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The Gospel Matters by Andrew Barker

The Gospel Matters by Andrew Barker

In our world today, there are many groups of people who have instantaneous access to so much information. With little time to discern its truth, we witness competing philosophies and differing opinions filling the media landscape. The sheer volume of differing views causes some to feel that the Gospel is outdated, too complicated, or worse, irrelevant, for our world today. Despite these claims, when we take the time and effort to read the message of Jesus Christ, we are gifted with a wondrous and simple message of good news. This Good News holds God’s promise of the forgiveness of sin, promotes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and provides us with the hope of an everlasting life in our Father’s heavenly kingdom. The Good News bridges the gap that sin has torn open between the Creator and His creation and compels us to join in the work of new creation.

This truth stands with integrity amidst the steady bombardment of data and opinion and the quest for the ultimate meaning of life. The message of the Gospel is not complicated, even though we often try to make it complicated. It is the eternal Word of God and remains the primary source of hope and good news for all people throughout time.

 

What Is the Gospel Message? A Simple Explanation

The beautiful and simple message of the Gospel has, at its heart, the love and truth of Jesus himself. Put simply, the Good News is this: God loves you. Out of that love comes the promise that, through Jesus, God offers forgiveness, restores our broken relationship with Him, and transforms our lives so that we can do his ongoing work in the world with Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Good News is simple, yet it changes everything. Through the powerful work of the Gospel, lives are transformed, souls are saved, hope is restored, and all are called into a redeemed and renewed relationship with God for shalom of the Kingdom.

In Romans 1:16, Paul shares that the Gospel is not just a philosophy or idea but the actual “power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…” In the same message, Paul tells us that we do not need to be ashamed of this power. To put it simply, the message of the Gospel is eternal and has the power to change lives still today. We need the Gospel, and through God’s grace, are invited daily to not only receive this good news but live in it and through it.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

 

Why Do We Need God? Understanding Sin and the Human Condition

Scripture is clear in its description that as humans we all long for more than the world alone can offer. Ecclesiastes captures this reality by saying God has “set eternity in the human heart.” Human hearts and minds sense that something is missing within, and trying to fill that emptiness with earthly pursuits and promises leaves us feeling empty and hollow. We can all confess to moments when life has not gone according to our plans. Relationships break down, we experience limits to our own strength and understanding, and disappointments pile up. Awareness of the resulting discomfort and incompleteness is not accidental; it is God’s grace at work in our lives. The realities and experiences of life point us to a profound realization; we need help… we need God. One beautiful aspect of the Gospel is that God’s grace goes before us and awakens in us an understanding that our longing is a yearning for Him. 

God, in His love, reaches out to us before we ever respond or recognize his presence. This pre-eminent grace is vital. God continues to seek us and call us towards an ever-deepening relationship with Him, a new and full life with Him, and it happens even before we are aware of it. The message of the Gospel is not about behavioral modification, it is about restoration of our most basic relationship, our connection with God. The Gospel meets us in our moments of need not with condemnation but with an invitation.

At times, it can be tempting to reduce sin down to mere rule breaking.  However, Scripture presents us with a much deeper picture of the reality of sin in our lives and in the world. Isaiah 59:2 states, “… your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Sin not only disrupts our relationship with God but also plays havoc with our relationships with others and how we feel about ourselves. Romans 3:23 clearly states that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” I have heard it said many times that sin is missing the mark. Sin is not merely doing wrong, but it results in us missing out on the fullness of life that God longs for us to have. 

Sin fractures our relationships and distorts our love. Sin creates both personal and social challenges. The effect of sin is seen not only in our personal lives but reflects out into society through disharmony, warped values, unjust systems and practices, and violence. We not only sin by what we do, but we also sin by what we fail to do. James 4:17 remarks, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” 

God does not reveal our sin to shame us. He illuminates our sin to help us acknowledge the damage it has created, turn away from sin, and come to Him and be healed. God convicts, He does not condemn. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:17) Through conviction, we are led to pray similar words to Psalm 139: 23-24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.”  

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:10-12

 

How Does Jesus Transform Our Lives?

Like a shining light, the Gospel pierces through the backdrop of the darkness of sin. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) Jesus Christ, Immanuel (God with Us), who is the Light of the World, stands at the center of this true story. Jesus lived among us, died, and rose again to reconcile us to God. Romans 5:6,8 summarizes the greatest news we have ever received. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The good news, the Gospel, proclaims redemption and forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7), the promise of a new life (2 Corinthians 5:17), and a restored relationship with God (Romans 5:1). All of this is brought about through the love and work of Jesus. The Good News does not end there; we are also transformed through the Holy Spirit and God’s continual grace. We become disciples of Jesus who are empowered to grow in holiness and love. As Titus makes clear, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.” (2:11-12) Beyond mending our relationship with God, through God’s grace we can also experience healing in our relationships with ourselves, others, and the world.

The Gospel is beautifully simple. It is not shallow or complicated. The Gospel reveals the truth of Jesus. In Jesus, we not only have a Saviour, but a Healer, Teacher, Redeemer, Comforter, Shepherd, Lord, and King. In Jesus, we have the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6). The Gospel is an invitation to a transformed life and an ongoing journey of grace.

“When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7

 

What Does It Mean to Live as a Disciple of Jesus?

Receiving the Gospel is the beginning of our life as disciples of Christ. We are called to follow him and grow in faith and spirit. “O then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7)

John Wesley describes growing and experiencing more of God and his goodness through the means of grace. These means are not ends unto themselves or ways to earn God’s favor. They are ways in which we enjoy and grow in his presence and grace. Scripture reading, prayer, fellowship, and acts of mercy are ways that enable us to grow deeper in faith and experience God’s love and grace more fully. These behaviors are modelled by the early church as “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)

Living in the Gospel truth shapes our lives and alters how we see ourselves, others, and the world. We grow in love – love for God and love for others. Jesus made it unmistakably clear in John 13:35 when He said, “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” We are called to holiness and are invited to experience the love and grace of God increasingly each day. As we ourselves grow in love and holiness, that same love and holiness reveals itself through our love of neighbor, justice, humility, and service – and compels us to do the good therein. 

