Last month, the Acts 29 Network hosted a Boot Camp in Dallas, Texas, and the audio from the messages have been made available.  Here they are:

•    The Mission and Vision of Acts 29 Network by Mark Driscoll
•    Cultivating a Culture of Repentance by Darrin Patrick
•    Vivification & Mortification: A Process to Holiness by Matt Chandler
•    Going Deep With Sabbath Rest by JR Vassar
•    The Role of Social Justice & Poverty in Discipleship by Matt Carter
•    Spirit-Led Ecclesiology: Following the Spirit Through Church-Planting by Jonathan Dodson
•    Pitfalls of Church Planting by Barry Keldie

Sometimes God uses the most unusual spokesman to communicate something we need to hear. I think this is a great example of that. Consider this video excerpt from a well-known atheist and how this verse relates:

Earlier in this series, I talked about developing missional patterns for the purpose of living incarnationally and intentionally in the city.  Today I want to simply follow up on that with the encouragement to employ means of gathering and organizing information regarding your labors in the mission. Let me begin by offering my own attempt at doing this.

Moleskine is a company that (in my humble opinion) makes the best journals in the world, and they have a set of journals called “cahier moleskines” which are perfect to take with you for recording events and information pertaining to the details of the mission.  You can buy a 3-pack of these journals for only $7.00 and will serve you greatly in recording information you will want to use in praying, sharing, and using in the future.

In my “missional moleskine,” I record any and all information available after the encounter.  Some of the information include:

* Name (first and last name if possible)
* Where I met this person
* When I met this person (including exact time)
* What the person was doing (at work, in line at store, sitting at park, etc.)
* Particular info that would help me remember them in the future
* Particular info from the conversation about their life, worldview, past history, etc.
* Particular info for prospective next encounter (work days/hours, schedule, routine, etc.)

Once I have gathered this information, I leave room in my journal for future encounters.  For example, if I cultivate a relationship with a server at a restaurant, I will schedule my eating around their work schedule and attempt to connect with them on a regular basis, building on the previous encounters and conversations.  Each successive encounter would be dated and filled out, creating a chain of commentary hopefully leading to progress in loving them and leading them to Jesus.  The end result is to chronicle the movement around the mission as we cultivate relationships with unbelievers and seek to sow the good seed of the gospel in their lives as a faithful witness and relentless commitment to advancing the cause of Christ.  Other benefits include specifics for ongoing prayer and intercession and research/reflection for cultural exegesis, planning, and corporate strategies.

If you developed a missional journal and would like to share your ideas, please do so in the comments.

In part one of this chapter, we discussed the great need to be gospel-saturated.  In the remaining part, Anyabwile gives us five steps in the path of becoming gospel-saturated.  I want to provide them for you below, along with some pointed excerpts from his book.

* Five Steps to Becoming Gospel-Saturated *

1.  Know the Gospel

“The gospel or good news of Jesus Christ is that God the Father, who is holy and righteous in all his ways, is angry with sinners and will punish sin.  Man, who disobeys  the rule of God, is alienated from the love of God and is in danger of an eternal and agonizing condemnation at the hands of God.  But God, who is also rich in mercy, because of his great love, sent his eternal Son born by the Virgin Mary, to die as a ransom and a substitute for the sins of rebellious people.  And now, through the perfect obedience of the Son of God and his willing death on the cross as a payment for our sins, all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ, following him as Savior and Lord, will be saved from the wrath of God to come, be declared just in his sight, have eternal life, and receive the Spirit of God a a foretaste of the glories of heaven with God himself” (40-41).

2.  Desire to Hear the Gospel and Preach the Gospel to Yourself

“We must cultivate and protect a ravenous desire for this message.  Regularly bearing and plumbing the depths  of the gospel increases our knowledge of the message, our affections for the Savior, and our skill in sharing the message” (41).

3.  Order Your Life Around the Gospel

“As church members, our aim is to understand the gospel so deeply, so intimately, that it animates every area of our lives.  We want the gospel central to our communication with others, central to how we encourage and correct, central to individual career and relationship decisions, central to the decisions the church makes corporately, and central to all our habits of life.  We want the gospel, the God of the gospel, to take priority in every area of life” (42-43).

4.  Share the Gospel with Others

“If we would contribute to the health of our local congregations, we must be committed not only to harvesting the gospel for ourselves but to shipping it to others as well.  We must do the work of an evangelist.  With urgency and love we must tell the non-Christians among us to repent of their sins and to believe on Jesus Christ. . . . A gospel-saturated life is a life that splashes out onto others with the good news.  A healthy church is built, in part, on healthy gospel-motivated members” (44).

