Making and Maturing

Disciples of Jesus

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Ryan serves as the Lead Pastor of Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway, New Jersey. He is married with four children.

  • We Don’t Need Fads (Gospel Coalition NE Regional Conference Summary)

    See my previous post for a summary of the rest of the conference.  In the final session Dr. DA Carson was tasked with speaking on the “Gospel Shaped Mission.”  For well over 2 decades Christianity in general has been following a course of adjusting ministry to speak to our rapidly changing culture.  In one sense this resonates with us… Paul preached on the acropolis, right?  But in another sense terms like “missional” and “contextualization” seem over used and short lived.  Frankly many pastors are tired from reading the latest ministry books and chasing the fads of Western Christianity.  Well, at least I am.

    I have to say that I am not big on fads.  I don’t like reading books on ministry.  There are too many.  They won’t stop publishing them.  I am fundamentally persuaded that the gospel hasn’t changed, though culture does.  All that to say, I was expecting to hear Dr. Carson speak on how to contextualize the gospel message without compromising it.  He opened by asking us, “what causes the church today her greatest difficulties?”  Culture shift!  Contemporary music!  Politicians!  

    Then he said, “open your Bibles to Revelation 12.”  In case you didn’t do your devos in Rev. 12:1-17 today you should check it out.  There John describes his vision of a dragon (Satan) waiting to eat the child of a woman upon its birth.  The child escapes, and Satan is defeated and thrown to earth. He is enraged and fights against her other descendants.

    Dr. Carson explained that this is essentially a visionary presentation of Satan’s war with God, the Messiah, and those who put their faith in him.  We know the child is the Messiah from 12:5.  The woman is not Mary, but likely represents the “Messianic community.”  Satan is, of course, thwarted. After failing to destroy the Messiah, he spends the rest of his limited days in spiteful hatred fighting against those who put their faith in Christ.

    Thus Rev. 12:17 is a picture of what is happening right now in the world.  An enraged, defeated Satan is making war on the church.  What causes the church today her greatest difficulties?  Satan.  There is much more going on than battles over whether or not we should have coffee shops and contemporary music in our churches.  Satan is raging, battling against believers.

    John specifies in Rev. 12:11 how Christians overcome Satan: by the blood of the Lamb (nothing they did), by the word of their tesimony (talking about the blood of the Lamb), and by a willingness to die (because of the blood of the Lamb).  

    He said if we analyze our problems in the church sociologically or historically we will tend to seek sociological solutions.  But our problems are much greater than culture, they are theological and epic.  He said we must use the only weapons we have against Satan- the blood of the Lamb, the Gospel.

    This message resonated with me deeply.  We don’t need fads.  Yes, think purposefully about ministry.  Yes consider your context.  Yes be purposeful in the great commission.  But in all this we cannot forget the main reality: only by the blood of the Lamb can we overcome.  Only the blood of the Lamb redeems sinners.

  • Riding Shotgun at the Gospel Coalition NE Regional Conference

    By God’s grace I was able to attend the The Gospel Coaltition regional conference this past weekend with our Worship Director Mike Ruel.  I thought I would provide you with a brief summary of the conference so you can know some of what runs through my mind and heart during a conference.

    The conference theme was “The Gospel Shaped Life.”  The main speakers were Tim Keller, DA Carson, John Piper, and Stephen Um.  When I take the time to go to a conference I usually try to go one that will challenge me.  Keller, Carson, and Piper are three of my favorite scholars/pastors/teachers, so I was anticipating great things.  The Lord did not disappoint.

    Pre-conference session with TIm Keller- The Gospel Shaped Ministry

    In this session pastor Keller reminded us that we are already on the mission field.  The church must be a contrast community (different from world), a servant community (not just another power broker), a unified community (with other Christians, specifically other churches), a lay ministeringcommunity (people see themselves as ministry providers, not merely receivers), and a sufferingcommunity (persecution).  Here pastor Keller made a distinction.  Any community can be this kind of community.  The church most importantly must be a community of the Word.  He said, “Christianity is first of all a mesage that if believed leads to a new way of life.”  Amen.  I was very encouraged by this session.

    Session 1 with Tim Keller- The Gospel Shaped Life

    Pastor Keller reminded us that the gospel is news, not advice (a proclamation, not a prescription).  He spent some time defending the doctrine of sanctification by grace (that we progress in Christian growth by grace, not by works).  In this vein he was speaking on 2 Cor. 8:9 and how Paul uses Jesus as an example to motivate the Corinthians to give a financial gift.  At this point he delivered what was undoubtedly the quote of the conference: “Jesus didn’t tithe his blood.”  Boom.

