The unintended consequences of such social trends have not only resulted in a bounty of unmarried men.  According to The Economist, “The crime rate has almost doubled in China during the past 20 years of rising sex ratios, with stories abounding of bride abduction, the trafficking of women, rape and prostitution. A study into whether these things were connected concluded that they were, and that higher sex ratios accounted for about one-seventh of the rise in crime. In India, too, there is a correlation between provincial crime rates and sex ratios.” [See article here]

This article sent me through a whirlwind of emotions.  At first I resonated with the fury of the commenter who pointed out the hypocrisy of promoting a woman’s “right to choose” then showing moral outrage at the choices women have made.  Knowing this is logical yet too simplistic, I then moved to the overwhelming intellectual task of processing all the accompanying social, economic, and cultural issues in these nations that drive families to such decisions.  Once my mental engine was flooded, it seemed that the only remaining options were to despair or ignore the issue altogether.

Into this confusion came the words of Jesus that speak of how we as members of the kingdom of God are to live in this present sin-soaked age.  We call them the beatitudes.  Consider with me how some of these kingdom mindsets affect how we respond to issues like Gendercide.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…”
Is my first reaction to lash out at others or to consider my own moral bankruptcy apart from the grace of God?  When Jesus was told about the Galileans who Pilate killed while they were offering sacrifices, his response to them was not to riot against “those people.”  Rather, he said, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).  Are there areas of my life where I need to repent?  Even if I have not condoned an abortion, am I guilty of a similar sin of ruling my own life in rebellion to God’s rule?

“Blessed are those who mourn…”
Do I embrace this as another opportunity to engage the sorrow of living in an age when God’s kingship is rejected?  Do I weep for the babies whose lives were snuffed out before (or at times as soon as) they saw daylight?  Do I groan for the mothers who are carrying around guilt and pain for aborting their daughters, many of whom perhaps had no choice in the matter?  Do I grieve for the broader societal issues that create an environment where such decisions are made?  Does my heart lean forward to God’s perfected kingdom and cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus!”?

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”
With brokenness and mourning as my posture, will I seek to be a voice for the voiceless?  Will I speak against the horror of this mass slaughter of daughters?  Will I channel my energies and resources toward engaging issues like Gendercide?  Will I be willing to open my eyes to gender bias in my world and embrace how the devaluation of females can lead to such injustice?

May we learn from Jesus how to confront the issues of our day with minds and hearts fixed under his rule and with voices confessing in all areas of life, “Jesus is Lord!”

Pastor Chris

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to  James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

This ceremony must have accentuated the holiness with which the Israelites were dealing.  This God was not to be approached blithely or casually.  He was to be approached through priests, who were required to undergo this week’s worth of consecration requiring the death of animals to even be in such a position.  And when Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, offered “unauthorized fire before the LORD” (Leviticus 10:1), they were immediately killed by God’s fire.  The verdict was simple: “This is what the LORD has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified’” (Leviticus 10:3).  Such transcendence, such holiness demands stunned silence, as the rest of the verse implies: “And Aaron held his peace.”

Our age does not condition us for this sacred hush.  It is not natural in our culture to practice Psalm 46:10-”Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”  Furthermore, the New Covenant does not involve the sacrificing of bulls and rams, high priests in special garments, or a holiest place that can only be entered by one person once a year.  With these factors in view, how is it that we can pursue the sacred hush that our holy God deserves?

We experience holy silence the same way our forebears in the faith did: in the presence of the high priest who alone can present us acceptable before God; in the presence of the sacrifice in which blood was spilled for our holy standing; in the presence of God’s great prophet who communicates God’s word.  And ours is the advantage here, for we have the final and true expression of all these realities in the person of Jesus Christ.

In other words, we reclaim the sacred hush when we hold fast to the gospel, when we dig deep into what it means that Christ died for our sins.  And though Jesus’ death has made God’s presence more accessible than it was for the children of Israel, it has not made it any less holy or transcendent.  So let us daily press into the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice for us, and let us be awed that his work brings us into God’s holy presence.  The veil has been torn; we do not need to travel to Jerusalem to experience God’s special presence.  But as we do commune with our God, let us proceed with a sacred hush.

Pastor Chris

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What we have seen in 1 Corinthians 12-14 is a vision of the Spirit’s Christ-centered, gospel-focused work in our midst to build up the church by empowering spiritual gifts in every one of us.  As we look to the year ahead, this vision should cause us to ask some big questions about how we are living out this vision.  Here are some big questions related to the “reaching in” and “reaching out” portions of our mission statement.

Reaching In

We should be asking: are we pursuing the type of fellowship where interdependent exercising of spiritual gifts and upbuilding in the gospel is a reality?  To individualize it, am I intentionally and consistently in a context where there are people I am relying on to experience the fullness of the gospel and there are people depending on me to experience the fullness of the gospel?

Reaching Out

In a few weeks we will see that Paul envisions the Christian community not only as the context in which building up takes place for believers but where non-believers are introduced to the gospel (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).  By this I do not simply mean that we should have a “bring a friend to church” Sunday where they hear the pastor talk about the gospel, but that we should be strategic and creative about bringing non-believers around Christian fellowship as we experience life in Christ together.

