"Why the Church Needs Intergenerational Friendships"

Do all your friends fit within your own age demographic? What might you be missing out on if this is the case? How might this be counterproductive not only in your own spiritual life but in the spiritual health of a local church?

Unfortunately, we are much like electricity, following the path of least resistance, when it comes to friendships. But when we do this, we fail to maintain and participate in the unity God has built into the body of Christ.  We can miss out on hearing more of God's great works, as Psalm 71: says,

So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come (v. 18). 

I recently read an article at the gospel coalition blog by Joseph Rhea entitled, "Why the Church Needs Intergenerational Friendships." In his article, Rhea lists several of the benefits of friendships across generational lines and some of the hard work associated with developing such friendships. Below are some excerpts, but you really should read the short article.

Benefits:

1. Wisdom "The most obvious gain is the wisdom that comes from perspectives other than our own."
2. Wonder "Learning the stories of God’s work in wildly different situations leads to wonder at his power and character."
3. Godliness He lists several areas, but one is love. He writes, "Loving someone different from me requires me to love more deliberately. I’m going to have to ask more questions and listen better. To hear things I don’t understand and maybe things I don’t agree with. I might have to sacrifice things on my schedule or my style. But developing that intergenerational friendship will make me into a more maturely loving person."

What it takes to gain these benefits (ie. to form intergenerational friendships). 

1. I must be willing to push through discomfort.
2. I must speak and listen charitably.
3. I must elevate Jesus above all else. 

A quick word about peer friendships. For some, it is hard to develop friendships with peers and, maybe, easier to do this with older folks. It is good to have those friendships with older folks, but don't neglect the benefits and unity with believers your own age within the church body. If you think they are too immature for you, then ask yourself, how should a mature believer respond to those that are immature? What does Christian love look like in such situations? 

Advice from John Piper on Staying Close to God while in College

This short (13 minute) audio from the Ask Pastor John podcast  (episode 1081) is worth a listen. He responds to a question about how to stay close to God while in college. Here are his main points, but you really need to hear him flesh them out (or read the transcript).

1. Prepare for War
2. Love the Word
3. Invest in a Church
4. Find Good Friends
5. Ask for Help

Don't Exchange "Eulogy Virtues" for "Resume Virtues"

I recently read Ben Sasse's book, The Vanishing American Adult: Our coming-of -age crisis and how to rebuild a culture of self-reliance. In one place he writes to parents,

In our effort to develop our kids' talents, to provide them with a set of extracurricular experiences even more impressive than our own to help them stand out from the rest of the college-bound crowd, many of us might be unintentionally displacing lifelong "eulogy virtues" in favor of mere "resume virtures." 

This got me to thinking about the pressure in our culture, especially for high school and college students, to merely produce (and at times not even to produce so much as to get their names on a list or check off a box of having done something). There is a push to do a lot of things to build up our resume and make ourselves more marketable.

But what if that signifies a great loss for us and our culture.  Don't get me wrong, God did make us to produce, and He warns us against being lazy and self-indulgent. However, He made us to represent Him in all our production. This requires us growing in godly characteristics (see Titus 1 - 2 for example).

Perhaps we should still focus on building resumes (after all we will need them to find jobs), but what if we did it more with an eye of seeing how God would use us to serve others and how he would use those situations to develop a greater love in our hearts for Himself.

The usefulness of mere resume virtues will come to end one day. But "eulogy virtues" (or in biblical terms, godliness) is of lasting value.

If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come (1 Tim 4:6-8).

 If you are looking for a place to start "training yourself for godliness," why not start with the list of virtues God gives us in 1 Timothy and Titus (see below).

