Jan 17, 2011
Tommy Shelton
Today is an opportunity to remember Martin Luther King and all that he stood bravely for, fought non-violently for, and was killed ultimately for. One under-girding truth that motivated him is clear from this excerpt of his sermon entitled "The American Dream".
"You see, the founding fathers were really influenced by the Bible. The whole concept of the imago dei, as it is expressed in Latin, the "image of God," is the idea that all men have something within them that God injected. Not that they have substantial unity with God, but that every man has a capacity to have fellowship with God. And this gives him a uniqueness, it gives him worth, it gives him dignity. And we must never forget this as a nation: There are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble white to a bass black is significant on God's keyboard, precisely because every man is made in the image of God. One day we will learn that. We will know one day that God made us to live together as brothers and to respect the dignity and worth of every man. This is why we must fight segregation with all of our nonviolent might."
(Preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, July 4, 1965, as printed in "Generous Justice" by Timothy Keller, Dutton, 2010, pp 86-87.)
This same humbling truth--that we are all unique carriers of the image of God and that He created us for relationship with Him--should motivate us as well in all our dealings with one another and especially in our efforts to fulfill the Community Transformation outcome of the vision God has given Fellowship Dallas.
When you think of each person as a unique expression of the image of God and as a relative of God, how does that change your attitudes and actions toward them?
Dec 11, 2010
Tommy Shelton
I’m two chapters into Tim Keller’s latest book, “Generous Justice – How God’s Grace Makes Us Just” (Dutton, 2010). I know for me personally and, I think, for the community of Fellowship Dallas this is a book for such a time as this as we continue to learn what it means to live missionally in the world. As with pretty much everything I read or hear from Tim Keller, this book is taking me to a deeper, richer, truer understanding of who God is, the revelation of that in the Bible, the implications of that on every aspect of living, and the requisite transformation that my soul needs in order to align myself and my life with God. It is profoundly humbling and hopeful. I’m humbled because I see my ignorance, blindness, brokenness, and failure to love God and others on so many levels and to such sorrowful and unjust degree. Yet, I feel hopeful because, at the same time, I see God more clearly and thus worship Him more dearly. I have inspired vision and new passion. I experience a peace that comes from knowing truth from lie, order from chaos. And, I rejoice in God who allows me to grasp what I do and empowers me to share it with others and live it out to His glory.
In the book’s introduction, Keller tells the story of how he came to be interested in the subject of justice and for whom he wrote the book. In chapter 1 he begins to answer the question “What is doing justice?” Starting with Micah 6:8, “And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” he shows that justice is care for the vulnerable, that it reflects the character of God, that God is on the side of the poor, that it means right relationships, and that it includes generosity. In chapter 2 he works through justice and the Old Testament. He puts into perspective for Christians today the relevance of Jewish ceremonial law and the civil law of Moses that existed when Israel was a theocratic nation state in covenant with God. Though that is by no means what we have today, Keller argues that “everything in the Old Testament has some abiding validity, though it must be applied with great care.” He then gives many examples of how that can be done today. He also attempts (and succeeds I believe) to explain biblical justice and our political categories, as well as the complex causes of poverty. In typical Keller genius, he lifts the discussion to a level that rises above contemporary poles, categories and models.
I plan to write more on what I’m learning from “Generous Justice” in future posts, but, for now, I leave you some quotes from the book:
“…there is a direct relationship between a person’s grasp and experience of God’s grace, and his or her heart for justice and the poor. …those most affected by the message [become] the most sensitive to the inequities around them.” (Introduction, page xix-xx)
“We began to see how, in so many ways, we made our cultural biases into moral principles and then judged people of other races as being inferior.” (Introduction, page xvii)
“I want the orthodox to see how central to Scripture’s message is justice for the poor and marginalized. I also want to challenge those who do not believe in Christianity to see the Bible not as a repressive text, but as the basis for the modern understanding of human rights.” (Introduction, page xx-xxi)
"...if you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice when we give all human beings their due as creations of God. Doing justice includes not only the righting of wrongs, but generosity and social concern, espcially toward the poor and vulnerable." (Chapter 1, page 18)
“It is the generosity of God, the freeness of his salvation, that lays the foundation for the society of justice for all.” (Chapter 2, page 40)
And, if you want to read the first chapter of "Generous Justice" on line, here's the link http://timothykeller.com/images/uploads/pdf/Chapter_One_Generous_Justice.pdf
Thanks for reading and, as always, your comments are most welcome!
