Category: The Gospel

Book Review: reWritten by Bruce & Heather Moore

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“With each life opportunity, God reveals to us more of His story for our lives and the potential for what we can become if we trust Him to author our future.” p. 35

Many of us have wondered, is this really how my life is supposed to be? Maybe your life’s story is marked by poor decisions or the hurtful actions of others. How can you turn things around? Is God still interested in using you? The answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Rewritten guides you through five life opportunities to exchange your story for God’s story. When you become the person He designed you to be and accomplish the tasks appointed to only you, you will experience the greatest fulfillment you could ever know and bring hope to a broken world.

The authors
Bruce & Heather Moore made the most extreme decision of their lives by leaving a large suburb church to rebirth a dying church with one year to live. They have seen the radical transformation of a church and the stories of countless lives rewritten. Bruce serves as Senior Pastor at Christ Fellowship Tampa and they have a very active preschooler.

Layout
reWritten is logical and flows together well as a book. The book is written in three sections: Your Story, God’s Story and The Exchange. The aim of the books is towards those whose lives are a wreck, though anyone will benefit from reading it. The first part had me skeptical at first of the book, until I remembered that ministry is really that messy. The second part is well written. The third part is pure gold. I appreciate discussion and thought questions, ‘story builders,’ were well placed throughout the chapters than merely as an after thought.

Story as metaphor
The Moore’s use the concept of story as a metaphor throughout the book. The over all concept of exchanging our story for God’s story. reWritten reflects this in the layout. The metaphor adds significance to how God uniquely designed each one of us for His good purpose. What stands out from this is how approachable the book is; gracious and dealing with truth.

He said what?!
My heart leaped when I read the table of contents. We too often get locked into the idea that if life is good, then God is blessing. The Moore’s deal with the topics of humility and suffering! Too often these areas are ignored. Of note, the section of forgiveness is well done. It’s important to read the book from beginning to end to get the full scope, but mark the last section up well. It’s an excellent resource for counseling. I appreciate in how the personal stories shared makes God the hero. Some stories end exceptionally, while other end with ‘because this is what God wants of us.’

“With each moment that we suffer, God brings us gifts that change our perspective and allow other people to see His grace in our lives.” p. 139 on suffering

The writing
reWritten is approachable without being inaccurate. It is definitely written from a pastoral heart that cares deeply for people. The book has one of the best rhythms I’ve seen in a long time. The first section had me on edge a little as almost being cliché. When starting to read remember that, yes, ministry is that messy. We forget that too often. The second part is a clear description of God’s image in our lives and the rhythm really picks up there. The pattern of the book is one we should model in ministering to people; moving from where they’re at to where God wants the to be.

The bottom line:
reWritten is an excellent resource to help people to take the mess of their story and to seeing what God wants to do in their life. This is a book that pushes us to live Godly, seeking what He is doing in our circumstances. It builds a big picture of the great God we serve. Well written, the book also addresses topics we often ignore, such as humility and suffering. For those who actively council and minister to people, reWritten is a helpful guide to keep on hand.

The Gospel according to farm & sports injury

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In recent news people are debating the issue of the labor department setting 85 pages of regulations to protect minors from farm injuries. In 2010 there was about 7,500 farm injuries. The thought is farm injuries are often severe and debilitating. I’m not for injuries or exploitation. This isn’t a let’s call out government overreach either. Here is what I am saying: Mountains of regulations doesn’t make one safe nor can one be completely safe. As humans we often pick an legislate an issue, ignoring the fact that life is often beyond our control.

Soccer
According to an ABCnews article between 1990-2003 1.6 million boys and girls were injured playing soccer. I’ve personally interacted with some whose soccer injuries were debilitating and are now a life long issue. If child safety and the prevention of exploitation is a concern, why has not the 1.6 million soccer injuries been addressed? Wait, soccer is popular here so I better stop now…

Football
According to WebMD football injuries didn’t fair so well. In fact, in one year alone it made up a third of all the soccer injuries between 1990-2003.

Researchers found high school football players suffered more than half a million injuries nationwide during the 2005-2006 season. And they were more likely to suffer season-ending injuries, such as fractures and concussions, than those who play collegiate football.

Now, I’d ask the same question I asked before, but recognizing the religious zealotry that is football, I better pipe down.

