Organic vs. Mechanical Change: Click | View Series

J.D. Greear is speaking at the Advance 10 conference April 26-28 in Durham, NC. For more info go to advancethechurch.com.

There are two ways people try to change. The first way is organic change (I borrow this terminology from Dr. Tim Keller, a man from whom I've learned a great deal on this); the second is mechanical change. Organic change is natural change—growth from within. Organic change is how a plant grows. Organic change is a change of the heart that produces a change of behavior. Jesus describes this kind of change in his discourse on the vine in John 15. He said that as we (the branches) simply “abide” in him (the vine) we naturally produce abundant fruit, just like a plant. If we are not being fruitful, then our connection to him must be severed. This kind of fruit is natural, organic fruit. This is how the gospel changes us.

Watering a Sandbox

Mechanical change, by contrast, is artificial change. It is growth by addition. It would be like hanging pieces of fruit on an artificial tree. I recently caught my four-year-old daughter watering her sandbox. When I asked what she was doing, she said, “I'm trying to make it grow.” Having seen her mother water plants and make them grow, she thought she could grow the sandpile in the same way! But sand is not alive, and watering it won’t make it grow. The only way to make a sandpile grow is to add more sand to it. Religion changes you mechanically. Religion adds a lot of things to your life and makes you very busy. You get list upon list of things that you have to do to be regarded as a good Christian. You may or may not like to do them. The things religion gives you to carry often feel burdensome.

A lot of Christian growth instruction ends up being “mechanical” change. You are given lists of things to do that “good” Christians do.

Three to Thrive?

I grew up in one of those churches where busyness seemed to equate to godliness. “Three to thrive” was our mantra—meaning that spiritual health was dependent on attending three church services weekly—Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. In addition to that, we had Sunday school, AWANA, weekly visitation, at least 2 yearly revivals (and that was if the Spirit wasn’t REALLY moving—if so, you might be in revival once a month), missions conferences, last days conferences, marriage conferences, singspirations, Vacation Bible Schools, prayer festivals, sword drill contests, Bible quizzing nights, cantatas, light up the city day, etc.

And when you weren’t at church, you were supposed to be busy at home doing spiritual things, too. We had little envelopes “in the pew rack in front of us” that we were supposed to fill out each Sunday that logged for the church clerk how busy we had been for Jesus:

• Had we read our Bibles that week?
• Had we prayed?
• Had we shared our faith?
• Was there a tithe included in this envelope?

I guess keeping us busy was a way of keeping us away from sin. I think it worked for me, somewhat. The only drug problem I had as a kid was that I got drug to church all the time.

Now, it was not entirely my church’s fault that I equated busyness with godliness. My church believed the gospel. And I understand that there are activities we can and should engage in that will help us grow spiritually. But somehow I got the message that being a Christian was a list of stuff you did. I got the message that I would be a good Christian if I would do, with diligence, what good Christians did.

In the next post we'll see how real change is different from mechanical, checklist religion.

Advance 10

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Pollution Is a Failure of Character

I’m writing this while in the Philippines, where it seems like the LA I grew up in during the 1970s. My family had to move to northern California because the doctor said I had smog-related asthma and would be in serious danger if we didn’t. The air in southern California has improved a bit, but the US (along with China, Russia, India, and other developed and developing nations) is at the top of the list of world polluters. We consume more than we should, waste more than is right, and spend more than we save. At its heart, this is a massive failure of character, and for Christians, a failure to live out a robust biblical-theological vision.

Someone who gets the distinction I’m making here (between environmental stewardship and environmentalism) is Wendell Berry, although I’m not sure where he stands vis-à-vis the Christian faith. I recommend reading that guy’s work. Instead of blaming Christianity (although he acknowledges distorted theologies), he thinks that reducing “creation” to “the environment” is part of the problem. Another writer I’ve found intriguing on this subject is Bill McKibbin (The End of Nature). We wouldn’t agree with all of his points (especially theological), but this moderate Methodist offers some insights into the connection between Christian conviction and the realities of modern life.

Green Is the New Black

It’s easy for creation-care to become a fad. Our culture turns everything into a movie, starring us. I guess it’s better than what we were (are) doing, namely, raping the world God made, redeemed, and will return to to make his everlasting home with us.