    Sessions 2 & 4 with John Piper- The Gospel Shaped Mind and Heart

    Pastor John Piper had one main point which he developed over his two sessions.  He explained that the mind exists to serve the heart.  Specifically, the mind should feed the heart understanding of the truth so that the heart may love God more.  Put another way, “right thinking about God exists to produce right feelings for God.”  He gave 7 NT illustrations of this principle in action.  He used an extensive analogy where the mind feeds the heart fuel to stoke the fire of white hot passion for God.  It was an unforgettable image.  The heart is thus freed from the misery of guilt, fitted for whole new range of affections, and fulfiled by what is ultimately valuable: God himself.  These sessions were very encouraging.  We are not called to build smart Christians, but Christians that love God.  The relationship between our hearts and minds is crucial to understand in ministry.

    Session 3 with DA Carson- The Gospel Shape of Scripture

    Dr. Carson discussed how there are 20 or so major themes that run throughout the Bible where we can see the gospel shape or direction of the Word of God.  He chose here to simply elaborate on one: the kingdom of God.  He walked us through 2 Sam. 7 and the importance of the Davidic kingdom as it relates to the Messiah.  Then he blitzed through the OT and NT (mainly Matthew due to time) showing the development of kingdom in the Word.  This was my 2nd favorite session.  The kingdom motif is all about grace and the gospel- God’s rule is inseparable from the good news.

    Session 5 with Stephen Um- The Gospel Shaped Community

    I don’t know if it was just conference fatigue, but I struggled to really get into this message.  Pastor Um developed the idea that the church is moving from a fallen community to a restored community from 2 Corinthians 1-3.  

    Session 6 with DA Carson-The Gospel Shaped Mission 

    This was by far my favoriate session, but I’d like to give it some more space in its own post.  Dr. Carson preached on Rev. 12:1-17… so buckle up and check out the next post.

     

  • Wedding Bells for Jesus?

    Many of you may have seen the recent news about a Coptic manuscript possibly dating to the 2nd century that mention’s Jesus’ wife.  What is going on?

    You might want to hold off on bringing wedding presents to church on Sunday.  Here’s my summary and crash course on the finding:

    • A mysterious owner has produced an ancient Coptic manuscript that has been initially dated to the 4th century AD and may be a translation from a 2nd century AD original.  We do not know where it was found.  This manuscript is the size of a business card and only contains a few lines.  One of the lines definitely reads “Jesus said to them, my wife…” (for a photo see here).
    • Coptic is an ancient Egyptian language that used Greek letters for its alphabet.  There are several dialects, and this particular manuscript is in Sahidic Coptic which is from Southern Egypt.  A fact little known by many Christians is that there are many pseudo-gospels and other documents from the 2nd and 3rd century AD that present all kinds of wild stories about Jesus.  Documents such as the Gospel of Judas (which I had the privilege to see in person in 2009), the Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Mary Magdala are also in Coptic and date to roughly the same time.  
    • (My personal favorite is from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas where Jesus as a child turns clay pigeons into real pigeons and strikes a playmate blind and must be reproved by his parents and heals the boy).
    • Most Coptic manuscripts from the 2nd and 3rd century are expressions of Gnosticism, an offshoot of the Christian teaching of Jesus’ apostles as we know it from the New Testament.  Key elements of Gnosticism were:
      • Salvation came by special knowledge that was given by Jesus to a select group (Mary Magdelene, Judas, etc.).  “The Gnostic Salvation was from ignorance and not from sin.”
      • Jesus, in gnostic expressions, either only appeared to be man or was indwelled by “the Christ” temporarily. 
      • While there were many variations of Gnosticism, none were compatible with the Christianity of the NT.  Some NT scholars even think that the gospel of John may have been written to combat some early forms of Gnosticism.
    • Dr. Karen King, the Coptic scholar who has translated the manuscript, has rightly cautioned that this is not proof that Jesus was actually married, it simply testifies to the fact that some likely Gnostics in Egypt thought that he was.  
    • Given the papyrologist (expert on papyrus manuscripts) and Coptic language scholars who have already viewed the manuscript, it seems to be genuine.  That said, it has a mysterious owner and the circumstances of its finding are entirely unknown. Dr. King’s dating needs to be confirmed, but it is probably in the neighborhood.  Other scholars will need to weigh in on the authenticity of the find.

    The Bottom Line

    We should not be surprised when we find distortions of Christianity that date to the 2nd century or even earlier.  From the very beginning of the spread of the gospel the church had to work to protect Jesus’ message and ensure it was passed down to subsequent generations.  These manuscripts show us the kinds of divergent beliefs with which the early church dealt.  This particular finding does not prove that Jesus had a wife, it simply testifies to the fact that some likely Gnostics in Egypt thought that he did.  

