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Francis Schaeffer – 100 Years

The following post is in celebration of Francis Schaeffer, the great Christian pastor, writer, and apologist. Schaeffer rather indirectly has had a tremendous impact upon my life and I hope that you discover his genius as well.

This article can be found here as well. Read more »

10 Characteristics of a Biblical Elder

This past Sunday we appointed two of our men as elders at Missio Dei Church. In light of that I preached a sermon from Acts 20 on the characteristics of a biblical elder that I wanted to pass along here.

10 Characteristics of a Biblical Elder (Acts 20:17-38) -

1. An Example (vs. 18)

Paul was confident that they could examine how he lived and pattern their life after that…he would later tell the Corinthians to follow him as he followed Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). The qualifications for an elder that Paul lays out in 1 Timothy and Titus are not meant to set elders apart as the elite (like the Seal Team 6 of Christians), but to put them before the people as an example of what it means to walk with Jesus in holiness and gospel transformation.

2. Humble Servant (vs. 19)

Jesus said that he didn’t come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Being an elder is about being a servant because a servant is not greater than his master and Jesus our master was the Ultimate Servant.

3. Bold (vs. 20a)

Paul said that he didn’t shrink from declaring anything that was profitable…this means that Paul was willing to say the difficult things when he believed that it was helpful and beneficial to the listener. A good elder is not a hot head or a loose canon, saying everything that comes to his head. Rather a biblical elder is one who is confident in the gospel and is willing to say the hard things because he cares more about the person’s soul than he does what that person thinks of them in the moment. A biblical elder is not getting his approval or worth from what people say or think of him so he has the boldness to confront people even if it means they might get angry or trash him to others. A good rule of thumb that has served me well…”if you really want to say something to someone, you probably shouldn’t, and if you are really dreading saying something you probably should.”

4. Faithful Teacher (vs. 20b, 27)

In vs. 27 Paul says that he did not shrink from teaching them the whole counsel of God. This means that in the 3 years he spent with the Ephesians he took them through the whole Bible (primarily the OT) showing them how it all pointed to Jesus and his gospel. Much like Jesus did with the two disciples on the road to Emaus in Luke 24. This does not mean that every elder needs to be an amazing public speaker but it does mean that every elder understands the story of Scripture and can point people to Jesus throughout Scripture. At the end of vs. 20 Paul says he did this both in “public” and from “house to house”, I love this because it’s exactly the model we’re trying to follow here at Missio Dei…we want to faithfully teach you the whole counsel both in public (here on Sunday mornings) and from house to house through our Mission Groups.

5. Gospel Focused (vs. 21)

Paul’s focus in teaching was the gospel…”repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ”. This is the gospel, the good news that despite the brokenness of our world and the rebellion of our hearts, God has not given up on us. In fact he loves us so much that he came to us in the man Jesus Christ and lived the perfect life we could never live and died the death we deserved to die so that we could be given citizenship into His kingdom. But this citizenship requires a renouncing of all rival thrones (repentance) a turning from those lesser kings, that compete for King Jesus’ rightful place in our life. This is the focus of our teaching and preaching at Missio Dei, because it’s the story of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. God has invited us into his story, to enjoy his creation and become fully human by submitting ourselves to his rule and reign in our life, and in this world. As your elders we are committed to the gospel as foundation of all we do here at Missio Dei.

6. Living Sacrifice (vv. 22-25)

Paul, uncertain of his ultimate fate, knew that whatever was coming was not going to be pretty. He knew his future included imprisonment and afflictions and yet he wasn’t throwing a pity party or attempting to run from it. He knew his life belonged to Jesus and therefore he didn’t see his life as having any value or worth apart from completing the work that Jesus had given him. What a remarkable perspective, and one that while we are imperfect at carrying out, is nevertheless our aim as your elders. Our lives are not our own, and we do not count our life to have any value apart from carrying out Jesus’ will to make disciples and bring him glory. As your elders its our role to model this to you, but the reality is, that this is your calling as well. That in light of the grace of God you would present yourselves to Jesus as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable act of worship (Romans 12:1-2).

