Today’s guest blogger is Frank Turk, he of Pyromaniancs fame. He shares what was meant to be a recorded conference message but has instead been relegated (reduced?) to a blog post.

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Some of the massive throng of readers for this blog may know that I was nominated to speak at “theNines” this year — which is an on-line event where the speakers record 9 minutes of advice for people in ministry, and the event itself is free of change. Turns out that I have also been selected. Only the rules changed this year: instead of 9 minutes, we only get 6, and the topic has itself also changed significantly. Until there’s a public announcement about that, I’ll leave that to the chaps at Leadership Network and Catalyst to disambiguate the situation.

BUT: the changes leave me with a 9-minute talk that I drafted and now cannot use — until Tim e-mailed me yesterday and asked for a submission to help him keep his blog running for a couple of days while he’s away from his desk. So for all of you, here’s what I would have said if nothing else had changed:

First of all, to sort of throw a rock at my normal constituents, I want to strongly recommend Rick Warren’s video from last year about what the purpose of the local church is. That’s a great nine minutes on what the local church ought to be, and you should go back to the archives to watch that one again and again because he’s right.

There’s another side to what Pastor Warren said in that video, and I wanted to make that the focus of my brief time here: it’s the topic of “bigness”. See: a subtext of Pastor Warren’s talk is that a ministry is not really fruitful unless it’s big – because really: only a big church with big resources can do what Saddleback does on paper and in fact in the real world. You can’t send thousands of missionaries and planters unless you have tens of thousands supporting them – or at least as a base from which to draw all those people.

And I think we have to ask: is that exactly what we’re supposed to be doing? Should we be trying to be as big as possible so we can turn out people in droves to missions and church planting?

Now: here’s the wrong answer. The wrong answer is, “house church is NT church, and everything bigger than a couple dozen is a bloated American drive-thru theology that is both unbiblical and unsavory.” That’s just simply wrong. The first church in the NT had 3000 members after the first day. The churches Paul planted usually met with trouble because they were large enough in ancient Mediterranean cities to cause economic and social changes by changing the way they lived. Big is clearly not bad, or unbiblical.

But in the context of North America, we have a problem the ancient church did not: we are experts at business process, and we are lean thinkers from the top down. We believe that mass production is a brilliant organizational and systematic approach, and we think that we should be able to do more with less – so for example, we think that one guy should be able to run an organization which takes in $5 million a year with relative ease, he should be highly compensated, and he should have an executive staff who runs things for him so he can be the vision guy. We can even cite the book of Acts where the Apostles say they refuse to wait tables for the sake of being the messengers of God’s word — to sanctify our own belief that some kind of executive pyramid is best for the church, and we can achieve more with less, and we can move from good to great – with absolutely no offense or criticism meant by me toward Jim Collins.

The problem is this: we are not marketing a product. We are not making widgets. Seriously: we are not really asking people to make some kind of commercial transaction where they give something and the church or God gives them something back. What we have is a situation in which everyone we want to tell about this Jesus who was crucified thinks they have much to give God – including advice about how to run and fix the world – when in fact we ought to point to the fact that they have nothing to give God, and that is their main problem. What we are here to put in the marketplace, as Paul did in Athens, is a declaration that for all our wealth and culture and religion, we are all now being told by God through Jesus Christ that we have no excuse of ignorance, and that when God comes to judge it will not be enough to say that we offered sacrifices and very solemn and earnest reflection to an unknown god.

We are not marketing a product with benefits which people can buy and therefore use as they please.

If we are the church, and we are concerned about the Gospel, we are telling people that the only hope they have is in disgrace. See: the only thing we have is a man who came and chastised the religious people – the liberals and the conservatives – for thinking they were safe, and for making God someone who owes them something. He said they were leading people not to the gates of heaven but to programs, and activities, and things they called discipleship – but he said this made those people twice as much a child of hell, and they have the gates of Heaven shut in their faces.

And this man chastised his believers for following him around, wanting him to feed and clothe them, and give them a high place in his revolutionary kingdom. And this man was put to death for his trouble, condemned, and disgraced.

The ones who condemned him had big churches, and they wanted a God who liked and in fact wanted big churches. And this guy – the guy we have to offer the world – told them that their big churches were useless, and that in fact he would leave them desolate - empty.

