1. Gender matters. If it didn’t, God would have created us all genderless. He could have, but he didn’t. It’s an act of worship when one seeks to live out of God’s original intent. Masculinity (or femininity for this matter) should be sought after in Scripture just as godliness.

2. Objectivity is important. To me it feels that Christians that tend to blur the gender lines, do so most out of a genuine desire to reframe Christianity for those that have been hurt by it, and that’s understandable, but you cannot do this at the expense of Scriptural truth. On the other hand, those that tend to over emphasize it, are doing so as a genuine desire to reframe Christianity for Christians that have been infected by our culture’s broken gender expressions. Equally understandable though, it’s undeniable that they do come across as sexists.

3. Stop defining “masculinity” in terms of habits. There are plenty of masculine guys that don’t drink alcohol, don’t hunt, don’t watch fighting sports, don’t drive pick up trucks, that are not married and, that do not have sex. The Bible is filled with examples of what I’m talking about. Besides, that’s what religion does best, isn’t it? Here’s a warning: to be overly practical in this matter may lead to legalism, moralism and, the oppression of women and “dudes”  that do not necessarily conform to the current social-religious cultural norm.

4. Masculinity is best defined in terms of essence. In other words: It’s not what I do in order to be… but, what I am in relation to what I was created to be. “Servant-leadership” envelops the best concept of what lies at the essence of masculinity. These two words together are redemptive to each of the extremes in us, in history and, in cultures. Here’s why: Each of us has a natural bent towards either “servanthood” or “leadership”. This is due to sin and because this is true, we cannot keep a perfect balance so, servanthood turns into cowardliness and leadership turns into forms of dictatorships. I feel that both camps (currently arguing) are erring on one of the extremes and that’s why things sound a little off when each speak. I suggest we look more intently  to Jesus — who is a male-God to this day (sorry, can’t disprove this) and whom has restored the servant-leadership balance that God had established in Adam since the begging. At the core of masculinity, there lies the gospel in its perfect boldness and humility.

Does and can the Gospel speak into our natural inclination for competition?

I believe that when it’s done in line with the reality of the Gospel it brings forth the ultimate goal of the Gospel which is, the full flourishing of all things. When it’s done out of line with the Gospel, it reproduces the outcome of the fall — the deterioration of life, institutions and, society.

So, what would the Gospel have to say about it?

It’s not about being the best but doing your best.

The Gospel quenches your need to receive the approval of others. It shows you that in Jesus you have received the applause of God regardless of how you perform. Striving to do your best is honoring to God because, whether it’s a passion, a gift or, an ability you possess, it has all been given to you by God. To use them intelligently, responsibly and creatively is bottom line — good stewardship. And stewardship is worship. God is glorified by the beauty, creativity or strength your performance is able to display.

It’s not about constructing your own net worth but, working out of your true self worth.

The Gospel reveals to you that your true worth comes not from of an extraordinary gift or ability to stand out from the rest but, from the fact that you’re a child of Abba. In God’s opinion you stand out because when he sees Jesus when he looks at you and because that’s true, you have nothing to prove to anyone nor any need to justify your existence (as we often subconsciously do when we compete). That’s the most important raw material you have to work with and so, you work out of it. If you work out of this mentality you will feel less pressure when you perform, you will take more risks, you will have no need to cap on your competition’s weaknesses and, you will recover faster when and if you lose.

It’s not about eliminating the competition but building it instead.

The Gospel reminds you daily that you’re an unfinished work of grace. The Gospel always keeps you in touch with the fact that you are an imperfect sinner. If you’re honest, you will have to admit that there are numerous areas in your life that need improvement and competition often helps you to see it clearly. It’s a great master. Competition helps you to stay humble, to develop discipline therefore, help you to grow. This may sound weird but you want to encourage and push others to do better for the common good of all.

I guess you can say that in the end, good competition is about collaboration.

