Baptized Into Christ

Bo Giertz was a Lutheran Pastor and Bishop in Sweden in the mid 20th century, but more to the point, he ranks in my top 4 theologians to read.  He was pastoral, faithful, bold, caring, and winsome in his writing and preaching and I hope that I can follow his lead. Below is a short exerpt on baptism that gives you just a taste of why I enjoy Giertz.  It comes from a tract published by The Evangelical Lutheran Church of England.  In this short section Giertz addresses the topic of those who were baptized as babies, children or adults and have walked away from faith in Christ. That baptism truly can be the foundation for a person’s deepest personal faith—this is rarely seen when one looks out into the world. Rather, the vast majority break their baptismal covenant. It can occur through wilful defiance of God’s commandments or disregard of God himself, which most clearly manifests itself in that one never prays and never seeks His church. More or less intentionally, man ...

Churches in rural areas know that evangelism can be a real challenge. In my first post on this topic I laid out some of the obstacles we face in rural areas in regards to evangelism.  The purpose of the post was not to express hopelessness or despair, but so that we in rural settings can honestly and openly acknowledge the real obstacles that exist so that we can address them. In this post I want to bring to the forefront some advantages we have in the rural setting when it comes to evangelism.  The suburbs and cities get the buzz in most circles because it can be far easier to quickly gain members of a congregation in those settings, however the rural setting has some advantages that aren't present in the cities and suburbs. Advantages 1.  Long Term Relationships In my first post I noted that "Long Term Relationships" can be an obstacle for evangelism and it is so.  However, long term relationships can be a huge advantage as well. Those living in the sub...

As a pastor in a rural setting, I have seen the desire of Christians to reach others with the gospel.  There is a real and genuine desire to do evangelism and many of my members do make it a practice of inviting friends and family to church.  This post should not in any way be seen as a criticism of rural congregations, but as an opportunity to truly examine some of the obstacles we face in evangelizing our communities. Evangelism isn't easy no matter where you go and evangelism in the rural setting can be particularly challenging. Dr. Glenn Daman writes, concerning the challenges of evangelism in the rural community;  Home Bible Studies, which are effective in the larger communities, find only moderate success in the smaller communities. Door to door evangelism, popularized by Evangelism Explosion, not only is unappealing to the congregation, but seems an exercise in futility by those who do attempt to institute the program. Friendship evangelism seems the most pro...

This was my newsletter article for April. The Perfect Church Member After church this past Sunday, someone jokingly asked if I’d be preaching a sermon on the perfect church member.  Well…I won’t be preaching on that topic, but since you asked… ·          The perfect church member is young, married, with young children, and has 90 years of experience in living as a Christian. ·          The perfect church member is an enthusiastic new Christian who has been a lifelong Christian with deeply rooted faith. ·          The perfect church member is single and dedicates all free time to serving the church, while simultaneously establishing a wide net of friendships inside and outside of the church. ·          The perfect church member is extremely wealthy and can give generously to the church, but doesn’t work and s...

In my previous post I shared what the Bible says Jesus saves us from.  But Jesus doesn't just save us  from those things, He also saves  for  a purpose. For what does Jesus save us? Jesus saves you for self-sacrificial love and humble service to others. (Philippians 2:3-13) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of wife. (Colossians 3:18) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of husband. (Colossians 3:19) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of child. (Colossians 3:20) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of parent. (Colossians 3:21) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of worker. (Colossians 3:22) Jesus saves you for serving out your vocation of employer. (Colossians 3:23) Jesus saves you for praying and praising God together with other Christians. (Colossians 3:16) Jesus saves you for doing the good works He has prepared for you. (Ephesians 2:10) Jesus saves you for the resurrection from death to life eve...

Often Christians speak of being "saved."  This is good, proper, and Biblical language, however it begs the question: saved from what? Well the Bible tells us the answer to that and it is helpful for us to know the answer because when we do, we will love Jesus more and have a deeper appreciation for what He has done for us. Jesus saves us from the eternal fire of hell. (Matthew 18:8-9). Jesus saves us from eternal separation from God. (Matthew 25:41) Jesus saves us from eternal punishment. (Matthew 25:46) Jesus saves us from suffering while knowing that others are enjoying the joys of heaven. (Luke 13:28) Jesus saves us from eternal destruction. (2 Thessalonians 1:9) Note that "destruction" here doesn't mean that those in hell are destroyed and cease to exist.  Think of it as more in terms of the opposite of construction.  They will be in eternal ruin.  Jesus saves us from a hell that is relentless in its agony.  (Mark 9:48) These are some of the et...

There was once a little branch.  The little branch had been a branch for as long as it could remember.  Day after day the little branch produced fruit that fed people.  Day after day the little branch, being fed by the vine to which it was connected, remained strong and healthy and was able to produce an abundance of fruit.  Day after day the fruit produced fed hungry people. “Isn’t it great that we are able to help people by the fruit that we produce?” an old, big branch said to the little branch.  “It is so wonderful,” the big branch continued “that the vine feeds us and because the vine feeds us we can feed others.” But the little branch wasn’t so sure.  “What do you mean, it’s great?  We’re wasting our time here connected to this vine.  We are the ones producing fruit after all!  That vine is just holding us back!  I don’t need the vine to produce fruit!  Besides, I don’t see your fruit!” The little branch, being...