So there’s a tension in Scripture you ought to think about: God has called many people, and is glorified when people are saved by Him in large numbers. But maybe it’s a burden on those of us who want to lead God’s people, and to lead them well, to think about whether God has called us to move from Good to Great and market a product which will draw a crowd, or whether God has in fact called us to declare something which is the opposite of success, and the opposite of human excellence, for the sake of making people glad to be named the scum of the earth for the sake of Christ.

When the 3000 believed and were baptized on that first day of the church, they didn’t then form a mission statement, and then create an org chart, and then set up ministry zones or whatever: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need, And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

That’s the definition of “big church”, y’all. Somehow we should have the teachings of the Apostles in the first place, and it should cause us to be people who want to be in the fellowship of others whom God has saved. It should make us generous, and selfless, as if we were people with nothing to lose – we should be convinced that neither death nor life, not angels or devils, not things present or things to come, not politics or criminals, not any height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, including the things we make for ourselves, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Think about your ministry. Does it lift Christ up so that people want to give up something rather than gain something? We cannot build big churches when they are composed of people with small, unsaved hearts. Is being bigger and greater going to cause your church to be more like the church in Acts 2 – or more like something you can buy from an infomercial that comes with 6 DVDs and a workbook?

Think about that – because the last thing you want when you see Jesus is for him to tell your house is desolate. Who wants their life’s work to look like a cathedral on the outside, but in the end it gets burned up like a house made of straw and sticks?

Let me challenge you, folks, to make churches that are big churches – but not big as the world measures it, as if Jesus came to die so you could be a life coach, or have a famous podcast. Make your church big on Jesus’ death for sin, and big on mortifying our human accomplishments, and big on giving this message and everything else it takes in order that many people will be saved, and many people will hear Jesus say to them, “well done, you good and faithful servant”.

Be that big. Pray about that, and be in the Lord’s house with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day. Grace and peace to you. Amen.

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Frank Turk is a guy with a blog who has really amazing friends. He blogs with Phil Johnson and Dan Phillips (and Pecadillo) at teampyro.blogspot.com, and with the army of multi-spectrum evangelicals at firstthings.com’s Evangel, and at his own personal blog which you can find at iturk.com.

Frank works full time in the renewable energy sector, has a wife and kids, and loves his local church.

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It’s easy to grow discouraged at the state of the church. As a person who invests a lot of time and attention to studying the church, her health and what Jesus requires of her, I often find myself prone to lamenting her state. Writers from all backgrounds and denominations have written about the church, and I have read many of these books and publications. The standard book begins with a few chapters outlining all the ways the church has failed with the rest of the book providing the solution. If only we did this or that or the other thing, we would make the church what she was intended to be. I haven’t read too many books that give the church a pat on the back and say “good job!” Maybe for good reason. Maybe not. When I wrote The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment I was deliberate in not doing that, in not giving a long list of all the ways the church has failed. What real value would there be in spreading that seed of discouragement?

Here are just a couple of examples of people who have taken on the church in recent years. Rick Warren wrote the mega-seller The Purpose Driven Church and in it he proclaimed that the church has lost sight of her purpose and that God was calling her to rediscover it. Millions of pastors bought and read this book and began what Warren refers to as the Second Reformation—a Reformation of purpose. A couple of years ago I counted six or seven books in the Christian bookstore heralding “the next Reformation,” yet all of them pointed towards a different basis for this Reformation. The men and women of the Emergent community (does anyone even remember Emergent anymore?) continually wrote indictments of the church, showing how, in their view, she has failed in the modern world and is primed to be an even greater failure in the postmodern world. A person who was fully immersed in the emerging church sent me an email once and wrote about “denominational distinctives that strive to keep us divided” as if churches are purposely focusing on the distinctives in order to drive wedges between them and other believers. There are any number of other authors that identify problems and tell us how to fix them. Many people are proud to be believers, yet are ashamed to be part of the church, the visible body of Christ. They portray the church as being purposeless, intellectual and ancient, knowingly and joyfully trapped in the past, snickering as we watch our neighbors fall into the abyss.

Yet the church is not a failure; the church—the remnant of those who are faithful, who compose only a part of the wider, visible church, remain true to Christ and continue to do God’s work in the world. Jesus himself told us that the road to salvation is narrow and only a few enter, so we should not be surprised when there are far more who turn their backs than respond with joy. We mourn their loss but trust in God’s sovereignty in saving a people to himself. This I can guarantee: 100% of God’s people have been (or will be!) ministered to and shaped by the Word of God. Every one of them has heard the preaching of a minister of the Word or has read a Bible lovingly and obediently translated. Every one of them has been successfully ministered to by another Christian. Why then do we dwell so often and sometimes exclusively on our failures and shortcomings? Does this honor God and glorify him for the battles that have been won and the lives he has changed through us?