Dec 04, 2010
Tommy Shelton
This Sunday at 9:30 and 11:00 at Fellowship Dallas (Dec 5), come meet a panel of Fellowship friends who will be sharing how they live out the Gospel in their day-to-day lives. These folks are just like you and me. By that I mean, God uses them because they love Jesus and make themselves available to be used by him to draw others to his light and truth, and God wants to do the same thing with all of us. You will be encouraged and inspired by the stories of these friends, and I bet God will prompt you about how he wants you to be the Gospel and live it out in your life.
Feb 22, 2010
Tommy Shelton
HOW SHOULD WE THEN CHANGE?
Before we answer that question, let's first consider another: “How Should We Then Live?” That's the title of a classic written by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, one of the foremost Christian thinkers of our time. Its subtitle is “The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture.” Let it not be lost on us that 1976, the year it was published, was also the 200th anniversary of the nationhood of the United States, which is a paragon of western thought and culture, whatever you may think of it currently. In the book, Schaeffer takes the reader from ancient times through the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment, right on up to the Atomic/Scientifc present. He discusses the breakdown in philosophy and science and moves on to art, music, literature, film, and much more. Along the way, he analyzes the reasons for present day society’s state of affairs and gives the only viable alternative: living by the Christian ethic, acceptance of God’s revelation, and total affirmation of the Bible’s morals, values and meaning. I agree with Schaeffer, as would all followers of Christ I assume. How should we then live? Answer: in accordance with revealed truth from the Bible as personified by Jesus (1 John 5:20). In other words, live like Jesus taught and lived. He is self-proclaimed truth (John 14:6). You know how many times Jesus says, "I tell you the truth...?" Twenty-seven times. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that Jesus is full of truth and truth comes through him (John 1:14, 17).
Having hopefully established (though briefly) that the preferred and truthful way to live is to live like Jesus, how do we stop living like we have been and start living like Him? How are our lives changed to look and feel like His? Thankfully, it's not entirely (nor primarily) up to us. The Bible teaches that God is the one committed to making us like Jesus once we have put our faith in Him. He in turn indwells us, and we begin a relationship with Him. (See John 17:17, 19; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Thessalonias 2:13; and 1 Peter 1:2; 5:10.) Just like we needed God's intervention to save us (through Jesus), we need God (through the Holy Spirit) to make the indwelling Christ real to us and to make us like Him. However, we're not passive players in this change process. Quite the contrary, we are called to action in response and submission to what the Spirit wants to do in us. Paul compares our life in Christ to the training of an athlete (1 Corinthians 9:25; 1 Timothy 4:7-8 and 2 Timothy 2:5). Check out these passages if there is any doubt about the level of love and holiness that we are called to rise to: Romans 12:1-2, 9-21; 13:9-14; Ephesians 5:1-21; Colossians 3; 1 Peter 1:13-22, 2:11-21; and 2 Peter 1:5-10. We may be tempted to ask, does the Bible contradict itself? Don't these verses take us back to a works-based theology thereby stripping God's grace of its meaning and effect? No, because, to put it very simply, the opposite of grace is not effort, but earning. We can't earn God's love, favor or help. But, we must absolutely let that unearned and unconditional love movitate us to fully cooperate with and submit to His powerful, purposeful working on our behalf. We confirm (to ourselves, each other and the world) that we have accepted God's love and that His love is in us by loving Him and who and what He loves (Luke 10:27; 1 John 4:7-21; 2 John 5-6). However, we don't always (if ever) come by this love mandate naturally. We must study it, learn it, desire it, pray for it, and practice it. It is a process of transformation and relationship development that lasts our entire lives and it requires something from us. We must engage with God in the process. We must invest in developing the relationship. It takes effort. But the motivation is not one of earning God's love and approval, but one of fully responding to and engaging with Him in the redemption story of our life that He wants to tell and in developing the intimate, life-giving relationship that He desires with us.