Five Vices to Replace

Vice	Opposite	Application
Arrogance/Self-will- Pushy and seeking one's own will instead of God's and instead of looking out for the interests of others. It is also a pride that won’t receive criticism well.	A humble servant who looks out for the interest of others instead of using power for personal gain (Matt. 20:25-28). A proper view of self (a sinner) which enables you to receive criticism.	Do you often push for your own way? How are you looking out for the interests of others? How do you handle criticism?  Do you examine it humbly to see if it is true or does it go “in one ear and out the other?”
Quick-Tempered- Having a “short fuse,” or being easily angered.	Humility, gentleness, patience, love (Eph. 4:1-2)	Are you easily provoked to anger by people and situations? If you ask someone to do something and they don’t do it the way you want or they fail, how do you respond? With patience or in anger?
Drunkard- A person whose companion is wine (or any other substance that causes a person to not be clear-headed/sober-minded).	Being self-controlled and filled with the Spirit (Eph. 4:18).	Are you free not to drink? Do you drink to the point of not being clear-headed? Do you see alcohol as a means of escaping life’s problems?
Violent- Abusiveness, meanness, or fighting to get one’s own way or to suppress opposition. Riding rough-shod over others or bullying them with physical violence or with your words.	Gentleness (1 Tim 3:3) and being a peacemaker (Rom. 12:18).	Do you like brawling to get your way (physically or striking with your words)? Are you argumentative or quick to attack those who get in your way or express a different opinion? Or, do you seek peace in situations?
Greedy for Gain- Seeking financial or material gain without integrity.  Loving money and material things. Unsatisfied with what you have.	Contentment (1 Tim. 6:6), seeking God’s Kingdom and His righteousness above all (Matt. 6). Being a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).	Are you content financially and materially? Or do you constantly seek happiness in having newer and nicer things (phones, clothes, etc.)?

Six Virtues to Put on

Virtue	Application
Hospitable- One who gives practical help to new comers.	Are you welcoming new people at church instead of just talking to your group of friends? Do you try to meet the needs of other Christians that you do not know that well? Or are you quick to make excuses and slow to inconvenience yourself for others?
Loving what is good- Loves what is good as opposed to sinful, worthless, and not God-glorifying.	Our close friendships should be with those who love good things. The ultimate “good” is Christ. So you should love those who love Christ. Do the TV shows you watch make light of that which is evil according to God?  The problem is not that you would go do the things you see, but that you are mentally delighting in what is not good.
Sensible- Being wise and thoughtful. Not being driven by emotion, but cool-headed.	Are you controlled in your thinking, not given to a lack of control and being “feelings” driven?
Upright- Living righteously and justly.	Do you seek to practice righteousness in your everyday life? Do you want to be just in your dealings with others?
Holy/Devout- Living a life that is pleasing to God.	Do you regularly confess and repent of your sin before the Lord (even if others don’t know about it)? Do you seek to find out what pleases the Lord from His Word? Do you seek to do what is pleasing to the Lord?
Disciplined/ Self-controlled- Having one’s desires in check and under control.	Are you ruled by your desires for money, sleep (laziness), food (overeating), and/or material things? Do you lack control with your use of time (wasting much time on TV or the Internet) or money? Or do you rule over your desires so that you might be focused on pursuing the one prize- namely, Jesus (1 Cor. 9:24-27)?

The Heresy of Racial Superiority

I have not really kept up with news recently, but based on the news out of Charlotte, I think it is worth reminding ourselves that ideas of racial superiority are not in line with the gospel.

Dr. Mohler has a good article entitled "Letter from Berlin: the lessons of history and the heresy of racial superiority." Below is a section that I wanted to highlight (but the whole thing is worth a read).

We must see claims of racial superiority–and mainly that means claims of white superiority–as heresy. 

That is not a word we use casually. Heresy leads to a denial of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the eclipse of the living God as revealed in the Bible. A claim of white superiority is not merely wrong, and not merely deadly. It is a denial of the glory of God in creating humanity—every single human being–in his own image. It is a rejection of God’s glory in creating a humanity of different skin pigmentation. It is a misconstrual of God’s judgment and glory in creating different ethnicities. 

Most urgently, it is a rejection of the gospel of Christ–the great good news of God’s saving purpose in the atonement accomplished by Christ. A claim of racial superiority denies our common humanity, our common sinfulness, our common salvation through faith in Christ, and God’s purpose to create a common new humanity in Christ. 

You cannot preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and hold to any notion of racial superiority. It is impossible.

Why is this true? Here are a few reasons ideas of racial superiority are antithetical to the gospel:

1. The gospel is predicated on the fact that there is one race - the human race- which began in Adam and in which we all find ourselves dead in sin. All of us are "in Adam" (Rom. 5). 
2. The gospel is the good news of God for our salvation - all of our salvation. Colossians 3:11 tells us that being in Christ is what saves us. When it comes to our salvation we all come to God through Jesus Christ. We are on equal footing. 
3. The gospel restores what was broken at the fall into sin, including a breaking down of hostility between people based on racial differences (Ephesians 2:13-15). 
4. White supremacy (or any other type) is not compatible with the gospel because it is a form of self-righteousness and pride. 

