Extemporaneous Ramblings

What happened to Scripture memorization in the evangelical church, particularly for those past Youth Group age? Why does it not ‘fit’ or seem ‘appropriate’ in today’s church programs?

Is it a general trend of Scriptural malaise, or something that I just happen to observe in some sort of microcosm? And, although I will not address it here, did substantive, universal Scripture memorization ever exist widely in the church in, say, the last 30-40 years? In this regard, what is wrong with the picture today? A comment on a previous article spurred me to write about this issue, although it has been an item of concern to me for some time.

Children and some youth, in programs such as AWANA, continue to accomplish wonderful things in committing Scripture to memory. This is certainly a great foundation, and admittedly is accomplished more readily at that age. They will have this repository of Scripture hidden in their hearts for the Spirit to call forth when needed. That is not only a blessing, but for many will be a necessity in the trying times of life.

But what of the older (and by that I mean 20-25 through much later) folks? There seems to be little interest in memorization of Scripture as a worthwhile part of ongoing church ministry, and the symptoms appear to increase with age. All the more perplexing is the observation that the retiscence appears in many cases more pronounced in the leadership, as opposed to those populating the pews. Even congregants have been know to quietly marvel among themselves at this puzzle.

There is no doubt in my mind that continual rehearsing of key Scriptures is needed by all. Satan is always at work, and having foundational Scripture solidly at the beck and call of Spirit, in the heart of the believer, is a significant piece of armour. Who would imagine that only children need it? Moreover, who among us could have the hubris to think that they were ‘mature’ and beyond the need? In doing so they would most surely be on dangerous ground.

Experience indicates that almost all believers acknowledge this need when asked, and yet, in most cases the distractions of life make it unlikely that any personal program of Bible verse memorization and retention will continue in the long term. This appears equally true throughout the average congregation - leadership and congregants alike. Surely there is a strong message in this, pointing particularly to the need of support and encouragement of this activity.

In the face of the Spiritual Warfare which most believers face daily in one form or another, a program of Bible verse acquisition and practice would seem to be quite important. If it is not, or if it is effectively blocked by one means or another, is this not Spiritual Warfare in the Body that is headed in the wrong way? And what are the implications of ignoring this foundational area in deference to other higher profile ‘programs’? Does their success cancel or reduce this need? To paraphrase the Apostle Paul “Not a chance!”.

Scripture states “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” Ephesians 6:11. When placing the Word in our hearts as part of that full armour of God, surely we are to subsequently maintain it and not let it rust for decades after we have acquired it. When it comes to memorized verse, needed in later times of distress in life, the old adage “use it or loose it” is quite apt. Thus, our activities need to include both acquisition and on-going rehearsal.

Congregational leadership is certainly aware of this. So why is it not decisively and proactively addressed? Program popularity surely is not a proper concern in foundational matters. And why, when programs to address this issue occasionally appear, are they given little importance and allowed to wither, replaced as new flashier adgendas emerge? Is corporate Scriptural memorization and rehearsal considered dated and thereby ‘out of favour’? Does it not offer enough kick to lure new people into the church?

I must conclude that this is so, and when the proactive hiding of the Word of God in the heart is of lesser significance than any ‘new’ program, something is surely amiss. Not to dismiss modern worship, or to say that new forms have no place, but our Lord did not say that the value of hiding his Word in our heart had an expiry date or age limit. He also did not say that as you grow older other programs replace that need. He implied precisely opposite!

Lastly, before it gets rolled out, let us look at the so often mentioned concern in today’s churches - program cost. Many, if not most, congregations today face program delivery cost challenges, along with all the stewartship discussions that thereafter develop. New, and especially flashier, programs invariably cost more, both in the human and financial resources. This is interesting when you consider that what is being discussed here is the decline in a program which costs next to nothing to launch, promote and sustain. After all, the Lord provided what is needed. Bible verse memorization and related support has to be among the least expensive of endeavors a congregation can undertake and sustain. And even if that were not the case, would it be less significant?