The call to love like God loves, to live a holy life as Jesus did, and to live in relationship with Him is also a call to Kingdom living. Jesus taught on the Kingdom more than any other subject and He beautifully modeled what Kingdom living looks like everywhere He went and with everyone He engaged. I'm loving what we're learning about the Kingdom through the "Captivated" series. It is impacting my veiw of the world and my place in it. Truly, the Kingdom of God involves profound and revolutionary change in how a person seeking to live a Kingdom-oriented life makes sense of his or her existence and purpose in the world. I find myself asking how do I grow in my understanding of it all and, more importantly, in my application and experience of it all? Once again, I know that change is required, repentance if you will. I'm a product of the world's way of being, thinking and doing, specifically the western, scientific modern/post-modern world. His Kingdom is not of this world so a life lived according to His Kingdom will not mirror this earthly kingdom. It should instead mirror His heavenly Kingdom. WOW! That's a lot to even ponder, much less see come to fruition. How should we go about it? How should we then change?
In case it's not clear yet, what I'm trying to get at in this blog post is a process for transformation (or "life-change" or "repentance" if you prefer one of those terms). I'm reading from the Apprentice Series by James Bryan Smith. In the first book, "The Good and Beautiful God, Falling in Love With the God Jesus Knows" (Intervarsity Press, 2009), the author presents four necessary components for tranformation. Try drawing this diagram on a piece of paper. First draw a triangle and in the middle of it write "The Holy Spirit". Just above the top angle of the tringle write "Adopting the Narratives of Jesus". Out to the side of the bottom left-hand angle write "Engaging in Soul-Training Exercises". And out to the side of the bottom right-hand angle write "Participating in Community". Those are the four components involved in the process of our transformation into Christ-likeness:
1. Adopting the Narratives of Jesus. We have to replace whatever stories, tapes, messages, and hauting words are embedded in us driving the way we view the world and ourselves in it. These narratives can come from parents, siblings, teachers, and coaches, or from TV, movies, books and the Internet. While some are clearly false and harmful, others may be good and helpful. But, they must all ultimately be tested against the truth of Jesus. To do that, we must study, learn and adopt His narratives (stories, truths, parables, sermons, etc.) and let those dominate our thinking, feeling and acting.
2. Engaging in Soul-Training Exercises. Once we have the right narratives in place, we need to let them change and shape how we live. For this to happen, we need to train, like an athlete trains for his sport, or like a musician practices her instrument. Soul-training exercises (like prayer, Bible reading or solitude) are the means by which we grow and improve our functioning as Christians. They are not righteousness or Christ-likeness in themselves. "But they are wise practices that train and transform our hearts." (Smith, p. 27). And they are the means by which we invest ourselves in deepening our relationship wiht Jesus.
3. Participating in Community. Being created in God's image means, among other things, that we are created for relationship and community. If it's good for the members of the Trinity (Father, Son and Spirit), then it must be good for us. This truth about us suggests (and is reinforced in scripture) that life-change happens most effectively in the context of community. We need others to speak truth to us, to encourage us, to warn us, and to help us along the way in our journeys of transformation.
4. The Work of the Holy Spirit. Each of the above three components only happens when the Holy Spirit is at work in the midst of them, which is part of His "job". As James Bryan Smith says, "The Holy Spirit orchestrates the events of our lives with the single aim of making us disciples of Jesus. [He] is at work in...subtle ways, ways we cannot often discern. But the Spirit is at work nonetheless." (Smith, p. 28). It is the Holy Spirit who gives us accurate understanding of the Jesus narratives and deepens them in our hearts and minds. It is the Spirit who comes alongside us in soul-training exercises and ensures that they have their intended effect. And it is the Spirit who is present with us in community empowering love, grace and truth among the members and leading us all to a deeper love of Jesus and the Father.
And, so, my encouragement to us all is to embrace these components of transformation and order our lives such that they become priorities. We must make room for them. We must practice them. We must learn them and learn from them. The reason is not to earn anything. In Christ, we already have God's unconditional love and acceptance and His commitment to bring us into intimacy with Christ, Christ-likeness and Kingdom-mindedness. But, these components help put us in the best possible position to receive all that God has for us, to realize what He wants to do in and through us, and to experience that as reality in our lives. And they help keep us in that one place that we are meant to never leave--that of abiding in Him (see John 15).
Jan 08, 2010
Tommy Shelton
“All in in 2010” is a phrase being used around Fellowship lately to challenge us at the beginning of a new year and a new decade. We’ve been thinking and talking a lot about what this means for our leadership and our people. And I’ve been thinking about what it means for me personally. Some themes and commitments are starting to emerge. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to share some of what I sense is trying to happen in our midst and in me. Hopefully, it will give you insights and examples that prompt you to consider what it means for us and for you to be “all in in 2010."
