In 13 Ways to Ruin Your Life: A Practical Guide for Guys, author and speaker Jarrod Jones outlines a biblical exposition of Proverbs 7.  Jarrod brings practical stories from his own life and experiences to bring the truths of Solomon’s proverb of the fool falling into sexual sin to life.  He is very straight forward and Christ-centered in his approach to the topic of sexual purity.  This book also provides discussion questions to follow up this study with an accountability partner.  Jarrod does an excellent job in presenting the trap of sexual sin and some practical ways to steer clear of failing in this area.  This book is also grace centered and provides encouragement and grace for people who have fallen into sexual sin but also refuses to back down from the seriousness of sexual sin.  Jarrod presents a radical call to sexual purity in a way that presents Biblical truth in a very practical way to call guys of all ages back to a Christ-centered view of sexuality.  If you or your small group is interested in ordering this book, it can be ordered online at Jarrod’s website. 

I just finished two different books by Mark Driscoll with regard to reaching out to people and the role of the church in evangelism called The Radical Reformission and Confessions of a Reformission Rev.  These were very good and challenging books calling Christians to live out the gospel and be the church.  

There are two primary methods according to Driscoll that churches typically use for evangelism.  The first method is doing a service or an event at the church in order to draw people to church to meet Jesus Christ through a message by a pastor.  The second method is for the church to arm Christians with tracts and other religious materials in order to have them go up to random people in order to present the gospel to them.  Driscoll notes some concerns regarding both of these methods of evangelism and calls the church to a different way.

Driscoll’s third way is a missional and intentional form of evangelism.  This focuses on making the church a community where the Christians are prepared and empowered to live intentionally and share Jesus with people around them.  This way also focuses on allowing the church to be a community in which people who do not know Jesus can feel welcome and get to see Him living through the lives and service of the Christians in the context of the community of the church.  

This is a very interesting and challenging way to look at evangelism.  I think that Driscoll has a heart and passion for those who do not know Jesus and has been very intentional to build a church that is making a huge impact on their city.  I am encouraged and challenged by this idea and what God is doing in and through Driscoll’s ministry.

Today we will look at the second North Point Community Church ministry environment, Up Street.  Up Street ministers to elementary children through a Sunday morning program which includes large group environments, with a time of worship along with a teaching time, and small group environments, focused on discussion and activities.  Through both of these group environments, Up Street seeks to focus on three truths:

• I need to make wise choices.
• I can trust God no matter what.
• I should treat others the way that I would want to be treated.

I just left the third session of the Passion Atlanta Regional.  In this session, the David Crowder Band led worship and Louie Giglio spoke.  Louie’s message centered around focusing on the cross in the midst of trials and tribulations.  The part of the message that impacted me were some of the things that Louie outlined that we can hear from the cross of Christ with regard to our trials:

• “God loves you.”
• “God allows freedom but maintains control.”
• “God can take the worst and use it for God.”
• “God paints on a canvas bigger than we can see or understand.”

If you find yourself in the mist of trials and the unknown, I hope that these truths are an encouragement to you.  They were definitely an encouragement to me.  More coming after session 4.

I am getting a few quick minutes to blog before the second session of the Passion Atlanta Regional.  This morning Charlie Hall lead worship while Francis Chan spoke.  His message was about the power of the Holy Spirit.  He talked about how we have been taught bad theology about the Holy Spirit through our time in church.  This bad theology is that the Holy Spirit comes into your life upon accepting Christ as Savior and then has no further role in the life of a Christian.  Francis shared a story about how he had a conversation with some Jehovah’s Witnesses at his door about how they should look at the Bible for themselves and not live their lives and theology based off of what some person has said.  This was encouraging and challenging to me.  I think that it is very important that we go to scripture in search of truth and not just rely on others views.  Francis went on to discuss that we need to live our lives not through our own power but the power of the Holy Spirit that is at work in us.  This was very encouraging and yet challenging.  Francis went on to talk about the struggle in his own life with regards to his speaking abilities.  He said that he can speak a good message without the power of the Holy Spirit, yet the Holy Spirit cannot use that message to bring the effects that He would desire the message to have with a message being preached from Francis’s own strength.  This is a struggle that I have also and could really relate to.  He ended his sermon by talking about how God can and wants to use all of us in His global mission.  I am encouraged and challenged.  More updates to come.

I am working on a theme for the blog for March.  I want to see if anyone has any ideas or suggestions of a topic or theme that would be interesting to you for this blog to address in March.  Please post suggestions below.

Mark Driscoll is the pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.  Mark has been recently brought to my attention through a podcast recommendation from a friend.  He has written several books, is a frequent contributor on the Resurgence blog, and communicates biblical truth in a very media driven and modern way.  Mark has caused some controversy in Christian circles not for his theology but rather for the way that he communicates and the words that he uses.  He is clearly not afraid of using shock value to make a point in a sermon.  One thing that Mars Hill Church is doing that is definitely worth taking note is that they offer a school of lay theology in which they train church members on doctrine, the church in culture, and worldviews.  This is a great asset and addition to the church.  One of the sessions from this program that I listened to focused on the church in culture and gave practical ideas on how to share the gospel to people with a postmodern mindset.  Another program highlighted some practical ways to use movies and themes from movies as a way to present the gospel to people.  Mars Hill is changing the way people do church by providing some places for deeper study in order to equip its people to minister to those around them.

Rob Bell, the teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is most well-known for his short video series called NOOMA.  Rob has been shaking the conversation on Christianity and culture through his two books, Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith and Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality and Spirituality.  He has also done two speaking tours on which he discussed how religion is not Biblical and that everything is spiritual.  Rob has extensive training in the Hebrew language and Jewish culture which adds a whole new dimension to his preaching.  He has a view on theology which is very different than many people have.  Rob believes in this idea of Kingdom Theology in which the church’s mission is to live out the values of the kingdom of God which was so frequently discussed by Jesus in the gospels in the world around us.  This is a view that makes grace not just be something that Jesus did for me in the past, but something that I am supposed to be an agent of to those around me.  Rob has a heart and passion for the broken.  He is seeking to raise up a community of people who will live out the values of the kingdom of God in the culture around them. 

Social justice is something that we as an American church seem to pay no attention to.  Jesus clearly calls us as Christians to reach out to the oppressed, but we have so quickly made the gospel so much about us that we miss Jesus’ heart for the oppressed.  Our whole experience at church and with our Christian faith is so focused on us and our relationship before God and personal salvation that we miss the call of Jesus to do things for the “least of these.”  I was reminded once again of the fact that I so often make my Christianity about me yesterday when our college ministry watched a documentary on the Invisible Children of Africa.  This was a sad and heartbreaking film following the stories of 2 young boys in the midst of a village that daily faces death by either starvation, preventable disease, or the war that is ravaging the country.  The two boys followed in the story, Daniel and Sunday, had both lost their parents and were living life surviving on their own.  They both had hopes, dreams, and aspirations of who they desired to become, but they are living with odds stacked against even their very survival.  This film broke my heart and has challenged me further that the gospel does not stop at my personal profession of faith but should go on to impact not just the people around me but the children made in the image of God around the world that need the church’s help.