If I might be bold, it seems to me that church leaders need a little more ‘Biblical’ or ‘foundational’, and a little less ‘MBA’, in both thinking and approach in this regard…

What a joy to have the privilege of being called together, even in this life, in the name of our Lord! We are His.

Just think of it - owned by the Creator the universe, part of His family, forever His possession, and predestined to be so even before we came into existence. No matter how many times I consider it, I am once again in awe. It calls to my mind another verse from the old Fanny Crosby Hymn “Redeemed, How I love to proclaim it..”:

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.

How often to do we remember, in the hustle and bustle of daily living, driving to work, dealing with situations, and so on, that we are completely safe in His grasp - this moment and forever? I think that I often forget it, and each time I am distracted and that happens, I dwell momentarily in less joyful place. Of course that lack to safety is imaginary, but it is nonetheless a less joyous place to live.

Do I sound over the top? Well, so be it. That we should be able to glorify His name, what a thought. I pray that we will recall in each moment that wonder, that we are His people apart, and rejoice together in that.

With the discussion of what, why, who and partly how, out of the way, let’s finally look at doing something about it! It has been a long and admittedly somewhat tedious journey in places, but it is trickly to propose somewhat radical change without a reasonably substantial preamble to support it…

I would like to propose a bold approach. I would dearly love to see the effect.

For the congregation (or para-church group):

1. Forget any talk of church growth or similar factors
2. Forget any talk or speculation about increased resources, programs, etc., etc.
3. Forget any emphasis on performance and results

4. Learn a method and use scripture to support it and our own conviction
5. Obtain a bulk supply of New Testaments to give away as needed
6. Train the majority of the congregation in all available venues
7. Practice for comfort even if it seem a bit ariticial
8. Support and encourage all subsequent attempts (irrespective of outcome) to share the Gospel
9. Be open to bringing those shared with to church, our ONLY focus will be on sharing

There you go, the grand experiment. What would happen? Would even the assembly and para-church groups that I am affiliated with be willing to throw caution and worry about growth to the wind, step out boldly in faith in our Lord’s Will, and try it? Maybe it is a challenge as much as a proposal.

Soli Deo Gloria

To train in facilitation or enabling, without encouraging the appropriation of responsibility for the outcome, what are the best tools?

Possibly a good starting point would be to look at tool type(s) which might encourage responsibility for outcoming. Since that is not what we want, it may eliminate some inappropriate approaches.

Fundamentally, any approach into which ‘we’ have direct content input would tend to encourage us to assume responsibility in proportion to our input. Since we at least partially created it, we can claim some of the results. So, how one relates to the material used to articulate the Gospel will effect the degree to which one claims responsibility for the result.

As an aside, I am not including mode of presentation - whether you present the material in the English or other alphabet, or whether you use a note pad, Power Point or pamphlet. That is media, not the material itself. If there is a related issue in this area, it is separate and not addressed here.

To continue, if one were to create a presentation of the Gospel utlilizing a human paradigm of the steps to salvation or one based upon human psychology, then irrespective of how effective or successful it was, it would tend to ensnare the presenter in the responsibility trap. And, the degree of danger would be at least proportional to the amount of personal human input into the paradigm presented. Let me stress again that I am considering the danger to the presenter’s perspective here, not the quality of what is being used.

All this is really just preamble. So, what to do?

Let me state up front that I am unashamedly poaching part of this approach from William Fay (Share Jesus without Fear ISBN:0805418393 - highly recommended), and that I have a strong belief in equiping when possible through hands-on mentoring or training (hey, I teach for a living ). Having said that, I have come to believe that the most appropriate (for the person witnessed to) and safe (from the point of view of the witness) tool is pure, unvarnished Scripture.

Scripture itself presents Scripture as ‘the’ tool for present the Gospel and the road to Salvation. It presents Scripture as the co-agent of the Spirit in effectual calling. Nowhere does it list alternate methods or resources that are needed to make it effective in the original or subsequent eras. Nowhere does it state or imply the as time goes on a little help from man might be either needed or desirable in the work of ‘calling’ the Saint from the world. Since we had no part in the creation of Scripture, it’s functioning in this (or any other regard) is not of us and to claim responsibility would be ludicrous.