The ultimate hope of the Gospel lies in the fact that everything will be made new. This means that when there’s healthy competition in a particular industry (including the ecclesiastical -  even though I don’t know if you can call it an industry) life flourishes and society thrives because there are always new initiatives, new solutions, fresh approaches, excitement and, renewed hope for a better days to come.

Your perception of how much Jesus values you will determine how much you value him.

The reason why you are probably not living on mission for Jesus, why you do not worship passionately, why your devotional life sucks, why you do not give yourself to community, why you are stingy with your money, why you impact no one, why you are so unforgiving, why you are so protective of your time, why you are so concerned with your self image, why you never take risks, why you’re so anxious, why you look down on others, why you’re so uptight, why you’re never content, why you don’t do anything for anyone for free, why you are so insecure about yourself, why you think too much or too little of yourself, is either because you do not know or because you daily forget how much Jesus values you.

If only you knew or reminded yourself daily of how much he values you, you would value him so much, that everything…I mean everything… specially yourself, would grow dim in light of his love and grace.

You would spare nothing. You would cling to nothing.

Do you know how much he values you?

Well, you have got to find out.

Putnam points out in his study, that worship attending americans regardless of what they believe, have a greater tendency of becoming better neighbors and citizens. Consistent worship attenders (even if secular but attend with their religious spouse or friend) are more involved in their neighborhoods, donate more blood, care more for the physical needs of  others, give more of their time and money and, have less problem with people cutting in front of them at the grocery line.

Interestingly enough, the Miami New Times posted last week that in the latest Annual Volunteering in America Report, Miami ranked as last. I think we’ve been the reigning champs on this one for a while now. Maybe 3 years? Not surprising but ironically, Miami is also among the top 3 of most unchurched cities in America. Some even argue it’s the number 1.

From the standpoint of Putner’s survey, if Miami is to become a better city with better and must I highlight, nicer neighbors, it will need a lot more new churches.

Now, imagine what it would look like if the majority of these new churches where less consumeristic and less individualistic in their approaches? What if they were more about the good news instead of dispensing good advice? What if they talked more about the poor and less about how you can get healthier and wealthier? What if they lived more with the mentality of bringing heaven down than about evacuating to a heaven up somewhere? What if there was more emphasis on church on the other 6 days of the week instead of the pep rally sugar highs of the weekends? What if there were as many weekly exit door calls to redeem what’s broken in the city as there are altar calls?

We would have a bright future ahead of us.

1) Is the Sunday worship worth my time? Is it energetic, solid gathering, good teaching, good music?
2) Is there a good variety of programs?
3) How resourceful are you in case I need it for myself, my family, my friends?

I believe it’s fair to ask these questions but, they should not be the leading ones whether your looking for a church or whether you are a pastor trying to close your back door on people. Think of bigger and better questions instead.

I read this morning during my devotional Mark 11. Right at the place where it talks about Jesus’ second visit after his Triumphal entry to the Temple in Jerusalem. With just a little background research you’ll find that basically, the Temple in Jesus’ days had three things going for the people of Israel.

1) It generated a lot of foot traffic. A large influx of people from all over the world visited the Temple. On the surface there were massive gatherings (some say in the millions), energy and, tons of excitement. It was packed pretty regularly year around.
2) It generated a lot of financial resources. Historian Flavius Josephus reports that in one Yom Kippur alone 250 thousand animals were sold and slaughtered and that a huge percentage of the gross profit was brought in to the Temple’s treasury fund.
3) It was very very busy. From money exchangers to Temple workers there was a whole lot going on in terms of programs yet…

(as Jesus illustrates with with the Fig Tree incident) it was spiritually dead!

So much so that Jesus couldn’t help but to weep and whip, for it had departed from its original purpose.

Busyness, agglomeration and, a vast array of resources had replaced the true worship of God as well as Israel’s mission to the nations.

Israel was to be a light unto the nations and in the place where the gentiles should be praying and reflecting about the God of the Bible, there was total chaos. The Temple had become a circus. And, there’s no way one can be challenged spiritually in the middle of a freakin’ circus.