7. Overseer of Self (vs. 28a)

One of the primary functions of an elder is the role of an overseer. But in order to faithfully oversee the church, a biblical elder must first pay careful attention to his own life and the life of his family. I could go into great detail about what this means, but suffice it to say we must be preaching and applying the gospel to ourselves in order that we might preach it to you with any conviction or power. As your elders we cannot take you any further than we are willing to go personally. It’s very easy to tell you to go to Jesus but be far from him ourselves. As a church member you however do have a role in this, you must allow your elders time alone and time with their families so that we can follow Jesus personally and lead our families well.

8. Overseer of the Church (vs. 28b-32)

What does this mean? Of course it involves strategy, planning, and dealing with financial matters. But more importantly I think it means that we carry you on our hearts. We are pouring ourselves into the care, protection, and oversight of the people of Missio Dei. When you hurt, we hurt, when you rejoice, we rejoice. When wolves come in to attempt to lead you away from the truth of the gospel, its our job to see that those wolves are dealt with appropriately. In 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Paul compares his oversight of the people like that of a mother with a nursing infant or a father with his children. “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.” (2:8)

9. Generous (vv. 33-35)

Christianity at it’s core is about giving, “for God so loved the world that he gave…” As your elders it is our responsibility to model this core value of our faith by giving of our gifts, time, and treasures to this church and the kingdom. Biblical elders do not pursue ministry out of greed or a desire to take advantage of people for their own personal gain (1 Peter 5:1-4).

10. Lover of People (vv. 36-38)

If you’ve read Paul’s writings you know that he was a scholar, an intellectual, a very focused man that probably wasn’t the life of the party. Yet there was something about Paul that endeared him to people; these grown men are weeping, embracing and kissing Paul, completely broken up over the fact that they will not see him again. Why? Well the text doesn’t tell us, but I think it’s implicit. Paul loved them, and they knew it. He had sacrificed much for them and they recognized that this man loved them more than life itself. My heart for our elder team is that in spite of our brokenness, limitations, and personality quirks you will know one thing for certain…that we love you. That as his love penetrates and permeates our lives that it spills over into your life, so that this church would be known for it’s love for one another.

What is a disciple of Jesus?

Simply put, a disciple of Jesus is a follower of Jesus. Jesus told his 12 disciples, “if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24)

What does it mean to follow Jesus?

1. Live as a Worshiper – as image bearers of God, we are created as worshipers. The question is not “will” we worship, but “what” will we worship? Our worship is like a fire hose that can’t be turned off, so the question is where will we point our worship proclivity? A follower of Jesus worships their Creator and repents of any false worship, including good things like family, work, or recreation.

2. Gospel Identity – a follower of Jesus recognizes the sinful tendency to find their identity in their money, intelligence, career, education, children, human relationships, or any number of created things. Therefore a disciple turns from finding ultimate identity in these empty idols (1 Thess. 1:9), to King Jesus and His kingdom of perfect hope, peace, joy, and love.

3. Committed to Community – a disciple of Jesus has a Spirit inspired desire to live life with other Jesus followers, the church. They recognize their membership in the body of Christ and understand the weight of that responsibility by giving of their gifts, time, and money to serve others.

4. Sent on Mission – Jesus said he was sending his church in the same way in which he was sent (John 20:21). A follower of Jesus sees themselves as a missionary sent on Jesus’ mission, in their everyday lives, to restore a broken world through gospel living and proclamation.

Missional Curiosity

Be quick to listen and slow to speak. This is James exhortation to us in James 1:19.

The God of the universe asks questions…“Adam where are you.” (Genesis 3:9)

Not because He needs to learn but because He understands something that we often fail to grasp. Questions are the most effective way to draw someone out. You don’t need a PhD. or be Dale Carnegie to understand that talking about yourself incessantly is not an effective way to win friends and influence people.  Read more »

Christmas – Understanding the Incarnation

In this season of Advent I think it’s extremely important that we understand the doctrine of the Incarnation…the truth that God in all His fullness became a man. The article below says it much better than I ever could so I will let Matt Perman explain this pivotal truth – Read more »