Evangelicals have rediscovered the doctrine of creation. That’s wonderful. It’s a big doctrine in Reformed theology, but we’ve been co-opted by the politicians. Francis Schaeffer wrote Pollution and the Death of Man in 1970! Calvin DeWitt helped to pioneer the cause of creation-care as a Reformed scientist. There are groups like the Evangelical Environmental Network. So there’s a lot of robust advocacy now within an orthodox Christian framework. This is vital if the conversation isn’t going to boil down to neo-paganism and knee-jerk conservatism.

Anticipate the New Creation: Actions Matter

Christian liberty means that churches and pastors can’t impose their views (usually less informed than many of their parishioners) on science, politics, the environment, etc. We’ve seen remarkable change in evangelical attitudes on creation-care even in the last few years, moving from denial of global warming to being at least more open to the phenomenon—and even to the possibility that human factors like greenhouse gases are involved.

Christians aren’t free to believe whatever they want about the Bible and its teachings. However, believers with the same commitments to Scripture and its teachings will differ on their interpretation of the data and the best agenda. Nevertheless, I still hear some conservative Christians say that God’s sovereignty means that the world can’t be destroyed; humans can’t ruin it. Therefore, never mind global warming.

That’s not just bad politics, in my view, but bad theology. God always works through means. He is sovereign, but I still think I should take a bath. He’s not going to take one for me. God has called us to be prophets, priests, and kings in his Son, the Prophet, Priest, and King. If you think it’s all going to burn anyway, who cares? But if you’re looking forward to “the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting” in a renewed creation, we should anticipate that new age now by our daily actions.

R.C. Sproul Interviews

Has R.C. Sproul ever been on the internet? What is the biggest upcoming theological battle? Dr. Sproul answers questions like these in this special interview series.

Deep Water

It's always interesting to watch fights and see how a fighter's natural tendencies become pronounced during stressful situations. For example, a fighter with a wrestling background will almost always resort to shooting a double-leg takedown if he starts getting hit on his feet. Similarly, a BJJ guy will inevitably pull guard if a wrestler starts to get the dominant position in the clinch. Every fighter has a background that they will resort to when the fight gets so tough that they stop thinking and start reacting. Fighters call this being taken into the "deep water." Our lives are not much different in this regard—during times of high stress and struggles we see that our sinful nature starts to come to the surface in ways that are unique to our personal makeup and background.

The Point of Breaking

Personally, the economic downturn has hit my business very hard. My ministry, Agon Fighters, founded with Matt Lindland and other fighters, has seen donations dry up. Because of funding, we have had to postpone video production of a DVD with fighters' testimonies. Through all of this, I have found myself becoming angry and increasingly selfish with my remaining resources. These times in our lives are the "deep water," but the difference is fighters want to be taken into the deep water, while in our personal lives we do almost anything to avoid it. Fighters understand that the only way to become a more complete fighter is to be pushed to the point of breaking, and since their goal is to be a complete fighter, they welcome these opportunities.

Completeness

James speaks of this in the context of our lives when he says, "count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4). Our goal in our faith should be the same as a fighter's goal in the octagon—to be complete. When we have this goal, we can have the joy James speaks of when we are taken into the deep water because God uses these trials to make us complete, to make us like him!

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Leaders Lead Themselves

Leaders should spend 50% of their time leading themselves. So suggests Dee Hock, author of Birth of the Chaordic Age. When most leaders think of leadership, they think of downwardly leading those for whom they’re responsible. But you really lead upwardly (with those to whom you are responsible), horizontally (with those who are your peers), and, perhaps most importantly, inwardly (you lead yourself). If I am not able to lead myself, how can I lead others? Leadership has a great deal to do with modeling. So what is involved with leading yourself?

When I began to consider self-leadership, my mind raced back to a verse I memorized long ago from Song of Solomon 1:6, which says: “…they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!” A modern rendering of that might be: “They made me responsible for taking care of what belongs to others, but I have not taken care of what belongs to me.” I have not done a good job of managing, stewarding, and leading myself, yet I am tasked with trying to lead others.

Self-Management

The two key passages on leadership in the New Testament (1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) deal primarily with self-management or self-leadership as a prerequisite for leading others. Could it be that the reason so many leaders fail in upward, downward, or horizontal leadership is that they have not done a very good job of inward leading?

A Checklist For Self-Leading

Here are a few areas to consider that are consistent with 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 as you reflect on leading yourself.

