Matt Chandler on His Relationship with Christ.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about restructuring this blog... I am still in the process of thinking through what I want to communicate and what would be the most effective ways to do that. However, Until then ... I found this interesting clip of Matt Chandler being interviewed by Scott Thomas of Acts 29 Network. Enjoy... hopefully I will have a good idea about the future of this blog shortly.

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Preaching to the Younger Unchurched

Ed Stetzer wrote a great piece about preaching to the younger generation. I think his four points are valid and in need of attention by those proclaiming the gospel.

Enjoy....

Examine Your Approach

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “It is not length of life, but depth of life.” Interestingly enough, our research shows that young adults agree. The survey data confirms that the younger unchurched maintain a high level of interest in theology, apologetics, worldview, and other religions.

Many churches have chosen to lessen their emphasis on depth in order to complement their inaccurate stereotypes of this generation. This isn’t working now, and it certainly won’t in the future. In fact, most young adults are turned off by shallowness and are beginning to walk away from environments (including churches) that foster it.

The days of spiritual clichés and cuteness were never wise, but we can afford to engage in superficiality even less today. No matter your worship or preaching style, study the Word deeply and seek to communicate it thoughtfully. We know you’ve heard the common wisdom to “make it simple,” “make the application your points,” and “make it simple to apply” —and these are not necessarily bad approaches—but many young adults are finding simplistic communication less helpful than their Baby Boomer counterparts.

What young adults are interested in, however, is preaching that engages on several levels, provokes deeper thoughts, and reveals complexity. This doesn’t mean watering down the truth; it means teaching the truth in all its challenging fullness. Preaching that engages the younger unchurched is deliberate preaching crafted with depth of thought and delivered with conviction. Think and rethink. Evaluate and reconsider.

Encourage Struggle

Directly connected to the younger unchurched’s aversion to simplistic preaching is their aversion to “tidy” preaching. The Church has somehow forgotten that life is not always about having a neat, pat answer. Almost nobody is living “The Brady Bunch” any more, least of all the unchurched, and as much affection as young adults may have for retro entertainment, they instantly recognize when someone is trying to pass off a sitcom as real life. God gave us Jesus, and He gave us His Word. However, He did not give us all of the answers. Too many sermons imply that God and His plan can be wrapped up with a pretty bow in 30 minutes, just like “Diff’rent Strokes.”

Young adults are looking for something real – something that issues real challenges, reflects real struggles, and prompts real examination. This level of depth, as described by young adults, is characterized by a continual pursuit of knowledge, experience, wisdom, intellect, understanding, and exploratory learning.

This means that the moralizing of our preaching past is out like the 80s. Our preaching should encompass more than do’s and don’ts. It should reach to the why and the how behind our proclamation. Great preaching requires mining truth down to its deepest core and assigning it to resonate within the hearts of our listeners. As a result, our preaching must go beyond appeals to behavior modification, beyond pithy platitudes on being happy and living well. Our preaching must wrestle with the meat and marrow of human existence, because this is what young adults are already doing. Otherwise it becomes like tossing a fortune cookie to a man starving in the desert.

Be Authentic and Transparent

We must remember that preaching is not just about what you say; it’s very much about who you are. One of the reasons so many young adults think negatively about churches is because they see very little authentic struggle from their leadership. Indeed, a large majority of the younger unchurched believe the church is full of hypocrites.

Consider the “foolishness of preaching” from the perspective of an unchurched young adult. They see a pastor standing up and presenting the message in a way that implies the pastor already has everything figured out. When pastors relate no doubt, no struggle, and no experiential element, they just begging to be tuned out. But preaching is not just about the level of intellectual content; it’s also about the teacher’s relationship with that content.

Leaders who know the value of speaking to people, not over people, are leading churches that are reaching young adults. There is no substitute for authenticity. Preaching with transparency has to do with being open and honest with a purpose that is redemptive and developmental. A preacher who is being transparent opens a window for the divine and pure purpose of helping others change in positive ways, without hidden motives or pretense. This is the kind of transparency that will connect with younger adults.

Prepare Effectively

We realize very few Bible teachers set out to provide shallow teaching. No sincere pastor desires to develop biblically ignorant Christ-followers, and none deliberately set out to disseminate false teaching. But it’s happening. Our hunch is that these things aren’t happening because of bad motives but, instead, are the result of weak and inadequate preparation. If this is the case, we each must look long and hard at our approach to studying God’s Word and evaluate our need to improve in this area.

As with most things, great preaching takes commitment, and connecting to the younger generation takes even more. Are you willing to evaluate your methodology and approach in preaching? Are you committed to being authentic and transparent as an example for others? Are you willing to go beyond the surface and challenge your people to do the same? If your answers to these questions are no, then it’s time to start making changes. If you can answer yes, then your preaching is ready to engage this generation.

