consider this passage:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thess 4:16, 17).

Contrary to popular Western Evangelical teaching, please consider that this is not a so-called rapture wherein disciples leave to a heavenly realm never to return. This is Jesus coming back to a renewed creation, bringing with him disciples who have already died a physical death, and those remaining alive on earth, going out to usher him in. He was once ushered into Jerusalem humble riding a donkey, this time he’ll be ushered into a renewed creation, mighty and riding a white horse (Rev 19:11-16). Supporting the assertion that Jesus is coming back with his disciples, not to obliterate creation, but to renew and abide, is Rev 21:1-4. New Jerusalem, i.e., the bride of Christ, the church dead, is coming “down” from the heavenly realm so God will dwell with men.

So back to the question, “when will hope be fully realized?” From the perspective of calendar dates, I don’t know and neither does anybody else. Speaking from the perspective of events, hope will be fully realized when Christ returns.

Why Would Anyone Ask the Reason for Your Hope?

First, let me suggest that if a disciple plan to escape one day by death or rapture, thinking he may as well let the world go to hell-n’-hand-basket, he doesn’t project a hope that communicates to a real world in real suffering. However, if he lives a hope and experiences the effects of hope, it will be both visible and attractive to the world, compelling them to ask. Disciples must be integrated into a kingdom community, i.e., a church. In a kingdom community, there must already exist a removal of exploitation, oppression, the effects of poverty, injustice, inequities, discrimination, and etc., that’s a hope visible and partially realized. The church, the corporate body of disciples, is the hope of the world today as it multiplies and expands to encompass more people in kingdom conditions.

As individuals, disciples impact the world they live in unto the present realization of kingdom conditions. Whatever station a disciple holds in life, he works toward the renewed creation that hope envisions. As he prays, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10), he’d better be open to being the answer to that prayer. Scientists do research to reverse the effects of futility. Teachers mold minds to anticipate a renewed creation and that can therefore work toward the same. Service industry workers demonstrate the kind of service in love that the kingdom anticipates. Engineers design systems that are friendly to creation and humanity. Artists create works that glorify God alone. Work all-out like it matters. It does matter. The work disciples do now contributes to the end-result.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (1 Cor 15:58).

So the world sees that disciples work relentlessly where there seems to be no hope, that they are joyful in the midst of suffering, that they live with a tenacious purpose, and then the world asks. And you disciples can tell them why because you’ve heeded the exhortation to “be prepared.” Invite somebody to follow Jesus with you.

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[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the English Standard Version.

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[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the English Standard Version.