Everyday Faith: Managing Me

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Eph 5:15-16).

Does the work we do reflect the character of God?

We are blessed to have professor Art Hill (Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota),  lead the first of our Everyday Faith seminars. The seminar series addresses the Sunday/Monday gap, in other words, helps us translate our faith from Sunday church to Monday work. (By ‘work’, we mean not just the work we do to earn a living, but all the kinds of work we do in everyday life — at home or in the community — at any stage of life, anytime, anywhere. By ‘work’ we mean the things we do when we’re awake.)

The topic for the first seminar is the theology of work and everyday faith. Theology simply means the study of God. Sometimes the best place to study God is in everyday life in the workplace. God is always at work (John 5:17). It has been said that ‘work’ in its various forms is mentioned over 800 times in the Bible. Jesus worked as a carpenter. It’s significant that the vast majority of Jesus’ teaching relates to the workplace.

Clearly, our work is important to God. The workplace is the crucible of faith – where, as Jesus’s apprentices, with God’s help, we learn to apply our faith. One of the best ways to learn is together, from real examples, so we can see clearly in our mind’s eye how other people live out their faith in everyday life — and how we might do so too.

“My friend and I love to pray,” Art said simply, “May we pray for you?”

One of the first things Art did in our initial seminar series (at St Luke’s Church in Faribault, MN) was get down to the practical details of implementation. I loved the immediacy of the ‘let’s-do-it’ approach! Art showed us how simple and easy it is to be used of God to bless someone in their place of work – a server in a restaurant, for example. Earlier that evening I had had the honor of dining with Art at a local restaurant. “My friend and I love to pray,” Art had said simply, addressing our server by name “may we pray for you?” Our server had had a really tough week, and wanted us to pray. I could see how deeply she was moved, and could sense the pain in her life. In my judgement, this was, by God’s providence, a divine encounter. It was our privilege to pray.

During our seminar, we discussed this simple, practical, praying-for-a-server example of living out our faith in everyday life. It’s an easy thing anyone can do anywhere – not just in a restaurant. We role modeled it, practiced it, reviewed it — and practiced it again. What a profoundly practical way of translating theology into everyday faith. Just do it! Be ready for God to use us for His purposes in every situation, and pray for those God puts in our path.

Keys to executing God-given roles effectively

God calls us to specific roles in everyday life (for example, as spouse, parent, employee, or as a leader in the community). Art addressed a key problem common to us all. We’re busy — so busy it’s hard to even think meaningfully about living out our faith in everyday life. One of Art’s areas of research is personal task management — called ‘Managing Me’. What a blessing to learn from a world expert on this crucial topic! Managing ourselves is crucial if we’re to be available for God’s use in everyday life. Art took us through six key steps we can take to manage ourselves and our work better:

1. Aim. Make sure we are crystal clear about our purpose. We are followers of Christ (Mt 4:19) who walk not without aim (1 Cor 9:26a).
2. Sort. Identify incoming work, eliminate low-value tasks (including emails!), and triage those that remain, with God’s wisdom, per James 1:5a.
3. Select. Pick the best purpose-related, beneficial task to do. In Ephesians 5:15-16a, we are exhorted to be wise, making the best use of our time.
4. Do. Focus on getting the selected task done. Don’t wander off into interesting distractions (like day-dreaming about vacations to Hawaii!) Proverbs 10:4 exhorts us to work diligently.
5. Review. Reflect, evaluate, learn and improve. (Incorporate Review into daily meditation and prayer — see Psalm 139:23-24.)
6. Break. Take a complete break. Get good sleep. The rhythm of work and rest is important. (See Ex 20:8-10.)

It’s clear that if we put these steps into practice for each of our God-given roles we can more clearly image God’s character in our work, and be far more fruitful and effective in our God-given vocations in everyday life.

This summary of the ‘Managing Me’ seminar is just a very high level overview — I’ve not done justice to the comprehensive excellence of Art’s work. We were left with examples that go into much more detail about how these ‘Managing Me’ principles can be applied in every conceivable situation, so there were takeaways for everyone. Also, Art gave us a number of insightful passages from Scripture showing what God says about managing ourselves and our work. It’s crucial that we manage ourselves so we can use God’s gift of time wisely for His purposes and glory. Effective self-management is step one for Everyday Faith.

“Pray for our server!” Art reminded me.

