By April Terry (personal blog http://faithwarming.blogspot.com)

My husband and I just finished recording a song that we wrote together.  He wrote most of the words of the song that is an analogy of our being a gem in God’s crown.  They are wonderful words of a powerful and beautiful self-identity that is wrapped around our faith and gratefulness of the new creation that God has made us.  It has caused me to take a look at how self-identity and self-talk makes a difference in how we relate to others. 

We’ve all heard the stories about people who tear others down in a psychological move to make themselves appear better.  It is one of the uglier of our human attributes, but we’ve all known someone who was like that and if we’re honest, we can also admit that we have been like that at times ourselves.  Regardless, the person who takes part in that kind of action is a person whose self-image is less-refined.  A person who is driven by that kind of psychology is struggling with self-acceptance.   

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Thoughts on Doubt and Faith
by Randy Siever

There’s a fascinating and usually overlooked blip in the highly revered Great Commission in Matthew 28. We usually quote it from verse 18 through 20. This is the primary motivational passage for Christians to do what we call “evangelism.” Here’s the part we quote, from the New International Version:

18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I won’t go into this much, since you’re likely already very well taught on it and I doubt I’d add much to what you already know. But here are the two preceding verses that I find incredibly intriguing…the ones we don’t normally refer to.

16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Here’s the same two verses in The Message translation:

16-17Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.

I had never really noticed these two verses before, and when I did I immediately asked myself, “Some DOUBTED? Some of WHO? I want NAMES!” Verse 16 tells us who: Some of the “eleven.” That’s the original twelve disciples minus Judas Iscariot. The same guys who literally lived with Jesus for three years as his students. He taught them, he performed miracles in front of them and with them, he corrected them and sent them out to do mission work in his name. They watched him get hauled off to the monkey trial that ended in his execution by crucifixion. They huddled up, scared and depressed (Peter went back to fishing, remember?). But Jesus showed up, alive, just as he said he would. They saw the empty tomb. They were wowed by him just appearing in a locked room with them. Jesus was back.

Then for the next forty days Jesus, the resurrected Jesus, reinforced who he was to these guys (and many, many others as well) by appearing all over the place to individuals and groups as large as 500 (1 Cor. 15:3-7). And now, just before he physically ascends to heaven, he gathers his remaining key leaders for a final charge. He tells them to meet him on a mountain top, and the eleven show up for the appointment. When they get there, it says they “worshiped him,” which seems pretty appropriate given Jesus has pretty much done everything necessary to prove that he is God in the flesh. Once you’re convinced of that, worship is pretty much what happens when Jesus is right in front of you.

And then we read these three words: “…but some doubted.” How could this be? Which of these eleven were still fuzzy about Jesus? It doesn’t tell us (gracious of God, I think), but there is one guy it wasn’t, for sure…Thomas. Remember “Doubting Thomas?” He’s the guy who had the integrity to admit that the idea of a guy, any guy, coming back from the dead was crazy. He wouldn’t believe it unless he saw Jesus with his own eyes, and got to touch the wounds in his hands and side. Jesus shows up and settles the doubt for Thomas (and at that point, presumably for the rest of the eleven) by inviting him to touch his wounds. Remember Thomas’ response? He fell to his knees, crying out “My Lord, and my God.” Thomas was convinced who Jesus was in that moment, for sure. And he worshipped him on the spot.

But that was pretty early in the 40-day resurrection run. By verse 16 we’re at the end of that period. So I’m pretty sure Thomas was not one of the “some” a this point who still doubted because, well…he already crossed that bridge. What’s interesting to me is that this means that there must have been others among the eleven who doubted at the same time Thomas did. They just didn’t have the guts to admit it out loud. Thomas gets a bad rap, and ever since then, doubt has, too.

Ok, back to the story at hand. Jesus is about to give the final marching orders for the new Kingdom of God at hand here, and he’s doing it with his chosen team leaders. I find it disturbing to think that they’re not all on the same page regarding what we have historically believed was an essential doctrine of the Christian faith: Jesus is God in the flesh. This is the acid test for spirits, according to John (1 John 4:2). It’s at the core of our faith and is sort of the line in the sand when it comes to orthodoxy. God became flesh and moved into the neighborhood (John 1:14). His name was Jesus.

So how would you feel at this critical point if you were in Jesus’ shoes? I can’t imagine myself not being totally bummed. I mean, what’s a guy have to do to get a little respect here? This is the birth of the church we’re talking about. We just can’t have any fuzziness about the very nature of Christ the King here…too much is on the line. So, you guys who are doubting…have a seat. I’m going to have a little meeting with the guys who “get it” and we’ll be right back. Sheesh.

