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Often in the discussion around the mission of the church, the greatest and second greatest commandments are mentioned. Jesus draws attention to these two commands as the first and second greatest in Matthew 22:37-39, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Even in our Getting Acquainted with Oak Hills material we mention these commands in the discussion of the mission of the church. We mention the three dynamics of our mission: Upreach (fulfilling the call to love God); Inreach (fulfilling the call to love neighbor); and Outreach (fulfilling the Great Commission). When it comes to the mission of the institutional church, however, the great commandments play a different role than the great commission. Let me try to draw out this difference.... Keep Reading

While thinking and speaking about the mission of the church, the concept of kingdom often comes up. Language such as “establish the kingdom,” “build the kingdom,” or “grow the kingdom” is often used in the context of the mission of the church. And the concept of the kingdom is applied to all sorts of areas, including the environment, social needs, and politics. Some clarity on what the Bible teaches on kingdom is beneficial for our discussion on the mission of the church. ... Keep Reading

Over these few weeks in Touchpoint articles, I am seeking to provide clarity about the mission of the church. My aim and prayer is joyful and unifying clarity. If we, as members of this body, clearly understand what God calls us to do as a church, I believe we will be blessed with joyful unity around that mission. I also pray that such clarity will serve the fruitfulness of our gospel ministry. So far, I highlighted the distinction between the church organic and the church institutional. There are commands in Scripture that individual followers of Christ must obey (church organic). There are commands in Scripture that the church as an institution must obey. One of the clearest commands for the church institutional is the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20. Last week I said that in order to make disciples the church must proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? If the mission of the church is to make disciples by proclaiming the gospel, we must be very clear on what the gospel is. ... Keep Reading

Over these few weeks in Touchpoint articles, I am seeking to provide clarity about the mission of the church. My aim and prayer is joyful and unifying clarity. If we, as members of this body, clearly understand what God calls us to do as a church, I believe we will be blessed with joyful unity around that mission. I also pray that such clarity will serve the fruitfulness of our gospel ministry. Last week, I highlighted the distinction between the church organic and the church institutional. There are commands in Scripture that individual followers of Christ must obey (church organic). There are commands in Scripture that the church as an institution must obey. Sometimes those commands overlap the distinction; sometimes they do not. In these articles I want to clarify the mission of the church institutional. Today, let’s consider a command that most Christians can unify around: the Great Commission. It’s found in Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Let me make some observations about the Great Commission. ... Keep Reading

I have served on the staff of a local church in some capacity for 25 years now. Large churches. Small churches. Suburban churches. Rural churches. Urban churches. Non-denominational churches. Baptist churches. Presbyterian churches. I have witnessed God work in the lives of hundreds of people. The power and hope of the Gospel binds up the broken-hearted, brings joy to the downcast, empowers courageous ministry, chastises the proud, and inspires great sacrifice. The wonder and joy of knowing Christ has compelled me to preach. Over these years, however, I have witnessed a common struggle in every church. This struggle is often expressed in moments of frustration and disappointment. “Why doesn’t the church do more ________?” “I wish the church offered ________.” “Doesn’t the church care about _________?” “The church should be doing _______.” At the root of such frustrations is the struggle over what is the mission of the church. What should the church be doing? I would like to address this struggle for the church I love, Oak Hills, over the next few weeks in Touchpoint. My aim and prayer is joyful and unifying clarity. If we, as members of this body, clearly understand what God calls us to do as a church, I believe we will be blessed with joyful unity around that mission. I also pray that such clarity will serve the fruitfulness of our gospel ministry.... Keep Reading

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis argued that the greatest sin is pride. He wrote, “The essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” If pride is the greatest sin, what is the greatest virtue? In the current cultural moment, there are cries for all sorts of virtues, most of them biblical. Courage. Kindness. Justice. Self-sacrifice. Equality. Tolerance. Charity. Chasity/Purity. Honesty/Truth-speaking. Once again in Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis speaks about the four “Cardinal Virtues:” prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude. All of these are commendable virtues. We can find Scripture passages that commend and command the pursuit of these virtues.... Keep Reading

In John 8 we see some of the sharpest clashes between Jesus and the religious leaders of the Jews. The Jews take offense at what Jesus is offering and claiming about himself. Jesus does not mince words when he says, “You are of your father the devil” (v. 44). The Jews come back and accuse Jesus of being a Samaritan and having a demon (v. 48). How could the Jews respond with so much vile bitterness against Jesus? In this chapter alone, Jesus offers the light of life (v. 12), freedom from the bondage to sin (v. 32), and eternal life (v. 51). Such gloriously good promises! And yet, the chapter ends with the Jews picking up stones to kill Jesus. I believe John portrays the Jews as he does in his gospel because he wants to warn his readers. The warning is this: Unbelief is poisonous. To the extent that we do not trust in Jesus for who he is and what he offers, our hearts, minds, and lives are poisoned by unbelief. We see this on display in John’s gospel. ... Keep Reading

Twenty-five times in the Gospel of John we hear from the lips of Jesus this introductory statement, “Truly, truly, I say to you…” It’s unique to John that the word “truly” is repeated; the other Gospel writers record only one “truly.” What does this phrase mean? Why does Jesus use it? Simply put, the phrase means, “I am solemnly telling you the truth.” The word “truly” is the Greek word amen. When we use this word at the end of a prayer, it is an expression of faith, appealing to God, “Let it be so.” When Jesus uses “amen” at the beginning of a statement (and in the Bible, he is the only one who does so), it is an assertion that he is making a solemn declaration. Jesus wants his hearers to listen carefully to the statement he is about to make. This doesn’t invalidate other teachings of Jesus; it adds weight to the present statement. The purpose for Jesus using this solemn assertion varies for the context. ... Keep Reading

Tuesday, February 23 marks the one-year anniversary of when Ahmaud Arbery was fatally shot. While details of what happened that day were not made public until May, Arbery’s death sparked a contentious year in our nation over the state of race relations. There were the deaths of Breanna Taylor and George Floyd, followed by a summer of protesting and rioting. Headlines for these events competed with the news of the worldwide pandemic. How should the Church respond? Since the mid 90s, when I began formal ministry training, I have been engaged in and following discussions on racial reconciliation. This has been something Christians have been wrestling with for decades and even centuries. Several truths have been emphasized by those seeking to be faithful to the gospel and Scripture: ... Keep Reading

When I was in the eighth grade, my youth pastor assigned me to my first discipleship group. Along with two other middle school boys, we met with a young man from our church who volunteered time with the youth ministry. We worked our way through the Navigator study, Growing in Christ. Our leader gave us notebooks to write down prayer requests and track our Bible reading. For the first time of my life, I began to develop a daily habit of Bible reading and prayer. Whenever I think of discipleship, I think of that group experience. Someone more mature in their walk with Christ helped me grow in my understanding and enjoyment of what God has done for me through Jesus. He encouraged my habits in spiritual disciplines. He prayed for me. He answered questions as they came up. And we made some fun memories together. Discipleship within the context of the church is when we help one another grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. ... Keep Reading