What does this mean? Well, to me it means that the best methodology to present the Gospel and at the same leave the work where is belongs (in the hands of the Spirit), is the use of plain Scripture. Not only that, but if calling is effectual, then the real work is happenning behind the scenes. Beyond possibly a style of presention that helps both parties relax a bit, we are not responsible for the material nor the result. Since the presenter is then merely a facilitator, he or she is much less (not completely mind you) likely to grasp at the result, and all the pride, etc., that might go with that path.

The joy is then in celebration of whatever the result may be, since it is the Will of the Lord. If the result is another Saint, the rejoicing is in the work of the Lord, Spirit and Scripture alone. And rejoicing in the privilege of seeing it happen. If the result is resistance, even rejection, then the rejoicing is in the opportunity of acting in simple obedience to our Lord and Saviour. And rejoicing in the fact that we can leave it all in His hands, not ours.

In utilizing this technique, there are certainly many degrees. By this I mean that on one end we have a quite strident approach from Fay’s book, while there are many for whom that would we unsuitable since they have a less gregarious personality. As such, an exact scripted paradigm is not reasonable nor advoacted here. Since we have a spectrum of believer personalities, a set of guidelines or a road map to the Scriptural presentation, preamble, and subsequent support will allow the personality of each believer to shine through in sharing the Gospel.

How have I come to these opinions? I am certainly not an expert. Most of this has evolved through many conversations with other believers about the likelyhood of actually sharing the Gospel and feelings about that, through ideas culled from Fay’s and other books (though there are very few), through sharing the experience of other believers related to numerous instances of sharing the Gospel subsequent to personal evangelism workshops, and lastly, through personal experience, reactions and observation.

Does anecdotal and Scriptural evidence suggest that this is the only way, and that others might not be effective? Not a chance! But I do feel that a simple, clear, honest presentation of Scripture will be used by the Spirit for His ends, and in that we can rejoice in leaving the result to Him. In simple obedience I can’t ask for much more than that.

Next -> Witness Training - A proposal

The discussion so far has been largely to support the suggestion that with the use of simple Scripture as the tool, only very basic technique in sharing it, and all responsibility beyond that left to the Lord, we are in a position to apply a training paradigm fairly universally that aligns well with Biblical principles. The majority of believers that are called to witness might then have the ability to benefit from it.

Does the form and format of this training matter? In my view, it does. As previously discussed, the crux of the problem is overcoming emotional reactions. These reactions occur in almost all cases after the witnessing opportunity appears and before witnessing actually occurs, effectively stopping the process from getting started. The witness reacts internally and then never steps out. In the actual situation there may be all manner of justification and rationalization, but the reality is that the process simply gets blocked.

Since the desire to witness is sincere and the motivation often strong, how does this occur? Again in review, the blocking reaction often originates in feelings of responsibility (in this or any other process). Taking responsibility is ‘trained in’ throughout secular life as a positive and correct reaction. It could be argued that it serves well in some circumstances, but not here.

Here the Lord is the responsible party. The key then is to address these inappropriate feelings of responsibility for the end result. Though we are facilitators in the actions of and Will of the Spirit, our secular training pre-programs us to seize responsibility for not only the facilitation, but also the content, tools and results. As such, whatever training is undertaken would be well advised to provide tools resting firmly and clearly in the Lord, with the participant viewing themselves as being allowed to act a facilitator through the Lord’s Grace, and the result clearly belonging to the Lord alone.

Seems a lot to ask, but in reality it implies simply using the Scripture, and pointing the responsibility for the result where it belongs, to our Sovereign Lord. All of these articles are simply support for that. It may seem (and does to me) that I am belabouring the issues, However, it seems necessary to delve a little deeper in explanation before asking people to take up the challenge.

Next -> Witness Training - What tools?

How would one decide or know who to train? Though it might seem obvious, in some environments you might be called upon to justify the scope.

