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I love Biblical accounts of people who took critical actions, often without a lot of press, turning the tide of God’s story. Examples include the young man who saved the Apostle Paul from ambush (Acts 23.11 – 22), Joseph of Nazareth who protected the infant Jesus (Matthew 1 and 2), and Barnabas, who led the acceptance of Paul (Saul of Taurus) (Acts 9.26 – 28) and later recalled Paul into active ministry (Acts 11.19 – 26).

This time of year it’s easy to overlook another Joseph, Joseph of Arimathea:

⁵⁰ Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. ⁵¹ He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. (Luke 23.50 – 53, NKJV)

Recalling yesterday’s blog on not following a crowd to do evil, that’s precisely what Joseph had done–not going along with the council. I understand that most crucifixion victims were just thrown into a common grave. That aside, a person of Jesus’ means would not have been buried in a tomb hewn out of a rock. But Joseph provided Jesus a rich man’s burial, fulfilling Isaiah 53.9: “And they made His grave with the wicked– But with the rich at His death.” And Jesus’ burial in a real, identifiable tomb made possible the discovery of the empty tomb and the resurrection.

¹  Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ² Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” ³ Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. ⁴ So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. ⁵ And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. (John 20.1 – 8, NKVJ, emphasis mine)

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It seems we have a plethora of protests against one person or another for one reason or another. Students, especially, seem to quick to voice outrage in mass, and, what’s sadder, university presidents seem to give into them.

But in rereading events of Passion Week, I learn that such behavior isn’t new. Manipulated crowds make demands of the authority figure who gives in.

¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. ¹² And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” ¹⁴ And Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” ¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Mark 15.11 – 15, ESV)

Jesus’ crucifixion, humanly speaking, came from the same kinds of forces at play in our society today.

You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. (Exodus 23.2, ESV)

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I love it when people better known than I are saying the same things I said! I stumbled onto an article “No More One Night Stands,” by Allen White, whom I don’t know. It’s not about illicit dalliances; it’s about churches and Christian organizations putting their faith in big events. 

He writes: 

A classic example is the Promise Keepers movement in the 1990’s. The dynamic of bringing tens of thousands of men together in a stadium was truly inspiring. Every man pledged to be a better husband, father, brother, and son…and they really wanted to. I really wanted to. Before long, Promise Keepers inevitably became promise breakers. There were some exceptions. The issue centered around the lack of a plan. There was no next step for the men to take in order to keep those promises. This isn’t just my observation. This is the conclusion Randy Phillips, the former president of Promise Keepers, reached.

I wrote two blogs on this:

• “Effectiveness of the spectacular,” which should have been titled “The ineffectiveness of the spectacular.” Jesus fed 5,000+, raised a widow’s son from the dead in front of A LOT of people, and there were only 120 believers in the upper room before Pentecost. 
• “Spectacular events:” Passover, the Red Sea crossing, and Sinai were not enough to keep the Israelites following God. 
  

We put too much weight on the event, even the Sunday morning sermon. We preach a sermon on, say, anger, quoting all the appropriate scripture. Some of those who have an anger problem think, “Yes! I need to do something about my anger.” But that’s the end of it. It is, as Allen White says, a “one-night stand.” (Or “one-day stand!”) Instead, the pastor should refer people to a course particularly for anger or to existing men’s or women’s small groups where through accountability relationships over time, God could have a chance to work.

By contrast, I once heard a pastor preach on money, and he followed his sermon with three possible action points, including a course, another event, and meetings with a Christian financial planner. That’s doing it the right way!

Allen writes:

For every event a church plans, you must ask the question: What’s the next step? Decisions without steps and support lead to discouragement and failure… If you are responsible for these events, then you can insist on a next step. If you’re not, then you could certainly recommend one, and even offer to run it.

I couldn’t agree more.

Paul’s challenge to Pastor Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.7 – 16 assumes that learning to live as a disciple of Jesus is a process. It includes teaching to be sure. But there are also the daily disciplines, not only for the pastor but also for the people:

Train yourself for godliness…command and teach these things…set the believers an example…practice these things, immerse yourself in them…keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.

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Work is a great thing! I’m at the Colorado Springs Subaru dealer this morning having a recalled air bag sensor replaced, and I’m always in awe. There are hundreds of workers here selling cars, fixing cars, stocking parts, tracking all of it, etc., etc. The nice young man who checked me in called it an “organized circus.”

The fellow customer I sat next to is studying to be in the computer field. Another great line of work. He wants to go into cybersecurity. How critical that is! He seemed a little embarrassed when he told me his former job was garbage collection. But I told him that is a VERY important job! I’ve been in countries that didn’t have it.

Let’s give thanks for all the workers that make our lives possible. And let’s give thanks for our own privilege of work. Our work matters.

Six days you shall labor, and do all your work. (Exodus 20.9, ESV)

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3.23, 24)

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I was talking at church the other day with a friend I hadn’t seen for a while. A Patriot fan, it didn’t take him long to say, “I’m still basking in the glow of the Super Bowl.” Not a Patriot fan, I responded, “Well, I graduated from Clemson,” referring, of course, to the national football championship. He said, “Well, don’t tell my wife since she’s an Alabama fan.” Then I said, thinking of the Clemson game, “It was really ugly” (to beat Alabama 44-16). And he said, “Yes, it was. Who thought we could hold them to three points?”

We were talking about two different games! Two one-way conversations.

But we often do the same thing with our prayer times. We read the Bible, then put it down while we pray over our prayer list, rather than responding to what we just read in scripture. That’s why we teach time with God as Read, Reflect, RESPOND, Record.