“Wake Up Tommy”
In the movie Brave Heart, at various times when he was asleep and about to be visited upon by some grave danger, William Wallace would be dreaming of his murdered wife. At the right moment in the dream, she would say, “Wake up, William, wake up!” Her wake-up call would rouse him out of his sleep just in time to avoid the danger. The Holy Spirit has brought such images to my mind of late along with scriptural wake-up calls about the urgency of the times. Take a look at the following. “Wake up,” “change your life" (i.e., repent), “get out” (of spiritual laziness and a worldly, worthless way of thinking and living), “recommit” (to life in Christ), and “don’t quit”.
- Ephesians 5:13-15. Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see…. Wake up from your sleep, climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
- Romans 11:13-14. But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
- Acts 2:14, 38-42. That's when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency…"Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…. He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, "Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!" That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
- Matthew 10:21-23. When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you've run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived.
- Matthew 4:17. Change your life. God's kingdom is here.
All of these passages are from “The Message” translation and the emphases are mine. By God's grace and power, I will answer these wake-up calls in 2010. They couldn't be more clear nor more timely.
“On Your Knees Boy”
A line from a U2 song called Mysterious Ways says, "If you want to kiss the sky, you better learn how to kneel - on your knees boy!" This too has come to mind lately as a reminder that if I want to taste more of God and experience more of the reality of his presence and his kingdom, prayer is the medium. In multiple conversations and from various sources I’m hearing a common call to a greater emphasis on prayer. But, all are wisely saying they first want to let prayer gain greater priority in their own hearts and lives before they expect others to. They want to walk it before they talk it. Though I have no idea what all it might look like nor what all it might lead to, I think a prayer movement is in store for Fellowship in 2010. That thought thrills me but also challenges me in my own prayer life, a challenge I need and, by God’s grace and power, I commit to heed this year.
“Model the Way”
Those three words came through loud and clear to the leadership of Fellowship Dallas in the results of the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey we took in October. (We’ve started to process the results and let them impact us on many levels. For more on this, see the January 3 “Survey Says” message and notes.) As I let that soak into my soul, it is challenging me to more fully own the responsibility I have to be a better example to others as I go about my spiritual living and growing and my relationship with God. I want to be a better spiritual leader for Fellowship than I am an organizational leader. I’m starting by accepting the challenge from Gary to grow spiritually by following a simple but essential recipe for growth in general. Like physical growth, it requires eating right and getting enough exercise and rest. For spiritual growth, which at its core means growing in our love for God and our love for whom and what God loves, I need to…
- Feed more on the truth of God’s word revealed in the Bible and let that transform me and the way I see and act in this world.
- Strengthen my spiritual muscles through tried and true spiritual practices and disciplines like prayer, solitude and silence, acts of kindness and service, and abstinence from what I know wages war against my soul.
- Rest regularly in God so I stay alert, prepared, surrendered, and at peace amidst the busyness, trials and tribulations of life, and so I don't lose sight of the fact that any real strength or power I may have comes not from my own efforts but from God.
The tanglible expressions of these for me are to:
- Faithfully participate in Join The Journey this year as we study Acts and the New Testament letters.
- Start a small group in my home.
- Recommit to daily time in prayer and the scriptures and to a weekly day of rest with God.
- Make myself available to serve at Conrad High School, the school that our church has "adopted" in Vickery Meadow.
As important as it is for me to do these things, it is equally important for me to maintain a right attitude and perspective about why I do them. The reason I want to grow spiritually by engaging in these things is not so I can check off another to do list and feel good about what I've accomplished. It's because I want more in my relationship with God—more of him and more of his fruit in my life—and because I want to more fully live a kingdom-minded existence. The reason Jesus says to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself is because he knows that is what will ultimately bring fulfillment to my life. I was made to give and receive love; I'm made in my Father's image and he is the ultimate lover. And the reason Jesus wants me to repent (i.e., to change my life) is because the kingdom of God is at hand and he wants me to be fully engaged with it—letting it take root in my heart and life and working with him to make it more and more the reality that it ultimately will fully be. I am excited about the new series that we began today called "Captivated". It's all about the King and his Kingdom. I hope you will join us for it. Today is January 10, 2010. I can't think of a better time than 1/10/2010 to decide to be all in for what God wants to do in and through me and our church this year. As I write this, I am making that decision. I invite you to make the same decision for yourself. I know we won't regret it and we will marvel at what God does.