If the training is arduous, how many of the congregants would be capable of completing it in terms of reasonable commitments of time, background, previous theological training, language skills, or a host of other factors? Many would not be able to participate for one reason or another. Since the Lord proscribed that all participate in sharing the Gospel, then any assistance or enabling in support of that must surely be simple, concise and easily applied.

Next, the internal emotional blocks inhibiting action on the desire to witness would be excaserbated by making an individual responsible for learning complex techniques. The more complex, the more the individual would be likely to feel that they had acquired ‘technique’ and had later caused the result. A direct, simple approach would seem the best paradigm in all respects.

Recalling the guess that 5% of believers had the skills already in place, if even half of the remaining 95% acquired the tools, and even if some nonetheless could not step out, consider the number of additional opportunities that might be acted upon. What an exciting thought, in the service of the Lord. Again, not to gain anything, for that is His call, but for many more to have the joy of simply and obediently sharing the Gospel as commanded.

Would it be possible to offer fairly universal assistance, allowing many more believers to feel enabled, and bold? A limited initial experience indicates yes.

Let me amphasize that, irrespective of all the numbers, theories and such, the issue here  is enabling direct, very personal witnessing. I believe that whatever we can do to enhance this enabling for any believer honours our Lord.

So the answer to “who?” must be “all who will offer themselves”.

Next -> Witness Training - What kind?

We are referring here to church-related preaching vs preaching the Word and Jesus. Good intent, often good message, even good results, but potentially the wrong focus. Why? The Lord takes care of today, not us! The Lord grows the church, not us. This, or course, flies completely in the face of the current church growth and emerging church frameworks.

What does ‘church-related preaching’ look like? Simply put, it refers to preaching that focuses mostly on congregation building (explicitly or implicitly), and what might be positively spun as congregational support matters. The counter pose to this would be preaching that is focused on Scripture in an interpretation or exegetical sense, or even a focus purely on the Word, centering on Jesus and life in Him alone.

Does this sound unrealistic and impractical in the real world. I hope so, because the Lord has been pretty clearly that worldliness, in all it’s forms, is not the road to church success.

Is this to propose that preaching on people issues and family support matters is bad? Not at all. However, when that becomes the consistent focus from any pulpit, exegesis of the Word of God and concomitant surrender to Jesus can easily fall from the front burner. In that situation, the world’s (remember that the world’s message is Satan’s) message that we can trust ourselves for at least the small matters can seductively make inroads. Once that starts to happen, we have the church inadvertently reinforcing the same messages that we are bombarded with constantly from the world. That is the quintessential slippery slope. Worse, this slippery approach is likely to be quite successful and therefor self-perpetuating.

The fact that it is the Word of God that changes hearts must always be front and center in our hearts and minds. It is not interpretation for living life. It is not application. It is not programs, workshops, seminars, nor fellowship groups. These are all good and have a place, but they are not the active agent in the quickening of the heart. They are not what calls the Saints from the world to the Lord. It is the Word of God that does that. And it is the outworking of Sovereign Grace.

Now, is this proposing the we hear only the Scripture read in Greek or KJV, irrespective of the linguistic abililites of the audience. Definietly not. Though the quickening of the heart is a supernatural occurance, and the understanding of scripture is revelational as well as intellectual, that work is certainly facilitated by simple understanding of the language that is being used. As such, a translation appropriate to the congregation or listener is the jsutifiable choice within reason. Some may ‘prefer’ one translation or another, just as some may have a denominational preference, but that is a tiffle compared to a focus on other than scripture.

Surely it is Jesus alone and Scripture alone that is the key. The Word is the one and only sword of the Lord, cutting the world from the heart of the Saint. So let us support our brother and sisters in the Lord, but always maintain the concentration on the Lord and the Word.

What would happen if there was equiping, and something actually came of it? Just out of curiousity, let’s kick around some numbers, and compare them speculatively with the situation now and some other possible approaches to this issue.