Oops, there’s more…
According to stopsportsinjuries.org 3.5 million high school athletes are injured. 30,000 of which are hospitalized. This data was found in the mid 90’s, but according to other statistics there’s been a 5 fold increase in some specific types of injuries. What’s even funnier is how the CDC states more than half of the injuries were preventable.

The Gospel
At it’s core the Gospel is this: We are incapable of saving ourselves. The hope of Jesus dying on the cross and rising again is that one day He will make all things new. We can’t save ourselves and it’s Jesus’ work in our life that makes the difference. Here’s the catch. No amount of legislation can make us good. Just like with childhood injuries, we too look for specific “bad” things that we can easily prevent, but we often ignore things that may not be as severe, but still leaves a significant impact of life long repercussions.

How about you?
Are you content because you’re not doing the “bad” stuff? You’re not in the “7,500 farm injuries crowd.” Yet, you’re doing things that are still wrong. You’re in the “millions of soccer injuries” crowd. You’re no better for doing a “less” bad thing. Fine, you may not be having an affair. But, if you’re gazing at a person and committing adultery in your heart, that still has repercussions that can harm a marriage. Here is what’s cool: Jesus covered it all. He can work in the “really” bad and the “less” bad issues.

The bottom line:
The issue with child labor on farms points out to a pattern in human behavior. Injuries are bad and often they’re preventable. No legislation can prevent injuries because we’re fallen and we’re broken. We often focus on a major issue, but injuries are injuries. The same is true for sin. We’re incapable of keeping ourselves safe. We’re also incapable of saving ourselves. We need Jesus and He’ll make all things new.

The Tyranny of God’s Blessing

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God’s blessing is not fragile. Too often we view God’s blessing as some delicate mist. If we make the slightest wrong move *p o o f* it vanishes away. Preachers and churches often craft statements like If you don’t do [insert topic de jour here] then you won’t get God’s blessing. Another way we see this tyranny is when making decisions. We struggle to figure out which choice God will bless. Why? Cause if we choose wrongly, *p o o f*… This view treats God’s blessing as a form of tyranny. This misses the point of the Gospel, and misunderstands God’s love.

The Rock
The last few weeks I’ve been reflecting on the life of Peter. Peter and I both have what I like to call “hoof in mouth disease.” Peter was passionate and full of life. This often got him into trouble. Yet, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to say that God blessed Peter and his ministry. Peter denied Jesus. Three times, actually. This same Peter preached the first sermon of the church. Peter reached out to gentiles (Acts 10), was care-fronted by Paul for hypocrisy (Gal 2) and yet wrote to prolific letters (1&2 Peter). Peter died upside down on a cross. God blessed his ministry.

A Prostitute, A Foreigner, An Adulteress
Rahab was a prostitute. She’s in Jesus’ genealogy of Matthew. Hebrews 11 lists her as a women of faith. Ruth acted in faith and married Boaz. She’s also in Jesus genealogy. A book written about her faithfulness in pursuing God stands in contrast to the time of Judges when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” Israel did not view foreigner’s well at that time. Bathsheba committed adultery with King David. She’s also in Jesus’ genealogy. David was still considered a man after God’s own heart. Glaring issues, still blessed by God.

The Gospel
God’s blessings is not fragile because the Gospel is not fragile! The grace and mercy of the Gospel overcomes the fragility of God’s blessings. To treat God’s blessing as something delicate is to fundamentally misunderstand the Gospel. Jesus died ONCE of ALL our sin. Jesus rose again, defeating sin and death. While we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly. Jesus acted before we were worthy of being blessed. God’s blessing isn’t connected to our actions as much as its connected to the Gospel.

Wisdom & Faith
Act based on wisdom and faith. Being in Christ doesn’t mean we should do anything what we want. Does God bless sin? No. Bible makes that pretty clear. Two key themes in Scripture point to how God desires for us to act: 1) acting based on wisdom and 2) acting based on faith. They are tired together. Make the best informed choice you can make and step out on faith. Seek wise counsel, search the Scripture, pray throughout the process and act in faith. That makes God happy.

What if I choose wrong?
John says that if we confess our sins Jesus is faithful and just to forgive. Why? The Gospel is the foundation of God blessings us. God even uses our mistakes to conform and sharpen us into the image of Christ. Be less worried about error and more concerned about gaining wisdom and acting in faith. God’s blessing isn’t that fragile. In fact, it’s His desire to bless those who are in Christ. Yes, we can squander God’s blessing. But, look at Peter, God can bless big messes. Some trophies of Grace just take more polishing than others.