In the same way the church of Jesus represented locally cannot exist by emulating mega corporations and 21st century entertainment. It must exists by life in community and as Emil Bruner said it “by mission”. Both of course, fueled by the power of the Gospel within a rich understanding of what the Kingdom of God is.
Having said that, here are some good questions to ask when you step foot into a church.

1) How do these people love each other?
2) Do they exist for mission in their city?
3) Is the Gospel highly valued and is it fleshed out and lived out in the culture of this local body?

As you look to find a new church community or help to create a community where people can join, I pray that you will ask the bigger questions.

In this quote, Bonhoeffer is trying to get across the idea that following Jesus does not imply in simply learning from and about him but ultimately, in becoming like him in all areas of life. One of the areas of life that requires our full attention so that it’s brought under “the law of the cross”, is our wealth and finances. Money (like sex) has become a very sensitive topic in our culture because it is a major source of meaning and significance for all of us. It is a big identity shaper (even to Christians) and because this is true, churches tend to either pay too much attention to the topic of money or pay no attention at all.  I believe that neither approach is a healthy one. Both these camps indicate that money still has its claws deeply embedded into their flesh. We need balance on how often we talk about it and in the way we talk about it. Moreover, we need to approach it boldly and through the lens of the Gospel.

In the NT, money which Jesus calls “Mammon”, is something the Christian must bring under the lordship of Christ, because “Mammon” is a ruler, an authority, a power (Eph.6:12) that must be trampled over and placed under submission.

Below are some simple answers to questions that may help us understand the correct place of money and finances in the life of the Christian community so that, it is not controlled by it but able to harness it in such a way that it brings glory to Christ in making his Kingdom visible in the world.

From where does money and wealth come from?

The gospel teaches that it all comes from grace. Western civilization was taught to believe (since the Enlightenment) that everything you are and have is a byproduct of your own hard work. Non-western cultures instead of putting full emphasis on the individual, have placed a lot of emphasis on the family. For them, who you are is not associated with what you have as much as with your family name. Different cultures have different ways of explaining this, the gospel however, says that everything good whether it’s material or spiritual proceeds from God (James 1:17). It’s all a free gift of his grace.

There are people in the world with some of the same things you have and are not as wealthy as you are. Meaning it’s not because you’re smarter, healthier, work harder, have more faith, come from a better family, ethnicity or country. It’s not all luck, It’s all grace and if grace were to be removed, all these things would be taken away from you. Learn this: you live everyday with that possibility. So, grace is both the gift and the sustenance of the gift. As Jesus says, the bread is “daily”.

For what purpose is money and wealth given?

The gospel teaches that it proceeds from grace for the purpose of grace. In receiving there’s a great opportunity to model God. Riches do not exist for accumulation purposes (Luke 12:13-21), just look at God. God owns it all but he is generous and does not keep his wealth to himself. Instead, he is constantly giving it away. This happens both within the God-head (as all three persons of the Trinity generously give to each other) and between God and his creation. The ultimate example of God’s generosity to his creation is displayed on the cross where he gave what was most precious to himself — his Son whom is constantly giving Him all the glory (Note that “all things” in Col 1:15-20 means all of creation). Wealth is given to model God and to model him is to modestly enjoy his gifts (nothing wrong with driving a nice car, for example) but even more to use what you have been given to heal what’s broken, to put together what’s falling apart and, to bless what has been cursed.

One of the ways to do this is to be sensitive to the material needs that surround you and give directly to it. Another way is to give to the local church. The local church is the ultimate expression on earth of Jesus’ ministry of reconciliation. From the Spirit through the local church flows the power of the Gospel to a broken world first in word and then in deed. Early Christians understood this well and so they brought everything they had and placed it at the Apostle’s feet (Acts 4:32-35) for the purposes of supplying the needs of those who lived full time off of the preaching of the Gospel (1 Cor 9:7-14) and of those who did not have the means to support themselves such as the sick, widows and, orphans.

