by Joel V Webb | May 29, 2024 | Uncategorized
One of the big discussions happening in the Church is that
of reaching to the next generation, most who have never and may never darken
the doors of a Church building for a variety of reasons. The pool of research
is growing into this field, seeking out how the Church can be effective
witnesses of the Gospel.
Everything that I have read so far shows that really what
the next generation is looking for from those of us currently in the pews is
not necessarily a particular worship style or worship, but rather a warm
authentic community. Be it a church providing high liturgy and the Eucharist
every week, or a more modern setup with a rockin’ worship team and a pastor in
ripped jeans. The coming generations (particularly Gen Z and Gen Alpha) are
really caring about the authenticity of the relationships and community that
their place of worship has, rather than being attached to a certain style of
worship (See the book Growing Young by Kara Powell, Jake Mulder and Brad
Griffin).
In my lifetime my experience with much of the Church has
been more concerned with the form of the worship over the community the
participated. I’m sure there are those who share this experience, or have very
different experiences. Because of the general acceptance of Christian morality
in the West for the last several generations, a form of malaise has grown over
our eyes as the culture around us generally mirrors how the Church is called to
live.
What has happened in the last 20 years in particular is a
vast shifting in the US (something that was already rapidly happening in Canada
and Europe) of the perspective of the Church and the Christian message. Now, just
like the early church in some ways, we are the counter-cultural force at play.
This is scary for many of us, causing us to respond with suspicion and fear to
the shifting sands around us, rather than responding with the attitude of
opportunity.
This needs to make us take a deep look at our outlook as the
Church in regards to our interaction and perspective. We are no longer the pre-supposed
middle of the conversation. With polarization on both political fronts, the
Church is finding itself being sucked to two extremes that are impossible to
bridge. Instead, we need to focus on what we were called to be. In, but not of
this world.
If we are wanting to be attractive to the next generations,
we must offer something that no ideology, Tik Tok fad, virtue signaling, or political
movement can provide. The Church offer
vital and life-giving community centered around the Gospel, which is a
life-changing message of hope and new life in a world that is spiraling as it
searches for meaning. Our modern world gives us the ability to reach and share
with people as unheard of speed, with the truth of an ancient message that has
been practiced by other broken, and then made new people for over 2000 years.
We may need to look at hybrid models of doing things. A sold
combination of alternative forms of church (commonly called fresh expressions) and
what we commonly think of as the Church to meet the needs of people who are in
just as much need of new life in Christ as we are, or the Jews & Gentiles
of the 1st Century AD were. I don’t know what that all looks like,
or means. The Holy Spirit is calling the Church to remain faithful to the faith
once for all delivered to the saints, while not being tied to how we’ve always
done things.
Let’s drop the facade of “doing Church” and instead really live
as an intentional community who loves God, loves people, and live sent to
proclaim the Gospel, whatever that looks like.
by Joel V Webb | Apr 29, 2024 | Uncategorized
Article as published on lightandlife.fm
“How are you?”
“Good, just busy.”
This is a conversation that I bet just about everyone has had, maybe
on a weekly basis — especially for those of us in ministry roles. As of
2024, we have more tools of convenience than at any other time in human
history. Yet we are more enslaved to the things we do in life than ever.
This problem is becoming an epidemic of sorts in the church as we try
to do more and more in the same 24 hours we have all had since God first
breathed a breath in Adam.
So what has changed, and, more importantly, what do we do about it?
My life has always been busy and somehow keeps getting busier. Having
grown up in a pastor’s home, I know the general hubbub that goes on to
keep things running every week. But something has changed in the last
couple of years. I’m now married, expecting my first child, working
full-time, and part-time at church while also completing seminary,
producing a podcast, and a plethora of other small things. Phew, I’m
exhausted just thinking about it!
I’ve also noticed that my alone time with God has suffered, my blood
pressure is higher than it was a couple of years ago, and, even with
sleep, I just always feel a little bit tired.
Eliminating Hurry
Maybe this resonates with you and sounds similar in some of the broad
strokes on the million different things you have going on in your life.
There’s been this looming suspicion that something has to give to make a
change. Then I picked up the book “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”
by John Mark Comer. It’s not a long book. And contained in those pages
is a monumental mental shift in how I need to organize my life.
Comer starts by pointing out the problems he faced in his life and
then progresses to lay out the history of how we as humanity have just
gotten too busy for anything. One of the most shocking realities is that
the rapid secularization we see in our culture and the church likely
has many of its roots in the contained busyness that we increasingly see
continuing to devour our lives.
Comer quotes John Ortberg (who wrote the book’s foreword): “For many
of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is
that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we
will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives
instead of living them.”
