Baylor Church Staff Retreat
Feb 2004
1. Streams in the Desert and Wells of Living Water
1 Tim 4.16: Pay close attention to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will insure salvation, both for yourself and for those who hear you.
Eph 3
we have the unsearchable riches of X, for our own good and to preach
OT, Jn 4, Jn 7
our work is to receive the living water and let it pass on to others
When I was here at Baylor, the Lord said to me 'Never try to find a place to speak. Try to have something to say.'
you won't be thirsty again
Ps 46: there is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God
Is 43.20: I have given water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert
16'
Jn 4
woman driven by unsatisfied desires
God is enough. If you receive Him you'll never again by governed by unsatisfied desire.
availability of God in X is answer to all needs of people
straightforward reading of Jesus: He's crazy
I can be joyful no matter what happens to me if I have God. if I have God, nothing else matters
Paul could be joyful in ancient prisons
Daniel
[there is no danger in approaching the Bible as historical fact. Many saints have done so to their benefit. The Bible is entirely trustworthy.
if naturalists talk about spirit, all they mean is something like how we think and feel about ourselves. they cannot believe in spiritual reality beyond the limits of the merely physical]
so John Dewey wanted to define spirituality as a quality of physical reality
in the Humanist Manifesto, spirituality is just a function of human life, not something in itself
we have a body of knowledge that is basically the creedal tradition of the church
the single most important thing we have to do in taking care of ourselves and watching our teaching is presenting the Trinitarian reality of God, a wonderful, loving community in Himself, created the world and created me
the primary challenge we face in our churches is inability to believe in the reality of God
33'
the K is God in action
seek first the KoG and its righteousness... what are we seeking?
to be involved in what God is doing. God's Kingdom is what God is doing.
we're invited to count on that reality and base our life on it and become involved in it
Jos 1.8 is the same message
knowing life now in the reality of God
the really good person is pervaded by agape love, intending to do what is good for others
the ultimate reality at the center of the universe is a god of love
we become a good person by learning from Jesus how to live in the KoG
our trouble comes from running our own kingdom
once we see that it's safe to do what is right (not least with Kingdom resources), a great burden drops off
[Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden...]
life outside the K teaches us that we have to hide our life and manipulate the world to get the outcomes we want
we learn to live that way, to hide, and then at 30 have to hire a therapist at $250/hr to find us
you don't have to manage the truth. you don't have to make things come out. the battle is the Lord's
you can love and bless and pray for your enemies
42'
how will I address reality when I start the day? is God reality? have I learned to address reality in that way?
'Lord, You know what I will go through today. I don't know. But I do know that I can't manage it. Please help me truthful, genuine and loving. Help me to know when I need to bring the reality of Your K to bear on the life of another person. Help me to know when I need to sit with someone and send by my prayer the joy that you have given me into their heart.'
what am I going to pursue? who am I going to be? what am I going to learn from Jesus today about doing all of that?
the important thing is not what I accomplish but the person I become. what God gets out of my life is who I become.
my life is infinitely ahead of me. we can't even begin to think about what lies before us, what we have to do
when we've been there 10,000 years... what are you going to be doing? what kind of person will I be?
God's intent is for us to become the kind of people that He can empower to do what we want.
as we get straight on this stuff, we understand Jesus' teaching differently. it doesn't seem hard. it seems wise. and then we have to learn how to do it.
eg: reality is in favor of loving your enemies. I won't be destroyed. it will be for my good and their good as we live in the K. the world's way is not the final reality. it's broken. loving is doing what is good for them, so it might be doing what they don't want, not what they want.
we can come to live in these things comfortably, in strength, seeing God's hand move things we can't begin to budge.
our only hope is that God will act. God's address is the end of our rope.
Q&A
at the end of His earthly life, Jesus called his disciples friends. He wasn't only master, but they knew what He wanted. and we are to be His friends and know and do what He wants.
one of the things Jesus would do is not have to be told what to do
praying is an arrangement where God releases some of His K, perhaps as much as we can stand, to act with us
if we don't understand the literal, spiritual reality of the KoG, death hits us especially hard, even if we're 'Xians' (c.f. 1 Cor 15)
it's sad to watch commercials and think that's what people are living for
one of the barometers of the spiritual life is how irritable we are
2. Finding the KoG Now
we have to have a theory of knowledge that includes the Bible
obedience is the organ of knowledge in the spiritual life
obeying is a pilgrimage. we would out when we set out to obey God from where we are. we can't do it.
one of the disasters that befalls the teachings of Jesus is people turning them into legalisms
Jesus gives illustrations of a kind of life
does the Gospel I preach have a natural tendency to produce disciples as distinct from consumers of religious goods and services?