Too often we see the church as an abject failure. I used to receive regular emails from a friend who has a high view of his own sin. He tends to sign his emails as “your sinful, spiteful, hell-deserving sinner of a friend” or something else along those lines. He never hides from his own sin, and I admire that. And while it is fully true that he is a sinner and no doubt feels spite and malice and while he does deserve hell, this is only half the story. In his view of his sin I think he often loses sight of the fact that in God’s eyes he is now a beautiful new creation, restored to the image of the Creator. He has been bought with precious blood and adopted into the family of the king! I continually have to remind him that he is focusing on only half of the battle. His emphasis on his sin does not allow him to see the beauty of what he has become. And I think this is how the church often sees itself—it sees the bad and loses track of all the great things that the church has accomplished through Christ and for the glory of God. It sees in the church the image of sinful humanity but loses sight of the fact that the church is the beautiful bride of Christ.

The church, despite sin and failings and shortcomings and imperfections of all sorts is a glorious body and one that I know Christ is proud of. I know that there is so much more we could do, and must do. I know the church is not all that God wants it to be. Yet I am confident that it brings him glory and makes him proud.

So if you are part of this body, allow yourself a moment of gratitude and awe for what God has done in and through his body; thank God that you can be part of something so awesome, so glorious, so godly. And then put your hand to the plow and continue the work he has entrusted to us.

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Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of books or other resources. Vote in the poll below if you think any of these titles are worthy of a full-length book review!

What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage

Marriage, according to Scripture, will always involve two flawed people living with each other in a fallen world. Yet, in pastor Paul Tripp’s professional experience, the majority of couples enter marriage with unrealistic expectations, leaving them unprepared for the day-to-day realities of married life.

This unique book introduces a biblical and practical approach to those realities that is rooted in God’s faithfulness and Scripture’s teaching on sin and grace. “Spouses need to be reconciled to each other and to God on a daily basis,” Tripp declares. “Since we’re always sinners married to sinners, reconciliation isn’t just the right response in moments of failure. It must be the lifestyle of any healthy marriage.”

What Did You Expect? presents six practical commitments that give shape and momentum to such a lifestyle. These commitments will equip couples to develop a thriving, grace-based marriage in all circumstances and seasons of their relationship.

Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels

God’s compassion and pardon are utterly shocking in their lavish abundance–that’s a lesson God himself pounded into the epic life-story of one man who kept resisting in whatever way he could. Surprised by Grace retells that man’s true story–in a gripping presentation that will open readers’ eyes wider than ever to God’s relentless, purposeful, and inexhaustible grace.

The man’s name isn’t new to anyone. It’s Jonah, the famous Old Testament prophet. This fresh unfolding of his story seeks to recapture the staggering effect it had on those who first encountered it so many centuries ago–the same shock effect that’s desperately needed today among those who think they know God’s heart far better than they really do.

In a powerful journey through unforgettable events and imagery, Surprised by Grace reveals how relentlessly God pursues rebels (a category that ultimately includes everyone), though he has every right and plenty of reasons to give up on us all.

Rescuing Ambition

Many think of ambition as nothing more than the drive for personal honor or fame. As a result, ambition–the God-implanted drive to improve, produce, develop, and create–is neglected and well on its way to paralysis.

For some, dreams are numbed. For others, there are no dreams; life just happens. And for those who are dreaming, motives are often confused. One thing is certain: ambition needs help.

Dave Harvey is calling for a rescue. He wants to snatch ambition from the heap of failed motivations and put it to work for the glory of God. To understand our ambition, we must understand that we are on a quest for glory. And where we find glory determines the success of our quest.

Has your God-given ambition been starved and sedated for too long? Are you ambitious? It’s time to reach further and dream bigger for the glory of God.

Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe

Doctrine is the word Christians use to define the truth-claims revealed in Holy Scripture. Of course there is a multitude of churches, church networks, and denominations, each with their own doctrinal statement with many points of disagreement. But while Christians disagree on a number of doctrines, there are key elements that cannot be denied by anyone claiming to be a follower of Jesus.

In Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe, Driscoll and Breshears teach thirteen of these key elements. This meaty yet readable overview of basic doctrine will help Christians clarify and articulate their beliefs in accordance with the Bible.