In our core values we specify that our “reaching out with the gospel of Jesus Christ” takes place both through proclaiming that gospel and through portraying that gospel.  As we move into 2010, a question that burns on my heart for us is this: how will we portray the gospel to nonbelievers as a community?  How will they not only hear the word “grace” as it relates to Christ’s work for them; how will they also experience grace in our relationships?  How will they not only hear words about the gospel’s power to save, but witness the gospel’s saving power in our lives?

I believe grace and power and a dozen other gospel realities are existent in our church family.  But the question before us is this: how do we effectively, proactively, strategically, and consistently bring non-believers into our community to both experience those realities and to hear about the work of Christ that makes them possible?

———-

May God help us wrestle with these questions as we walk through a new year together.

Pastor Chris

1.  Remembering the year behind

Our annual meeting is a key opportunity to reflect on the previous year and recall God’s faithfulness, remember what we have invested in for the spread of the Kingdom, grieve over losses, learn from mistakes, and celebrate a year of life together in Christ.  This is meant to sober us, encourage us, reinvigorate us, and humble us.

2.  Dealing with current situations

Clearly items of voting such as the church budget and the confirmation of elders are significant to the current functioning of our church.  Along with these, we occasionally have issues regarding church members that need to be addressed.

This year we need to address two situations involving divorce in which members who now live in different cities do not seem to be walking in Christian obedience.  This is a sobering issue to discuss, but one that we must take seriously if we take the gospel and church membership seriously.  While these members are being taken off the membership role by the sheer nature of their being absent from our fellowship, we feel the need to share our communication to them with the broader body for the sake of your prayers and potential involvement.

3.  Looking to the year ahead

As we walk through 1 Corinthians 12-14 on Sunday mornings, a number of questions beg to be answered about how we live out the vision of body life that Paul paints.  More broadly speaking, another year of awaiting Jesus’ return demands that we assess how we are fulfilling the central mission he left us: make disciples of all nations.  We hope the annual meeting will afford us an opportunity to look forward together to how 2010 might be a year of glorifying God by reaching up, in, and out together.

My prayer is that you will make attending Thursday’s meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Fireside Room a priority and that God would be honored by our time together.

In Christ with you,

Pastor Chris

God used my children this week to remind me of how compelling this familial love can be.  Early in the week I was outside with the children when Sophia let out a cry of such dramatic proportions that you would have thought she broke a limb.  In fact, she had dropped her plastic cup full of popcorn and stood next to her fallen snack with tears streaming down her face.  Working under the age-old assumption that “dirt don’t hurt,” I picked up the least soiled pieces of popcorn, put them back into the cup, and returned it to Sophia.

Of course, within about 42 seconds Sophia had dropped her cup again, and Act II of the Shakespearean tragedy began.  I repeated the selective scooping of popcorn, and as I prepared my stern “be careful” speech, out of the corner of my eye I saw Marcus bolting for the patio.  Curious about his intent, I followed and found him frantically looking for something on a table.  He emerged with his cup of popcorn, which was still quite full, and made a simple request: “Give Phia my popcorn?”

I pause over this moment again in hopes of absorbing the profundity of what I saw in my son who is not yet 3 years-old.  Sophia (or “Phia,” as the boys call her) was grieved over her loss of popcorn.  Marcus had popcorn at his disposal.  Marcus took the initiative to meet Sophia’s need with what he had been given.  (If I may brag on both my boys, Stephan extended a similar generosity the next day at lunch when he offered Sophia his pickles once she had finished hers.)

Perhaps this simple story offers us a sense of what Paul meant when he called love “a more excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31).  In the example of my children, the love displayed among them was more important then the actual gift given-popcorn, pickles, toys, etc.  Likewise, in the family of God, the precise gift we use to build one another up is secondary to the mutual care, concern for the common good, the sacrificial love being displayed.  Because what is ultimately on display in these acts is God’s own love, which is the pinnacle of his excellencies.

You are a church family where this love already exists.  I can think of a handful of stories off the top of my head where one member of our body has lovingly, sacrificially served another member.  As we continue our study in 1 Corinthians 12-14, may God transform us to become even more loving, more concerned, more sacrificial in serving one another with the gifts the Spirit empowers.  For this is a key way in which we fulfill our ultimate mission-to glorify God-as we place his love on display.

Pastor Chris

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Yet despite YHWH’s displays of indisputable supremacy over Egypt’s gods, the people of Israel still chased after other gods, even blatantly requesting Aaron to “make us gods who shall go before us” (Exodus 32:1).  This idolatry continued even after Israel took possession of the Promised Land, as summarized toward the beginning of Judges: “And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them” (Judges 2:12).

Though it has taken much more sophisticated and respectable forms, idolatry is still a snare to God’s people today, drawing us away from pure worship of the one true God.  This is an especially pressing issue for us men to confront head-on as spiritual leaders in our homes and in the church.  If we are not smashing the idols in our own lives, we will be in no position to lead God’s people in our mission of glorifying God, and our mission to reach up, in, and out will be compromised at every level.