The bottom line:
We shouldn’t use “God’s blessing” as a form of tyranny. Rather, God’s blessing should point us to the Gospel. God’s blessing and love are not fragile things. They produced for us a unwaivering relationship with Him through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. If we make mistakes, the Cross covers it. Focus on gaining wisdom and walking in faith. God even uses our mistakes to form us more into

My guide to becoming a recovering fundamentalist: The Gospel

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In Philippians Paul instructs us to rejoice when the Gospel is preached. There is no doubt in my mind that the Gospel is preached faithfully in fundamentalist churches. Heart issues aside (all groups have them) fundamentalism does have at its core the Gospel. This is first and foremost one of the benefits of fundamentalism. It’s the baby from the bathwater.

Come again?
Let’s face it, the Gospel is offensive. The Bible says so and reality says so. One of the problems with the strawman we call fundamentalism is this: We figure that by bashing fundamentalists we are somehow more palatable to our culture. We can write ‘fundamentalists’ off as extremists. So, we cast aside fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. In other words: we bash ‘fundies’ to make ourselves look good. Friends, the Gospel is offensive. Bashing any group doesn’t make the Gospel less offensive and doesn’t make us look good either.

There are false Gospels
There is and always has been movements to teach and promote a false Gospel. The Bible tells us it will happen and we see throughout history that it happens. In the fundamentalist modernist controversy we have to remember that the stance that was being taken was for the truth of God’s Word and the essential issues regarding Jesus. Paul instructs us to pay attention to our ministry and our doctrine. While we may not agree with the practical outgrowth that happened to fundamentalism, It’s founding is solid and it’s motive solid. If anything fundamentalism does teach us there is a point where you have to stand your ground and say this is truth and this is heresy.

Reacting
I often say act don’t react. But like many proverbial statements, it’s not always true all the time. There are times when reaction is correct, like placing you hand accidentally on a hot stove. Galatians states how we should not be deceived, that what we reap we will sow. Fundamentalism started as a good reaction to a bad trend. To hold as vile fundamentalism by touting all its ills is a standard none would care to live by. I don’t think we want to reap that in our own ministries.

The bottom line:
One of the greatest contributions of fundamentalism is a defense of the Gospel. Such passion for the Gospel and the Bible should not be taken lightly. Further, we shouldn’t bash a movement like a strawman, as we reap what we sow. The Gospel is offensive. While we as Christians shouldn’t be offensive we must remember there is a point where we have to say what is false and what is true.

My Guide to become a recovering fundamentalist: Q&A

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Why the series? Are you anti, pro or neutral to fundamentalism?
There are three big reasons why:
1) Fundamentalism became a strawman argument. So, people can attack ‘fundies’ and gain some quick accolades. Strawman arguments are bad and it’s better to address real heart issues instead. Not all fundamentalist churches are cults or legalistic.

2) Many have been spiritually abused and crushed in fundamentalist circles. Some want to leave the baggage but retain what is good. By addressing heart issues we can sift what’s truth vs human error. I’m finding doctrine isn’t the real issue for people leaving fundamentalist, it’s the actions of some fundamentalists.

3) Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Many in my generation take an unbiblical attack dog stance against fundamentalists and then anyone who acts or smells like one. I wanted a balanced critique and not a tribunal.

I’m pro-gospel and pro-bible. May sound like a cop-out, but I don’t think we should get stuck on words too much.

Will this series be just a critique?
No! I’ll be focusing in three big benefits to fundamentalism just as I focused on three big heart issues.

Is the movement essentially dead?
Yes & no. It’s a recurring movement. Pharisees, monastic movement are two examples of separatist movements. There is a cycle to history that repeats. The break that occurred in the emerging church was along the similar lines as the liberal/fundamentalist controversy in the early 20th century. I think the essence of the movement will continue. I do think our culture tends toward being shallow so the name will die out, as will organizations, but new names and networks will emerge.

You often use act vs react, why is that?
Reactionary movements, what fundamentalism essentially was, are inherently unstable. Acting is far more difficult than reacting. Acting vs reacting is my attempt at articulating God’s instructions to Joshua to follow His Word not turning to the left or the right.