(Dallas says 'bless his heart' about John the Baptist :-)
John came in the tradition of the prophets and was recognized as such so he could reliably identify Jesus
Jesus did not send out His disciples (in the Great Commission) to start churches as we know them.He sent them out to establish beachheads of the KoG, a perpetual and ongoing moral revolution which is still in progress. And churches spin out of that. Is is the K which is working and we do our part in that context.
[point: we are not primarily responsible. God is at work. so we can rest in the K and God's work.]
part of the context here is the disciples' complete failure during Jesus' passion, death and resurrection. To send them in their strength would be madness. They can only be sent in the power of the K and the coming Spirit.
They're sent in Jesus' authority and power: 'I've been given say over everything in heaven and on earth.'
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets
You say that if that's what people are thinking.
The Law had been twisted to emphasize the human over the divine (not least because legalism and the divine are incompatible), so Jesus had to reorient them
36'
Q&A
many of Jesus' parables show the beauty of the K. discipleship to Jesus is the greatest opportunity in life. e.g., the treasure in the field and pearl of great price are the positive side of Lk 14 (take up cross and follow).
if we emphasize the 'already', the 'not yet' will take care of itself.
3. Living without Hurry and Worry
open: how are you doing with your kingdom?
anger changes issue not to 'who is right?' but 'who's going to win?'
in order to be able to do all things through X, like Paul writes, we have to be responsible for how we direct ourselves
Paul learned to do these things through experience that, largely, he had chosen
so we do it through the practices which we have chosen for ourselves. we plan for it.
you don't become the kind of person Paul describes (a content disciple) without choosing to live your life to become such a person
11'
our contemporary teaching teaches us that grace is passive. it comes on you, like lightning. not something we cultivate
disciplines are for cultivating grace
2 Pet 3.18: grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior JX
we are supposed to do it and we do it by disciplines
I can't be content in all circumstances by effort. I need grace.
we can't do the right thing, reliably, by just effort. the scribes and the Pharisees try that.
beware of the the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy
try to be righteous, but takes the wrong approach and fails
then they have to revert to covering up and pretending
[you can't be righteous and proud at the same time. righteous comes from humility (among other things)]
disciplines can transform us inwardly so that we can turn loose external righteousness
if an alcoholic says he's not going to drink anymore, you know it's not true. if she says she's going to be faithful with AA, you can have hope.
when a person is prepared to take means, they begin to make progress
Ps 16.8: I have set the Lord always before me. He is at my right hand. I shall not be moved.
I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity -- St Patrick
Jos 1.8
where do I put my mind and intention?
you might think you don't have time
God never gives anyone too much to do. if you're too busy, that's from you, not Him
I am the one who is in charge of my time, under God
job, ministry, work, life
your life is you: what God gets out of your life, your character, the person you become. and it's what He's most interested in.
29'
when you were born, God had a plan for you
God has foreseen a kingdom for you from the foundation of the world
bring your kingdom into His
redemption would occur in every aspect of your life
led on into eternal life here and now. paradise is already in session.
we should know this and dwell in it and learn how to deal with this issue [of time?]
it's hard to bring God's fullness to others if we're not experiencing it ourselves
William Martin, The Art of Pastoring
work a modest day, then step back and rest. leave room to know God and to hear from Him
if you're working more than 50 hours a week, you're not doing it for God, no matter how eloquent your rationalizations
set aside big chunks of time for prayer, rest, meditation, family, flower-sniffing
Only lazy people are busy -- CS Lewis
relentlessly eliminate hurry from your life
still work enough
lay down control over outcomes
Q&A
you establish the context of d'ship by preaching the K
dwell in Gospels, parables, miracles, teachings
we've got ourselves in a situation where we believe you can trust Jesus for salvation, but not for the next sandwich, not for guidance today
the center is faith in JX
there's no natural connection b/t salvation as forgiveness and d'ship/transformation
hangover from Modernists v. Fundamentalists. conservative chose correct doctrine and forgiveness and regarded 'Teacher' as code for 'not divine'. liberals focused on teacher and let the other stuff go.
center: one mediator b/t God and men, XJ
justification and forgiveness is one part of it, but not all
Calvinism: gratitude will make you a disciple. but it isn't doing it.
yes, if you understand forgiveness like the Puritans and Luther and Calvin, it will change your whole life. but what we have come to understand as forgiveness today does not do that
Biblical position: trust JX. that handles everything, including forgiveness.
[to memorize: Ps 46]
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