Art is a humble, godly man of prayer who raised Christ high, shared faithfully from God’s Word, and brought encouragement and wisdom to all seminar participants. I was completely absorbed. Before I knew it, time was up. What we learned together was how to manage ourselves and our time so we can be more effective for God’s mission. We learned how we can take simple steps to be the church more effectively (rather than being people who just ‘go to church’). And we learned how we can incarnate God’s love in the here-and-now of our everyday mission field, where, if we’re available to God, divine encounters happen.

Gracious Father, in the gospel you lavish us with your love. Launch us into your transforming story of redemption.  Help us walk in the Spirit, and live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in our everyday lives and vocations. Our desire, as an act of worship, is to bring everything we do under the lordship of Christ, and in so doing, testify to the gospel of your grace. We pray these things in the name of Jesus — who has promised to make all things new, including me. Amen.

(This post was written by Warwick Alcock, Director of Strategic Operations, Village Schools of the Bible.)

“Why are So Many Christians Biblically Illiterate?”

 

At Village Schools of the Bible we exist to help the local church grow biblical literate believers.  What follows is an excellent article by Jeremiah J. Johnston, “is president of Christian Thinkers Society, a Resident Institute at Houston Baptist University where he also serves at Associate Professor of Early Christianity. Johnston is the author of “Unanswered: Lasting Truth for Trending Questions” (Whitaker House,November 3, 2015) and accompanying Bible Study.

Pray for Village Schools of the Bible as we fulfill our mission: teaching God’s word and transforming lives. Warren Coe

Emblematic of the Bible’s declining influence is what Harper Lee penned in her 1960 novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” in which the character Miss Maudie says, “Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle in the hand of [another].”

Most Christians know enough about the Bible to be dangerous.

The Bible in America is a massive industry ($2.5 billion) yet it is the best seller few read and fewer understand.

The Bible has become a moving target. One can strip it down, twist it, misread it, add to it, supplement it, and even overrule it, and, unfortunately, 95 percent of the congregation will not realize it.

Why? Because Americans no longer know the Bible. The evidence is overpowering that contemporary Christianity is Bible-ish, at best, and at worst, in some cases, Bible-less.

The American Bible Society releases an annual State of the Bible report and their research is persuasive in understanding the declining influence of the Bible in America.

Everyone has an opinion about the Bible. Politicians attempt to use the Bible, Grammy-award winners quote it and Hollywood has portrayed it on the big screen.

Yet one problem remains: most are oblivious to the Bible’s basic content, meaning, and message.

Across the pond, the results are even more dramatic: one-third of British parents thought Harry Potter was a thematic plot-line derived from the Bible.

The Bible is not held in the esteem it once was. Over the last 150 years, America has drifted from its Biblical focus. In an election season, it is remarkable to recall that, though he was not a member of any church, the Bible was valued as an authority in America so much so that Abraham Lincoln quoted from it four strategic times in his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865. President Lincoln used words ascribed to Jesus in Matthew 18:7 and – using the Bible — pronounced God’s judgment on our nation for her moral bankruptcy of slavery.

The unwillingness of many Americans to dig deeper into the Scriptures is not related to a lack of options. The Gideons give away a Bible every second. One publisher sells more than sixty different editions of the Bible.

Clearly, the challenge of biblical illiteracy in America is not because of a shortage of Bibles, but rather knowledge and appreciation of the Bible’s message.

The Bible is a diverse love story. Actually, it is the greatest break-up-and-get-back together story the world has ever known.

The message of the Bible is that even though we are not what we should be, God loves us, redeems us, and has a purpose for our lives.

A tremendously exciting new initiative is underway to re-introduce the world to the Bible.

In 2017 the six-floor 430,000-square-foot Museum of the Bible will open only two blocks from the National Mall in Washington D.C. The Museum of the Bible invites all people – those with faith and those without – to engage with the Bible in an immersive experience with its unique history, narrative and influence.

Once one encounters the story of the Bible’s history and preservation, the cost that was involved — and it was a terrible cost — one can never again open the Scriptures with the same detached, careless attitude.

The story of how the Bible has come to us is a tale of heroism, courage, persecution, betrayal and towering faith in a God who raises the dead, mixed through the centuries with the blood of martyrs. If 80 percent of Americans believe the Bible is “God’s word,” shouldn’t we show the Bible some respect by knowing more about it?

Facing Hard Times

Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?  The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come.  When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm.  While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.

The eagle does not escape the storm.  It simply uses the storm to lift it higher.  It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

When the storms of life come upon us – and all of us will experience them – we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God.  The storms do not have to overcome us.  We can allow God’s power to lift us above them.

God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives.  We can soar above the storm.

Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.

