“Our country has never been more divided.”

We have heard this a lot recently and as true as it might be in my lifetime, socio-political division like we know today is a reoccurring reality that dates back to the civil war. The issues change – slavery, communism, war, civil rights – but almost every generation of our country has seen violent polarization. But what place does this division have in our churches, as we express the unchanging ethic of God’s Kingdom? We live according to God’s eternal and objective truth. Our King is the model of truth, humility and grace – even toward His enemies. And we are to live according to His Spirit who wants to fill us with love, power and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).

There is a lot on the line culturally this election year and there are important issues that will practically impact our lives and the lives of our neighbors. Our vote and political engagement matter, but the political in-fighting and division in our country has no place in our church. Here are 5 reasons why…

Thanksgiving may be a big deal where we live, it may be a big holiday, but we have a thanksgiving problem. Things look great on the surface; we feast, rest and enjoy the company of loved ones and friends, all while reflecting on the ever-important question: “For what am I thankful?” And as important as this question is, it begs another question, an even more consequential question that often goes unasked, “To whom am I thankful?” Our annual exercise of creating a list of our blessings makes little sense without some form of a benevolent bless-er. Sure, gratitude warms the heart and fill the soul and it should, it is supposed to. But gratitude must go somewhere, it must be directed toward someone. Otherwise, it stagnates and soaks in and something terrible happens, we count our blessing only to realize we count on ourselves. We are the bless-er, the giver, the benevolent and capable provider.

Here, Jesus describes his followers as being in the world but not of the world. This is where we live for now and we can’t help but engage with folks who want nothing to do with God, but this is not where we truly belong. And we do not find our ultimate sense of identity in any earthly system or with any people in this world. Instead, we belong to God (v.9 - they are yours) and this world is not our home (v.15, cf. Phil. 3:20). Well, it is not our final home. Paul and Peter expound on this when they call the Christian in this world a “stranger,” “sojourner” and “foreigner.” We are, as the hymn says, “just a passin’ through.”

These were the words of the pastor of a young church plant in the same suburban area in which I was preparing to plant. This is a kingdom-minded brother, but his response surprised me. Sure, we could us a handful, even a dozen, but twenty?! The rest of our conversation only confirmed what I have experienced as three reasons why the American suburbs need more new churches. In short, the suburbs are growing, the suburbs are changing, and because church attendance does not necessarily mean discipleship is happening.

We’re all thinking it, we know it happens, so let’s stop avoiding the topic and just deal with it… What do you do when your pastor/preacher preach is a bad sermon?

Clarification… a “bad” sermon is subjective, but what I don’t mean is a bad sermon, theologically. There is no excuse for an in accurate sermon, or even a theologically vague or confusing sermon - especially with any sort of regularity. I’m referring to un-engaging or uninteresting sermons. And it happens to the best of ‘em. 

This is Jesus' simple and yet profound call to live with Him, live like Him, and live for Him. This is more than an invitation to merely walk behind him. This is no casual game of "follow the leader" like we played it as kids. This is a life-altering and identity-shaping command unlike any other. And there is one act of obedience that captures and illustrates this change best: baptism.

I used to be a picky eater. Not just as a kid, but throughout my teen years and well into my young adult years as well. Fortunately for me I married young and my wife, who promptly became a fantastic cook, exposed me to new foods and reintroduced things I’d consistently rejected growing up. And compelled by my desire to please and encourage my new wife, I learned to love lots of new foods like Brussel sprouts (with bacon) and bell peppers. Years later, I even found myself eating foods I didn’t even care much for like avocado and spinach, just because of their nutritional value – go figure! Odds are you can relate. I mean, what child has the complex palette of an adult. This kind of maturity – and that is what it is – is forced upon us on some level. Whether because that is all that is available in the pantry or you were served something unfavorable at a friend’s house and you decided not to be rude, we eventually venture out beyond dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. And over time, we come to crave a greater diversity of foods and our commitment to our health broadens our diet.

How exciting to merge our lives with His eternal plan! How humbling to be used to accomplish what God has already promised to do! Our lives are a paragraph (for some, maybe a short chapter) in His multi-volume book-set called The Story of Divine Redemption. This should influence how important we think our to-do lists are and shape how we make disciples – and everything in between! The only thing better than having God on your side, is being on His. And Joshua beautifully models for us how we can have the same correction in our thinking when he bows in worship and says, “What does my lord say to his servant?” (v.14)