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Working for Moody Publishers is great because you get exposed to many fine thinkers, orators, and writers. You get to hear what’s on their hearts and minds and then watch them turn that passion into books. And my job is to help connect that passion in the book with its intended audience. With that in mind, let me tell you about some of our new and recent releases.

The 18th century pastor-theologian Jonathan Edwards has long been a favorite source of inspiration and passion for many Christians. However, most people don’t go beyond their high school study of “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” to get to know Edwards better. After all, Edwards wrote a lot of sermons, texts, and notes, (all in often confusing old English) and he was a deep thinker. Where would one person begin to sort through it all and come to understandable conclusions?

Experts Douglas Sweeney and Owen Strachan introduce, present, and reflect on the choicest treasures of Edwards’s writings, but do so in a way that everyone can understand in The Essential Edwards Collection. Introduced by John Piper, these five slim volumes (Jonathan Edwards on Beauty, on the Good Life, on True Christianity, on Heaven and Hell, and Jonathan Edwards, Lover of God) provide a great basic understanding of the essential writings and topics of Edwards’s life and ministry. So don’t be too intimidated to get to know Edwards better and with him, the glorious God he served.

Let me ask you a question. Where is the doctrinal pendulum in the church right now? Conservative legalists had their day, and then the emergent church had its day with a “deeds not creeds” mantra. It seems to me that the pendulum on doctrine and faith statements is swinging back again as people are into social justice “deeds,” but they are motivated because of doctrine they believe in as recorded in “creeds.” People today don’t seem satisfied with easy, noncommittal answers–they want to explore the depth of doctrine. Many now see that within creeds and catechisms we can have our faith strengthened, our knowledge broadened, and our love for Jesus deepened.

If you are one of those folks, I want to recommend The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung. In it, Kevin explains the Heidelberg Catechism, why he loves it and hopes more people come to love it. The result is a clear-headed, warm-hearted exploration of the faith, simple enough for young believers and deep enough for mature ones. So I invite you to see what “vintage faith” is. I believe you’ll be surprised how much you’ll enjoy this book on a 16th-century faith document. We can’t afford to forget what it teaches–We are great sinners and Christ is a greater Savior!

Sharing Christ with friends and family can be scary for many people. Now what if it’s sharing Christ with a Muslim co-worker or neighbor? Yikes!…right? It doesn’t have to be that way. Thabiti Anyabwile is a Christian pastor who converted from Islam. He has written The Gospel for Muslims- An Encouragement to Share Christ With Confidence. Written for typical Christians who want to share their faith, Thabiti emphasizes knowing the gospel and having your confidence in its claims, not in a specific evangelism technique, knowledge of Islam, or skill. It’s a handy little volume that is sure to help you effectively share Christ with any Muslim that the Lord brings you into contact with.

Finally, if you are interested in or already do missions work, please consider Reaching And Teaching by M. David Sills. Sills loves missionaries and their desire to reach people for Christ. However, his research reveals that, unfortunately, many aren’t teaching those new believers effectively enough before moving on to reach others. Where is the right balance between reaching and teaching? I’m reading it so I can be more faithful to what Christ has called and equipped me to do.

Well, I guess that’s all for now. Enjoy spring, everyone! And if you are going to the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville in April, look for me and let’s talk about these books. I’d also love to hear about what issues you’re facing in ministry and what books and resources you would like to see that could help you.

Thanks for reading!
-Keith Wiederwax, Church Life and Reference Marketing Manager-Moody Publishers

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Lately I’ve been sharing a few of the hymns and songs we sing at Grace Fellowship Church that are original or somewhat rare. Here is one written by Joseph Hart in the mid-1700′s. We sing it to a new melody written by our lead worshiper and use one of the verses as a chorus. I am particularly drawn to the third stanza: “Convince us of our sin / Then lead to Jesus’ blood / And to our wondering view reveal / The mercies of our God.” How beautiful is that?

Here is the hymn:

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
Let Thy bright beams arise;
Dispel the sorrow from our minds,
The darkness from our eyes.

‘Tis Thine to cleanse the heart,
To sanctify the soul,
To pour fresh life into each part,
And new-create the whole.

Revive our drooping faith,
Our doubts and fears remove,
And kindle in our breasts the flame
Of never-dying love.

Convince us of our sin,
Then lead to Jesus’ blood,
And to our wondering view reveal
The mercies of our God.

Dwell, therefore, in our hearts;
Our minds from bondage free;
Then shall we know and praise and love
The Father, Son, and Thee.

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