     

    We should be reminded of the crucial importance of protecting and proclaiming the gospel as we find it in the New Testament as Paul commanded Timothy, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2).

     

  • Sweetness for the Bitter

    Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

    Ephesians. 4:31-32

    We don’t hold on to wrongs for days, we hold on to wrongs for years.  In many ways bitterness is the result of sin distorting our memories.  The ability to remember is a blessing.  When we are hurt, or wronged, or we perceive ourselves to be wronged, the sin of self centeredness takes our memory and uses it to produce self-focused anger.  Enter bitterness.

    The worst part about bitterness is we tolerate it.  We give it a home, feed it, and nourish it.  This is not just unwise, it is blatantly sinful.  God commands us to put away bitterness, along with its accomplices wrath, anger, clamor (shouting in a quarrel), slander, and malice.  The way Paul phrases this calling in Ephesians 4:31 is interesting because by using the passive voice (“let bitterness… be put away”) he puts the focus on what is being “put away.”  Perhaps an analogy is to picture an umpire pointing his finger at an out of control baseball manager and throwing him out of a game- “you’re outta here!”  There is no room in the Christian for bitterness.

    So God calls us to rid ourselves of bitterness, but how?  Notice Ephesians 4:32, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  We must refuse to hold on to the past in self centered bitterness and decide to be kind to each other and forgive.  The only way this is possible is by remembering the sweet forgiveness God has shown us in the gospel.

    Don’t miss this.  We do not release bitterness because wrongs are not a big deal.  They are a big deal, but the cross is a bigger deal.  Yes, it was wrong of that person to steal your car stereo.  Yes, it was wrong of that person to gossip about you.  Yes, it was wrong of your spouse to treat you that way.  But you can forgive them because God has forgiven you in Christ.  

    The tragic reality of bitterness is that in order for us to remain bitter, we must purposefully ignore the cross.  We say, “yeah, yeah, Jesus died for me and all that.  But you don’t know what they did.”  I may not know, but God certainly does.  God also knows what you did, have done, and will do.  Rather than be bitter at you, God acted to save you.  Therefore, put away all bitterness and be kind to one another.

    Unfortunately, much (most?) of what we choose to be bitter over isn’t even a true wrong.  We feel we have been slighted, but in reality we have an over-inflated sense of self-importance.  Our worlds revolve around our desires, and when we don’t get what we want we get angry and bitter.  This is not only unhealthy, it is unacceptable in Christians.  Jesus commands us to let bitterness go.  Maybe it’s time to reflect on the infinite graciousness of God towards us in our attitude towards others.  You don’t have to hold on to that wrong.  You can find relief and peace.  Because of the sweet gospel of Jesus Christ, you can let bitterness go.  

     

  • The Kingdom in Reverse

    In the next few weeks we are arriving at the major turning point of the gospel of Mark.  While Jesus has faced opposition from the religious authorities, the populace has seemingly embraced his ministry enthusiastically.  Both Jews and Gentiles have experienced healings, exorcisms, and gathered en masse to see, hear, and perhaps even touch Jesus.  

    There have been a few somber moments along the way, but for the most part in the first act of Mark Jesus seems to be fulfilling Messianic expectations to a point.  Everything is as it should be.

    But all that is about to change.  After Mark 8:22 the story turns, big time.  Jesus makes three predictions that he will have to suffer and die.  More than that, Jesus calls his followers to embrace this dark and dangerous road.  The way of the cross is not, it would seem, the ticker-tape parade the disciples expected.  His kingdom is a “kingdom in reverse.”  

    I have borrowed the phrase “kingdom in reverse” from the OC Supertones (poet scholars!): “where the least are most, and the last will be the first.”  It fits.  Jesus’ kingdom, the way of the cross, Christianity, is the opposite of what people expected it to be.  Nothing has changed.

    If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. 

    Mark 8:34-35 clarifies expectations for followers of Jesus.  He gave his life, and he calls us to give ours as well.  The world’s concept of a kingdom involves a strong king who decimates his enemies and asserts himself boldly.  The kingdom in reverse involves a humble king who gives his life for his enemies and meekly serves.  This is not easy to understand, let alone embrace.

    Have we embraced the kingdom in reverse?  Will we?  The laying aside of self-interest, the adoption of a servant’s heart, and the abandonment of worldly glory all run against the grain of our hearts.  At the end of the day life doesn’t turn out to be about being wealthy, happy, comfortable, at peace, or popular.  Life is about breaking the grip that all of those idols have on our hearts and embracing our King… whose kingdom is the kingdom in reverse.  His way is not easier.  His way is best.