What Translatioin Do You Use?

I have had a couple people ask me why I use the ESV (English Standard Version) translation of the Bible. So I decided to write a post defending why I believe this is the best translation for everyday use.

I believe that the Scriptures are the authoritative, inspired and inerrant Word of God to mankind as revealed in 2 Timothy 3:16, and 2 Peter 1:21. They are altogether lovely, true, precious and unfailing. The Word points to Christ, Who is truth itself, the living Word, and is therefore to be diligently embraced, read, and studied.

There are numerous English translations out there today. These translations are based upon the underlying philosophies and guiding principles of the translators of that particular work. On one end of the translation spectrum are the versions which adopt a “word-for-word” approach while the other end contains those which follow a “thought-for-thought.” For an example of where some common versions fit on this spectrum, please see chart below…



The word-for-word process attempts to render a literal reading of the original languages (Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic), relying on interpretation only when the text demands clarification. The philosophy which drives this approach is that interpretation is the cooperative work of the preacher/teacher and the believer and not necessarily that of the translator. On the other hand, the thought-for-thought process follows a highly interpretive translation procedure, driven by a philosophy of textual simplicity. With this tendency comes a decreased accuracy and faithfulness to the original text and a subsequent loss of many of the rich nuances therein. While the thought-for-thought method retains a high degree of readability, it also carries with it an inherent reliance upon the translator to interpret scripture for the reader.

When I was at Toccoa Falls College, they made us use the NASB in class, which was completely fine. I still typically use the NASB for thorough Biblical study. However, while the NASB served well for serious study, contextual flow was slightly altered, thus rendering it less ideal for the purpose of reading and preaching. Given that the ESV retains the precision and accuracy of the “word-for-word” approach while allowing for a greater degree of clarity of expression, it became the primary teaching/ preaching, and reading text for me.

Therefore, I use the ESV on a daily basis with some reference to the NASB when dealing with the original language or pursing a more in-depth study of the Scriptures.

Though I use the ESV, I do see the value in the thought-for-thought translations and like reading the Message on occasion. However, I would discourage using it to do detailed studies.

The Studying Christian

Well... as of now I am in an intercession course for the next two weeks. I will definitely not have time to post the usual entries that I have been producing. However, I did want to post some blog entries I have come across that have really interested me.

Mark Driscoll posted "The Studying Christian" on his blog a couple of months ago. It is a Scriptural look at the importance and necessity of loving God with all ones mind. I thought it was interesting because growing up no one every gave me Scriptural reasoning for studying God's Word and ways... I was simply told to "have faith... and believe." There was never any encouragement to engage ones mind in this process of spiritual growth. I believe it would be advantageous to go through these texts given by Driscoll and evaluate how you have been using your mind to worship the Lord...

The following is straight from the Resurgence.

In following Jesus’ command to love God with “all our mind,” the Christian life is supposed to include regular times of study and learning. The goal of such study is to have what Paul called “the mind of Christ” so that we can live the life of Christ by the power of the Spirit of Christ.


Study

In John 17:17, Jesus prayed that we would study our Bible. He said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” Therefore, to become more and more like Jesus we must have regular time in God’s Word. The Scriptures have much to say about the benefits of regular study.

Scripture regarding study


“For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10)

“Give me understanding to learn your commands.” (Psalm 119:73)

“Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” (Proverbs 9:9)

“Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.” (Proverbs 10:14)

“Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 23:12)

“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.” (1 Timothy 2:11)

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls [books], especially the parchments [Scriptures].” (2 Timothy 4:13)


To help us learn Scripture, we are told to:

Hear God’s Word (Luke 11:28; Romans 10:17), which means that listening to sermons, lectures, and audio Bibles is very beneficial.
Read God’s Word (e.g., Revelation 1:3) as Jesus often did.
Study God’s Word (e.g., Ezra 7:10; Acts 17:11) as Jesus often did, which caused people to be amazed at His insights (Matthew 7:28–29).
Memorize God’s Word (Psalm 119:11; Proverbs 22:17–19) as Jesus did, which enabled Him to freely quote Scripture as needed (e.g., Matthew 4:1–11).

Conclusion

Because Jesus humbly entered into history as a human being, He had to grow and learn just like we do (Luke 2:52). Subsequently, when we see Jesus frequently quoting Scripture from memory throughout His life, we must infer that He spent considerable amounts of time hearing Scripture, reading Scripture, studying Scripture, and memorizing Scripture.

Mark Driscoll's Blog