Let us begin by remembering that this is NOT of us. It is the work of the Lord, and we are just obedient servants, privileged to have the opportunity to stand with Him. Further, our discussion is not to reduce in any way our view of the complete Sovereignty of our Lord in all matters, including these. Though we may talk about situations or paradigms, we must keep uppermost in our minds that this is about enabling direct, very personal witness of one person to another in the name of Christ.

At the moment, in the many of this city’s congregations (I would be very surprised if it varied significantly in most congregations or places, at least in North America), the percentage of folks actively witnessing, even occasionally, is very low, maybe tiny. Let’s hazzard a guess at 5% but I would wager it is actually lower. Even if those folks are the ones with natural talent in witnessing-type presentation skills and through the Lord’s Grace they have great success, they would represent a very small number of witnessing events per year when averaged over the congregations as a whole.

Possibly a congregation (or para-church group) might as a result include one actual witnessing event per year for every 15 or 20 congregants. Does that sound too low? I would say it it likely too high. In any case, is that what the Biblical command to go forth means? I don’t think so. Is the situation that extreme? My observations would certainly indicate it is.

Does this set of guessed statistics mean that the Lord, through the Spirit, only provided witnessing opportunities for a tiny number of people from the entire congregation to a few people in whom the effectual calling of the Lord was present? Again, that would be completely at odds with Biblical statements such as “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38. Even common sense would indicate that it is not a case of too few opportunities.

So it would appear that the situation is one of abundant available opportunity, combined with blocked ambition to act of some sort, within the Body of Believers.

If the ratio of people able to act on witnessing opportunities was increased by even a few, the number of people hearing the Gospel would be larger. That would surely be something to rejoice about! Not that there would necessarily be more conversions, for that is the exclusive purview of the Lord, but His name and the Gospel would be more frequently and clearly raised up in obedience. And that is a reason to rejoice!

Next -> Witness Training - Who?

We listen to the message from the church and para-church, exhorting us to obey the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). We hear it from the pulpit, in Sunday School, in the lobby, in the small group, in youth group, in Christian association meetings, and many other venues. To paraphrase - “Just do it”, we are told.

Because you are a Christian (whether for 1 day or 4 decades), are you equiped intellectually or emotionally to step right out in witness? Judging by the number of believers who do so, countless conversations about it, and other annecdotal evidence, I would have to conclude that the answer is no. Based upon these sources, I would actually go farther and say, in most cases: not equiped, not practically supported, not effectively aided, not followed up, just exhorted. Doesn’t that sound impractical?

In fairness, this is neither deliberate nor negligent. Those (including us all at times) doing the exhorting are very sincere, and often not well equiped themselves. Even it they are equiped and skilled, their equiping is often based upon an approach grounded in and evolved from their own faith. As such, it may not be easily transferable, and in many cases they are not skilled in communicating nor transferring it. In fact, if they are good at it, they may not see what the problem is at all.

Does this mean that average Christian does not wish to obey the command of our Lord to go forth boldly? Again, not at all. Most wish sincerely to do so. It might be suggested that we do not go forth simply because we make excuses. That is likely partially true, but the essence of it is that many, if not most, simply do not have the tools that would give them the confidence and internal support to make the attempt. Without the confidence that at least rudimentary equiping brings, it will simply not happen in most cases.

Does equiping involve developing advance theological or scriptural knowledge? To exaggerate a bit, do you need an MDIV to witness? While those skills are certainly valuable and might occasionally be useful, they are not necessary. All that is necessary is a very basic knowledge. If that were not the case, the Lord would be setting up a system that excluded all but a few, with the rest doomed to failure. It would seem clear that He does not have that in mind. Remember that it is the Spirit that does the actual work, not the presenter. A requirement for special knowledge would move the onus back to the presenter.

So, what is needed? Basic, simple, transferable technique, and consistent training.

With the confidence that normally develops from basic training and practice, there is a much higher probability that most, if not all, Christians can be equiped emotionally to feel that they could step out with the Gospel. Notice that we said emotionally, not practically, intellectually, knowledgeably, nor any other ‘ably’. Not that those components are not needed, but discussion with numerous believers would indicate that it is the emotional reaction that mostly holds us back. Even rudimentary equiping begins to bridge that gap, bringing at least the possibility of action where none was emotionally possible before.