When I read this, it brought the pit that had been growing in my
stomach right up to my throat as I had to grapple with the practical
reality of what I had just mentally consumed. The image was now clear;
some stuff has to go.
Here’s the tension that we all face. Most or much of what we do is
good stuff. Many of us are working for the kingdom, doing all we can to
share the gospel and see people’s lives transformed as they follow
Jesus. But what often happens is that we fill our lives so much that
life just passes us by as we rush from thing to thing.
In a recent prayer meeting of local pastors, someone shared something they heard that brings all of this to a point:
“If a church found out their pastor broke nine of the Ten
Commandments, the pastor would probably get fired. But if they found out
their pastor was breaking the commandment to keep a sabbath, the pastor
would probably get a raise.”
Let that sink in for a moment.
We live in a time and culture where much of the church is being
rocked by well-known leadership falling to their brokenness in public
ways. Yes, the church needs to deal with these issues and ensure that
those kinds of things have no place in God’s kingdom, especially in
leadership. But once it comes to the question of the Sabbath, we keep it
as an open secret that it doesn’t matter if our pastor does not keep
that one. Why would we want to?
Countercultural Solitude
Our culture and we in the church have become enslaved to busyness,
always working on something. Jesus presents a different way: one that is
slower, that provides a life lived with intentionality. Jesus took
intentional time to be in solitude, and never rushed even when He knew
someone was sick and dying (i.e. Jairus’ daughter or Lazarus). This kind
of life is countercultural in more than just a moral or political way.
It’s something that is practiced by just about everyone regardless of
political affiliation or career.
Many of us are racking our brains trying to find out “what is going
to bring in the youth.” What if presenting the way of Jesus to live a
slower life is the thing their hearts are longing for — not just to be
saved from their sins, but to literally have a different kind of life
where they actually live rather than going from appointment to
appointment?
I highly recommend that you grab a copy of “The Ruthless Elimination
of Hurry.” Comer doesn’t just diagnose the problem but provides a
thoughtful and practical guide from the life of Jesus. If we are those
who claim to be His followers, it also means living as He did. That
doesn’t mean we don’t have times where we are busy, or that life can’t
be full of things to do. But we need to take those things and live life
holding all of them loosely in the light of our relationship with Christ
that is the only thing that can satisfy.
by Joel V Webb | Mar 20, 2024 | Uncategorized
Has it ever happened to you, in the middle of a conversation
someone jumps in at exactly the wrong moment, and without the context of the
last few minutes, hears a line that on its own sounds really bad? I could be
talking with someone about their computer not working and say “did you try
unplugging it and giving it a kick?”, but at that moment a person joins the
conversation, and not knowing things I’m talking about a person and is horrified. This example
is a bit silly, and probably unrealistic, but it illustrates the point. Context
is key in understanding not just what someone is saying, but why as well.
Often times when we read 1 Timothy 2:11-15, we walk away
with the conclusion that Paul is saying women can’t preach in church, and then
infer from that women can’t be pastors. Seems like a simple reading of the
text, right? But what about why Paul is writing these specific words to
Timothy?
I will be summarizing several thoughts from Marg Mowczko,
who wrote a fascinating post about the connection to Gnostic literature and
this passage. (I will also link the full post at the bottom of this one).
We know that Gnosticism was one of the primary heresies that
was plaguing the early church. Gnosticism comes from the Greek work gnosis
meaning knowledge. Within this heresy it was believed that a person could received
secret knowledge from God that superseded the teachings of Jesus. This was
often used to promote either strict asceticism, or be the foundation for living
immorally. What is fascinating is that some of the gnostic literature has been
recovered, and reveals that one of the key components was perverted teachings
when it comes to the story of Adam & Eve. Often in these gnostic
narratives, Eve was elevated as the first, and often as the teacher, and
superior to Adam (specific quotations from these writings are found in the
linked blog post from Marg).
So what is the connection?
Textual evidence (1 Tim. 1:3–7; 2:5, 15; 4:1–4, 7; 6:20) and
writings from Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Eusebius suggest that one of the primary
issues faced by Timothy in the city of Ephesus was dealing with Gnosticism. As
we know Paul’s letters were usually written in response to problems facing
these churches of the recipients, it is very likely that Paul is addressing elements
of gnostic teachings in this letter. This would address why Paul writes specifically
about women teaching, and why he lays out the Biblical account of Adam & Eve
as a means of correcting the error being taught by the Gnostic.
What do we do with this?
We know that Paul was writing in context, addressing
specific issues in the church. The problem was not that women as a whole were
teaching. It seems that because of wrong gnostic teaching, women felt superior and
justified in supplanting men in ministry on the whole. Because of other
evidence in Paul’s writings, and the affirmation of women in position of
teaching in home churches, the writings specifically in 2 Timorthy, and in
other areas like 1 Corinthians are addressing issues of order and false
teaching, rather than a general ban on women in ministry.