1. My gifts. How am I doing at leading myself to know my gifts, stay within my limits, and develop those gifts to their highest, God-pleasing potential?
2. My character. How am I doing at leading myself to be a person of integrity who follows through on promises made and is a person that others can trust?
3. My purity. How am I doing at being careful of what my eyes see, my ears hear, and my mind thinks about? How are my relationships with members of the opposite sex? Do I have guidelines, safeguards, and appropriate and honest accountability?
4. My pride. How am I doing at keeping Christ at the center? Am I the hero of my own stories? Do the words I speak communicate an attitude of arrogance and superiority, or am I characterized by humility and teachability?
5. My pace. How am I doing at leading myself in the use of my time? Is my schedule writing checks my body can’t cash? Am I going at an unbalanced pace that is digging myself, and those whom I lead, an early grave? Do I have a biblical view of work and leisure, or am I a workaholic who gets a sense of self-worth based on my work?
6. My finances. How am I doing at leading myself in the money arena? Do I have healthy protection and checks and balances built-in regarding organizational funds that don’t belong to me? Are there healthy audits over all financial dealing with which I am associated? Do I resist the lusting and grabbing lifestyle of my culture, choosing instead to be content and satisfied with God’s provision? Or is my happiness at the door of the next purchase?
7. My anger. How am I doing at leading myself emotionally? Do I have a reputation for being a hothead and having a short fuse? Do I keep score regarding perceived slights, insults, and put-downs? Do resentment, bitterness, and lack of forgiveness characterize me? One survey I came across revealed that bitterness is the major cause of burnout for men between 38 and 50 years of age.

These are my key areas of “self-leadership.” What areas of self-leadership do you need to focus on?

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"And" Series: Click | View Series

Now we come to the critical issue of how to help people convert to Jesus. Once again, "And" is the key, holding together words and deeds.

Jesus Used Words and Deeds

Jesus attracted huge crowds of gawkers and graspers because of his remarkable deeds—healing the sick, casting out demons, and calming raging seas. While the uniqueness of these events was obvious to all, their meaning was not. Jesus wasn't just a miracle-worker. He was also a preacher.

In fact, he was so focused on preaching the gospel that he once snuck away from Capernaum in the middle of the night to escape his popular healing ministry. "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out," he told his stunned disciples. (Mark 1:38)

He's building his church by the same pattern. The first church exploded when he poured out the Holy Spirit in a remarkable display. Peter then preached a sermon to explain what it all meant. This words-and-deeds dynamic has been the game ever since (even when herds of pigs and tongues of fire aren't involved).

Not Just Preaching. Not Just Doing.

Unfortunately, we often make mission into a preaching-only event disconnected from the life of the church. In this scheme, "good deeds" are just hooks to gather a crowd, not genuine fruit of the gospel. Right now, I'm having flashbacks to a college mission trip where we swarmed a beach and lured unsuspecting tourists with a 50-foot banana split. Doped up on frozen sugar and cream, we sprung the gospel message.

Jaded by such "evangelism," many people today suggest that mission is showing, not telling. The old Saint Francis of Assisi legend that says, "Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words" is their mantra. The subtle implication, of course, is that words are rarely necessary.

How Words and Deeds Work Together

In reality, neither approach makes true converts; "And" knows a better way. Preaching is always necessary for genuine conversion because confusion and stubbornness are two of the biggest effects of sin. This means that even if spiritually disoriented people are attracted to the church's life, they won't interpret it correctly. Their questions must be answered, misconceptions cleared up, idols challenged, and objections removed. This requires words.

But their obstacles to the gospel aren't just cognitive. They also need to see what life might look like if they become Christian. Will I have any friends? What about my sex life? Will I turn into a foaming fundamentalist? Will I have to listen to cheesy Christian music? The church answers these questions by inviting them in and showing them what a gospel life looks like.

Avoiding False Dichotomies

Strangely, many emerging pastors say that if a church effectively embodies the gospel, then preaching becomes less important. Others fear that if we welcome unbelievers, we have to water down the message. In reality, just the opposite is true!

The more a church embodies the gospel and welcomes unbelievers, the clearer its preaching must be if anyone is to know what a Christian truly is. Vigorous gospel preaching begets changed and attractive lives, which begets the need for more gospel preaching, and on the cycle goes. This words-and-deeds dynamic is the engine of a resurging church.

Advance Conference:

Advance is coming June 2009. The Resurgence is hosting this conference in Raleigh, NC, to provision the local church for the advance of the gospel. Find out more.

From the daily grind to unethical demands, Christians struggle to honor God at work. How do we find our identity amidst the challenges of vocational excellence, ethics, evangelism, and essence? If we emphasize one of these aspects to the neglect of the other, our motivation for work is easily distorted and our results can dishonor God. However, if we approach our work with these four aspects of work in proper focus, work can become worship! We can work in the workplace and not be "of it."