As Christians, as people shaped by the gospel, we must  clearly articulate that all people are created equal.

A Younger Generation Will Sit in Judgement on Our's

It should be clear to us that future generations do sit in judgment on those that preceded them. We do it with the horrific issues of slavery, racism, and the holocaust. We do it when we look back on generations that did amazing things as evidenced by books like The Greatest Generation.

How might future generations reflect on ours when it comes to the issue of abortion? I don't know the immediate future. I know that ultimately God is our judge, and, so, we must fear him and not what others think. Popular opinion in our generation or future generations is not our benchmark. That being said, I found this quote from Frederica Matthewes - Green to be thought provoking.

The pro-life cause is perennially unpopular, and pro-lifers get used to being misrepresented and wrongly accused. There are only a limited number of people who are going to be brave enough to stand up on the side of an unpopular cause. But sometimes a cause is so urgent, is so dramatically clear, that it’s worth it. What cause could be more outrageous than violence — fatal violence — against the most helpless members of our human community? If that doesn’t move us, how hard are our hearts? If that doesn’t move us, what will ever move us? 

In time, it’s going to be impossible to deny that abortion is violence against children. Future generations, as they look back, are not necessarily going to go easy on ours. Our bland acceptance of abortion is not going to look like an understandable goof. In fact, the kind of hatred that people now level at Nazis and slave-owners may well fall upon our era. Future generations can accurately say, “It’s not like they didn’t know.” They can say, “After all, they had sonograms.” They may consider this bloodshed to be a form of genocide. They might judge our generation to be monsters. 

One day, the tide is going to turn. With that Supreme Court decision 43 years ago, one of the sides in the abortion debate won the day. But sooner or later, that day will end. No generation can rule from the grave. The time is coming when a younger generation will sit in judgment of ours. And they are not obligated to be kind. 

The quote is from an article published at the National Review on January 22, 2016. It is entitled "Roe v. Wade -- Abortion Won the Day, but Sooner or Later That Day Will End." I came across it while listening to a Gospel Coalition Podcast message by Justin Taylor entitled  How Should we Think about Abortion? 

"6 Ways to Avoid Delayed Adulthood"

Here is a helpful article at The Gospel Coalition by 'Gunner' Gundersen. He offers some good challenges to college age men and women (though it can apply to all of us). The whole thing is worth a read. Here is a quote to get entice you

"You can’t lead if you’re not around. You can’t serve if you don’t come. You can’t help if you’re not here. So if you want to mature, start by making wise commitments, and then follow through on those commitments." 

Below is his outline:

1. Desire
2. Commitment 
3. Faithfulness
4. Humility
5. Courage
6. Resilience 

Read his article to find out more... 

Get a Handle on the Canon: Is the Canon Closed?

My series, "Get a Handle on the Canon" is coming to a close. So it is fitting to think about whether the canon is closed. That is, should we expect more inspired writings to come to us from God? 

Should we Expect More Writings from God?

No. There are at least two reasons we can say this is the case. The first is practical and the second is theological. 

First, 

“[a]ccording to the church’s categories for canonicity (apostolic, catholic [wide use by the church], orthodox…), it would be impossible to have any additions to the canon. For example, even if a genuine and orthodox letter of the apostle Paul were discovered, that letter would not have had widespread usage in the early church (that is, it could never claim catholicity). The canon of Scripture is closed” (Plummer, 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, pg 66).

Second, we expect no new revelation from God since Jesus has come as the final and fullest revelation of God. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, 

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son...

The NT ends with a view of the complete fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. The Old Testament contained many promises, the New Testament contains the fulfillment. The NT gives us a picture of redemptive history that takes us all the way to the New Heaven's and New Earth (the eternal state). Thus, there is nothing more to add. We are waiting for the return of the King, Jesus, who will bring in the fullness of the Kingdom. The only revealing that awaits is the Son of Man returning in the clouds (Mark 13:26, Rev. 1:7).