Again, I hope you will check out Marg’s post specifically on
this topic as she covers it much more in depth.
https://margmowczko.com/adam-and-eve-in-gnostic-literature/
by Joel V Webb | Feb 16, 2024 | Uncategorized
A lot of buzz has been going around the Christian internet sphere
about the recent ad campaign from “He Gets Us”. I have seen a lot
of posts from people who are either for or against the campaign. For
myself personally I think they both have valid points.
For the against
crowd their focus is on the lack of a repentance message. Ultimately,
no matter how you parse it the core of the Gospel is that we are to
turn to Christ, repent, and follow Him in the new life He offers. If
we leave this out (even under the guise of pre-evangelism),
people may think that following Jesus can happen without a change.
That change can only truly come from the power of the Holy Spirit
working in our lives. Through prevenient grace, God opens our eyes to
our need for repentance to make the choice to ask Christ to forgive
us, and then we begin to follow Him. Demonstrating our allegiance to
our King in every aspect of our lives. I do also share some of the
political leaning concerns as well. The messaging that is presented
does utilize imagery and hints towards a more progressive liberal
political message that is hard to separate from what they are trying
to do. The definition of “hate” in our modern world really means,
“you don’t agree or accept how I live my life, so you hate me!”
That is not the definition of hate, and utilizing that definition,
then Jesus would be called a hater for calling people out of their
sin. Not making them comfortable in it.
On the other hand,
there is room to agree with some of the heart that this particular
campaign is getting at. From my perspective many in the Evangelical
world have traded gospel witness for political activity. This is not
to say we shouldn’t be involved in politics. We are to be! But it
seems that for some the primary method of bringing about change has
turned to political mechanisms, rather than the Great Commission.
Instead of proclaiming Christ as King and having our hope in Him,
some seem to ascribe messianic power to the presidency of whoever is
their candidate of choice (be it Republican or Democrat). As
Christians our method of impacting the world around us never has
been, and never will be politics…rather transformed hearts. When we
trade God’s Kingdom for setting up our own it leads to tyranny,
injustice and death. Because of much of this many’s discourse has
become very militant and unloving. Rather than presenting the gospel,
we also throw in whichever partisan politics we want to see
established.
So what are we to
do?
Balance and wisdom
are needed. Any gospel preached without repentance is not actually
good news because it does not solve our greatest human need.
Salvation. Likewise, we are to love and be gracious. Jesus didn’t
demand the Zealots or Pharisees to join the others movement, but
rather to follow Him and sin no more. We can and should stand firm on
the truth of the gospel, while at the same time being filled with
love and grace towards those who are hurt and broken, in need of
hearing the transforming message of the gospel. Just like all who now
follow Christ did before coming to a saving knowledge of King Jesus.
The washing takes
place, the washing away of our sins.
by Joel V Webb | Jan 17, 2024 | Uncategorized
We look at the world around us and wonder what is going on!? We see so much polarization, conflict and no matter what issue it seems there is either one side or the other.
What do we do? What is our path forward?
The question among most faithful Christians is “do we have the right position?” This is an important question to ask. Is the position we have truly grounded in a faithful interpretation of Scripture. Are we in line with what Christians have believed for most of our history and is it in line with God’s story seen in Scripture.
I don’t think for most of us this is the issue. For many we seem to be inside the big tent of orthodoxy. Yes, we don’t all line up exactly on every single issue, but overall, we are in agreement about the big stuff.
So, then what is the problem? Why is it that in some towns there needs to be 2 pastor’s prayer groups. Not because of schedule, but because some feel they can’t be in the same room praying as others. Why are we so quick to circle the wagons when our issue of choice comes up?
This comes down to not being an issue of position, but of posture. We spend so much time making sure we are thinking the way Jesus wants me to think about this thing (which does have importance), and taking no time to think “how would Jesus have gone about this?”
If we are honest, we realize that in most cases we would be with the group of people who were ready to stone the woman in adultery. How many of us would truly be the ones standing in the way of that. Yes, we are to follow Jesus faithfully in all things. Though we seem to get that confused with living our lives with rigid legalism, that if no one lines up then “TO HECK WITH EM”.
The last couple days I have spent a lot of time thinking about this. This side of new creation we are ALL going to image Christ imperfectly. No matter how hard we try, or how good we think out theology is, it’s going to be imperfect.
Maybe what needs to happen in a world that is rife with conflict, and people going to either side of the spectrum on any given issue to be the person standing in the middle. Yes, having a position that is consistent with a faithful Christian witness, that does not compromise the truth. And a posture that is loving and merciful, being a healing balm to a world that is hurting and in search of something more than the next talking point.
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