jump to navigation

The Next Generation April 24, 2008

Posted by Jeremy in Joshua Harris, Next Generation, Thoughts and Theology, discipleship.
add a comment

I guess I am sort of on a Joshua Harris kick or something because this post is from him as well.  I came across an article that he wrote in the magazine called Tabletalk in the April edition.  I thought I would share it with you.  It is about mentoring the next generation.  I encourage you to read it, I think it’s pretty good.  It hits home with me because of my involvement with InterVarsity and my belief in the importance of mentoring relationships and what they accomplish.  

If you don’t know he is the senior pastor at Covenant Life Church, in Gaithersburg Maryland and is the author of Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is).

When I turned twenty-one, my dad gave me this simple advice: “Find men that you want to be like and then sit at their feet.” As I launched into manhood, he was reminding me that the lessons I needed most wouldn’t be found in a textbook — they’d be written in the heart and life of a godly man. I needed to get close enough to this man that I could observe his character and be shaped by his example. I needed a mentor. 

 I didn’t realize at the time how important and prescient my dad’s counsel was. But less than a year later, God brought me across the path of C.J. Mahaney, the man who would mentor me, train me in pastoral ministry, and eventually install me as his replacement in the church he founded and led for nearly thirty years. 
 
Looking back, I’ve become even more aware of what a rare gift God gave me in my relationship with C.J. Sadly, my experience is unique. There are many young adults who desire to sit at the feet of mature Christians. But how many older Christians are willing to let them sit there?

C.J. let me into his life even though it involved personal inconvenience. He literally invited me into his home (I lived in his basement for a year); he guided my study, exposed me to great theology, and both encouraged and constructively critiqued my fledgling attempts at leadership and preaching.  

So for me the power of a mentor is no abstract concept. I know the difference that personal example, friendship, and on-the-job discipleship makes. Every part of my life — as a follower of Christ, as a husband and father, and now as a pastor — has been shaped by the investment my friend made, and continues to make, in my life. 

One of the reasons I love to tell my story is because I hope it will inspire older Christians to take the time to mentor the up-and-coming generation of believers.  

Most of us know that mentoring the next generation is a good idea. And of course it’s unarguably biblical. Proverbs 13:20 calls the young to be companions of the wise — the implication being that some wise person will be willing to let the less-wise be their companion. The Psalms speak of one generation commending the mighty acts of God to the next (Ps. 145:4). And of course, the New Testament example of Paul teaching and training Timothy models the importance of mentoring in the spread of the Gospel and the building of the church.  

So we can agree that mentoring is good. But do we do it? And if we don’t, is the problem that we’re too busy? Or could it be that we don’t mentor because we lack real conviction? And could our lack of conviction be the result of failing to apply the truth of the Gospel to our view of the next generation?  

How does the Gospel relate to this topic? First, it’s the essential motive for Christian mentoring. As Christians, we have a message — one composed of true facts about real events — that is bigger and more important than any one of us. The good news of Jesus and His death and resurrection for sinners is the world’s only hope. It’s the only way of salvation for mankind. The obvious implication is that passing this saving message on to people who will be here after we’re gone is the most important thing we can do during our lifetime. Our legacy, our reputation, our heritage is really unimportant. A building or company or denomination with our name on it will do the world little good. But if we can teach, train, and disciple men and women to trust in, love, and proclaim the message of Christ and him crucified, then we’ve accomplished something worthwhile. 

This kind of Gospel-centered view of life leads to proactive mentoring. And this is exactly what is needed today. Members of the older generation need to take it upon themselves to pursue younger Christians to mentor and disciple them in the faith. Let’s be honest. They might not be beating down the door to sit at your feet. They might not look to you with adoring eyes, amazed by your knowledge. You might not be a “cool” old person. Don’t let that stop you. If you’re motivated by the Gospel, it shouldn’t stop you. Remember, it’s not about you. It’s about the Savior. It’s about what He has done. Whether or not you have the added fuel of feeling wanted, needed, and in demand, you can go out and seek to serve.  

But what if you can’t relate to the younger generation? Again, this is where the Gospel comes into play. The Gospel strips away the façade of “generation gaps” and reminds us that, regardless of our age, we all have something in common — we’re all sinners in need of the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Gospel smoothes out the bumps of cross-generational friendships. It reminds us that, regardless of our age, we have a lot in common.  

It was God’s grace that led me to realize as a young man that I needed a mentor to advise and train me in ministry. And it was God’s grace that prepared a godly older man to be that mentor. Two decades earlier, in the early days of his ministry, C.J. had made a promise to God. He had always longed for but never truly found a godly, older mentor for himself. And so he told God that if he ever had the chance to be that mentor to a younger man, he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity. He wouldn’t be too busy.  

When I came along he didn’t see me as a nuisance. He didn’t see me as a threat. His first concern wasn’t preserving his position. He saw me as a young man in whom he could invest in so that the most important truth — the truth of the Gospel — could be passed on. What a refreshing perspective. Our job isn’t to fend off the next generation. Our calling as lovers of the Gospel is to equip the next generation to surpass us in faithfulness and effectiveness.  

Somewhere there’s a young man or woman praying for a mentor. Get ready. You could be God’s answer to that prayer. - by Joshua Harris

American Idol Follow-Up April 24, 2008

Posted by Jeremy in Music, Thoughts and Theology, Videos.
add a comment

Here are some things that I found out about the American Idol stuff I blogged about last post.  It helped me answer some of my questions so I thought I would share them with you as well.

Fox

A Christian woman named Beverly posted on someone else’s blog what I thought was a helpful inside perspective from Fox. 