Living out the Gospel encompasses far more than a solitary journey in search of personal holiness. It requires commitment to the communal pursuit of a common goal – becoming effective disciples of Christ through reconciled community – the church. As a body, we are called to be salt and light and to spread that salt and light to others through lives of following Jesus in Kingdom living. A devoted and unified church who, through our own transformed lives fleshed out in everyday community, bears witness to these truths in the lives of others. This is the good news being lived out today.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

 

The Gospel Is an Invitation to New Life

The Gospel may be simple, but that does not mean it is not powerful. The truth of the Gospel continues to stand unscathed and victorious throughout all generations. The call to a life of devotion can be answered by anyone and everyone. The message of the Gospel brings with it a lifetime of transformation. The Good News tells us that we are loved before we “get it right”; and we are forgiven before we are perfected. We are invited into a relationship with the Lord God that takes us on a journey of holiness shaped by grace that has a Kingdom impact in the lives of others.

The Gospel is an invitation. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). To receive the Gospel is to accept the invitation to a life that allows God’s grace to shape every aspect of who we are and how we live. Praise God for this wonderful news!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

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Graffiti-covered rusted metal structure at abandoned industrial site.

On Mission With The Messiah by Michael Cloud

On Mission With The Messiah by Michael Cloud

Graffiti-covered rusted metal structure at abandoned industrial site.

Note from the author: Somewhere along the way, I was told that a good Methodist preacher should always have a sermon and a prayer ready. Wanting to be faithful in that calling, I keep a few in reserve for those times I am asked to preach in different places. This one has become a favorite. I have preached it in churches across the United States and in a church in Cambodia that is deeply meaningful to our family.

I had the opportunity to travel to Cuba as a Flame Fellow with World Methodist Evangelism, and I knew this was the sermon I would bring. Preaching it there, just before the country entered its current state of emergency, was a humbling yet powerful reminder that what follows are not merely words on a page. It is not simply a message of comfort and encouragement. It is a truth from our God who loves us and cares for us, even when everything around us begins spiraling out of control. 

 

Lessons from the Healing of the Bleeding Woman and Jairus’ Daughter

I want to walk with you through a way of reading Scripture that has become very meaningful to me. I like to take a passage, especially one I already know well, and look at it as if I am reading it for the first time. I like to read it as if I do not already know how the story ends. It reminds me that these stories were not written as fiction or legend. They all happened in real time for the people walking with Jesus.

Take a moment and read through Luke 8:40-56.

In this story, I find myself identifying with Jairus and looking at the interaction with Jesus through his eyes. The text tells us that Jairus is a leader in the synagogue. But you might be interested to learn, as I was, that Jairus is laity, not clergy. That’s a beautiful reflection of the Kingdom of God. When it comes to being on a mission with the Messiah, there is no difference between clergy and laity. We are all on the same journey. We all need faith. We all need Jesus.

Jairus has a twelve-year-old little girl who is dying. It is not just his baby girl. It is his only child. The mission is clear. Find the Messiah. Save the girl.

As Jesus is on the way to Jairus’s house, the crowd presses in from every side. Suddenly, Jesus stops. A woman reaches out and touches the edge of his garment in a way that draws power out of him. In Mark, the woman says to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed” (Mark 5:28). In the Greek, that word “healed” can also mean “saved.” If I could just touch the Messiah, I would be saved. That phrasing makes me wonder why she thought this way. Why is she thinking about salvation while she is talking about touching his clothes? The answer is not as random as we might think. 

 

Understanding the Biblical Meaning of Faith and Salvation

In Numbers 15, God instructed the people to make tassels on the fringes of their robes as a reminder for them to observe the law and to remain holy. At least five different times in the law, God specifically commands the people to “Be holy for I am holy.” These tassels also became a marker of their identity as the people of God. 

But as Peter points out in the text, many people are touching Jesus at this moment (v. 47), yet the woman is the only one healed. So, what is the difference? Many people reach out because they believe Jesus can help. This is not wrong. But the woman reaches out because she believes only Jesus can save her. It was not just that Jesus can help. He was her only hope. She is not just asking for relief. She is reaching for salvation. As the woman reaches out in desperation to grab hold of Jesus, she is reaching past the law that identifies her as unclean, and she is healed by the identity of the one wearing the robe. Behold! He has come to put away the old and create something new. 

This woman who stops Jesus in his tracks had been bleeding for twelve years. That’s twelve years as an outcast. Twelve years as unworthy to approach God in the temple for worship. It is twelve years of humiliation and shame among her people. But when she touches the hem of Christ’s garment, that hem which represents the law of God and the holiness of heaven, the power of our Holy and Almighty God does not reject her, it heals her! In Jesus the holiness of God comes close enough to reach out and touch in a way that we can grab hold of and plead for healing — for salvation. Jesus did not come to cancel the law. He came to fulfill it. And now, in Christ, we are no longer condemned; we are set free! 

In this moment, we are reminded that the Scriptures bear witness to the fact that the same power that saved her, the same power that saved us, now sends us out to proclaim this life-saving power to others. As mission evangelists, it is our job to proclaim the Gospel we have been given. It does not matter where you have been, how far you have walked away, or how far you have fallen. There is no depth of hell that Christ cannot reach. In Jesus the unclean find salvation. In Jesus the forgotten are restored. By the grace of God and the power of Christ on the cross Jesus came to take a lifetime of sins and shortcomings and offer salvation in their place.

“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering” (v. 48). It is a faith awakened within her by God which trusts that Jesus is the Divine Healer and that there is no other name under heaven or on earth by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). 

How beautiful. It would be impossible to not celebrate this story. But while all of this is happening, the little girl dies. Did you forget about her? Do you think Jairus felt like Jesus forgot about his daughter? Remember, the mission is not about the bleeding woman. It is about Jesus going to heal Jairus’ daughter. The woman is healed. That’s great. But while Jesus is distracted by this unclean woman, someone from Jairus’ house comes to stop Jesus from traveling any further. “Your daughter is dead… do not bother the teacher anymore” (v. 49). So, if I’m Jairus, I’m not going to be so happy that Jesus took his time. If I’m Jairus, I may not say it, but I’m going to be a bit bitter that Jesus helped someone else while he let my little girl die in pain.

They had set out on the mission to save Jairus’ daughter. This woman is in the way. She is an obstacle. She is the reason the little girl dies without Jesus. The mission has failed, all because this unclean woman had to touch Jesus. She could have waited. She could have followed Jesus and been healed on the way back. Jesus should have kept moving. There was something a little more urgent to deal with, wasn’t there? Interestingly enough, Jesus didn’t see it that way. Even while a little girl lay dying, Jesus does not turn the woman away, nor does he call her unclean.

 

Finding God’s Purpose in Life’s Interruptions

Here is the truth at the heart of ministry. Jesus did not sacrifice the mission by healing the bleeding woman. She was not in the way of the mission; she was the mission. The mission of the Messiah was to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Being on mission with Jesus is about embodying His mercy, His presence, and stopping to hear the cries of the needy. In Jesus, we do not just find healing. In Jesus we find salvation. In Jesus we find new life. When Jesus arrives at Jairus’ house, he does something no one is ready for — he raises the little girl from the dead. Take heart, brothers and sisters. Jesus is never late. Jesus is always right on time.