Are you a fundamentalist?
I’m a recovering fundamentalist. I don’t use the word because of the baggage associated with it… What I find is living biblically is the hardest and most elusive stance to take. So I’ve been accused of being ‘fundy’ and being ‘liberal.’ The label isn’t important, walking by faith and being biblical is.

Are you against labels then?
Everyone is for labels. The anti-labels gig is disingenuous, I think. Example: remove all labels from canned goods and then go grocery shopping. Adam labeled things. So did Jesus and Paul. Rather than being anti-labels let’s focus on the issue of being gracious and loving and civil and listening. I sense that’s what the anti-labels gig is going for.

Are you a creationist?
I believe that if you lose the resurrection you lose creationism and not the other way around. Jesus is the best proof and validity for creationism. I do think creationism is a secondary or tertiary doctrinal issue, not primary or a fundamental of the faith.

Dispensational?
I’m little ‘d’ as opposed to big ‘D’… I think the essentials of plain interpretation of the Bible, distinction between Israel and the church, and the Bible is about God’s glory is core. Too often dispensationalists get stuck on a timeline and details rather than the major emphasis of the Bible. We should heed Jesus words that “it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” Eschatology is important as our view of death determines how we live. So, those who argue against any focus on studying the end times are off as well. It’s a hard balance.

Baptist?
I’m baptistic. While baptists probably wouldn’t say it this way, they focus on three big areas: Biblical authority (the Bible is the basis for our faith and actions, Individual soul liberty (a person is left to their own choice to believe and should not be coerced into believing) and Priesthood of the believer (in Christ we have direct access to God). These are core themes in the Bible and other baptist attributes stem from those three. I think the label is often, not always, a hinderance based on behavior of baptists and not it’s doctrine per se.

My guide to become a recovering fundamentalist: Separation or discernment?

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“You have no business promoting public schools!”
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.” St. Paul

First, separation is a command
The Bible teaches separation. There is no avoiding that in Scripture. Our associations, friendships, business partners, ministry partners have to be viewed through a lens of separation. I often hear from those chucking church or fundamentalism that “separation is wrong.” Oddly, they then “separate” from fundamentalists. The issue is whether separation is a core doctrine or a matter of wise discernment. I take it to be discernment.

Separation as objective idolatry
For some fundamentalists separation is a core tenet of the faith. Not always by articulation, but often by practice. This unbalanced view of separation leads this idea of a particular articulation of theology and/or method of doing ministry as being pure. Others as to be critiqued and questioned. Theological correctness becomes more like a God and not the God of correct theology.

Theological separation isn’t dead
In reading about the emerging church split that evolved into “missional” and “emergent” circles, the lines of separation were similar to the liberal/fundamentalist controversy of the early 20th century. If people are going to deny the Gospel, there is an obvious line and clear expectation for separating. There are times when discerning whether to separate or not is blatantly clear.

In the world
Jesus in his priestly prayer talks about how we’re to be in the world and not of it. The great commission sends us into the world. The Gospel and the church are culturally neutral and able to contextualize the Gospel in a way that doesn’t violate Scripture or the Gospel. Still, in North America the issue of proclaiming the Gospel in a way that our culture understands gets clouded by an unbalanced view of separation. An unbalanced view of separation is a fortress mentality, not a discernment one.

Fear of man
An unbalanced view of separation focuses on one’s self and not God. Yes God is all holy and to be honored. But we shouldn’t neglect grace to fulfill the command of separation. A hard focus on separation creates an environment of distrust, is poisons grace and it often leads to an unloving culture. I often observe that it seems more about gaining approval of certain men the focusing on what God. We all love the pats on the back for standing firm in the faith by our peers or congregants. Jesus was called a friend of sinners- not always as a compliment.

The public school
I remember an intentional “you’re not going to be invited back” conversation based on a comment I made in a workshop. “The easiest place to live a dynamic Christian life is the Public School. There you have no choice, you’re either on fire or a hypocrite.” Apparently, I violated the doctrine separation by that statement. After being instructed on separation, I was then told that nothing good comes from public schools, broken homes, etc. A good christian has no place in a public school.