For this reason our next Men’s Leadership Series will be a study on idolatry and how the gospel keeps us from it.  We will look to a brother in Christ, Tim Keller, to walk us through this issue as we read his book, “Counterfeit Gods: The empty promises of money, sex, and power, and the only hope that matters.”

Men, I challenge you to be part of this study.  This is an issue we need to address personally with other brothers who will encourage us, support us, and hold us accountable.  Our plan is to begin this 10-week study during the third week of February.  We will have a Saturday morning group and can add another group if some brothers cannot make that time.  Please e-mail me at chris@whittonavenue.org with questions or to sign up for the study.

May God use this time to purify our lives from idolatry and increase our joy in belonging wholly to him.

Pastor Chris

At one level this should allow us to relax when we read lists of spiritual gifts like miracles and healing and prophecy (12:8-10) because we know that there is no “next stage” of the Christian life beyond the Spirit’s work of uniting us to Christ by faith.  This gives us a sense of bearing, knowing that whatever gifts the Spirit empowers will ultimately be focused on the gospel and will build up Christ’s body.  With Christ at the center, we can open ourselves up to the Spirit’s activity without worrying about bizarre excesses we have observed in some Christian circles.

At another level, however, the Christ-centeredness of the Spirit’s work-much more than removing potential discomfort we might anticipate-actually reinforces how uneasy things could get when we experience God’s powerful working in our midst.  In other words, for all our concerns over how unwieldy the Spirit’s activity might be, we forget how unnerving Jesus’ ministry was to those around him.

For instance, in our Bible reading we recently saw the disciples’ reaction to Jesus calming the storm: “they were filled with great fear” (Mark 4:41).  Likewise, after Jesus cast out the legion of demons from the Gerasene demoniac, the people from the town “came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid” (Mark 5:15).

From the comfort of our living rooms it may be easy to read these stories and question why such wonderful displays of power would be so unsettling to those around Jesus.  We tend to forget how disruptive these acts were to what was expected.  Storms do not simply cease because a fisherman waves his hands.  Unruly maniacs do not return to their right mind because a teacher from the backwoods tells the demons to go jump in a lake.  These things do not belong to our common experiences, not to mention resurrection, which caused Jesus’ followers to flee “from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).

The consistent witness of the gospels is that Jesus’ ministry made people uncomfortable, afraid, astonished, taken aback.  If the Spirit’s ministry of equipping the saints to build each other up in love is a Christ-centered ministry, we should anticipate that the same flavor that characterized Jesus’ ministry will characterize the Spirit’s ministry through us.  While it will not be bizarre or absurd, neither will it be domesticated or predictable.

As we continue through 1 Corinthians 12-14, may God keep our bearings first and foremost on himself and the good news of what his Son has accomplished for us.  In that context, may we open our hearts to whatever his Spirit wants to do through us to build one another up in love so that all who come into this community “will worship God and declare that God is really among you” (1 Corinthians 14:25).

Willing to be unsettled,

Pastor Chris

As extreme as this story is (and it is regretfully true!), it reminds us of why structures like by-laws and annual business meetings are significant, especially when it comes to church leadership.  When Paul gave a charge to the elders of the church in Ephesus, he  made plain the seriousness of church leadership: “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).  As it does for all aspects of the Christian life, the gospel establishes the tone for approaching church leadership, and the sober caution of shepherding God’s flock is set by the weight of Jesus’ own blood, shed to purchase his people to belong to God.

Thus it is with much prayer and thought and discussion that we present Peter Kinkel as an elder candidate, to be voted on at the annual business meeting on Thursday February 18th.  Peter has been a member of Whitton Avenue for all of his adult life and has served faithfully for the past 20 years in various age levels of student ministry.  Peter has also been a vital component of the administration team for many years and has personally discipled numerous young men in our body.

Hopefully this thumbnail sketch of Peter’s ministry at Whitton reinforces our broader conviction about adding elders at Whitton Avenue: in the body of Christ, elders are recognized, not created.  We never appoint men that could be “made” into elders; we look for men who are already doing the work of an elder in their families and in the church, and we ask for the congregation to affirm this recognition.  (For a fuller explanation of our approach to church leadership, go to this site [http://www.whittonavenue.org/about-us/our-leadership/] and click on “A Vision of Biblical Eldership at Whitton Avenue Bible Church.”)

In view of the vote on February 18th, we will have a brief meeting after church next Sunday, January 24th, to give Peter an opportunity to share his testimony and to give you an opportunity to ask him any questions you may have.  Of course, you can always direct any questions you have for me by writing me at chris@whittonavenue.org.

Two final notes concerning leadership.  First, per our bylaws, Mike Rehm will be rotating off the elder board in May 2010 and will be eligible for a new term the following year.  Second, our vote to add Don Vander Giessen as an elder at last year’s meeting was only for a 1-year term because of a technicality in the bylaws.  So in February we will vote again to confirm Don for the final 2 years of his 3-year term (elders are allow 2 consecutive 3-year terms before taking a minimum of a 1-year leave of absence).

Please pray with us that God would continue to develop leaders in our church who will care for the church of God which he obtained with his blood.

Pastor Chris