Give both ways.

With what motivation should I give?

The Gospel says that giving should proceed from the heart. Giving should not be the result of intellectual persuasion nor of emotional manipulation (2 Cor 9:7). If it ends up being a result of one of these two things, it will work temporarily but it won’t last. Why? Because the forces that have propelled you to give where external, not internal. Think about it: if there was no manipulation of feelings or coercion, you wouldn’t have given spontaneously to begin with. Which means that when and if these external forces are gone you will cease to give. A good example of how it should be done is in 2 Cor 8:9 where the Apostle Paul presents a need and an opportunity to meet that need to the church in Corinth. Instead of manipulating their emotions and intellectually bending their consciences ( which he could’ve done very well) Paul simply reminds them of the Gospel. He writes: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”. Lasting generosity is deeply rooted in a heart that understands and is appreciative of the Gospel. Paul defines the Gospel in this text as Christ exchanging his spiritual wealth for our spiritual poverty. If the Gospel has saturated the heart, giving will flow joyfully, generously, sacrificially and above all, constantly instead of sporadic.

What amounts should I give?

The tithe or, the “tenth part” is a good parameter for giving from all your income established in the Old Testament that might still work for today but nevertheless, it poses a couple of risks.  #1) Many use their “tenth” as a device to relieve their consciences of the religious obligation, making them feel that they are in good standing with God because they have given what was required. #2) Many give their “tenth” with the merit/ reward concept in mind. They expect God’s blessings as a consequence of their giving. In God eyes, giving with this sort of mentality is as bad as spending all your money in pleasures. Simply because at the end of the day you are spending it all on yourself.

The standard for giving in the Bible shifted from the law (in the Old Testament) that demanded 10%, to the Cross that compels you to give 100%. In fact, “tithing” in the New Testament represents stinginess (Mark 12: 38-44). In the economy of the Gospel there’s no 10% only 100%. It’s either all or nothing! On the Cross, Jesus did not give of himself partially to us but fully. Giving for the Christian should always imply in sacrifice. If your giving doesn’t deprive you of some comforts and securities, you should reevaluate how much to give so that it reflects what Christ has done for you and your adherence to him as a disciple.

What should I expect after I give?

Because the basic default mode of the human heart is rooted in a merit/ reward system it’s natural that we expect a reward and feel the need to be recognized whenever we give. Reward and recognition are not bad things. It’s the job of church leaders to recognize so that it encourages generosity but, not your job to pursue it. The lack thereof shouldn’t determine if you give. Our reward has already been given undeservingly and in advance by Christ on the Cross and in the Grave. The knowledge of such a reward should be enough to produce everlasting joy and content because our recognition comes not from what we are able to accomplish for God but on what Christ has accomplished to God on our behalf. Bottom line is, in Christ I’m always a beloved child in which the Father is forever pleased, and that should be enough recognition and reward.

That is not to say however that you should not expect your local church to be held accountable for the way they steward the Gospel’s resources. After all, you are a member of the body and “God’s fellow workers, God’s field, God’s building” (1 Cor 3:9). Expect them to publish reports and that in it, it is clear that the resources are being used wisely for the glory of God (not the glory of men) in the world.

How should all this then influence my culture of generosity?