Sometimes our walk with Jesus is interrupted. We were moving forward trying to accomplish the work He has given us to do. We are praying. We are enduring. And suddenly, something appears in our path. A person. A need. A situation we did not plan for. And we think, “Lord, I was already carrying enough.” And while we may not admit it, our weariness in life tries to make us forget how holy and powerful God truly is. But if we really are walking with Jesus, if the Son of God and Savior of the world really is by our side, then maybe that person that interrupts our plans is not so random after all. Maybe they are reaching out to be healed by the very Savior who calls you friend. Christ died so that none shall perish but that all may have eternal life (John 3:16). That includes you… and me… and those we meet along the way. It includes those we have labeled unclean, unworthy, or beyond our reach. 

This is where we must be attentive. Jesus has a mission that is way beyond the one that is right in front of our face. We cannot get so focused on the work before us that we lose sight of what the Master is doing along the way. If Jesus never stops for the woman, she continues in a life of horrible torture and pain, perpetually unclean and cast out. And so even though helping her seems to take away from the mission objective, Jesus stops so that she may be healed and have a new life. What if the people we stop for along the way are not delaying God’s work but are the very place where God is already at work? As mission evangelists, our mission to make Christ known to the end of the earth must be modeled after the one who took his time.

Following Jesus is a journey that is not defined by the destination alone. After all, we know how the story ends. Jesus continues on until he gets to Jairus’s house and brings the little girl back to life. Resurrection and new life are indeed at the heart of His work. But look with me at what happens right before this. This moment matters. If we miss it, we risk missing the miracle. It is just after the messenger comes from Jairus’s house and tells them that they do not need to keep traveling any further. Look at what happens in Jairus’s life right before the miracle takes place. In verse 50, Jesus turns to Jairus, a father who is mourning the loss of his daughter, and says, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

 

How to Keep Faith When Life Feels Out of Control

I come back here to pause for this moment because the statement almost demands it. This whole journey began with Jairus believing. Why else would he come to Jesus if he did not believe? But just like the woman who had been bleeding, Jesus is not asking for a new faith. He is calling Jairus to hold on to the faith he already has. 

Jesus is not saying, “Start believing.” He is saying, “Don’t let go.”

It’s as if Jesus looks at Jairus and says, “I know you believe. I know your heart is breaking. I know you just heard news that has turned your world upside down. But take heart. Do not lose faith. Because I am about to do something far greater than you could ever ask or imagine.”

So, let me ask you: Do you have the kind of faith that Jesus speaks of in this passage? It does not talk about a perfect faith or a loud faith, but a faith that holds on. Do you have faith that when the walls are closing in around you, and it feels like you have lost everyone and everything — when your life starts to hemorrhage at the seams, and you find yourself in perpetual suffering and in pain — that Jesus will stop to save you? Faith does not mean the absence of doubt. Faith trusts that Jesus knows what he is doing, even when it looks like the mission has failed.

The saving faith that God, by his grace, awakens within us is a faith that breaks through the crowd of concerns that keep us from Jesus. It reaches out in desperation for the One who takes on death and gives life in its place.

Do not be afraid. Only believe. Do not lose faith. Salvation is found in the One who is making all things new.

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Bible open on a wooden surface, symbolizing faith and evangelism.

The Gospel by Rob Haynes

The Gospel by Rob Haynes

Bible open on a wooden surface, symbolizing faith and evangelism.

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

Jesus, Mark 1:15 ESV

 

“Gospel” is a word that we hear quite a bit in church circles. However, what exactly is “the gospel?” In many settings, at least in churches in the West, it runs the risk of being reduced to something easily distilled to a few spiritual laws or a plan of Salvation that can be shared with someone else. While it is certainly admirable to try to make the message of Jesus one that others can understand, I am not sure that this always presents a biblically faithful presentation of the “gospel.” Rather, we should speak of the gospel as the Christian Scriptures do.

 

What is the Gospel? Defining the Good News

When the New Testament writers speak of the gospel, we see that the words translated from the Greek give us “gospel” or “good news.” This includes the words of Jesus recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The first hearers of this would have understood it in a way perhaps different from our use of it today. We need to, instead, speak about the gospel the way that the New Testament does. Correctly understood, this is a foundational message of good news that is incorporated into the entire Bible. The entire Bible contains the story of all that God has promised, has accomplished, and will bring to completion through his Son, Jesus. Jesus is the promised Messiah, the savior who takes away the sins of the world and will return as the Eternal King.

 

The Gospel in the Old and New Testament

“Bible” and “gospel” are almost interchangeable terms. The primary function of the Bible, from the opening chapter of Genesis to the complete story of John’s Revelation, is to bear witness to Jesus Christ. To put it succinctly, God’s good news is Jesus. This is important because many may be tempted to discard the Old Testament as inconvenient, unknowable, or an embarrassing preface to Jesus’ arrival. Rather, the Old Testament reveals God’s plan and accomplishment of his purposes in Jesus. The teachings and story of Jesus make sense because of the Old Testament backdrop. The same can be said of the parts of the New Testament letters that make us uncomfortable. Rather than discard them, our goal should be to understand them as God intends to use them to reveal the gospel.

To put it another way: The gospel is centered on Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. Jesus is the good news which God proclaims to us. The Bible is God’s self-revelation to us. The whole Bible bears witness to Jesus in one way or another. Therefore, the “gospel” is made up of the entire Bible, for God has given it to us to know and understand the person and work of Jesus as God’s good news.

 

Kingdom of God Meaning: Repentance, Faith, and Salvation

The Kingdom of God that Jesus reveals is the gospel that was proclaimed by the apostles and his faithful evangelists ever since. The response that God asks for is two-fold, repentance and faith. This response also brings demand and promise alike. On one hand salvation is promised by the King of Kings for any who respond in that faith and repentance. Since Jesus is King, change is also necessary. Jesus offers salvation and requires our obedience. These are both the blessings and the demands of Kingdom living.

This may sound harsh at first. But to those who have been set from the slavery to sin and death it is the life-giving message of freedom here and in the life to come. It is God’s life-giving, transforming power at work in the world. “It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16) Once we have experienced this transforming power, we cannot keep it to ourselves. Obedience to Christ is “faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:6)

May we each faithfully work through love to share the gospel wherever Christ has placed us.