Is this process necessary for all believers? Likely not. But experience and honest evaluation would indicate that it is necessary to one degree or another for most. Is witnessing possible with out this approach? Certainly, for the Lord fundamentally equips all believers through the Spirit. However, if the number of the Saints stepping out with ease and confidence today is any indication, helping eachother in this way would assist us all.

What a joyous thought, to help each believer gain the basic confidence and security to act in this most basic obedience to our Lord!

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

Let us use the gifts that He has given us, through His Grace, to equip eachother for joyous obedience.

Next -> Witness, by the Numbers

In recent (and most likely future) articles of this thread we have been examining what might appear to be shortcomings of the church, congregational life, and the focus of some preaching. Though these are real issues that need to be examined and hopefully corrected, let us not interpret this for even a moment as taking anything away from the difficult burdens of the preacher (or member for that matter) in today’s congregational environment.

In a world proactively preaching relativism, pluralism and the absolute sovereignty of modern thought (in other words, man) in all matters, the church is potentially the only remnant of truth and the sovereignty of God. The struggle of these two mindsets surrounds, and is a silent participant in, most interactions. God is sovereign in every case, but the conflict is nonetheless felt while living in the world.

The burden laid upon the preacher in the present day church is a difficult one. A sincere soul is often torn between the call of the Lord to preach the Word plainly and directly, and the call of the congregation that lives in the world, possibly with quite worldly expectations concerning church performance, growth, programs, services and more. The church may be view by some as a service organization as much as (if not more than) a conduit for the Word of God alone. This is not deliberate, but it is an understandable byproduct of organizational existence in the world. From this can arise great stress for those upholding the truth.

Further, the clergyman may be viewed as being ‘employed’ by the church, and is himself living in the world. He is not impervious to the call of the world, and he is a favourite target for Satan et al. It is all too easy for him to be lured by the expectations and performance values of world, as can any man. Every man is part natural man while living on earth, and as such requires continual protection from the earthly ways of the evil one. This is expecially so for the Preacher.

Let us give praise to our Lord for sustaining our Pastors, and credit to the Pastor who, in the face of wordly pressures encroaching on and in the church, can sustain a Biblical focus. Great encouragement is needed by each one, to help sustain the Biblical focus in the face of modern pressures.

As one views this senario, the singular value of the Biblical perscription of dependence only upon the Lord and Scripture comes sharply into focus. Everything else is suspectible, to one degree or another, to the world. The values of the world press in from all sides (including the inside). Since everything in the world is of the world, this can not be otherwise. Our only hope is the rock of faith, dependence upon the Lord, and concommitant attention to His Word. All else are the byproducts of men, and as such not of the truth.

As it is written in Scripture: “I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.” Ecclesiates 1:14. The only path is through the Word and to the Lord.

Let us hold those who are called to preach and teach up to the Lord in prayer, that they may hold fast to the Word alone, depending upon Jesus alone, and leaving the result to the hand of the Lord alone. And let us thank them for their courage in the face of a daunting task.

Sola Christos. Sola Scriptura.

Within the box there is freedom, the only freedom - both in Juggling and in Christ. All you tend to hear, however, is platitudes about outside the box.

Within the physical constraints imposed by the patterns we learn and rehearse in juggling, we can express an almost unlimited freedom of creative expression. That expression would not be possible without the underpining of base technique that is ‘forgotten’ while creating. This is true both in individual, as well as group, juggling activities. Freedom of expression exists inside the box.

Pablo Picasso was quoted roughly as follows: To paint in the abstract one must first become a master of technique. Once that mastery is acquired, one must forget how to paint and just create. Forgetting how to paint does not entail never knowing. The initial discipline must be mastered first, or the real work is not possible.

With some writer’s licence, one could paraphrase the above and say that the currently popular (and mostly misunderstood or misrepresented) ‘thinking outside the box’ in essence requires a perfectly defined box in place all the time.

This is certainly the case for juggling, and in my opinion also for the Christian life.