The Bible says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles.”  Isaiah 40:31

(Source Unknown)

Elisabeth Elliot is with Jesus Today

I just got the news that missionary and noted author, Elisabeth Elliot has died today (June 15, 2015).  Her husband, Jim, was martyred for the cause of Christ over 50 years ago. As a widow and young mother, Elisabeth continued to serve the people who killed her husband.  As a thinker and writer, she helped many to deeply understand the call of God upon their lives.

In Today’s Christian Woman magazine (2013), Jan Wismer, wrote: “Elisabeth believed in asking this foundational question: Is this God’s will for me, right now, in this place? … Unapologetically, Elisabeth espoused such truths as: give to get, lose to find, and die to live. Setting her sights “on things above” (Colossians 3:1), Elisabeth ministered among three indigenous groups in Ecuador before helping listeners and readers find joy in the ordinary affairs of life—like cooking meals and cleaning toilets—on her globally syndicated radio program. She called it living sacramentally, and her rock-solid principles shaped my life.”

At a personal level, there are three important women of influence in my life: my mother, my wife and Elisabeth Elliot.

Thank you, Lord for giving Mrs. Elliot to the body of Christ on earth.

Covenants: God’s Way

The Covenant of Eden

Covenants are important to God.  He has chosen to relate to the human race and His people through covenants.  The first covenant takes place in the Garden of Eden.  The Lord said to our first parents, “The Lord commanded the man, saying ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’” (Genesis 1:16-17)

Amazing!  One rule in the garden.  Life and death rested on obedience to one rule.  We all know how that came out.

The Covenant of Noah

After the great flood, God made a covenant with Noah and the human race.  “…I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.”  (Genesis 8:21)  This was an unconditional covenant.  It was a covenant that rested entirely on God’s faithfulness and not on man’s.

The Covenant with Abraham

This covenant with Abraham reached around the world.  “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the family of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2, 3)  The Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional.  It rested on the Lord to fulfill.

The Mosaic Covenant

Then the Lord made a covenant with Israel during the exodus.  The Mosaic law comprised of 613 laws.  These laws include the 10 commandments, the sacrificial system, the feasts and the cleanliness laws.  God said, “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:2).  This covenant was conditional.  God would bless Israel if they obeyed God’s law.  The tragic story of Israel was their inability to obey.

The Davidic Covenant

This unconditional covenant promised that Messiah would be heir to King David’s throne.  (2 Samuel 6:16).  When Jesus entered Jerusalem his last week on earth, the crowds shouted, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:10)  Jesus is our King of kings and Lord of Lords!

The New Covenant

Jeremiah prophesied that God would establish a new covenant.  “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.  “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, (Jer 31:31-34)

Praise God!

New Testament believers live in the light and miracle of the new covenant.  Christianity is not about external obedience but inward transformation.  (John 3:5-8)  Grace through faith and not of ourselves is God’s way to salvation.  Yes, out of faith comes obedience. (James 2:18)  First things first.  Our standing before God rests upon faith.  Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Praise God for the new covenant.  Sealed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  Received by faith alone in Christ alone.

Missional Living / Faith-at-Work Seminar Series

God cares about you and your work! The Village Schools Missional Living seminar series focuses on applying faith in practical ways, Monday to Saturday, outside the church building. Workplace leaders from across the Twin Cities lead the seminars.

Our initial seminar on January 20 was led by Art Hill, a professor from Carlson School of Management. This seminar covered a basic theology of work as well as case studies to help us learn in a very practical way how to live out our faith in our various places of work. Click here for a quick overview of what was covered at this seminar.

Our next seminar on 23rd March will be led by Kent O’Grady (senior officer retired from the Minnesota State Patrol). Kent shares how to negotiate ‘separation of church and state’ sensitivities, an increasingly delicate topic for Christians in today’s workplace culture. Save the date!

For more information speak to email us or call the Village office at 952.540.9460

Thoughts on Christian Fellowship

Last night Marlys and I went for pizza with another couple.  With all four of us around the restaurant table we caught up on our children; where they are and how they are doing.  We talked about the latest news; the good news and bad news of life in this world.  But the most satisfying discussion was about the Lord.  We talked about our Lord Jesus Christ and what He is doing in our lives.

As we do after every fellowship occasion, Marlys and I debrief.  We remember what fun we had with our friends and what we learned about their lives and families.  We also review the spiritual discussions we enjoyed.  You might say we double-dipped: we experienced the moment and then we went home to talk about that moment of wonderful Christian fellowship.

