This week’s freebie is a helpful book called How People Change.  Often when we think of the struggles the Christian faces, we turn to law.  In order to change, I must follow a certain set of laws (whether created by me or taken from the Bible).  When you break the laws you set up, you feel guilt, shame, and frustration.  Change seems impossible.  You want to change, and you desire to be more like Christ, but you just can’t seem to beat that temptation that keeps rearing its ugly head.

Often we see salvation in the following light:

1. God saves us by grace through the work of Christ on the cross and we are justified before a holy and righteous God.
2. We are new creations, called to live in the grace by which we have been saved.
3. God sets us down after he saves us, tells us to be holy, and sits back and waits to pounce on us when we are unable to live perfect holy lives.

I’m not sure how many of us would vocalize our salvation this way, but it is how we practically live out our Christian lives.  We act as if God’s salvation isn’t good enough.  The formula we use (again, without ever vocalizing it) is salvation=God’s work to save me+my work to keep myself saved.  Don’t misread me.  I am not saying that we have no responsibility when it comes to living lives of holiness.  What I am saying is that the means by which we change is not willpower or our determination apart from God.  The means by which we change is God himself!  And God has given us a community of believers to live in so that we can “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6).  Change is a process, not an instantaneous happening.

In summary, the publisher’s blurb of the book helpfully outlines the book:

How People Change explains the biblical pattern for change in a clear, practical way that you can apply to the challenges of daily life. A changed heart is the bright promise of the gospel. When the Bible talks about the gift of a new heart, it doesn’t mean a heart that is immediately perfected, but a heart that is capable of being changed. Jesus’ work on the cross targets our hearts, our core desires and motivations, and when our hearts change, our behavior changes. But change involves more than a biblical formula: You will see how God is at work to make you the person you were created to be. That powerful, loving, redemptive relationship is at the heart of all positive change you experience.

So all you have to do for a chance to win a free copy of How People Change is fill out the information below.  Sign-up will end at noon on Saturday, so sign up now!

The next book on our reading list is Jerry Bridge’s The Pursuit of Holiness. This book is on many evangelicals’ top list of must-read books.  It, along with Stott’s The Cross of Christ and (at least in some circles) Piper’s Desiring God are books that challenge how we think about God, Christ, the cross, and the world.  But The Pursuit of Holiness is more than a theological treatise; from its opening pages it brands itself a book of immense practicality and application.  Even the title screams application as we think of holiness as something given by God and coming only from God, yet it is also something to be pursued.  This tension between the action of God and the action of man spans the book and is instrumental in tearing down the excuses that we give in order to escape what is inevitably our own responsibility of pursing a life that is pleasing to God.

In order to better understand this book (and the subsequent book on our reading list by the same author, entitled The Pursuit of Godliness), it is wise to know a bit about the author.  So until next week, here is a short biography of Jerry Bridges found on christianbook.com:

The Pursuit of Holiness. Trusting God. The Practice of Godliness. The Joy of Fearing God. . . . One look at these book titles gives you a clear indication of what author Jerry Bridges is all about—teaching readers how they can know and understand God in a deep and meaningful way, and how that knowledge can literally transform their lives.

Jerry’s own life changed while serving as an officer in the United States Navy. It was during his military career that he first came into contact with The Navigators, an organization committed to this holy mission: “to reach, disciple, and equip people to know Christ and make Him known through successive generations.” Jerry soon felt God’s call to work for The Navigators ministry, and, in time, he became the vice president of its corporate affairs, applying his University of Oklahoma education. His relationship with The Navigators began in 1955, and it’s still going strong. Today, Jerry is a staff member with The Navigators Community Ministries Group, where he is engaged primarily in a Bible teaching ministry.

One major avenue for Jerry’s seasoned teaching abilities has been books. He’s written six to date: the four above, Transforming Grace, and The Discipline of Grace, which won a Gold Medallion Book Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. The Practice of Godliness has been honored as well with sales of more than 400,000 copies (and counting). But it is The Pursuit of Holiness for which Jerry is best known.

Selling over a million copies, Pursuit explains clearly how God has equipped us to lead holy lives, how reason and emotion influence our will, and how habits and personal discipline play a part in holy living. One satisfied reader, whose opinion is shared by many more, reviews the book on amazon.comand says that Pursuit “is one of the greatest motivating books I have ever read. Jerry Bridges, through illumination from God, reveals what holiness is . . . and what that means to a Christian life.”

What Jerry Bridges means to his audience is evident—he’s a trusted, reliable source of spiritual wisdom that always leads them to the source of all things right and true: God.

[For next week purchase the book and read the preface and chapter one.  Every week following next week we will take one chapter at a time.  Good reading!]

