I’m currently reading a book called Who Is This Man? The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus by John Ortberg. Aside from having longwinded titles, I like Ortberg’s work.

The following section struck me as I read it tonight when referring to why Jesus seems to be the centerpiece of human history. Why does Jesus stand first?

Why?

Maybe because of its timing. Maybe Jesus was just a sympathetic figure who happened to come along when Roman infrastructure was good and Greek philosophy was undermining the gods, when paganism was dying and social systems were collapsing when stability was down and anxiety was up and gullibility was strong and… it was just dumb luck. May Jesus was a kind, simple, innocent soul with a good mom and a knack for catchy sayings who showed up in the right place at the right time. Jesus Gump. Maybe his place in history is a remarkable accident. 

But maybe it isn’t.  

That whole “…maybe it isn’t” cannot be ignored. If the life and timing of Jesus is more than a remarkable accident, if there’s even a remote chance of “…maybe it isn’t,” you would be so incredibly foolish to never investigate this man and what he says.

There is a great need in this generation to have men step up with their roles in their families, in their work places and in the church. In this era of extended adolescence, where too many men are men merely by age and not by actions and maturity, there is a necessity to reach out and help them grow.

Many young men are content to waste their lives consuming video game thrills, pornography addictions and whatever else can please their glands and satiate their ego without risking anything or venturing any commitment. The result of this fake-manliness is broken families, neglected responsibilities, and a decline in leadership in families, community and the church. It’s like the backbone has been removed from our culture.

I realize a few selections of sermon audio won’t change everything, but these teachings have really helped me change how I think, act and live. Maybe someone reading this may need to hear something these wise men have to say.

2nd Shift: JR Vassar
A series of three great talks by a man I greatly admire. I am in debt to JR Vassar and his preaching.

Nurturing Contentment: Beau Hughes
I’ve referenced this message in numerous messages I’ve given in the past year and a half. Men need to understand that they are more than their accomplishments or failures. They need to realize that true contentment can only be found in Christ alone.

Making the Most of Your Mission: Adam Thomason
Adam gave this message at a singles retreat following the message by Beau Hughes, and it really inspired me, and pounded home the point of getting myself lined up if I’m going to invite one of God’s daughters to do life with me.

Intentional Singleness: JR Vassar
Another selection from JR that encourages people to not waste their years of singleness on vanity, but rather prepare for marriage and do what the Lord has called them to do in that time.

Hope these resources help. God bless.

Here’s a little slice of what may be shared in my presentation at Raymond Reformed Church in Raymond, Minnesota this morning.

“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.” – D.A. Carson, For the Love of God

This world is discipling our young adults, and it takes no effort for it to do so. It essentially happens as easily as breathing in and out. We are immersed in the culture, and it teaches us the ways of the world.

As Christians, we are also called to discipleship. From Matthew 28: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…”

Christian discipleship takes so much more effort. And intentionality. And sacrifice. And help. It’s a constant denial of one’s self to help another person grow closer to the Lord.

Young adult ministry needs to happen at Ridgewater and in the Willmar area. There are thousands of young men and women that attend courses at the college, and very few of them have an active faith in Jesus Christ. Are you okay with that? There are tons of young adults just drifting in your community, bouncing from temporary savior to temporary savior. They are hurting themselves and others along the way. Drifting. Are you okay with that? Are we okay with that?

We need older generations to buy in. With their prayer life. With their time and energy. With their finances. We need examples of godliness. We need people to care about young adults. Specifically at the Campus Ministry Center, we need funding to keep the lights on and the ministry staffed.

These young adults are future leaders – of families, of workplaces, communities, of states, of nations. What foundation do we long for them to have? A foundation that will crumble? A foundation that looks out for itself and is selfish? Or do we want them to have a godly foundation that loves the Lord and serves the people around them unselfishly and lovingly?

This doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a community of believers to buy in and help out. Pray for the college students at Ridgewater and those who minister to them. Pray for the people of the Joppa ministry and those who lead and minister in that area.

“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.” - D.A. Carson, For the Love of God

For as busy as we are in the western culture, we often are quite idle when it comes to cultivating our faith. We think it’s a nice thing to have, we just don’t want to sacrifice our time or effort to see it grow. We want quick fixes and get-rich-quick faith. As a result, many people simply do nothing. They drift and essentially quit.

If you want concrete to harden, all you do is simply stop stirring it. If you want your heart to harden, you do simply stop doing anything. If you simply do nothing, your heart will harden. It takes effort not to harden. (Paraphrased from Geoff Ashley of the Village Church.)

Growing in faith takes effort. Grace-driven effort, not begrudging “I have to do this,” but rather getting caught up in the beauty of God, and longing to know him more and honor him. This means we need to do something and be active participants in what God is doing in our lives.

God is alive and active and he is calling us to be involved in what he’s doing within his creation.

Men often choose to have the appearance of godliness over actually living a life of godliness. They do good things to cover up for sinful hearts. Right mission, wrong heart. God requires a life of submission and repentance. Man’s power can conform people to a pattern of religion, but it cannot transform their hearts. Man’s power can rally men to a cause, but it cannot transform men’s hearts. It’s empty actions towards just causes. In order for hearts to be transformed you need the Holy Spirit, you need God and his mercy to extend grace.

There’s a fancy word that comes with choosing to go through actions that you don’t mean, it’s called “hypocrisy.” In the area of faith, it’s deadly to one’s growth and daily walk. It hardens the heart, it should bother the mind, and it turns away others. If we were playing Family Feud, hypocrisy would land solidly in the top three reasons why people don’t go to church regularly, or why they leave the church.

If we’re merely putting forth an image and not walking out faith as our deepest reality, at the end of the day, it’s not going to inspire others to do the same, it’s going to turn them away from the faith you claim to possess. It’s playing church.

As Matt Chandler, a pastor at the Village Church in the D-FW area of Texas puts it, “Church is a dumb hobby.”

Don’t just go through the motions with your faith. Think about what a godly life looks like, what a difference a personal relationship with Jesus Christ would mean, and how that may change things in your everyday life.