‘Stir Up One Another to Love and Good Works’

I wonder if the writer of Hebrews had this in mind when he wrote, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  (Hebrews 10:24, 25)

Final Thought On Christian Friendship

No man is an island.  That is especially true in the Christian life.  We weren’t born orphans when we entered the kingdom of God through faith alone in Christ alone.  God birthed us into the Christian household of faith (Galatians 6:10).  In order to grow and mature into The Faith we need the fellowship of believers.

Set a date.  Make a call.  Enjoy godly Christian fellowship in 2016.

If Dan Rather had been Living in 1809

Pastor and teacher, Chuck Swindoll wonders what story Dan Rather would have reported if he was alive in 1809. Something in England?  An event or person living in America?  None of the above.  Swindoll writes, “World attention was on Napoleon whose army was sweeping across Europe.  From Trafalgar to Waterloo his name was synonym for superiority.”

Swindoll reminds us that at the time of the Corsican’s invasions and battles, babies were being born in Britain and America. “Who was interested in cribs and bottles…history was being made.  In 1809 Austria fell.”

That year William Gladstone was born and would become one of the greatest English statesman.  Alfred Tennyson came into the world in 1809.  So did Oliver Wendell Holmes in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Edgar Allan Poe in Boston. Charles Darwin and the man who would become our 16th President of the United States came into the world that fateful year of 1809.

But who cared?  Napoleon captured Austria.  Nothing else mattered.

Pastor Swindoll invites us to go back nineteen centuries.  “Who could have cared about the birth of a baby while the world was watching Rome in all her splendor?  The Mediterranean to the south. Euphrates to the east.  Atlantic to the west.  The Roman empire was as vast as it was vicious.  The queen of all nations had arisen to reign forever.

“All eyes were on Caesar who demanded a census so as to determine a measurement to enlarge taxes. Who was interested in a couple making an eighty mile trip south from Nazareth?  What were they in light of a mighty Caesar and his edicts?  Who cared about a Jewess giving birth to a boy?

“God did! Without realizing it, mighty Augustus was only an errand boy for the fulfillment of Micah’s prediction…a pawn in the hand of Jehovah.  While Rome was busy making history, God arrived as a baby.  Rome is but a yawn in the memory of human history but Jesus changed the world.”

Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”  On that first Christmas day God entered the world as a baby.  Born not in a palace or mansion but a stable.  His destiny was not to defeat Caesar but sin.  At the cross and empty tomb He gained the victory for the sake of sinful man.

Ben Stein’s confession

“Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crib, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed to worship God? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

In light of recent events… terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said okay.

Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.’

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it…. no one will know you did. But if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein”

Our Next Five Years at Village Schools of the Bible

When King Josiah ordered repairs for the temple in Jerusalem, he was in for a surprise—workman discovered the first five books of the Bible.  2 Kings 22:10 records these words.  “And Shaphan read it (The Law) before the king.”  The impact of God’s spoken Word upon King Josiah and Israel was life changing.

We like to say at Village Schools of the Bible that God’s Word is God’s power and God’s power is God’s Word.  To Jesus, Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life…” (John 6:68)  God’s Word has the power to transform lives.

Our Vision: Cover to Cover I People to People I Nation to Nation

The next five years are important at Village Schools of the Bible.  We seek to take Cover-to-Cover Bible survey to peoples and nations.  We believe the Lord has given Village Schools of the Bible a role in bringing a comprehensive study of the whole counsel of God to our Word-famished world.

Enrollment at Village Schools has multiplied more than 12-fold since 2011.  Therefore, following the leading of the Holy Spirit, we believe we can achieve the following by 2021:

• 200 churches in the Twin Cities utilizing Cover-to-Cover Bible Survey
• 50 additional U.S. cities where Village Schools of the Bible can serve the body of Christ
• 15 international mission partners who are using our discipleship tools
• 1,000 online students encountering God through His Word in our Cover-to-Cover Bible Survey class

The Impact of God’s Word

Village Schools of the Bible impacts people in the following ways:

• Increased Biblical literacy
• Lives transformed by God’s Word
• Inspired and equipped to lead and strengthen their local churches
• Equipped and empowered to serve Christ and the World

Your Partnership

Jesus asked, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28 ESV)

We have counted the cost of this projected growth at Village Schools of the Bible.  We seek your help, commitment and generosity to reach our goal of $500,000 between now and 2021.

Please prayerfully consider the following partnership options:

• Matching Gift
• Yearly Gift
• Monthly Gift
• One-time Gift
• Stock gift/Assets/Real Estate
• Other

Thank you!

Thank you, generous donors of Village Schools of the Bible.  Thank you!

Warren