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God And The Priority Of Love by Beth Felker Jones

God And The Priority Of Love by Beth Felker Jones

The following article has been reposted with permission from Beth Felker Jones. Check out the original post at her Substack: Church Blogmatics.

 

 

Understanding the Mystery of the Holy Trinity

We should not be surprised to discover that God, being God, goes beyond human categories and assumptions, and we should be suspicious if we find our theologies supposing themselves capable of handling the mysteries of God …

Sometimes the limits of theology come from humans being human, and those limits are proper and even benign. But sometimes theology’s limits are revealed to be something more sinister than limitations of finitude and are instead revealed as sinful limitations. Here, perhaps, the blinders of sin prevent us from imagining a sensibleness that goes beyond the sinful common-sense of violence and reaches into the trinitarian sense of consensus. 

A hearty appreciation of the magnitude of sin will ask us to search for the limits of our imaginations and may open us to the mysterious Triune consensus in which the coincidence of threeness and oneness does not mean violence or domination or assimilation but, instead, threeness and oneness together mean community and peace.

Theology must respect the limits of human finitude and tremble before the limits of human sin. For this reason, I have little interest in solving any “problem” of oneness and threeness, though I am happy to talk of the “mystery” thereof. As a “problem” though, the thing can only be reductive. As a “problem,” the thing ignores the mystery and fecundity of analogy, denies God’s fundamental holy otherness, and so imagines God in violent competition with God. 

As a “mystery,” oneness and threeness is revealed in scripture as the wholeness of the God of Israel. The Triune God is, without doubt, an integer, whole and full in oneness and threeness, but God’s Triune integrity cannot be reduced to human understandings of number …

 

What Does the Bible Teach About the Trinity?

The oneness of the God of Israel is about who we do and do not worship, and when Jesus rightly receives our worship, we are recognizing him as the One God revealed in both testaments … 

I want, then, to speak of and practice the mystery of divine threeness and oneness through invoking and witnessing to the Triune God rather than through trying to solve a supposed logical problem which God has revealed as unproblematic in that it is no impediment to the love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for one another and for the world … 

The church does this work of witness when it recognizes the work of Jesus and the Spirit as the gift of the Father and when it does the difficult intellectual and spiritual work that would eventually bear fruit in the creed we now call Nicene, the best efforts we have been able to offer at speaking of God in a way that coheres with the surprising fullness of the biblical witness, a witness that is full of God’s one-ness and three-ness. 

The church is able to witness to the Triune God because “the Lord, the Spirit” removes veils from faces and displays glory in the people of the body of Christ, who are “being transformed” (2 Cor 3:18). The church tells the Triune story when it speaks, preaches, and testifies to the resurrection of Jesus, who lays down his life and takes it up again, having “received this command from” (Jn 10:18) his Father. We invoke and witness to the Trinity when we trust that “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit” is indeed the one sent by the Father in Jesus’s name and when we allow the Spirit to do the work of teaching us and reminding us of Jesus and converting us through him (Jn 14:26). We trust and witness to the Trinity when we come to the Father through Jesus (Jn 14:6) and accept that Jesus himself has shown us the Father (Jn 14:10), and we practice the doctrine of the Trinity when we keep Jesus’s commandments (Jn 14:15) just as Jesus practices it when he does “as the Father has commanded” him and, in so doing, lets “the world” know that he loves his Father (Jn 14:31).

We witness to the Triune truth when we live the kingdom life of “peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17) and, in doing so serve Christ in a way that is “acceptable to God” (Rom 14:18). This kingdom dynamic makes sense because the oneness and threeness of the Triune life is sense.

 

Living the Trinity

I will close this … section … with reflection on a pair of biblical passages which help us to enter into the oneness and threeness who is the God of love. First, from the fifth chapter of 1 John:

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments … Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree … And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life … We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 Jn 5: 1-2, 5-8, 11-12, 19-21).

This passage is a lived doctrine of the trinity, for in it we see the eternal relationships of Father, Son, and Spirit invoked as definitive for human relationships with God and with one another. Our love for the Father is naturally connected to our love for the Son and to our living in love for one another and through obedience to God. We are invited to participate in Jesus’s relationship with his Father and so in Jesus’s victory over the world. And we are invited to participate in the Spirit’s true testimony, which is to the eternal life we share with the Son. We are “in him,” and so we are in a life which participates in the inter-triune relationships. The last verse quoted above, with its warning to reject idols, is part and parcel of this lived doctrine of the trinity. When we are in this God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — we are drawn into a certain life, a life of love, and we reject other ways of life, the ways of the violent world which Jesus has conquered.

We find another source for living the doctrine of the trinity in Paul’s rich thought in Ephesians. Paul sends “grace” and “peace” “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:2). Even his greeting participates in the triune life.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will …I n Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory (Eph 1:3-5, 11-14).

The Father blesses and chooses; he wants us “for adoption” through Jesus and so we receive the status of children, the inheritance that is Jesus’s. The purpose of the inheritance is our ability to live in testimony to the triune love, to “live for the praise of his glory” (v. 12). We are sealed by the spirit and so pledged to the life Paul here imagines for us.

 

The Role of the Father in the Trinity

Because the Father is the one from whom the Triune unity flows, and so has a Fatherly priority, we sinners are prone to imagine priority as something which could be lost and so we imagine a father who protectively guards His priority. In the sinful life, at odds with God, we have no tools for imagining a secure life, a life free from any need of such defensive guarding. We grasp and strive, hoard and guard. If we come by any priority, we immediately fear its loss. We play zero sum games and worry about allocation of scarce resources. We build fences and thrones. We lock gates and draw blinds. Where we close, the Father opens.

For the Father is utterly secure in his Fatherliness, and that Fatherliness never has known nor never could know any lack. In his all-sufficient, unoriginate, almightiness, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is powerful to be the one who he is, and this Father is the one who gives good gifts. The Father gives good gifts in freedom, never thereby to be diminished. This seems true both in the love life of the Godhead, wherein the Father is all-powerful unto eternal generation and inspiration and all-powerful unto sharing his glory fully with the Son and the Spirit. And this seems true in the love the Triune God offers to the world, wherein the Father gives his Son in the Spirit, and with that giving, gives every other good gift as well. The Father’s all-powerful gift giving nature is so plenteous, it opens up even the Triune life itself, drawing human beings into that life as we are enabled to share the status of the Son in the Spirit; “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are” (1 Jn 3:1a). In giving the only begotten son of the Father, God is revealed as the one who “so” loves the world, drawing men and women into God’s own “eternal life” (Jn 3:16).

