T. David Beck: The Simple Way of Jesus

Barking up the wrong tree. That's what most American churches are doing (and ours has been no exception). We try to fill our church communities with the wrong sorts of people. In Matthew 19, a rich and upstanding young man approaches Jesus to see what he should do to inherit eternal life. By the end of their short conversation, Jesus tells the young man to sell what he has, give it away to the poor, and join the band of traveling disciples. The young man declines and goes away sorrowful that Jesus would ask such a thing of him. In essence, he chooses wealth and success over following closely after Jesus. The Rich Young Ruler is just the kind of person you would want around. He is successful, well connected, and upstanding. He is followed by a track record of good deeds. But his love of his own lifestyle is his fatal flaw. And the thing is, most American churches are out to fill their rolls with just this sort. In fact, many churches are run by Rich Young Rulers who grow older a...

Let's face it. The hurried, anxious, distracted pace of contemporary American life leaves little or no room for God. That's a serious problem if you believe relating to God and doing his will are more important than anything else. At Sanctuary we have decided to do something about the seldom-confronted, often coddled sin of chronic hurry. Yesterday we began a journey of adjusting the pace of our lives. Here's the logic:  Jesus was unhurried. We are his followers. Therefore, we should be unhurried like him. We are looking to inhabit a collective pace that enables us to be attentive to God and our neighbor. We are not settling for paying "continuous partial attention," as Linda Stone has put it. By the way, we don't believe our society is going to provide solutions to chronic hurry any time soon, since it venerates speed, efficiency, and constant multitasking. We believe inhabiting Jesus' pace is part of living the gospel in a way that pr...

Lately at Sanctuary we have been noticing how a simple greeting at church can open someone's heart to God. It's about treating a visitor with respect. Today I want to follow that train of thought with a story from Eugene Peterson's memoir, The Pastor . It involves a butcher shop, a group of prostitutes, and church. Peterson grew up in Montana, and his father was a butcher. As young Eugene learned the trade in his adolescent years, the butcher shop became an apprenticeship in the intersection of grace and relationships. Peterson writes, That butcher shop was my introduction to the world of congregation, which in a few years would be my workplace as a pastor. The people who came into our shop were not just customers. Something else defined them. It always seemed more like a congregation than a store. My father in his priestly robe greeted each person by name and knew many of their stories. (p. 39) The real test of this and any congregation is how they treat the town'...

As Christians, we talk about showing Jesus to the local community. It is a crucially important part of what we do to live generously in the world. And if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. Here are five tips on showing Jesus to the local community. 1. Show up spiritually prepared Dallas Willard taught that whatever we do in a particular moment is shaped by how we have been living prior to that moment. If you have been cultivating a responsive life with Jesus in your day-to-day life, you will be best prepared for him to shine through you when important moments come. And interfacing with the local community is always an important moment. Willard lamented that many Christians seem to conduct their spiritual lives "sloppily," so when they need to demonstrate Jesus, they aren't ready. To help Christians show up prepared, Willard taught extensively about spiritual habits like praying, worshiping, giving, serving, reading Scripture, fasting, and so on. Willard ...

Continuing with a process for making big decisions with God. Here's the basic roadmap: Seek God in prayer and fasting . See God in your story . Feel God's Fire in Your Heart Know Your Strengths (and Face Your Challenges) Listen for God's Voice Decide and Move Forward This is post #4 on knowing our strengths and facing our challenges. Under "strengths", we are talking about spiritual gifts, talents, and expertise. The bottom line is that we are looking at what we are good at and love to do. When we make a big decision, we usually don't want to head off in a direction that doesn't emphasize our strengths. I say "usually" because we don't want to limit God to working exclusively within the strengths we know we already have. In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, Paul essentially said that all of us are good at something. God gives everyone gifts to use for the betterment of everyone else. In order to follow Paul's teaching that...

It's one thing to make big decisions. It's another thing to make big decisions with God. Here's an outline of the process we are working through at Sanctuary: Seek God in prayer and fasting . See God in your story . Feel God's Fire in Your Heart Know Your Strengths (and Face Your Challenges) Listen for God's Voice Decide and Move Forward This is post #3 on feeling God's fire in our hearts.  When Jesus called Saul (who became Paul), Saul had no idea he would one day be preaching the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles. However, some years later, Paul wrote to the Christians in the prominent Gentile city of Corinth, "I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" In other words, "If I don't preach the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles, I feel like I am going to die!" God creates us and fashions us in just the way he wants. He crafts our inmost being and knits us together (Ps 139:13). He indwells...

This is an invitation to participate in God's love for the world. One of the ways we can do that is by praying… praying and fasting, actually. Global Thursdays are a day each week when we band together to pray and fast for God to act in our world. Fasting is an intense spiritual activity that focuses us on God and his will. We fast and pray for the world as an expression of solidarity with those who are poor and humility before God. Global Thursdays are happening at Sanctuary Covenant Church, but they could happen anywhere. We invite you to join in! Here are some suggested ways to participate in Global Thursdays: Set aside 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM as a special time to remember people who don’t know God. Fast in whatever form you can. You can abstain from food, coffee, sweets, TV, Facebook, email, or something else that is meaningful to you. Pray for whomever in the world God puts on your heart. Pray especially for our May Haiti team. Practice missional living today by showing the ...

Lots has happened in the last month, but one thing hasn't happened -- my blog. Sometimes you get so buried that you don't have the time and energy to write. This has been one of those times. But now the dust is beginning to settle. I want to say first that I really, really... really ... appreciate the help so many people have provided to help us move from Redondo Beach to Sacramento. There are too many names to mention, but some people stepped up with extraordinary measures of service. It was very difficult moving. You made it happen! Thank you!! After lots of tears and a couple of weeks of great chaos, I can see the outlines of a new life beginning to form. Spencer and Nathaniel are in school and doing well. They are both starting to make friends. Susan and the Wagner family were up for a week putting the house together, and now Susan is back in Redondo. She will be back and forth for a couple more weeks as she helps get Lauren situated. Lauren is going to stay in the Sout...