This post is written by Steve Leach, a member of Sojourn who lives in an area of Louisville known as Shelby Park.  Steve has been leading other Sojourners in that community to love their neighbors and practices what he preaches.  You can read the Part 1 of this blog here and Part 2 here.

This post is written by Steve Leach, a member of Sojourn who lives in an area of Louisville known as Shelby Park.  Steve has been leading other Sojourners in that community to love their neighbors and practices what he preaches.  You can read the Part 1 of this blog here.

Perhaps the best biblical example of seeing that the truly radical part of mission is on the part of God, as we simply seek to step into those good works which he has prepared for us (Eph 2:10), is the Exodus.  Is what was radical about the Exodus the fact that the Israelites went on a walk en masse?  No, the radical part is that the Creator of the universe called a people to himself, parted the Red Sea and led them by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night (Exodus 13).  But there is a radical component on the part of the Israelites, and we are called to share in it.  It is radical for God’s chosen people to shun the worldly desire for self-glorification and self-reliance and to step out in faith, trusting that “the LORD will provide” (Gen 22:14).  So we must acknowledge that the practical outworking of so-called radical mission on our part may not seem so radical in and of itself.  This brings me to the walk in the park.

Sojourner Paul Michael and I recently took a walk around Shelby Park to discuss these very issues, and to get to know one another better as we seek to minister to the neighborhood.  We pondered such questions as how to minister to stand-offish drug-dealers, is there any spiritual benefit to a street clean-up, is it safe to prayer walk at night in the park, why is that guy wearing a mini-skirt and high heels and how can we maintain a consistent presence in the neighborhood to bless both the lost and our Christian brothers and sisters.  A funny thing happened as we took a stroll (no, Robert Plant didn’t show up wearing skinny jeans).  We met Indian Joe, Redman and Keith sitting on a bench and talked to them about the neighborhood and how much it had changed.  Then we talked to Rebe, who works at the community center, and Michael, a high school junior with hopes of attending Georgetown University.  We then ran into Michael, a retired Marine (Semper Fi!) and St. Stephen’s member who lives right across from the 930.

Paul and I also walked upon what looked like kid’s chalk art drawn on the sidewalk until a closer inspection revealed many vulgar phrases mixed in with the drawings.  Such is the nature of Shelby Park.  Balancing the armed robberies, murders, prostitution and the like is the presence of several strong churches (including Bates Memorial and Immanuel Baptist) and many, many Christian residents.  Paul and I began to experience what happened to the Israelites, minus Pharaoh’s army of course.  As we stepped out in our neighborhood, just seeking to be faithful servants (and not intending to have Gospel-centered conversations), God radically stepped in and blessed our day.  We finished up by playing an hour or so of street-ball with the neighbor kids.  Lest you scoff at the description, both Paul and I lost blood in the contest.  If you are a cynic, discounting the “basketball” ministry, then you should have seen the kids the next day when Paul, his wife Kimi and an out-of-town guest stopped by while the kids were on the front porch.  The excitement and joy of seeing the “big man” were a sight to behold.  Sometimes simply showing our neighbors some attention is the foundation of truly blessed relationships.

To be continued tomorrow…

This post is written by Steve Leach, a member of Sojourn who lives in an area of Louisville known as Shelby Park.  Steve has been leading other Sojourners in that community to love their neighbors and practices what he preaches.

Walkin’ in the park just the other day, baby what do you think I saw?

–Led Zeppelin

A common question among Sojourners is “what does ________ look like?”  We are concerned with the practical application of the Gospel in our lives individually and collectively as we seek to be God’s agents of change throughout our city.  As a SEED coach for the Shelby Park neighborhood cluster, the question becomes a matter of applying the elders’ vision for Gospel transformation to our particular neighborhood and ministry.  While the Good News does not vary, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8), the mission field does so wildly.  The 200-yard trek from the 930 to St. Vincent’s may involve a greater shift in culture than traveling from the Midtown campus to the East campus.  That being so, I want to attempt to demystify and simplify what mission looks like, with the hope of drawing more Sojourners to mission, not only in Germantown/Shelby Park, but wherever you happen to live.

While SEED is the “mercy ministry” at Sojourn, I will use mercy and mission interchangeably throughout because as we build stronger relationships with our neighbors and get more involved in our surrounding neighborhoods, the lines become blurred.  This is why, in Ministries of Mercy, Tim Keller insists over and over that word and deed ministries are “interdependent” and not independent.  If we do no more than care for the physical needs of the poor, we’re no different than secular organizations while caring only for their spiritual well-being to the neglect of physical needs is a “dead” outreach (James 2:14-18).  Our leaders have pointedly called us to mission, echoing the “Great Commission” of the risen Christ in Matthew 28.  What does that entail?  How do you get involved?