I work on one of the “sister shows” of American Idol…so picture an office, with all of the producers, crew, etc. gathered in watching the live feed at our CBS offices, then this song comes on…an office filled with a few Christians….atheists and agnostic Jews. You could hear a pin drop….it was awesome…..the power that came through….nothing had to be said…no debates….just people being touched more than they realized…producers, writers…crew that had never darkened a church door in their lives, or their only experience with Christians was a negative one. You don’t always see the workings of us Christians that are behind the scenes…you don’t know how much prayer went into getting a song with that message on a, let us not forget, a SECULAR show. So, from someone behind the scenes, the best thing you can do is write to the producer of Am. Idol and simply state how much you appreciate the diversity they showed in having an very inspirational song in their program. Period. 

No criticizing. This will go farther than you realize. Also, pray, pray, pray for us Christians that have chosen Hollywood as our vocation, career and our mission field.

The Folks at Hillsong
I expressed curiosity about how the process for rights to use the song worked. This person has some knowledge of it and about Christians in the Idol band.

I know the people from Hillsong who negotiated this deal thru Integrity Music, and the word change wasn’t approved, but while they deal with that, they are quite happy the song was song used.

There are also very strong Christians in the American idol band, who are witnesses in places most of us don’t have influence—let’s rejoice that He is praised, even if by ‘indifferent’ vessels—let the fruit of our ministry be heard in our churches and in the churches of pop culture.

Let’s reserve our ‘outrage’ for the real tragedies in this world…Let his praises rise… Even from hearts as cold as stones… God can command praise from stones—not just the redeemed.

Joshua Harris
Below is from Joshua Harris about the whole American Idol thing and what he says really resonated with how I am feeling about it all.  So, I thought I would share his thoughts with you.


So far, my two posts about the song have been more humorous than serious. I wasn’t outraged when they edited the lyrics. I was surprised when they did the song again and included Jesus’ name, but I didn’t think it was a major triumph of God’s kingdom.

As I’ve read various comments people seem to fall into two different camps. Some Christians are upset—because they left out Jesus, because non-Christians were singing a song of “praise”, because it was all about money, because it’s another example of Christianity being “censored.” Other Christians are elated—because they put Jesus back in, because a praise song was heard by millions of people, because they see this as incredible evangelistic platform.

I guess I’m not really at home with either group. With all due respect, I don’t think that having a song like Shout to the Lord sung (even though I like it) is going to usher in revival. This reminds me of the fervor before the movie The Passion of the Christ was released. People spoke about this movie as if it was the ultimate opportunity for the gospel to advance. I don’t think it was. Was I glad that it was released? Sure. But I think that it’s too easy for Christians to think that any moment in the media spotlight on TV or in film is a bigger deal than it really is. We should welcome any opportunity for media to help spread the good news about Jesus, but I don’t think we should put too much stock in that vehicle. The gospel is going to advance as it always has—steadily as it is clearly proclaimed by believers in their words and modeled by their lives and actions. The gospel advances as local congregations receive and live God’s word for their neighbors to see.

So I’m more excited about Christians inviting their unbelieving friends over to watch American Idol together so they can build friendships and establish a platform for sharing the gospel in that relationship than I’m excited about an occasional worship song being sung on the show. If both happen, that’s cool, too.

Oh, and let me gently disagree with people who are upset about the song being sung, edited or not. Don’t get so worked up about unsaved people singing songs of praise to Jesus. It happens every Sunday in churches around the world. It happens in my church every Sunday. Thankfully, a large portion of people at our church are Christians. But there are many people who claim to know Christ that don’t. And there are many unbelieving people who come who need to repent and believe.

American Idol April 11, 2008

Posted by Jeremy in Thoughts and Theology, random.
3 comments

Wednesday night’s are pretty typical for me.  I drive to campus to meet with one of my students at 5:30pm to study Galatians till large group which starts at 7:00pm.  Large group goes till about 9ish and then I drive back to Newport News (about a 35-40 min drive).  Since I’m gone on Wed. nights my wife has some of her friends over to hang out.  So, I got home at about 9:40ish and they were watching the normal show they always watch….American Idol.  This night on the show was there “give back” night, they were raising money for various charities.  I normally walk in the door grab some food to eat and check my email and send a few.  This night on the show was like every other till I started hearing the song “Shout to the Lord” being sung from the TV by all the participants of American Idol.  I was taken back…I stopped what I was doing and was captivated by what I was hearing.  On American Idol they were singing a song that openly proclaimed about worshipping Jesus.  Somewhere between 18-21 million people watch this show each week according to the shows statistics.  I’m not going to lie, I was a little impressed to hear this song sung on such a mainstream TV show.  Why did they change the lyrics to “my shepherd” instead of ”my Jesus”.  Before I finished this post I caught last’s night episode and they sang the song again….except this time they sang it “my Jesus”.  Needless to say dozens of questions are rolling around in my head.  Here are a few…How and why are they signing this song? Did Hillsong give them a bunch of money, and ask them to sing this song?  What cause them to change the lryics to “my shepherd” the first night and back to “Jesus” the second?  I was also curious who decided to have them sing this song. Curious to hear everyones thoughts.

I’ve put the click below for you to check out if you didn’t get to see it.  I also put the lyrics to the song below as well. 

my shepherd version (above – from 4/09/08 )  

my Jesus version (above – from 4/10/08 )
Shout to the Lord, all the earth, let us sing
Power and Majesty, praise to the King;
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of your hands,
Forever I’ll love You, forever I’ll stand
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.          

My Jesus, my Savior, Lord, there is none like You;
All of my days I want to praise the wonders of Your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter, tower of refuge and strength;
Let every breath, all that I am, never cease to worship You.