5.  Guard the Gospel

“The healthy church and church member fight for and protect the apostolic gospel delivered and preserved in the pages of Scripture” (45).

This chapter on being gospel-saturated, I would argue, is the most important mark of a healthy church member.  The importance and sufficiency of the gospel for believers could not be emphasized enough.  Anyabwile has done a great job in laying out five incremental steps in the path of becoming gospel-saturated, and we would all serve our churches well to consider ourselves in light of these important truths!

In light of our recent discussions about loving sinners and cultivating relationships with them, I am reminded of how easy it is to get into the rut of befriending them but failing to have the gospel on our lips.  One ditch to avoid is being obnoxious an unattractive as a witness to unbelievers.  The other ditch to avoid is being good at developing friendships with unbelievers but failing to commend Christ and shares the gospel.  The first is confrontation without conversation; the second is conversation without confrontation. The first lacks compassion for the lost; the second lacks courage for the gospel.

Consider this video excerpt from John Piper on the means of grace in the preaching of the gospel.  May God grant us compassion and courage to lovingly communicate the gospel through our lips and in our lives.

The church planting section of the Leadership Network has some helpful articles and resources to browse through.  Be sure to check out their resources such as downloads, books, and podcasts. I should mention that I do not agree with some of the methodologies and approaches to church planting offered on LN; nevertheless, this is a good place to see where church planting has been, where it is going, and things we can learn (both how and how not to plant churches).  Their four main article are worth downloading (PDF):

Church Planting Overview
Funding New Churches
Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches
Who Starts New Churches?

In chapter three of his book, C.J. Mahaney shows how Jesus redefines greatness by being a servant to all, and in chapter four, he continues to show how Jesus demonstrates true greatness in giving Himself sacrificially as a ransom and Redeemer for sinners. The primary text which reveals the redefining and demonstration of true greatness is Mark 10:42-45 which says:

And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Verses 43-45a reveal the redefinition; 45b reveals the demonstration.  The latter is a prerequisite for any of us to be delivered from the worldly definition of greatness and experience it’s true nature in our lives.  Mahaney writes,

“[O]ur own service to others is always both an effect of His unique sacrifice and the evidence of it.  His sacrifice alone makes it possible for us to achieve and experience true greatness in God’s eyes” (48).

Jesus’ death on the cross was the ransom which paid the price required for our deliverance from bondage, captivity, and condemnation, and Jesus’ resurrection from the grace vindicated His life as Savior and Redeemer of all those who put their trust in Him.  The reality that we need to be ransomed is, as Mahaney explains, a fresh reminder of how affected we are by own serious and sorry state, our miserable lostness, and wretched bondage to sin (52).

And yet the Savior died as a ransom.  We who have been rescued glory in our Redeemer.  Those who have been forgiven and transformed understand that “a fundamental and radical change has occured” in us so that “you have the desire to serve others and see God glorified.  We know the inner call to lay down our lives for one another because He laid down His life for us” (58).  Mahaney concludes,

“True greatness is attained only by emulating the Savior’s example–and made possible only by the Savior’s sacrifice” (58).

When it comes to the planting and establishment of a church, we must understand it is not about who gets the credit.  We will be asked to serve in ways we may have never imagined, doing things we are not gifted or passionate about.  If we lose sight of the fact that we have been rescued by our Redeemer who came not to be served but to serve, then we will find ourselves exhibiting an attitude and demonstrating a life contrary to Him who died for us.  May God keep us near the cross and cause us to serve one another that Christ may be glorified in all that we do, whether noticed or not.

Last week, I focused on prayer in the context of the book of Acts.  While Wednesdays are typically devoted to a topical study in Acts, I want to tease out prayer in the early church by going a step further by examining the reciprocal nature of prayer among Paul and the churches he ministered.  What you will see the prayer relationship between Paul and these churches is fundamentally focused on the gospel and the mission of God.  First let’s begin with general exhortations to pray.

To the Romans, Paul encourages them to “be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:2); to the Ephesians, “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Eph. 6:18); to the Philippians, “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6); to the Thessalonians, “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17); and to the Colossians, “continue steadfastly in prayer” (Col. 4:2).  It is evident that the call to fervent, continuous prayer was expected among all believer everywhere.  To borrow from Jude, they were “building themselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20).