1. Repent daily for believing that the main source of all your “blessedness” is anything other than the Grace of God.
2. Find through much prayer (with your spouse if you have one) a good balance in your budget so that you’re able to meet the needs of your family, enjoy what God has materially given you and, ultimately that you’re able to give so that others are changed by the Gospel through word and deed. All of it, of course, without accumulating debt.
3. Christians are taught to examine themselves in worship whether it’s taking communion or offering (1 Cor 11:28, Matt 5:24). So before you give again examine your motivation for giving. Is it flowing from a heart that’s been struck by the awesomeness of the Gospel?
4. Ask: Is there any comfort or security that I can cut into so, that I give more for Grace’s purpose?
5. Treat your giving not just as an individual expression of the Gospel but as corporate expression of the Church of Jesus in mission. Trust that God has placed you in a specific local church to do his work through it for a particular region and that, he has placed capable leaders in that community to steward the resources for the good of the Gospel. Pray that your local church would exercise wise stewardship of the resources they are entrusted with.
6. Is there joy before and after you give? If not, go over the whole list again

The Spirit is wind (ruah) and it blows wherever and whenever it pleases, for it is unbound and uncontrolled.

I do know however that when and if  it’s hovering it’s creating,

when and if it’s breathing it’s giving new life,

when and if it’s whispering it’s speaking,

when and if it’s moving it’s guiding,

when and if it’s blowing it’s sending.

It always is.

I felt it today on this Pentencost Sunday and it woke me up. I pray you will feel it too. Wake up!

Here’s something they didn’t tell you at assessment: Urban church planting will tear you apart!

This year alone I had friends quit, sink into depression, addiction, and one that has completely ruined his marriage. Why? Because one of the hardest things you can do is start a church in a city. Here’s a twofold reason. (1) Cities are complex places and it takes a lot to figure them out. (2) Because cities are hard to figure out it makes it hard to figure yourself out as you live in the midst of the urban chaos.

I find that a lot of young guys that want to plant in cities are far more aware of the need to build a robust philosophy of ministry for their work in the city than of the toll that church planting and the city will take on their own personal lives.

So, what does church planting in the city demand of you as a planter? And, how can the gospel help speak into some of these faulty areas?

It demands:

1. Spiritual constancy - City people are fast paced. They adapt to change without giving too much thought to it and that’s why life becomes chaotic and out of control in the first place. When city people end up pausing to think about their overwhelming state, it’s usually too late. Ministry in the city requires a lot of reflection, prayer and, Scriptural meditation. It’s much easier to be in sync with the pace of the city than the pace of God’s heart for the city.

The Gospel says: You are a child of the King. That’s your main identity. The city cannot be your primary identity shaper. Your status of sonship is to compose the rhythm of how your life is lived out in the city. It’s not about being busy but, resting on what Christ has done for you.

2. Emotional stability – Cities demand quality and often, without compensation. Think of the talented 50 year old sax player in the subway. Get the point? Pastors in cities have to find a healthy way to deal with slow growth and even failure. Unless they do so, they will  likely hit the bottle, the spoon, their wives and kids or, the x-rated sites.

The Gospel says: Before God you have performed to perfection because Christ performed for you. You have nothing to prove to no one. Your ultimate source of affirmation and joy should not come as a result of how well you are able to perform according to the city’s standard of success. God says to you in the Son: “you are my son of whom I am well pleased”. God could care less if you are able to build a mega church. He cares about your faithfulness to him.

3. Intellectual integrity – The city demands that you give a good reason for what you do and say. At the same time it’s always bargaining with you ideologically. It’s very hard not to compromise biblical doctrine in exchange for the approval of its inhabitants and even harder to find an honest, respectful, clear and, contextual way to communicate truth.

The Gospel says: Because your identity comes from who you are in Christ you can afford to be bold with people and not act like a coward. Pleasing God is more important than pleasing people. Also, the Gospel is that important. It’s worth giving deep consideration and thought so that you learn and teach others how it relates to the totality of life.

4. Excellent time management – If you want to stay together you have to learn to give time to yourself, to your body, to your family, to your leaders, to your neighbors, to your study and, most of all to your God. Failure to do so in one of these areas will show in lack of personal evangelism, spiritual shallowness, bad preaching, overwhelming sense of responsibility, stress and, a variety of family crisis including divorce.

The Gospel says: Because Christ gave more than his time (his life) to you, you are to give time to the things Christ has entrusted you with. A heart that believes in the Gospel is always reordering its passions and setting straight its priorities.