Contemporary theology is in desperate need of a recovery of the Father. So much theology has given up on the Father, consigning any idea of fatherliness to hopelessness and hierarchy, but it is only in the Father’s fatherliness that the hierarchy which, among other things, underwrites demonic conversion by coercion instead of Spirit-led conversion by consensus, can be undone. The Father’s fatherliness undoes hierarchy and coercion. The Father’s fatherliness is steadfast love, unshakable and unassailable. It is the Father’s love for the Son and the Spirit and the Father’s love for us all, consensus-love.

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Are You Asking The Right Question? by Rob Haynes

Are You Asking The Right Question? by Rob Haynes

I like to do projects around the house and the garage. It may be a small chore like changing a light fixture or a large job repairing the car. I like to be part of the solution. Over the years I have learned that one key to doing the job well is having the right tool for the job. You may be able to get by with a substitute, but you can save a great deal of time and frustration by using a tool designed for the task. You can even avoid hurting yourself or damaging the things you are working on. For example, I can drive a nail to hang a picture with a golf club. However, I might damage the wall or hit my thumb. I might be able to sink a putt with a hammer. But is that the best way to go about it? I think you see where I am going. 

 

Choosing the Right Tools for Christian Mission

This principle can also apply to Christian mission. There are many tools that we can use to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. It may be a trip to another place to do some work, the managing of a soup kitchen in the inner city, preaching in the streets, or a number of other things. I meet many Christians who ask how and where their particular church can serve in some sort of mission endeavor. What they are usually looking for is a ready-made program they can use as a tool for a goal they have in mind. However, that may not be the right question. Are they trying to use the right tool for the job? Put it another way, are they asking the right questions about how they could serve? Let’s look at mission for a moment, then we can ask a better question.

 

What Is the Mission of God? (Missio Dei Explained)

First, it is important to remember that mission flows from the mission of God. It is not the church who has a mission from God. It is God who has a church to fulfill his mission. Throughout the Bible, God is a sending God. When we see a problem in our relationships, communities, or the world the first question we should ask is, “What does the Bible have to say about this?” and “What does the revealed nature of God in the Person of Jesus Christ tell us about how to address this?” This will tell us how we should respond.

We see throughout the Scriptures that there is a “centrifugal” nature of God. We see this in the Trinity who is constantly moving outward, touching all of Creation with his self-giving love. God uses prophets, teachers, and witnesses to do so. The Son is the ultimate demonstration of this, in both the One who is Sent and is Sending. God has a design and purpose for all of Creation. We can say that he is ‘on mission’ to accomplish these purposes.

 

Evangelism and Service: Why Both Are Essential for Christian Mission

It is amazing that Jesus, in his great love, invites his followers to act on his behalf: to comfort, to heal, to correct, and to bring freedom. We do this in many multitudes of acts of service that we frequently call “mission work” today. At the same time, God sends his people to proclaim on his behalf: to be messengers of good news in his world. Acts of service done in Christ’s Name and the verbal declarations of his message should always go together. Using our example of tools: it is like a pair of scissors. You cannot have only one side of a pair of scissors and have an effective instrument. Likewise, we must have both service and the proclamation to accomplish the work of Christian mission.

 

How to Prepare Your Church for God’s Mission

Since it is God who has a mission to accomplish, and that mission is lifegiving and complex, we should prioritize asking the right question regarding our participation in it. As I mentioned above, many ask, “What are the instruments around me that I can use to accomplish the work I have in mind?” I want to suggest that the better question is, “How does God want to form and shape me, my family, my church into the instrument he wants for his Mission and the way he wants to accomplish it?”

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Good News: God Is Moving In Asia And Far Beyond (Part 2) by James Loftin

Good News: God Is Moving In Asia And Far Beyond (Part 2) by James Loftin

There has never been a time when God was not moving toward human brokenness and lostness. From Genesis 3 until this moment, gracious God has been on the move. Often, we are oblivious to God’s redemptive work, but sometimes we get a glimpse of his grace and stand in awe. As my wife and I traveled through East Asia for six weeks last summer, we were blessed to see the miraculous movement of God day after day. As I reflected on those experiences, God gave me eight insights regarding his global movement and our partnership with the Holy Spirit. In part I of this article, I shared about the inherent value of every soul, the fact that no darkness is impenetrable, God’s prevenient and ongoing grace, and the importance of indigenous leadership. I pray that these next four insights cause you to think carefully about God, our faith, God’s mission, and the people waiting in darkness.

1) God continues to use imperfect tools. Despite our real limitations – in my case, my age, average intelligence, modest bank account, brokenness and ability to only speak one language – God can and does use any willing vessel. Across Asia, God opened doors for us to share and demonstrate the Gospel. This had little to do with our worthiness or training. It was mostly because we asked God to use us, we prepared well, and we were sensitive to God’s movement during our daily activities. God can and does use all types of personalities and skills. God uses children and senior citizens. God uses broken bodies and professional athletes. God uses anyone who is bold enough to ask God to use them. 

During my week in the remote part of Asia, I was shocked by the way the people responded to me. For the first time in my life, I could somewhat relate to what it might feel like to be a celebrity. Every taxi driver, hotel receptionist, restaurant worker, and new friend reported the same thing: “You are the first American I have met.” My height, white hair, and blue eyes caught everyone’s attention, and I was routinely approached with requests for a photograph. People were curious about my life and beliefs. They wanted to talk with me. In each of those encounters, I was able to pray for a person or family and/or speak a word of blessing to them – either silently or spoken. One day, my presence caused such a stir at an outdoor event with thousands of children that I had to leave. 

As I reflected on the crowd’s response to me that day, I was humbled. An old, mono-linguistic man from a lower-middle class family in a rural part of the United States had found his way to the opposite side of the earth. How did that happen? Why did it happen? Once again, I praised God for continuing to use imperfect vessels like me for his glory.   

2) It’s still time to cry. I cried a lot in Asia. I cried with gratitude and praise as I gazed at vistas that only a majestic God could create. I cried as I looked at beautiful people created in God’s image – although they had no knowledge of the Creator. And I cried over the oppressive darkness in many places. Instead of fighting back my tears, I embrace the sensitivity God has given me. 

When I consider possible reasons that so many lost and hurting people remain unreached, I wonder if one reason is related to the absence of tissue boxes in the sanctuaries of our churches. If the pain in the world does not move us to tears, we will probably not be moved to act in ways that shine Christ’s love. If you can’t relate to this tear-talk, join me in praying what Bob Pierce prayed 60 years ago: “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” 

But this season of sorrow will come to an end – Hallelujah! Light ultimately and completely will conquer darkness as the King of light is fully revealed and his kingdom comes – And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4). And with that confidence, we smile through our temporary tears. 