By God’s grace, I was able to start a Bible study, hold a regular morning prayer meeting and witness in my public school. I remember conversations about respecting parents, not having an abortion, being a servant and others. I remember people accepting Christ and being affirmed in the faith. I came form a broken home, and again by God’s grace, I’m a minister of the Gospel pointing people to Jesus. This explanation wasn’t good enough.

The bottom line:
An unbalanced view of separation distracts from the mission of making followers of Jesus. It violates love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. It pulls us away from the world. Separation is a command in Scripture to be obeyed through wise discernment. It’s not a command to build a fortress and hide until the rapture. Don’t react out of a fear of man or protectionist ideology. Act out of wisdom, applying the Scriptures to each situation.

My guide to become a recovering fundamentalist: Legalism

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“As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” ~St. Paul

Legalism as the issue
There is a bit of legalism in everyone. As we look at the concept of becoming a recovering fundamentalist it’s important to focus on heart issues and not a strawman. Legalism is a major heart issue to overcome. Often people who flee traditional legalistic churches swing to progressive legalistic churches. It’s the same heart issue, just a different “standard” of what being spiritual looks like. So, be careful and don’t thank God that “you’re not a legalist like those people over there.”

Control
Legalism lacks faith and is really about control. There is a strong desire for us to want to merit Grace. We simply need to trust Jesus. God already showed His love towards us. Apart from Jesus, anything good we do is rubbish. Without faith it’s impossible to please God. We desire legalism because we desire control. Sometimes we even call things legalistic that aren’t because we hate to submit and desire to control. You and I are control freaks. Faith means placing trust in and submitting to God. It means He’s in control and not us.

Gospel plus nothing
Legalism is adding to the Gospel to be saved or sanctified. It’s a false Gospel. The Bible clearly teaches it’s the Gospel plus nothing equals salvation and sanctification. Simply, the Gospel is the “life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Act by placing faith in God. Don’t react by trying to control, you and I are lousy at being God.

I missed the boat
When we think of heresy we think of denying Scripture, the cross, miracles, etc. Legalism is right up there with that list. I often viewed legalism as an issue to be addressed, and not a false gospel to be condemned. Look up what accursed means and you’ll see my point. Paul’s quote above is in the context of dealing with legalism. Fundamentalism would be viewed differently if the movement vehemently stood against legalism as other false Gospels.

Semantics
To avoid the accusation of legalism people often try to hide it using various terms. Rules, standards, being missional, oh my. Let’s be honest and call it for what it is, it’s legalism. Even the touch of “we do this to honor God” sugar coats the idea. Legalism springs to judgement of one’s spirituality based on a set of rules. It creates a putrid environment whereby people look to please people instead of focusing on pleasing God. If the “standard” is a mark of spirituality it’s legalism.

Two examples
Legalism is: I visited a church where everyone (infants included) was in a suit or dress. I was one of the few (the only in the coming conversation) not in a suit. As a person was striking up a friendly conversation the tone shifted dramatically when I said I was a pastor. This wasn’t a fluke as the conversation happened numerous times. The eye glares were interesting to say the least. I was wearing a white polo shirt and khaki’s (a friend of mine calls them baptist pants) and brown dress shoes. The temperature was in the upper 80’s. I was on vacation.
Legalism isn’t: Doing open air evangelism in New York city we were told to dress and carry ourselves a certain way, no exceptions. This was a mater of safety and also respect for the cultures we were trying to reach. Do I have the freedom in Christ to wear want I want? Yes. I also have the freedom to give up that right to best meet the spiritual needs of those I’m trying to reach. Standards of conduct do not equal legalism.

Methods and programs
Often legalism set’s itself up in the form of a method or program. We think that a certain way of doing ministry will make us more spiritual or God honoring. We get so tied down with performing a certain way that we look down at (really we’re judging) others for how they do ministry. I’m not anti-program or anti-methodology. Our faith, prayer and theology should come before our programs and methodologies. We should act in faith & the power of the Spirit.

The bottom line:
Legalism is a false sense of control. It’s heart issue we all struggle with and a false Gospel of grace by works. Legalism is one of the great heresies of our day. Act in faith instead of reacting by trying to control. God already loves you. In Christ your salvation is secure. Rules do not mean legalism, but can easily become such.

An important reminder…

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It’s the Gospel plus nothing equals salvation & sanctification.