Ethical Work
The way we carry out our work can honor or dishonor God. If we fudge on the books, arrive late to work, or lie about our progress, we deny God honor in the realm of creation and culture. Even if our ethical compromise produces a superior product, we cheat the Creator of his glory by denying his moral nature and biblical commands. The end does not justify the means. Christian work cannot be excellent and unethical. How we work reflects who we are.

Excellent Work
On the other hand, we can work ethically without producing excellence. You may be punctual and honest while turning out inferior reports and products. If we are to do our work in an excellent way, we must not only strive to honor the moral nature of God but also the essential nature of God, his manifold excellence and comprehensive glory.

Evangelistic Work
Too many people use their workplace as a platform for evangelism. The film The Big Kahuna comes to mind, in which Bob makes work an excuse for evangelism. As a result, he blows the business deal. Christian work does not compromise excellence for the sake of evangelism.

To be sure, the workplace is a place of people, eternal beings with eternal destinies, people with real struggles and issues that only the gospel can solve. But if we do our work without redemptive concern for others, we reduce the purpose of our vocation to self-concern and self-promotion. Thus, it is important that we work with a broader view of the gospel, as a message that affects all of life, from people to culture.

Theological Work
Work as reflection on vocational essence is simply working with the nature and character of God in view. The attributes of God are reflected in the essence of our work. Artistic work reflects God’s life-giving creativity. Computer based work relies upon binary code, a sequence of ones and zeroes that enables our computers to function. In essence, computer work reflects order, order that reflects the orderly nature of God. Orderly computers can be used to crank out pornography, or they can be used to help care for hospital patients. But the essence of what computers do in our work reflects the orderly character of God.

Identity and Work
How do we find our identity in God instead of in work that is ethical, excellent, evangelistic, and theologically reflective? In order to avoid the pitfalls of these approaches to work, we must work from our acceptance in Christ, not for our acceptance. We should not seek the acceptance and applause of our coworkers or competition through unethical or less than excellent work. Instead, we can rest in God' acceptance and approval, working excellently to honor him (Col 3:22; 1 Cor. 15:50-58). No matter how tight our work ethic, we will inevitably fail. Instead of taking comfort in our superior work ethic, Christ calls us to rest in his finished work on our behalf (Eph. 2:8-9; Heb. 9:23-28).

Instead of approaching work with a narrow view of the gospel, we can take the whole gospel into the whole workplace, contributing to the whole of society and ministering to people’s individual needs. As a result, we do excellent, ethical, and evangelistic work, not to earn God’s favor or to impress others, but as a faith effort, as an act of worship. As you work, rest in his acceptance and work for his honor.

Reflections on Pollution and the Death of Man by Dr. Francis Schaeffer

…God treats His creation with integrity: each thing in its own order, each thing the way He made it. If God treats His creation in that way, should we not treat our fellow-creatures with a similar integrity? If God treats the tree like a tree, the machine like a machine, the man like a man, shouldn't I, as a fellow-creature, do the same — treating each thing in integrity in its own order? And for the highest reason: because I love God — I love the One who has made it! Loving the Lover who has made it, I have respect for the thing He has made.¹

A popular modern phrase, used most often in politics, is "flip-flopping." To be perceived as a "flip-flopper" is to be seen as weak and lacking in deep convictions. I am not sure who created this much-used phrase. but the Republicans used it very successfully against John Kerry in the last presidential election. Somehow the word conjures up a sense of opportunism, of outright compromise, or moral spinelessness.

In a recent issue of Martin Marty's, Sightings (Monday, January 8), the esteemed historian and religion writer refers to these changes we call "flip-flops" as "about faces" or "180-degree turns." When a politician changes a position, especially on an issue crucial to some people, it creates quite a stir. Steve Chapman, writing as a pro-life columnist for the Chicago Tribune in a December article, cited Governor Mitt Romney's change of view on abortion as a case in point. It is a fact that Mitt Romney was pro-choice for some years. Now he wants to assure his conservative political base that he is strongly pro-life. In Romney's words, "I'm in a different place than I was in 1994." Even his strongest critics admit that he has sincerely changed and that his actions have demonstrated this consistently. For the record, Ronald Reagan changed his view on abortion, as did George H. W. Bush, both having been pro-choice at one point before becoming pro-life. And Jesse Jackson and Al Gore also changed their views, from being pro-life at one point in the past, to their present pro-choice position.