But not Jesus. Eugene Peterson, in “The Message” translation, puts verses 18-20 this way:

“Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

I love that. “Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge:” It didn’t bother Jesus that some of his guys were doubting still. He was undeterred. He went ahead and gave the Great Commission to the whole lot of them…including the doubters. Why? If certainty about the very nature and person of Christ is not what is required to be qualified to be sent on this great mission to make disciples in all the world, what does qualify them (or anyone else) for this mission?

Here’s what I think. The clue is in verse 16. Jesus told them to meet him on the mountain…and they showed up. And because they showed up, they got charged with the massive task of making disciples of Jesus in all the world. They got the commission simply because they were asked to meet Jesus on the mountain and they were obedient. They didn’t have it all figured out, and some of them still doubted what we consider a core issue about the deity of Christ. But they showed up anyway, and Jesus commissioned them all.

If they hadn’t showed up that day…well, I don’t know what would have happened. I’m just glad they did. Because they showed up that day, a lot of stuff happened to and through them that resulted in me knowing and following Jesus today. I’ve never felt more thankful, or amazed, about that than right now.

Next week: Part Two…

Book Review by Randy Siever

Contagious But Not Quarantined, An Adventure in Telling Others About Jesus
by Timothy W. Fisher
OutskirtsPress.com
http://www.betterworldbooks.com/book-id-1432749277.aspx

Can I recommend a book to you? Pastor Tim Fisher has put together a very thin (97 pages) nearly book-let that gives permission to be engaged with God in connecting others to him…without having to become an evangelist. Here’s his own intention for the book, stated at the end of chapter one:

“This book is written to those who desire to share their faith in a way that is beneficial and practical. I know what it’s like to be an evangelistic jerk, and I know what it’s like to share the good news in participation with what God is already doing in people’s lives. The principles contained in this little book will be so practical and downright normal that some may question whether they really count as evangelism. Maybe it’s time we lay that question aside once-for-all, and instead relate to people as Jesus did. My hope is that by applying these simple principles you will forget to “do evangelism” and sharing your faith will become a regular and exciting part of walking with Christ.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Tim has taken the basics of what we call Doable Evangelism and brought them alive by way of personal stories, biblical stories, and a few acronyms (apparently he has not been healed of this particularly Christian disorder yet). When he asked me to read the manuscript, I was initially reluctant…but he had me at the title of the first chapter (“Confessions of an Evangelistic Jerk”). A former evangelistic jerk, I found great comfort in knowing I am part of a new recovery movement in the church: “Hello, my name is Randy. I’m a recovering evangelist.”

Tim is a pretty good story teller, and he did a wonderful job of being vulnerable about himself and gentle with the rest of us. The primary pressure in this book is to be who you already are. To interact with those all around you. To pay attention to what God is doing in the lives of others. No guilt, no shame tactics, and not much to memorize. Unless you want to memorize the “PINCH” acronym (as in “a pinch of salt”), which goes like this:

Prayer
Interest
Noticing
Conversation
Help

To be honest, I had to go look them up again. Not a big fan of acronyms. I always seem to forget what they are supposed to help me remember. But as you can see, these five themes are all about doing stuff that is doable…which I kind of like, naturally.  And there is NO PRESSURE TO CLOSE THE DEAL WITH ANYONE.  This is refreshing as well.

So, if you are a pastor looking for a good teaching series on evangelism (you know…the DOABLE kind), this book is your ticket home. Tim gives you six or seven chapters that focus on stories from the life of Jesus that would be wonderful sermons in a series (I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that’s what they were before they ended up in the book!). Most of these would be great Young Life club talks, too…if there’s anyone out there in Young Life land looking for new material.

If you’re in a small group that wants to explore new ways of thinking about evangelism, there are questions at the end of each chapter that can guide your group through meaningful discussion about what has been a rather taboo subject in recent years.

If you’re among the majority of Christians who have given up on evangelism, who cringe at the word, and who bear a fair amount of guilt and shame regarding your non-participation…this book is for you. Read it and be encouraged. You will get some really doable, normal ideas for ways to connect with what God is doing in the people all around you in your ordinary routines of life. This will be really good news for you.

And finally, if you’re another recovering evangelist like Tim and me, read the book and join us in helping Christians talk about their faith without being jerks. You are not alone. And you are not crazy. You’re just recovering, like us. We have a new mission together…to change the way the Church thinks about evangelism. Will you join us?

It’s really quite encouraging to see this new paradigm shift for evangelism be expressed in lots of ways by a lot of different voices. Tim Fisher has added to the chorus, and I for one am very thankful to have another book to recommend to our readers. Thanks, Tim.