Try it if you haven’t already. Read a short passage, and when something jumps out at you (God speaking!), take some time to pray that back to God. Make it a two-way conversation!

Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. (Exodus 33.11, ESV)

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At a memorial service the other day the pastor described the deceased as one who loved adventure: “He liked to say, ‘If everything is under control, you aren’t going fast enough!'” Then the pastor quoted from The Hobbit the conversation that became the opening for my book Join the Adventure! I was inspired all over again, and I reproduce the book’s opening for you here:

In The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, prequel to Lord of the Rings, Gandalf, the wizard, approaches Bilbo Baggins:

Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.

Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them …

This is remarkably similar to a conversation recorded in the Bible: an angel appears out of nowhere and challenges Gideon:

And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”   (Judges 6.12 – 14)

Bilbo and Gideon both said, “Who, me?”

God has an adventure in mind for all of us…for each of us—not a collective “we” in some general way but for you, specifically. Is there anyone in your circle of friends, acquaintances, neighbors, co-workers, etc., that has a need—a physical, emotional, or spiritual need? If it’s a spiritual need, is there anyone in your circle who doesn’t go to your church to hear your pastor preach? What do you think God’s plan is that these people’s needs are met? Once, Jesus looked around and saw people with needs:

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9.35, 36)

What was Jesus’ solution to those needs? 

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9.37-38)

Or, as Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message,

“What a huge harvest! How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!” The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. (Matthew 9.37 – 10.1)

The solution is you and I, and we need not feel any more qualified than Bilbo Baggins, Gideon, or any of Jesus’ twelve disciples, who, in Matthew 10, didn’t know much and hadn’t really been trained to do much. 

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Here’s a story that reinforces what I wrote yesterday about reading the Bible for ourselves.

I had taught daily time with God to the staff of a small church, and the pastor encouraged everyone to give it a try. The pastor himself got up early the next morning, and here’s the way he tells it:

I decided to read Romans, and I got my Bible, my journal, my commentary, and my Greek New Testament. I used all four for a couple days until I said to myself, “That’s not what Bob taught us to do!” So I put away my commentary and my Greek New Testament and settled down to “read, reflect, respond, record,” just like Bob taught us. And I said to myself, “This is insanely simple!”

I like insanely simple. If it’s simple, I can do it; if it’s simple, I can teach it; if it’s simple, the other person can do it and also pass it on.

Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the LORD. (Proverbs 8.33 – 35, NIV)

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I like to blog what I’m exercised about, and I’m really exercised about something I read the other day that seemed to imply that if you wanted to understand the scripture, you needed to read it in the original languages. Why would that writer want to plant a seed in his readers’ minds that only those who know Greek can read the Bible?

I am very grateful for those who know the original languages and have worked to provide us with God’s word in readable form. And in the U.S., there are a plethora of translations to choose from! You may notice that I vary the ones I quote from. 

But I am very disturbed at the apparent elitism that suggests the Holy Spirit can’t speak to ordinary people through the translated Word. We decry that period in history when the Bible was literally withheld from the common people, but then we effectively withhold it in our day by suggesting that ordinary believers can’t understand it. By contrast, Paul tells Timothy:

From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3.15, NKJV)

And in Timothy’s day, what we call the Old Testament had already been translated into Greek so that Timothy could read it. So take heart! God speaks through the Word in the language we understand:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 TImothy 3.16, 17, NIV)

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A number of years ago I was planning “Discipleship Sunday” with a pastor and one of his elders. I was going to teach time with God during the Sunday School hour, preach the service, and then have something after church over lunch. We had also planned some follow-up activities. The elder articulated his reservation to the plan with something like, “Not everyone will want to participate.” The pastor wisely responded, “We will never offer a growth opportunity in which everyone will participate. That’s no reason not to offer it!”

As much as we would like for everyone to enthusiastically embrace their disciple-making mission, it won’t happen. Jesus didn’t reach everyone: each of John chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 ends with confusion and division. Here’s an example:

On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. (John 7.40 – 43, NIV)

It’s always been about a biblical concept called the “remnant.” Isaiah’s call to ministry is recorded in Isaiah 6 where he is told explicitly that he will fail to turn all of the people. (See Isaiah 6.8 – 13) But there is also the promise of a remnant who will bear fruit.

And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 37.31, 32, ESV)

So we will write, speak, make disciples, and encourage pastors and others to do the same, knowing that none of our clever methods will reach everyone. We’re just looking for reliable people who will teach others also.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.1, 2, NIV)

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I wrote recently about the need for discipleship methods, materials, and programs to be accessible and reproducible (March 22 and March 25). Recently a pastor friend reminded me that ministry opportunities also need to be accessible–instant participation, instant success.

In the church, not everyone is qualified, for example, to teach children’s Sunday School, but almost anyone could help with crafts or registration. How much talent would it take to be the “scripture memory lady,” listening to children recite their verses?

Some ministry assignments are difficult and require training, but many beginning ministry activities are not. Instant participation, instant success.

Jesus sent the twelve out on their first missionary assignment (Matthew 9.36 – 10.10) for a limited time after he had been with them for a while. When they returned, however, their next ministry assignment was at the feeding of the 5,000 (Mark 6.30 – 44) where they became ushers, servers, and busboys!

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass [USHER duty!]. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people [SERVER duty!]. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish [BUSBOY duty!]. (Mark 6.39 – 43, NIV)

The disciples didn’t, nor should the folks we’re helping, stay doing “entry-level” ministry. But it is a place to start. Accessible. Instant participation, instant success.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5.18 – 20, NIV)