Missional Insights from Scripture

Two Facets of Life Transformation

I am intrigued with Acts, the continuing history of Jesus Christ acting in the Spirit. Over the last weeks, Acts has been the focus of my personal Bible study while I continue to read Psalms and Proverbs in my daily quiet time with God. In fact, I am trying to learn to maintain the distinction between those two encounters with the Word. That doesn’t mean that I do not want to learn during the daily quiet time with God, but I do not want that time to be overwhelmed by my going to bookshelves to get multiple resources with which to exegete passages or read multiple insights of other commentators. In our conversation together, I listen as God speaks, without seeking input from others.

In study, I turn to trusted companions for wisdom and insight; commentaries, Bible Encyclopedia, concordances, and countless hundreds of volumes I have accumulated through the years. I also invite God to provide counsel through the podcasts of fellow believers who share what God is teaching them. Sure, I also have the extensive resources of Libronix Digital Library System (a gem for taking a comprehensive library on my laptop as I travel), but honestly, there is nothing that compares to holding a treasured volume in hand and reading from the familiar pages.

So, after having chased that rabbit, let me return to some recent insights from Acts. When an angel released the apostles from public jail where they had been detained by the high priest and Sadducees, the angel instructed Peter and his cohorts to “…speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life” (Acts 5:20). The “whole message” is a loaded proposition! It might be translated simply “all the words” of this Life. As I read that statement I realized how much more there is to the Gospel than the simple rudimentary truths that I often assume.

In fact, part of the reason the apostles were imprisoned was because of the impact the whole message had upon those it touched. In Acts 3, as they were going into the temple, the apostles encountered a man who had been lame all his life. That man’s interaction with the whole message left him leaping and praising God while astonished crowds looked on. In response to their wonder, Peter proclaimed the Gospel and the powerful name of Jesus.

As the crowd grew, Jewish political leaders arrested the apostles and brought them before the high priest and others political leaders. As Peter explained the healing of the lame man, Peter used two different phrases to describe what had happened. In Acts 4:9, “…this man has been made well,” and in verse 10, “this man stands here before you in good health.” I was astounded as I studied these two phrases which sound synonymous in English.

In Greek, the first of those, made well, is the from the root word σώζω (sotzo) which is often translated “to save.” The second phrase “in good health” uses a different word, ύγιής (hugies) which is translated healthy, well, cured, or whole. It is the word from which we take the English word hygiene.

The whole message is not just about eternal salvation, it is about being made whole. Repeatedly Jesus encountered people with physical maladies and in His compassion He healed them physically while also transforming them spiritually. His own mission statement proclaimed release to captives, sight to the blind, and the favor of the Lord (see Luke 4:18-19).

The Gospel we proclaim does much more than provide spiritual rebirth. Thank God that it is the power of God to salvation. But it is also Good News today, here and now, in its power to meet the needs of physical life with God’s transforming power. The whole message saves us and makes us whole!

It is His Kingdom...not Mine

This Sunday is the “hard launch” of the Village Church Dallas Northway. This is the next step in a congregational story that started September 8, 1952 when Northway Baptist Church began. Started in what were then open fields on the outskirts of far north Dallas, the burgeoning population of Dallas soon brought rapid growth to the area where the church was planted. Its proximity to the heart of the city made it a desirable location for young families. Fifty years later the area has passed through significant transitions, especially to the south and west. Today, those compass points find poverty and diversity among those living near the church facilities. At the same time, to the east and north of the Northway campus are communities of affluence.

Through the years, Northway was involved in God’s mission, ministering locally while engaging members to the ends of the earth. As the church neared its 30th year, it gave many members to begin Prestonwood Baptist Church ensuring a vibrant evangelistic congregation in the rapidly developing “new” north Dallas. Within another 25 years, Northway although still carrying the name, could no longer be considered “north,” instead she became a metropolitan inner city church.

Following different eras of transition, it was my privilege to become the bi-vocational pastor for Northway Baptist Church in June 2007. By then, the congregation was predominantly comprised of elder saints many of whom had been part of the church since its earliest days. The congregation continued to do its best to care for its campus of large aging facilities, buildings that had once been filled with people of all ages. Northway had adapted its services to become more contemporary…and having made that transition was not going back.

It continued to serve those in its community with needed ministries while committing itself to new missional initiatives, giving itself away to the purposes of God’s Kingdom. I was and am so proud of the Northway family for their selfless commitment, giving themselves in God’s mission. While the congregation grew, it continued to be encumbered by facilities that had become much more than what could be adequately maintained and effectively utilized.

As pastor, I prayed that God would do whatever would be required to sustain His mission at Northway. At the same time the Village Church of Highland Village was also praying for a place to plant a new campus in the heart of Dallas. The church had more than 400 families who lived in Dallas and were driving to the Highland Village campus for worship, even though their lives were planted in Dallas. They had a heart for the city, but no location in which to give expression to that heart.

During the first five months of this year, God performed a miracle in bringing the two congregations together. On May 17, Northway Baptist Church voted unanimously to unite with the Village Church to become the Village Church Dallas Northway. I would become the last pastor ever to serve Northway Baptist Church. Some will likely not understand, thinking that I led the church to “give away the farm.” My position of leadership ended June 7, 2009 with a service in which we Celebrated our Legacy of Faith. It was not the end…it was a new beginning.

Summer months have been spent in a “soft launch,” a private time during which the two congregations “marinated” into one. This Sunday, September 13, 2009 is the “hard launch” of the church. Facility enhancements have been accomplished, and a common vision is shared. A facility previously characterized predominantly by elder saints, is now rich with young adults. Each group has found the other to be indispensable in what God is seeking to accomplish. The two have become one. It has not been, and will not be, without some pain. But God is present, hope is full, and the missional future is rich with possibility.

For more information on The Village Church please visit them at www.the villagechurch.net.

Missional Insights: The Capacity of Scripture

It is amazing to contemplate the capacity of Scripture to transform. In what areas can transformation be accomplished? Frequent exposure to scripture transforms the mental models, values, and behaviors of followers of Christ, and through our influence, society becomes more humane. We see differently. Think differently. Act differently.

At this writing, news reports are advising parents to ensure their children receive the H1N1 vaccine, when it becomes available. Healthcare experts assume the capacity of the vaccine, still being developed, to significantly reduce the number of new cases of swine flu. The vaccine is “graced” with an optimistic transformational capacity. Not proven, yet assumed effective.

Centuries and millennia have proven the capacity of Scripture as a life transforming agent. Its laboratories of validation have been the countless thousands of persons who encounter God as they read, reflect and respond to scripture.

Years ago I heard Leroy Eims speak about the power of scripture to change lives. In his effervescent way, he indicated that the Bible was the only written document that could so transform. Then he said, “It is a crying shame that there aren’t more people sharing it.”

To have a vaccine that would eradicate disease and not share it would be criminal. It boggles the mind that a cure or a preventative might be withheld if available. Further, we would be astounded should a cure or vaccine be refused by those who most need it.

The mission of the God demands that His church consume scripture, words with power to restore the fullness of God’s image in us. As we are transformed into that image, our actions influence those with whom we relate. We become salt and light, not because we can quote the right verses, but because we live lives of authentic compassion and moral reliability.

The significance of influence is reflected in these words, “May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.” (Psalm 119:74). When the word of God is transforming us, others celebrate being with us!

Missional churches are the kind of people the world wants to spend time with. The thing that makes us inviting is that, at least some of the time, we look and live just like Jesus. That is the transformational capacity of scripture.