In the Christian life, the more we master the basic of dependence upon our Lord and the Holy Spirit in all matters, the more complete is our effective freedom in life and in the development of our personal potential. He created and called us for the sole purpose of glorifying Him, so in our most complete development we do so most fully. This is accomplished within Him (ie. the box). Not only that, but while we are most completely “in Him”, our expressions of freedom and complete abandon can not do other than both please and glorify Him. We do not have to strive to do so, nor fret that we will not, for the more complete our surrender, the more impossible it is to do otherwise. As such, the fundamental goal is surrender. And this surrender is within the box, not outside it.

Furthermore, this surrender is not a passive, wimpy act. It is not some blissed out new age’y state of inactivity. It is the pro-active seeking to live in Him - actively. Immersion in Christ implies His persona, and that is not ambivalent to life.

As we seek Him in pro-active worship, immersion in His Word, and desire to please Him, we are absolutely secure in the box, a box that He designed and brought us into being to occupy. Therein is complete abandon and freedom of expression - the fullness of our potential.

Sola Christos!!! It is always that, in every situation.

In words of our Lord “I am the way”. In Greek, what He says is often not apparent in the usual translations. The Greek uses a very strong imperative. Picture, for a moment, standing on the table yelling “I, and only I, am the way, the only way“. Not that our Lord would stand on the table and yell, but it is a useful way to convey the imperative so we get the flavour of the statement’s strength.

Harkening back to Job in Unexpected pathways, our place is a humble one, glorifying Jesus as we sit or walk in His shadow. His imperative statement makes it clear that in His shadow is the correct place for us.

Now, does being humble position, glorifying Him, mean that we are not active nor accomplishing things as we live in the world? Is it spending evey minute in quiet, still adoration? Not at all. It implies action, directed by and drawing our strength through our closeness to Him. Acting, but at the same time resting in looking to Him, as we walk in the world.

This is part of why the saints are ‘other worldly’. The combination of demeanors that we are describing is not of this world. It is in this world, but of the Lord, since we only move under His authority when we are in His shadow.

To pro-actively move in the shadow of the Creator of the universe. It is hard to imagine Grace beyond that. Praise be His name.

Juggling together successfully (collaboration) assumes that the base skills are in place, and at a usable level for both participants. In the Christian life, Scripture says that our interaction should be an outworking of our active relationship with the Lord. In our interactions, one must be assumed that we have that relationship in place in at least a rudimentary but proactive sense. Certainly we are a work in progress, to be completed in meeting Him at the time of his choosing, but we are assumed to be on the road while we interact in this world.

So with our skill set in-process, we come together to share and help each other on the road. This is the core of collaboration, and there is greater joy in traveling the road together, rejoicing in both success and difficulty.

In juggling, we practice progressively more complex activities together. This builds both combined and personal skills. We accomplish more together than alone, but it is done on the base already, and continually, developed. Even more, in our errors (please see my previous post concerning the necessity of errors and correction) we have encouragement to continue, accountability to try harder or accept correction, and the experience of the reality of working through life in unison.

The Christian life is once again very similar, but with more far-reaching effects (into eternity). Having been established in Him and embracing this life from that place, we have (through the Spirit and our actions stemming from being “in Him”) developed basic life skills. The most significant anchoring skill is an overarching dependence on Christ in all things. In that dependence is obedience to His Word and His ways. That grants us an ongoing development path.

We then come together as brothers and sisters. This collaboration is in living life, as opposed to the more narrow juggling activities. However, most of the same lessons are to be learned. In working together at the Christian life we have encouragement, accountability, correction and rejoicing. All of these are dependent for both their basic actualization and their intensity upon the degree to which we submit to the Spirit and to the Lord. Where in juggling we have been responsible ourselves for developing and retainikng through reinforcement the basic skill sets, in our life in the Lord He does the work and supplies the benefits based upon our skills of dependence and obedience.