3) Some things never end. Tears and suffering will cease when Jesus establishes His Kingdom, but some things will never end. Even after we pass through the portal of death, we will forever declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (I Peter 2:9). The purpose and passion of a Jesus follower is to live, speak and act in ways that point to Jesus. As our lives roll forward, however, failing health and other life realities can lure us into thinking: “My Kingdom impact has practically ended. The younger folks are shining now. It’s time for me to take a comfortable seat and watch the action – and maybe just pray.”

Vivien and I had been in Asia for over six weeks. It had been a wonderful but weary journey, and we were finally on the way to the Saigon airport to fly home. As our driver, “King” navigated the traffic, Vivien and I did what all travelers do when they are on the way home. We checked and double checked our passports. We reminisced about the glories of the journey. And we thought about getting in our own bed. The trip, our mission, was over.

Or was it? After a few minutes, King mentioned that he hoped to get married soon. I encouraged him, but my focus quickly returned to thoughts of home. After a few moments, he broke the silence with these honest and vulnerable words. “But I have a problem.” Amazed that my new friend was being vulnerable with a stranger, I leaned up to hear and see him better as he continued. “My girlfriend and her family are Christians. My parents are Buddhists, and I am nothing. My girlfriend’s family is insisting that I become a Christian before we get married. I think that is unfair.”

Once again, the presence and the voice of God became so clear to me: “Your mission is not over.” I smiled, fought back tears of joy, and asked God to guide my words. For the next forty-five minutes, Vivien and I shared our light stories and pointed our new friend to Jesus. King and I still communicate, and we hope to be at his wedding in 2026. 

Every day that we have breath is a day to share and demonstrate the glory of Jesus. We may not be able to visit another country, but there are countless other ways to point to Jesus. We can serve and proclaim God’s glory in our own area, support others who go far, and we can pray. Today, tomorrow and forever, we point to Jesus.

4) No passports are needed to impact the world with prayer. At several points in our journey, I had the strong sense that someone was praying for us. As I shared my light story and God’s grace with people like Inna and King, I was often aware that we were not alone. Sometimes, I even looked over my shoulder to see who had entered the room. Only then did I realize that the Holy Spirit and a praying friend had joined us. I can’t adequately communicate how the prayers of the saints impacted me as I stood in foreign lands in the face of beautiful people who need Jesus. Prayer is indeed a viable way to participate in the work of God far beyond our own homes.

In Acts 1:8 and countless other places in Scripture, Jesus calls us to move out in the Spirit to impact the world for Christ. Prayer is not the only way to participate in the Great Commission, and it is not a faithful substitute for other steps God has called you to take. But God continues to use the faithful, tear-filled prayers of his children to encourage missionary servants and change the world. So let’s pray! 

As you reflect on these four insights – 

– Which insight best connects with your needs or passion today?

– Which lost, hurting and unreached people has God put on your heart?

– In what ways is God calling you to lift the lamp of Jesus’ love even higher? 

Lord Jesus, thank you for moving with transforming power around the world. May the Church in every nation faithfully follow you in your mission of grace. Amen.

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More Than A Barber by Maxie Dunnam

Wesleyan Accent

More Than A Barber by Maxie Dunnam

Even with modern technology, I like the daily newspaper. I pay close attention to the front page and read the articles there that get attention. Then I turn the inner pages to see what is there.

It was an inside article, but the headline caught my attention:

FORMER ADDICT OFFERS HAIRCUTS TO HOMELESS PEOPLE IN LOS ANGELES.

I couldn’t resist and read the inspiring story of barber Beraldo Gabaldon. He sets up shop near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles and cuts the hair of homeless people for free, wanting to give them a fresh outlook. The 35-year old former barbershop owner came to California from Albuquerque, New Mexico to leave behind 15 years of drug and alcohol addiction and start a new life after getting sober in February.

He has been cutting hair at the park for a month, up to four hours a day in what he calls his “mission to redeem himself and give hope to others.”

I’m sure I will be sharing this story with addicts who seek my counsel, but to even think of being helpful, I will have to talk about the fact that Beraldo had done some of the things becoming sober requires. First of all, he was an addict and needed help. Maybe it was a new community… so he made a dramatic move… Alburquerque to Los Angeles. And there he is cutting hair… serving others. When Beraldo tells his background they relate to him immediately. “You are more than a barber. You’re a therapist. You can talk to your barber about anything. I can guide them to the resources I do know,” he says. “These are the first people I am going to help because I was in their shoes… Maybe a haircut can give the spark to change their whole life.”

Having relapsed several times, Beraldo aims to be a mentor so that his customers do not just end up in jail or undergo rehabilitations and are left to fend for themselves.

His word is a good one not just for recovering folks, but for all: This time I found my purpose and why I want to recover. It’s for me and my family, so they can have a dad, a brother, and have me here to provide, being an amazing father to my kids.” (The Commercial Appeal , 8/24/25)

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Too Fast for Good News by Joseph Seger

Wesleyan Accent

Too Fast for Good News by Joseph Seger

Sitting with people after their surgeries, I often hear their prescription: slow down and heal. Sometimes, it is true the best thing we can do is just trust the same old story. The reality is that we live in an age where real rewards come from capitalizing in the attention economy. Quick searches reveal dozens, even hundreds of ‘get well quick’ anecdotes. The question raises quickly, which authority, which new story should be heeded?

Hurting churches today often have a similar scenario. They want to live and proclaim good news, but cannot move as they desire. Unresolved conflict lingers from a past Board meeting, ongoing feuds simmer among the members, unseen pain or potential block each other from interacting – the list goes on: something happened in the past and the body finds itself in need of healing. The same old prescription rises from the Master through the scriptures to live out the gospel proclamations within. Only now there are more polished ‘relevant’ experts prescribing modern church growth and fixing church problems. Broken things need time to mend. Voices clamor that the time is now to act.

‘Move fast and break things.’ This motto echoed around the start-ups of Silicon Valley for decades and into our current moment. It speaks to the cutthroat world of capitalist rewards, and the businesses behind them, for advancing technology faster than the user can get used to what the market already offers. It’s part of why we have so many platforms with so much information and news that we are ‘infobese’ and incapable of processing all that comes across the screens surrounding us.

This idea has disrupted the business world and spread into daily living.

Consider this often repeated conversation:

It’s so good. You should try it.

Really? You like it that much?

No, I actually haven’t ever tried it, but I heard it is really good.

Oh.

