Looking ahead...

Here it is, the last blog that I will write from my office here at West Hills Community Church. For those of you who have not heard, the elders have asked me to leave our church. This is not one of those crazy I got caught messing around with a youth group girl situations, it's just that our church is sinking, and I was a full-time youth pastor in a church of 50 or so people. Still, this is hard. As I packed my office today, I actually felt like crying as I though about all of the great memories I've had at the church and all of the struggles that I've gone through with people here. Moving on is rough, especially when you don't get to make that choice for yourself. So I went for some pick-me-up music, Dashboard Confessional. Those of you who are a bit older might not understand the irony of that statement, but it's just really emotional music. Writing this is a part of my closure. I don't think it really hit me until this morning as I sat in my awesome chair and just thought about the last three years. I sure have changed a lot in three years. When I started here, I was just a college kid, Katie and I were just friends, and I had experienced little emotional pain in my life. I was the light-hearted you can't phase me type of person. God has made me realize that reality is quite different than that picture I had painted of myself. But you know what? It feels good to feel, and to have other people's feeling affect me, and to mourn loss. Katie and I are obviously more than friends, and I am no longer that happy-go-lucky delusional college kid. I have grown, I have changed, and I have learned so much about who God is as I have walked with Him through this experience.

Funny that I would say I'm no longer that college kid, because I'm now in grad. school full-time. It's strange being with all of the people who came there straight out of undergraduate school. I feel like I can't connect with them on the same level. Most of my friends there are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. Ministry ages people quickly I think. I am going to be working part-time as a contractor (construction, not killing people) for a man from my old church, and I'm really excited to have the chance to do this. Keep us in your prayers, as we are both keenly aware that the journey through this pain is nowhere near over. Thanks everyone!

So here's what I think it means, in my grad school terms

What does it mean to be a Christian?
If one were to derive the definition of Christian merely from the word, they would describe a Christian as a “little Christ” or someone who is like Christ. However, to stop here I feel is to do a great disservice both to the grace of God and to believers. When a person calls themselves a Christian, they are including herself in a story of God’s gracious dealings with humanity.
A Christian is one who has had a life-changing encounter with the grace of God. Prior to this encounter with grace, all humans are sinful in their hearts and actions to some degree, even if there is good in them. They are created by God to live in relationship with Him, reflect His image, look after His creation and inhabit His earth, which He so graciously created for humankind (Gen. 1). However due to their own sinful choices, they continually distort God’s image and reflect merely a hint of their Creator, thus neglecting their intended purpose as humans and children of God.
In order to redeem humanity and restore the image of God in humankind, God sent His Son Jesus to live a perfect life and be the human that all humans are supposed to be, and then to die and pay the penalty for the ugly distortion of humanity that humankind had created through their sins (2 Cor. 5:18-21). This sacrifice made it possible for humans to receive limitless forgiveness from God for deviating from His purpose for them and to start over as His children, this time with the help of His Holy Spirit (Gal. 4:6). Through the Holy Spirit, Christians enter into process of becoming more and more like Jesus, the perfect model of true humanity and the perfect reflection of God’s character.
The point in one’s life at which they realize their own need for forgiveness and restoration of the image of God in them is pivotal. It is at this point that they must make a choice to put their faith in person of Christ, thus restoring pure humanity in them and starting over as children of God (Rom. 10:9-10, John 1:12). If they make this choice and believe, this is the life-changing encounter with grace that makes one a child of God, that is, a Christian.
Faith in the person of Christ involves more than praying a prayer and accepting the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice. Putting one’s faith in Christ means believing that He is who He says He is and responding to Him accordingly. Throughout Scripture, Jesus is described as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 17:14; 19:16, 1 Tim. 6:15). Therefore, if Christians respond to Him according to this description, they give Him control of their lives and strive to live in obedience to His commands. Obedience to Christ and His commands is the evidence of true faith and a life-changing encounter with grace, and it is how Christians show God they love Him (John 14:21, 1 John 2:5-6)
Christians are included in the family of God as His children (John 1:12-13). Their purpose is then to resemble Christ in this world in their interactions with each other and with those outside the family of God (Eph. 2:10; 4:16, Matt. 5:14-16, 1 Pet. 2:12). As His children, God has promised Christians an eternal inheritance, which will involve everlasting fellowship with Him on a new and redeemed earth that is free of sin and that reflects His own beauty and holiness (Rev 21:1-4).
Therefore, to be a Christian involves so much more than being like Christ or trying to resemble His perfect example. To be a Christian is to be one whose humanity has been redeemed, through the grace of Christ, so that they might become part of the family of God and fulfill their intended purpose of having a relationship with God and reflecting His image in this world. It is to put one’s faith in Christ as the Son of God, sacrifice for sin, and Lord of their life and to respond to Him in obedience. It is complete submission of one’s will to God and to His Word. At the end of this life, Christians will then receive their eternal inheritance and live in eternal communion with God.

Not so easy as you might think

I have the privilege of taking a class at Trinity this semester called "Christian Formation and Journey." I don't speak lightly when I call it a privilege, as I am studying under a man named Perry Downs who is an incredible man of God. The class has been challenging and awesome already, and I've only had it twice! The first week, Perry asked us to write down what it means to be a Christian. I thought I had a pretty good description pounded out, until I walked into class. I set my paper down on my desk, and he walked by and grabbed it. He was nodding his head as he read on, and I was thinking I did well. Then he made that sound that's hard to type, errr! The infamous buzzer. Crap! What did I get wrong? As we went on to discuss later, I had put one sentence that said that people must "put their faith in the redemptive work of Christ." This led to a discussion of what we actually put our faith in, the person of Christ or the benefits of Christianity? Check your Bibles, it only ever talks about believing in Christ as doing you any good for salvation. Then we entered into a discussion of what it means to put your faith in the person of Christ.

In order to do this, we have to look at who the Bible says Christ is. King of kings and Lord of Lords. Hmm, that's a tough one. That means that we must submit ourselves to Him in obedience. Now that's a little bit harder than believing that Jesus is going to get you into heaven , isn't it? However, we often tend to leave out this aspect of the Gospel. We, as the church, are always trying to convince people of how easy it is to be a Christian, but Jesus himself, a rather informed person on the subject, was always trying to explain how hard it was to be a follower of His (Read Mark 10:17-31, Matt. 10:37-39). Living a life that is submitted to God is no easy task, but the sacrifice is worth knowing God and following Him. If you find it easy to follow Christ, take a look at your life and make sure that you're examining every area of it and striving to align it with God's Word. Not very easy.

Now, I don't want anyone to think that I am supporting a works-based salvation or that we are saved by what we do. That would be an abuse of the grace of God. It is through our faith in God and His grace that we are saved. However, Scripture is clear that faith is proved true by actions, and that faith without works is dead (aka. useless, won't get you into heaven) (James 2). There is grace freely offered to us when we screw up and don't line up with God's plan for our lives, but if you are not striving to live the kind of life that God lays out in Scripture, you have not accepted Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who gave up His very life for you.

When is the last time you heard that in a church? Christians, don't try to make it sound really easy to follow Christ when that's not what the Bible says. Don't be a fire insurance salesperson, because due to this mindset, there are countless people under the impression that they're going to heaven and they're cool with God, and at the end of their life, they might very well hear those dreadful words from Jesus, "I never knew. Away from me you evildoers!"