3 We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

The Courage to Be Protestant is a voice crying out in the wilderness that the American Church has become.  A wilderness defined, no longer by firm, Biblical conviction, but rather by current cultural trends.  Most of us would push back on that statement because it seems to say that we have abonded the gospel and, instead, begun declaring a false gospel.  That is not what I am, or what Wells is (I think) saying.  But I do believe that we have limited the significance and the power of the gospel in the lives of people today, because we have failed to give them the Biblical gospel, and instead, have create an American gospel that meets the felt needs of people rather than freeing them from the sin of their lives and the destruction that it has brought.

Wells’ primary contention is that by asking (marketing) the cultural to guide us — by seeking relevancy to culture over relevancy to Scripture — we have seen the production of a generation of church goers into consummers.  Rather than being broken by the truth of the gospel — that our sins have aliented us from God, who is Holy, and that the only way back into relationship with Him is through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and through the resurrection — we have created a gospel that begins with what people want (fullfillment in life) and is fashioned around that.  So, instead of a holy God, we have offered a “self-help” God whose greatest aim is our glory — not His own.

The Courage to Be Protestant is a clarion call for the Church to wake up and see the folly of our ways.  To see how the gospel we present so often has veered so far from the gospel that Jesus proclaimed.  It is not a call to chase after the “secret” gospel of Jesus as so many of our emergent friends have been proclaiming.  It is a call to the cross and the resurrection.  It is a call for the church to stop trying being cool (not that it needs to suck, but “coolness” is no reason for the church to exist), and return to being biblical.  Return to being protestant…those whose lives protest against all that this temporary world would offer because we have been redeemed and now live for Jesus in everything that they do.  This is a strong book.  It is a tough book.  It is, probably, the most profound book that I have read in a while and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Jesus and his Church.

To that aim, Mission Central New York (www.missioncny.com) is looking to partner with missional churches to take responsibility for the nearly 1.1 million people that live in our region of the country.  These churches will vary in size, style and geography, but they must all hold firmly to the gospel as the only hope for the world.  We will also seek to plant churches in our area.  Onondaga County has 500,000 residents, but only 100 evangelical churches.  Missiologists tell us that one church is needed for every 1000 people in order  to reach a particular group.  Well, that means we need another 400 churches in our county!

We have a lot of work ahead of us, but I am excited to see how God moves here in Central New York.

Must win game next week versus Northeastern – yes, Northeastern – if Coach Robonson hopes to end his SU tenure with at least 8 wins (current record is 7-30 over 3+ seasons).  Go Cuse!

Tomorrow, September 13th, marks the first time in almost tweny years that Syracuse and Penn State will play each other in football.  As a kid this was always the big game of the season.  To this day I still can’t stand Joe Pa and his stupid white socks!  Greatest moment for me in this old-school rivalry was 1987 when we kicked the crap out of PSU on our way to an 11-0-1 season. But that was a long time ago…

Now SU sucks…sorry there is no other way to put it.  They have become one of, if not the laughing stock in major college football.  As a lifelong fan, I would love to see them pull of a major upset tomorrow.  But at the same time I know they should…and will get blown out of the Dome.  If, and when, this happens I think it will be a good thing.  No, I am not rooting against the Orange, but I do hope the G-Rob (the worst excuse for a coach since I coached Jack’s soccer team…wait a minute, we actually won a few games) gets fired after the season — I know that sounds harsh, but it is long overdue.  It’s not that I wish him any ill will, but at $1.1 million a year it is time to win more than 2 games a season!  My fear…by pulling off the upset tomorrow good ol’G-Rob gets another shot!  I say “no way!”  It is time for the bleeding to stop.

Will I watch the game?  Yes.  Will I root for my hometown Orange?  Of course!  But at the same time I am hoping that future installments of the SU-PSU rivalry will be just that…a rivalry.  Not a joke.

This Sunday at Missio we will be continuing our fall teaching series entitled I Believe…An Exploration of the Apostle’s Creed.  The Apostle’s Creed was developed over a long period of time during the second and third centuries. It was created, in part, as a baptismal confession.  Some one who wanted to be baptized would be asked, “Do you believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and of earth?”  And they would respond, “I believe.”  “Do you believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord…?” “I believe.”  And then so on throughout the creed…affirming at each step their faith in Christ and their dependence upon the gospel.  