I used to laugh when a version of this exchange occurred. Seeking out a restaurant, product, or experience, someone gives an enthusiastic recommendation. And just when you get your hopes up, you realize they have no experiential authority for the endorsement. It may be that in good faith they are passing along another’s good word. It may be that they have been conditioned by targeted advertising. It often comes from a desire to be helpful, but almost always has an element of pedantic condescension. For if we move fast to an endorsement, maybe we can get some bonus credit, building our perceived authority with false confidence. I have always found it humorous how we can grab and pass along authority with no inherent knowledge of its truth.

At least it was humorous with a food order or purchase. It becomes more gut wrenching as it moves to other social matters.

One of the pervasive fruits of Silicon Valley’s fast movement has been the perfect tool to occupy our frenetic egos – social media. The ‘right’ to influence others no longer has to wait through the long work of education, experience, or editors. It has been freed for all. The more the talent in wielding it means the more the influencer must comment on anything and everything happening to remain relevant. No matter if it’s good or true or relevant or consistent with yesterday. We have to move fast and break things. Even more so when tomorrow comes.

Enter newsjacking.

Newsjacking has always existed, but has become a different phenomena with our current technology. The current oracle, AI, tells us that it is a “real-time PR and marketing strategy where a brand or individual injects its own ideas and expertise into a breaking news story or trending topic to gain media attention and promote itself.” Or to put it in another light, newsjacking is sharing news not to spread that news, but to gain standing or credit on some alternative agenda regardless of the news. It matters not whether people died or succeeded, were freed or held captive – only that this take was seen by more eyes and through ‘my’ lens.

This further floods all social media feeds with hot takes and reactions and memes and…well, it just goes on until the next event worthy to comment upon. No person can process all the information in time to share sound wisdom. With every post, we become more callous to the realities behind the viral moment. A disconnect forms between what is posted and what the poster feels. We become numb to the realities of each story and gear up for tribal fights rather than rallying to those in need or celebrating with the joyful.

Where is the church in all of this?  Calling us from our numbness to be present to the pain and joy of the events around us? All too often it has become another mouthpiece in this infotainment.

In the church’s desire to be relevant it has sometimes forgotten the news it proclaims should be good to be lived. Many churches, and their leaders, want to be helpful, but often desire to be heard speaking ‘prophetically’ or ‘relevantly’ to whatever issue is raised more than wrestling with the news itself. It can filter out its own pain in a desire to have the answer for others. 

Relevancy overtakes authenticity.

Following the news story can lead away from the GOOD NEWS still to be proclaimed.

There are many reasons why the church today has struggled to evangelise its surrounding neighborhoods. Evangelism at its heart is the sharing of good news. In the church, this good news is that Jesus has not only died on the cross for our sins, but that he is the King of the universe who will make all things new. Fleshed out, this means the sick should become well, the lonely should find community, families should become stronger, the addicted should be freed and connected – that all should come to live more healthy and holistic lives. Unfortunately this is not the lived reality of many in churches today.

Some churches today often declare the ‘correct’ theological, biblical, and evangelical concepts without evidence of belief, understanding, or joy to go along with the truths therein. The good news is no longer news affecting us but rather information to be wielded. Sometimes such hope is exported to other fields. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the church struggles to evangelise today.

In our hurry to keep up, some of us in the church have not taken the time to let the reality of the good news sink in. We repeat the good news without knowing it to be good ourselves. We desire to proclaim the fruits without the long, hard work of breaking the soil, tilling it, and being present for the growth necessary for the buds to begin to form. Maybe this comes from decades of living with instant gratification society. Maybe it comes from some bent desire to not have to live in every time or season of life. Maybe we’re stuffed, full, and tired. Maybe there is nothing new under the sun.

Evangelism does not lead to good news in our lives if we do not live by the truth of the gospel. Unexperienced proclamations of goodness, a lack of alignment of action and word, and a desire to use the gospel for worldly ends plagues us throughout the church today. The gospel becomes truncated in its expression because it has become limited in its effect on the whole of our lives. What is shared is sometimes not known, owned, or lived. What is shared becomes dismissed due to the fruit of the community. Trust is lost. Those who hear then flock to other proclamations.

Good news heard should be good news lived.

I will say it again in another way. Part of the church today struggles to share the gospel because it struggles to flesh out the good news within the body. Members attend worship faithfully, but avoid each other throughout the week. Conversations and plans of action can reveal an ignorance of biblical interpretation, spiritual disciplines, the commands of Jesus, and theological application. Hurting people are not offered wholeness through Christ and the community. Examples abound, but a truncated discipleship program has led to lower expectations for the bride of Christ. Church health and well being within allows for the faithful extension of sharing good news beyond the covenantal community. Churches need to care about the lives and situations of those within as they do their neighbors. They need to be healthy before they become places where the good news wells up from within and overflows to the community. Church should be a place where we can rest, have authentic community, and just be before our God we behold.

Consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. If one desires self actualization and transcendence, then one first needs shelter, food, rest, safety, belonging, and confidence. The same is true for our churches. If we desire the church to be the Kingdom of God upon the earth and to spread into every community, we need to make sure those within know they have abundant provision from the King, healing from the Master, shelter under the Most High, a Sabbath rest, no coercion within the body, love throughout all of the congregation, unity in Jesus, and an understanding of how the Holy Spirit empowers them for the call.

When we try to share good news that we do not believe, live, or resonate with, it comes off discordant and disingenuous. We sense this with personalities newsjacking on Facebook and Twitter(x). It’s in the back of our mind when all influencers use the latest news story in attempts to be more Instafamous. We see the danger in implanting opinions into the news regardless of whether it is good. We must come to see the problems in proclaiming the Good News without it first being good in our lives.

Good news should give us joy. It makes us cheer and smile, stomp and clap, sing or shout, move and dance. It’s a phone call which incites us to make a dozen phone calls to ensure all know the current event that affects our loved ones. When it resonates within it becomes effortless for it to spill forth.

There is still much hope for the church in our day. Despite the negative claims there remain numerous examples of healthy churches multiplying in the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of the Father. Still the whole of the Church has yet to fully claim the deeper truths within Paul’s letter to the Corinthians – “God has put the body together…so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (1 Cor. 12:24-26) We are joined with other Jesus followers. Our shared lives of pain and good news become the place from which we share the gospel to others. If they are not aligned, there will be no growth.

The world continues to manufacture more regardless of our health. It is easy to get caught up in the busyness of the production. Still, God’s mission to the world rests in the church – the multi-lingual, multi-ethnic movement of God inviting all to live in the reality of THE Good News by bringing together the broken pieces of lives needing rest and wholeness in God’s peace and love.