What a joy it is to rest in Him, with the sure knowledge of His supplying what is needed to complete the journey to His side. In the joy of Juggling there is reflection of that, and of the joy of walking together with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Coming next -> Joyful Collaboration - Complete Freedom

What battle would that be? Spiritual warfare, of course.

What do you mean forgotten? How can one suggest that the church is off doing something else?

Well, maybe forgotten is a tad strong. Maybe found more comfortable to overlook, or inadvertently unemphasized whilst working on increasing the local congregation, might be a better characterization. After all, when actually addressed, this topic might trouble some people (a definite possibility). In any case, let’s have a peak, shall we…

We regularly hear preaching about everyday struggles. However, they are often presented in the context of, or with overtones of, modern psychology, with some biblical references. They are definitely not present for what they are, the pitch battle between principalities and the forces of Heaven. But the Bible makes it clear that they are exactly that: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12. How much more clearly can it be spelled out?

Since this is spiritual warfare, the battle is certainly the Lord’s, and He has complete control. But the struggles are played out in the lives of the Saints and in the world. Those are the lives that the church is charged with assisting, whose arming for battle the church is charged with facilitating, and to whom (at least partially) preaching is addressed. That being the case, why do we not hear more direct discussion of the real battle, and exhortation for the only effective armour endorsed in Scripture - prayer and dedication to the straight, unvarnished Word?

The Lord has clearly layed out the proper attitude. It is to put on His Word, focus upon Him (”Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” Ephesian 6:13), and to treat each other with love. In essence, that’s it.

What He has stipulated is actually quite simple, at least in terms of getting started. Rehearsing His Word is staightforward. Focusing on Him in frequent prayer and mindfulness is possible to start. And loving one another as we focus on Him together can be appreciated and worked upon, even if we struggle at times. The point of all of this is to basically put ourselves in the position where we stand behind Him, protected by Him, and the battle is His.

If we don’t do that, and if instead we draw common sense solutions and attitude towards life into play, then the battle becomes our own. When that happens we are in big trouble. We can not successfully fight the powers of the air and of this world. We are not strong enough. And so, people succumb. Only standing in the shadow of Jesus are we strong enough, because then it is not us, nor our battle. It is Him alone, and He is strong enough..

Ladies and gentlemen, I choose to stand in the shadow the Lord of all creation. I am weak and can not stand alone. He is my only armour, and I love Him alone. Let us stand together, safe beneath His cloak.

Sola Christos

In juggling, the primary patterns must be second nature (habit – as mentioned before). But habits grow dim if not exercised and the juggler must continue to rehearse the basic moves on an ongoing basis.

So it is in our relationship with our Lord. After conversion, our initial and primary relationship is with Him. Our salvation is not the question, but continued, consistent interaction through the Word and Prayer maintain and develop the link as it is experience moment by moment in life. So, as in juggling, our primary skills are reinforced by continued rehearsal.

Our patterns of life, in the moment, are more often than not determined by the habitual behaviours that we have rehearsed. As we rehearse dependence in prayer, and the habit of seeking guidance for even small events from the Word, we are forming the habits that will regulate our unconscious approach in life. This will be particularly true in those situation where we don’t have time, or are too distracted by the moment, to reflect.

Next, let us not forget, or discount, the significance of spiritual warfare in this examination. While we are rehearsing our dependence and reliance on the Lord, we are simultaneously removing dependence upon Satan and the world. Remember that according to Scripture, Satan in always pro actively seeking to make inroads and distract us from the direction of our Lord. The Lord’s flock are Satan’s greatest focus and challenge. When we are not rehearsing dependence on the Lord, we are by our ‘natural’ nature implicitly rehearsing dependence upon the world. One or the other is always occurring. Let us rehearse for eternity in the Lord.

In our individual practice in juggling, it is similar, though the consequences of failure are thankfully not eternal. Failure to practice and retain (or hopefully improve) base skill sets results is their slowly being extinguished. We are thus practicing ‘not juggling’ when this is the case.

In both juggling and the Christian life, rehearsal, or failure to do so, is of great consequence not only for the individual, but for collaborative activity, as we shall see…

Coming next -> Joyful Collaborations - Together in Process