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.                                                                                                                            

Our desire in this series is to help our people understand the basic beliefs of the Christian faith.  We are so blessed to have people coming from all over the spectrum of belief.  Some have been following Jesus for decades, others are experiencing church for the first time in a long time.  Our hope is that no matter where they are in their spiritual development they will be challenged to think about, pray about, and wrestle with the truths put forth in the creed so that they can build their lives upon them.

We’re meeting in The Palace Theatre (www.palacetheatresyracuse.com) — a beautiful, old theatre in the Eastwood neighborhood.  The location is pretty close to perfect (we’re still working on our children’s ministry environments, but we’ll get there!) and we are so blessed to be there.

This past weekend 134 people showed up for the launch.  It was the most people we have seen to date at Missio and there seemed to be a genuine enthusiasm for what God is doing in our midst. Our desire is not to be a gathering station, but rather, a place where people come and are discipled and then launched out to serve Jesus and the city in whatever way they can.  As a result, numerical attendance is not the true measure of success for us…obedience to Christ is.  Our hope is that we can continue to build people as they come to Missio to love Jesus and serves Him. 

Please pray that we will always strive to be successful to that end!  Also, please pray for Syracuse!

Missio Church …For the glory of God, for the good of the city.

1. I am hideous! I am frickin’ hideous!
2. This guy’s an idiot!
3. I am frickin’ hideous and I am an idiot!

He knew I wasn’t Tom Arnold…seriously, Tom Arnold!!! But his girlfriend (whose name he could not remember) had obviously been drinking and so she “triple-dog” dared him to come and ask for an autograph, so I humored him. I signed a napkin with absolute confidence — which was shocking since his comparison of me and Tom Arnold robbed me of any and all confidence. The fellas had a good time with it, and when the couple left the drunk lady came over and thanked me.

I don’t know, maybe it’s a wake-up call…maybe I have a future in the “Tom Arnold Impersonator” market. Whatever, I guess my best looking days (what few I had) are well behind me. Maybe, just maybe, I can convince Rosanne that she owes me some money. I guess there’s a bright side to everything…

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

As I think back over the last 18 months and consider all that my family has been through I am reminded of how much strength and encouragement I have drawn from this passage. This is one of the three or four passages of Scripture that have helped get me through a lot of testing and struggles. There are three phrases included in it that I believe are critical for all believers to understand and hold on to in good times and in bad.

First, Paul tells the Ephesians to be strong. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. I think strength is something that is lacking in the church today. Too many followers of Christ are weak in their faith — they have not been challenged to be strong. For many, the idea of Christianity and following Jesus is considered a weakness. How many times have you heard someone say that Jesus is a “crutch” that they do not need? I think this is because strength — the strength that comes from the Lord and His power — is lacking in the lives of most Christians. This may seem to be a harsh criticism, but I think it is reality. So many people have told me over the last year that they wished they had the faith to endure trials that Maggie and I have. I constantly tell them that there is nothing special about our faith…I simply believe that this is what faith looks like. We are to be strong in the Lord.

Second, Paul commands them to stand firm. I have thought about this for months — having done everything to stand…stand firm then. Here is where he describes the armor of God. I think we have gotten so focused on the pieces of armor and the manner of spiritual warfare that we have lost sight of what we are to stand firm in. Paul gives us six things that will transform the church if only we took them seriously.

• Truth — the truth of who God is and what He has said
• Righteousness — not ours, but the righteousness of Christ that is imputed to us through the cross and resurrection
• The Gospel of peace — far too many Christians today really understand the Gospel…it is far more than walking down an aisle at the end of a service
• Faith — that God is who He says He is and that He will accomplish all that He has promised
• Salvation — we are saved by the finished work of Christ…completely
• The Word of God — We need to build our lives completely upon the truth revealed to us in Scripture

How will we stand firm in these things? We must immerse ourselves in them and allow them to transform us. They need to shape our worldview and our understanding of how we fit in with God’s greater plan.

Finally, Paul tells them to pray always. We are to pray “in the Spirit” — literally in agreement with the Spirit — alert to what God is doing in the world. We are also to pray for each other…to really pray for each other. What would it look like if individual local churches began to come together and pray for one other? I have seen this play out personally in our life. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people all over the world have been praying for Maggie and for our family. It has been a blessing.

Imagine what it could look like if we laid down all of the petty things that distract us and rallied around Jesus, the Gospel and His desires for the world. Let’s be strong…stand firm…pray always!