It is worthwhile to remember Jesus’ question to the invalid who had laid at the pool for 38 years (John 5). 38 years of not being healthy with attention turned to repeated proclamations of manufactured good news that did not bring health. 38 years of others passing by without health. 38 years bridged by a pointed question to the good news of health and joy beyond – “Do you want to get well?”

Christianity has been around for nearly 2 millenia and still there are blind who cannot see, lame who cannot walk, neighbors who are not loved, churches who do not love each other and the masses who do not know Jesus. Still, Jesus calls us to his Kingdom come.

Jesus still reigns. The Holy Spirit still moves. The church still gathers and scatters. Times have changed, and maybe move a little faster, but the good news is still good. Can we still ourselves and hear our Master’s call above the unrelenting noise? Does the church want to get well?

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Shalom And Short-Term Missions by Angel Sigui

Shalom And Short-Term Missions by Angel Sigui

The Deeper Meaning of Shalom: More Than Just Peace

Shalom, the Hebrew word of greeting and parting, carries more weight than many imagine. Often translated as peace, many take it to simply mean ‘no fighting.’ In reality, shalom encompasses a set of values that extend beyond a mere absence of conflict. It’s a state of harmony within and without, something we all strive for in our work, daily life, family interactions, and our world. Jesus, the Prince of Shalom, made this pursuit central in the kingdom life. Whether you’re a Christian or not, you likely recognize the value of creating a better world for us and others. Shalom isn’t something we can buy; we have to pursue it actively.

Jesus as the Model for Short-Term Mission Work

When we think about eternity, it’s important to recognize that Jesus came to Earth on a brief mission trip. He exemplified the best approach to engaging in short-term mission opportunities. Key aspects of his time on Earth include cultural adaptation, the principle of incarnation, and lifting people out of their poverty, both spiritually and physically. All these elements contributed to fostering Shalom within the communities and individuals Jesus encountered daily. He did not seek to gain power or dominate the host culture. Instead, Jesus patiently taught kingdom values through both his words and actions.

So, what does Shalom have to do with short-term mission (STM) trips? Let’s break it down.

How Short-Term Mission Trips Foster Lasting Change

As a short-term missions leader, I have heard the phrase, “We thought we were coming to help, but we ended up being helped,” repeated by almost every team I’ve come alongside. Full confession, when I was a participant, I said it too. These trips, often in unfamiliar places, change how we see the world.

One experience in a rural Guatemalan village showed me this. A young mother brought her malnourished newborn to our makeshift clinic, her face full of fear. Had she waited another day, her daughter probably wouldn’t have made it. Our medical team provided nourishment and care for the rest of our time there. By the end, the baby had rosy cheeks and was full of life. The mother’s grateful smile lit up the room. Our team felt profound joy. It was a life-changing moment that showed me the implications of serving others in real, tangible ways. While the mother and the baby were the objects of our care and attention, we all felt profound satisfaction in seeing a miracle take place in the lives of that baby and her mother.

Some people question short-term missions, worrying these efforts are more about feeling good than doing good—a kind of “voluntourism.” But when these trips are done with the right motivation—not for my sake but to partner with God’s mission—along with local partnerships and focusing on sustainable efforts, they create real change. In Guatemala, our clinic worked with local leaders who continued to serve families long after we left, planting seeds of shalom that grew beyond our short stay.

Why Serving Others Brings Joy and Purpose

The STM experience is counter-cultural. Participants pay their way to volunteer, work hard without expecting a paycheck, and look out for each other, not just themselves. At the end of each day, I see team members go to bed exhausted but smiling, grateful for the chance to serve. Westernized cultures often push us to chase wealth, possessions, or the latest gadget. STM trips shift the focus outward. I’ve seen teams pour their energy into building schools, providing healthcare, and giving time and treasure to others. They call their experiences life-changing, rewarding, and joy-filled.

So I pause and ask, what if the key to happiness isn’t in getting that new fill-in-the-blank but in loving our neighbor—actively willing the good of the other? What if shalom is found in serving without expecting anything in return? What if we were created to put our gifts and talents to the service of others, finding harmony in simple acts like helping someone who can never pay us back? What if we leaned into the data of the studies that show volunteering lowers stress, boosts mental health, and builds stronger social ties? 

Finding Shalom at Home: Everyday Acts of Service

You don’t need to cross the world to find shalom. Small acts at home count, too. Find a local place like a rehab center where people are struggling to find their identity after letting drugs or alcohol shatter their lives and their families, and listen to their stories. Tutor a kid struggling in school, giving them the confidence to grow. Or just sit with a neighbor and let them know you care about them, building a bond that strengthens your community. 

When we engage in service, whether through a short-term mission or a simple gesture, we foster shalom. As we actively will the good of the other, harmony takes root in individuals,  families, communities, and beyond. As we look outward, to the other side of the street or  the other side of the world, we repeat the words of the prophet, “Here I am, send me!”

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However We Witness, Witness We Must by Maxie Dunnam

Wesleyan Accent

However We Witness, Witness We Must by Maxie Dunnam

One of the privileges and responsibilities too many Methodist Christians ignore is witnessing. We take the way some Christians do it as the norm and that turns us off. We close our minds to the fact that some may never hear unless we share.  

I was blessed to chair the Committee of the World Methodist Council for 12 years. This gave me opportunity to travel the world and meet extraordinary Christians. One of those is Stanley Mogoba, the first black person to be elected the presiding bishop of the Methodist Church of South Africa.

About the time Nelson Mandela was sent to prison, Stanley met with a group of angry students and sought to dissuade them from violent demonstration. Just for that – trying to avert violence – he was arrested and imprisoned for six years on the notorious Robben Island. Mandela was already in prison there. His life and witness led to break the back of Apartheid, the awful governmental system of racial oppression in South Africa. He and Magoba became friends there in prison.

One day someone pushed a religious tract under Magoba’s cell door. Don’t ever forget: most persons who come to Christ do so not by big events, but by relationships and simple actions, like a person putting a tract beneath a prison cell door. By reading that little tract and responding to the Holy Spirit, lives forever changed. Magoba quoted the words of Charles Wesley’s hymn to describe his experience:

“Thine eye diffused a quickening ray
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off; my heart was free

God showed up, and something unexpected happened.

God who came unexpectedly at Pentecost, continues to show up, in persons, on the streets, in the Church. Some sort of witness shares in the redemptive process. It certainly doesn’t require a printed tract, but, more often than not, it requires some form of witness. That is the task of every Christian. How seriously are you assuming your task?

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