5. Deep level friendships – Life in the city is extremely individualistic. If you, your kids and specially your wife do not find friends you can share your lives with, forget about it. You can have all of the above but you will just not make it. This should probably be the first thing on your check list when you move into the city.

The Gospel says: Because Christ went out of his way to seek friendship with you and was vulnerable with you, you are to go out of your way to make friends for you and for your family.

Conclusion: The Gospel is the only power you will have available to reconstruct you as the forces of urbanity and church planting tear you apart. So, dig in deep into its reality.

The more I thought about the question I was asked in light of these instructions the more it became clear to me that elevating questionable people into leadership (being hasty in the laying of hands) is an indicative of a deeper problem in the heart of the leader. I’m talking about a gospel problem. When you lack a thorough understanding of the gospel as a church planter you will often mislead and mishandle people. Here’s what I mean by that. Say a good looking, smart, successful young Christian couple starts attending your church plant and let’s say you are in desperate need leadership (you’re always in need of leaders). Now suppose as you spend sometime to get to know them over dinner you find out that you’re not all that comfortable with some of their theological beliefs or with something that the wife has indicated about their marriage. It’s very natural for you to reason this way:  “Oh well, no one’s perfect. I’m sure this is a minor issue and it won’t affect at all what they will be doing in the church. Besides, I can come along side to correct and to encourage. Most of all, I’m going to go ahead and ignore these red flags and recruit them, because we have a real need for leaders.” Let me bring out the buzzer here. Wrong choice!

If the gospel affected the way you lead, you would have great compassion to love them enough to care for their family and to disciple them with some healthy theology regardless if you will get something out of it or not. You would also possess enough courage not only to resist the temptation to recruit prematurely but to appropriately rebuke, to honestly express your concerns and, to stand up for what you believe and value regardless if they will fall in love with you and your vision.

Too often planters will make room for people that they are not even willing to make time for and to be truthful with.  The reality is: these planters are not willing to love the people they lead because they are too concerned and too busy with loving themselves and their success. They have made an idol out of these two things and idols my friend, deceive your heart and blur your eye sight.

If this is you, you are missing out on the Gospel because at the bottom of it, you’re insecure of God’s love for you and your church therefore, you don’t trust enough. You are also too concerned with your own self image so you bend yourself backwards all the time to gather people by getting them to love you.  In that process, you have forgotten about your identity in Christ, the seriousness of his calling on your life and the command to love the people he has entrusted you with.

The remedy of course is to go back and dwell in the truth of the gospel that preaches to our insecurities and fears as planters/ pastors that we are loved unconditionally in Jesus. We need to feed our souls not only daily (devotional time) but at every occasion when a situation presents itself to feed our soul’s deepest craving with trash.

If you learn to do this often (in a way that it almost because of second nature) you will have a healthy inside and a healthy outside (church community) because you have realized that a good diet of truth and love (which only the gospel can give) is not only what you need but what every church needs. With this realization you will in the end produce the right leaders for the ministry. They will help you to create a culture of honesty and vulnerability.

And, honest and vulnerable people are the kinds of small group leaders, worship leaders, officers, preachers and, teachers that you and your people need. But it all starts with developing them first.

Don’t be a fool like Aaron that helped the people of Israel to build a golden calf to worship.

You know you’re preaching the gospel effectively when…

1. In your prep you are able to see Jesus in light of every text and every text in light of Jesus. Jesus is the hermeneutical key to unlock every text because every text fulfills its main purpose when it reveals Christ. He said so himself (Lk 24:25-27,44).

2. Your reasoning sounds deep to mature christians and simple to non-christians. Both groups of people are not used to see Jesus in the Bible. The “mature christian” is not trained to read the Bible through Jesus and even when they are, they constantly need to be reminded because that’s how they grow. The non-christian on the other hand does not read the Bible and generally has a very negative view of the Bible (slavery, bigotry, violence…). Which means that, if you’re able to show Christ in the text there will be “a-ha” moments for both groups of people.