Now, let’s consider the mutual prayer exchange of intercession and request with Paul and these NT churches.

To the church in Rome, Paul interceded: “without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you” (Rom. 1:9-10).  On the other hand, Paul requested, “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company” (Rom. 15:30-32).

To the church in Ephesus, Paul “did not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers . . .” (Eph. 1:16).  Paul’s motivation for praying for them was because they had “heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him . . .” (Eph. 1:13).  The circumference of His praying was the the gospel believed and the mission embraced.  Similarly, Paul requested that they would pray  “also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph. 6:19-20).  Paul could of requested any number of personal prayer requests, but his requests are exclusively centered on the mission Christ had given Him and the proclamation of the gospel.

To the church in Philippi, Paul said, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phil. 1:3-5).  Later in that same chapter, Paul was confident that “through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance” (Phil. 1:19).  Again, we see Paul motivated to pray continually because of their partnership in the gospel.

To the church in Colossae, Paul said, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth . . . And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding . . .” (Col. 1:3-6, 9).  Much like the Philippians and Ephesians, he prays on behalf of their reception of “the word of truth, the gospel” and that they would “be filled with the knowledge of His will.”  On the other hand, Paul asked that they “pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak” (Col. 4:3-4).  Almost an identical request to the one offered to the Ephesians–door of opportunity, the mystery of Christ, and clarity of the gospel.

To the church in Thessalonica, Paul gave thanks to God “always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thess. 1:2-5).  And at the conclusion of his letter, he simply asks, “Brothers, pray for us” (1 Thess. 5:25).

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul says, “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:11-12).  On the other hand, he asked that they “pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you” (2 Thess. 3:1).  If you are going to pray, when you pray for us, pray for the gospel, the word of the Lord to prosper and be glorified, says Paul.

Here is the exchange of prayer among New Testament churches in Scripture.  Do you see a pattern here?  The gospel, the mission, the partnership in the call, the consecration to the task–this is the context and substance of the intercessions of and requests by the Apostle Paul.

The only question left to ask is, “What does the exchange of our prayers look like?”

There are any number of reasons we can come up with for not being actively involved in the lives of unbelievers so that the gospel can effectively work in and through our lives to impact their lives and lead them to a saving knowledge of Christ.  One of the biggest, if not the biggest setbacks is the lackluster of personal holiness.  I know that it sounds kind of odd that being separate from the world is a requirement to effectively reach the world, but that indeed is the case.  Your relationship to your sin and application of the gospel in faith and repentance has a reciprocal relationship in how the gospel is at work through you to impact others for Christ.

Indwelling sin that goes unconfessed and unmortified hardens the heart.  If you are not broken over the sin in your life, how is it possible to be broken over the sin and lostness of an unbeliever?  A casual, indifferent approach to the darkness of heart will reveal an indifference towards the darkness and blindness of the lost and a casual approach to their souls.  Those in darkness need the light of the gospel to shine on them, but if the gospel is not continually shining in your heart, then sin will debilitate you from being useful in their lives.  Those who are daily repenting and believing in Christ, regularly applying the gospel are those who will find the light of the gospel most commendable to those in need of that response when confronted with the glory of Christ.

Furthermore, it is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin, righteousness, and judgment.  If we spurn that conviction and do not consecrate ourselves as the temple of the Holy Spirit, then how will the grieved and quenched Spirit of God empower us to witness as Acts 1:8 promises?  Paul explains that the flesh sets itself and its desires against the Spirit so that you may not do as you please.  Would not one of those things you would find pleasure in doing is leading someone to Jesus?  Your flesh will fight to prevent that from happening.

God uses those who are closest to Him.  If, because of a lethargic approach to sin, you are living in a guilty distance from the Lord, filled with guilt, it will be impossible to be available to be used at God’s disposal.  The fight to win souls begins with the fight against sin in our own hearts. Paul explains to Timothy that “if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”  The prerequisite for usefulness and readiness is being set apart for the honorable work of our Master.

It is not a selfish thing to pray for one another, for the gospel’s work in our lives.  We will not weep for sinners who are lost until we weep for the sins of the saint.  When we are awakened to survey the wondrous cross and are not too quick to leave, we will be more inclined to bring others there as well.  As the gospel has a thorough work in us, we can have confidence that the gospel will, by the Spirit of God, work through us, dispelling darkness, convicting sinners, magnifying God in Christ, and attracting sinners to the beauty of the cross where the curse of sin was laid upon the sinless Son of God.