So often I see folks coming to Mercy Monday expecting some great event, only to seem dejected that they are going on a prayer walk down Mary Street or to visit a homebound neighbor.  We seem to bring our preconceived notions of mission with us and play the role of Martha, so distracted with our duties and ideals of mercy that we almost miss out on the Lord’s work in our midst (Luke 10:38-42).  It’s as if we, who have been saved Sola Gratia, by grace alone, think that we can somehow work up the effort necessary, by meticulously planned events and grand schemes, to save our neighborhoods.  I am not advocating a purely off-the-cuff ministry by any means, nor downplaying the role of such events as the Fall Festival and Medical Clinics (or the upcoming Art in the Park on May 8: hint, hint).  What I’m saying is that those very same folks who were suspect of the missional value of prayer walking, or a street clean-up, or a home visit, return with their eyes opened and a new hunger for serving their neighbors.  They begin to appreciate that the truly radical part of mission is on the part of God, as we simply seek to step into those good works which he has prepared for us (Eph 2:10).

To be continued tomorrow…

This is our last week in Bonhoeffer’s Life Together, a helpful read that has taken us through the practical aspects of living in a community of other sinful believers.  (Next week I will give a brief introduction to Jerry Bridges’ The Pursuit of Holiness, which you can purchase here.*See note at bottom of article)  I hope you have been as encouraged by Bonhoeffer’s writing as I have been.  In past weeks we have looked at community in general; how our day-to-day lives with others and on our own  is to be lived to God’s glory and our fellow Christians’ edification; and some specifics of how we can minister to one another in community.

This week Bonhoeffer moves to confession and communion.  In the opening to this chapter, Bonhoeffer makes an astute observation: “Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous.  So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy.  The fact is that we are sinners!”  Bonhoeffer recognizes that we are great hiders of our sin, so much so that we are astounded when someone comes into our lives who is open enough to share his sins with his brothers and sisters.  When we do not feel free to be what we are–sinners–then we cannot hope to grow into the maturity that Christ would have us grow into.

But Bonhoeffer argues that in true community, true confession takes place.  ”You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner.”  True confession, argues Bonhoeffer, is necessary for sanctification and is the entrance into true, biblical community and fellowship:

In confession the break-through to community takes place.  Sin demands to have a man by himself.  It withdraws him from the community.  The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation.  Sin wants to remain unknown.

Bonhoeffer says that “confession should deal with concrete sins.”  Why not just confess sin generally?  Do my brothers really need to know everything?  Bonhoeffer argues that they do:

People usually are satisfied when they make a general confession.  But one experiences the utter perdition and corruption of human nature, in so far as this ever enters into experience at all, when one sees his own specific sins.

So when you meet with brothers or sisters in Christ and are confessing sin, do you stick to generalities, or do you confess concrete sins?  I tend to be general in confession to others, and this word from Bonhoeffer is a helpful balance for me, personally.

So if we agree with Bonhoeffer that we should confess, and that we should confess specific sins, the next logical question is: To whom do we confess? Bonhoeffer’s answer is worth quoting in full:

Anybody who lives beneath the Cross and who has discerned in the Cross of Jesus the utter wickedness of all men and of his own heart will find there is no sin that can ever be alien to him.  Anybody who has once been horrified by the dreadfulness of his own sin that nailed Jesus to the Cross will no longer be horrified by even the rankest sins of a brother.  Looking at the Cross of Jesus, he knows the human heart.  He knows how utterly lost it is in sin and weakness, how it goes astray in the ways of sin, and he also knows that it is accepted in grace and mercy.  Only the brother under the cross can hear a confession.

Even the most uneducated Christian who has been bought by the blood of Christ and understands the sinfulness of the human heart and the mercy of the cross is more trained to hear the confession of a brother than any professional who has been trained in the psychology of man who does not yet know Christ or his own sinfulness.  This should be truly freeing for the “average Christian.”  You don’t need a degree in human psychology or even a formal education; you simply must be a follower of Christ who understands the depth of the sinfulness of your own heart and the grace found in the cross of Jesus Christ.  How freeing is this truth!

So are you in confession?  If you are a man, do you have brothers with whom you meet on a regular basis and confess sins, encouraging and spurring one another forward in godliness?  If you are a woman, do you have sisters with whom you meet on a regular basis and confess sins, spurring one another forward in godliness?  If not, I encourage you to do this.  Find two other brothers (if you are a man) or sisters (if you are a woman) and form an accountability “triad.”  It is easy for two brothers or sisters to get into a rhythm of allowing exemptions for sins and being lax in rebuke–but a third person balances the meeting and brings a new dynamic to confession.  So let us confess our sins to one another and grow in holiness!

*CORRECTION:  After reading the preface to The Practice of Godliness, which was what I originally put in the post that we were going to start next week, I realized that we should begin with Bridge’s The Pursuit of Holiness.  You can purchase the book here.  Sorry for any  confusion.