There is nothing you can do to earn a relationship with God. There is nothing you can do to earn more love from God. God already proved He loves you unconditionally. In Christ, He sees you white as snow. Ok, by now the “Yeah, but…” is starting to creep in. So, let me remind you once more…

It’s the Gospel plus nothing…

True Christian religion is about selfless service for others and not religious attainment of God’s favor. God focused on us and sent Jesus. Jesus focused and served us giving us a relationship with God. Because it’s the Gospel plus nothing we’re free to focus on others and not ourselves. The statement “religion is do, Christianity is done” is false because the focus is on self. If you’re in Christ and Christ is in you, it’s not about you. It’s about being a blessing to others. In Christ, that’s how we roll. Ok, another reminder…

It’s the Gospel plus nothing…

Christ is more interested with who you are that what you do. Right now the “yeah, but…” is starting to creep in. Let’s just admit that we don’t like having to humbly admit we can’t do something ourselves. We need to be in control and that’s why we’re quick to ask what should we do? Humbly thank God for doing what you could not. Let Him be God instead of you trying to be in control. Why? Ok, one more time…

It’s the Gospel plus nothing…

We the people. We the problem.

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If you want rock star status. If you want accolades. In Christianity you only need to throw “religion” under the bus, or its close cousin fundamentalism. (Ironically, I’ll be posting about fundamentalism this week.) We love to bash religion. Sometimes we couch this as arguing against “false” religion. Sigh. We need to stop it.

Strawmen…
Today’s favorite mode of discourse is the strawman. We hide, we couch, we equate, we consensus build, we allude. We don’t call things for what they are. Doing such is often viewed as mean or unloving. More to the point, we’re afraid we may be called worse than religious we’d be called fundamentalist. What do we do? We couch a real issue of right & wrong under a word and we attack that vague concept. How nobel of us.

Jesus…
We love Jesus because the love word is attached to him. I’m reminded of what a professor once said: “People say Jesus is a loving lamb, but one day they will be surprised when the lamb roars.” Jesus called out what was right and what was wrong. He did it graciously, with humor, and at times direct and in your face. Jesus, and John (remember that guy who’s task was to get people ready for Jesus) called people to repent. Jesus pointed, exhorted, taught and pleaded with people to connect with God the Father.

Church…
Jesus loves the church. Jesus died for the church. Jesus’ bride is the church. There are legalistic churches that need to repent, doctrinally inept churches that need to repent, non serving churches that need to repent, etc. We need to remember, Jesus loves the church. Our tone in critiquing the church or local churches could use refinement. Every church has issues. It’s time to spur one another on to good deeds, and let the Holy Spirit be the Holy Spirit.

We the people…
Religion isn’t the problem. We the people are the problem. Religion is made of people like you and I. Now comes the fun topic: Friends, we are depraved. Apart from grace and the Spirit’s work in our lives, we’re in trouble. Am I saying there is a lack of grace and a lack of leaning on the Spirit today? Yes. Religion started no war, people did. Blaming religion is like blaming guns for killing people. Both are only as good as the people behind them.

The bottom line:
Promote Jesus. Bashing religion may seem authentic and mainstream, it isn’t. We’re lost and apart from Jesus we’ll remain lost. People act based on what they believe. What we have is a theology problem not a religion problem. Rather than inauthentic apologizing or religion bashing, “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

How long would you wait?

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14 years is a long time. I can’t imagine being told I was to do something and then have to wait 14 years to make it happen. Paul waited 14 years or more before he engaged in aggressive evangelism. I define aggressive evangelism as church planting. No doubt Paul was sharing the good news and establishing himself. But 14 years is a long time.

Paul was well trained, he was smart, he was one fine-looking Jew. He waited. Out of the gate he could defined the Gospel and his teacher was Jesus Himself. He still waited. Paul likely started his church planting efforts as an old man.

So, why bring this up? Too often we’re impatient. Here is the take away:

1) Paul remained faithful and continued to pursue doing ministry where he was at.

2) Being established does mean something in a church. There is often a gap between being called and serving, and the gap is important.

3) Humility is a key theme in Paul’s writings. It’s possible it was a key thing God was working on before sending Paul.

4) Even after a long wait, God did some incredible things through Paul in God’s timing.

Ministry is a marathon. Don’t be afraid of a gap in time. Be faithful and God in His timing will send you on mission.

One more thing… Just cause you’re nearing “retirement age” doesn’t mean God is done with you!