3. Change is taking place in the heart of the one who preaches before it takes place in the lives of those who receive it. When you’re able to see the Gospel in the text your heart cannot help but to burn and melt (Lk 24:32). You will begin to see your own idolatry, hopefully repent of it and, allow the truth of the Gospel to work in you before you hit the pulpit. If you allow enough time between your prep and your delivery your words will have depth. I usually give it about 2 weeks to marinate.

4. You’re able to share more out of failure than out of virtue. This one is a consequence of the previous point. When the Gospel becomes real to you there’s no shame in sharing weakness because the power of the Gospel is only made true in weakness (2 Cor 12:9). If you do this often people will not only relate more but grace will be made more real to them. Romans 7 is another great example of how this works.

5. You find yourself relying on the power of the gospel instead of relying on the intellect and emotions to be effective. I find that most preachers feel the need to quote dozens of smarter than everybody people, cry like a baby in front of people, yell like a drill sergeant, act like a comedian, among other things out of insecurity. Deep inside they feel the Gospel does not have enough power to do the job (By the way, I’m not saying these things are bad just that you should check your motives of why you keep doing it). Part of it is that they do not have a Christ-centered hermeneutic, do not think through the deep implications of the gospel (in that particular text) for their lives and other peoples lives and, do not go the length to explain the gospel clearly to people. I find myself constantly in this tension because I come from a race that worships feelings and a tradition that worships the intellect. I find Scriptures such as Rom 1:16, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 extremely helpful to keep the right perspective.

6. The implications of the Gospel are communicated beyond being right with God. We are made right with God so that things in the world will be made right. Part of the reason why God justifies sinners is so that everything would be redeemed (Col 1:15-20) through the power of the Spirit at work in the lives of redeemed individuals. If people are going forward and being baptized but your community is not becoming more grace-based, more sacrificial, more giving, more missional and your city is not becoming more beautiful, safe and just as a result of the people in your church, chances are that the whole gospel is not being preached.

7. There’s full emphasis on what Christ has done for change instead of what needs to be done to change. When the whole gospel is not being preached you have moralism mixed in with evangelism. So even though the “plan of salvation” may be presented at the end of every sermon the “living the christian life” part is based either on moralistic applications of the Bible text or on motivational/ self-help principles. This weird dichotomy produces the best kind of pharisees.

8. People are compelled by grace to believe instead of being coerced by guilt to behave. The gospel promotes an inside out change not an outside in change. Behavior modification has all to do with religion and nothing to do with the Gospel. So, don’t guilt people for not changing, nor force change upon them. Preach the Gospel and allow the third person of the Trinity to do as it pleases.

9. There’s greater satisfaction that you’ve pleased God and that God is pleased with you than that you’ve pleased people and that people are pleased with you. We often measure success in preaching by the number of compliments we receive afterwards. I’m not saying that compliments are not good in terms of feedback nor am I telling you not to accept them but, when you’re depressed the next day because you didn’t get enough, you’re motivation might be sightly out of line with the Gospel. And, if you’re not drawing your motivation from the Gospel you will find yourself being less and less willing to be faithful to the Gospel message and more and more willing to be faithful to your audience. At the end of the day if your motivation is not right, you will either grow in pride or succumb in sorrow.

10. Both religious and irreligious people are believing the Gospel. When the Gospel is preached faithfully and consistently in a community, you will experience an interesting dynamic. Both the “churchy” and the unchurched will often be offended while at the same time both will be encouraged with the hope they’re able to find in the Gospel. Meaning, in a Sunday you might get two completely different feedbacks from same demographic unchurched folks. Same with “churchy” folks. Mainly because the Gospel will be doing its job to humble the prideful and uplift the humble at the discretion of the Spirit. You’ll see both types not only mixed in the crowd weekly but coming to Jesus often. There’s no way around it.