I've been spending a lot of time in prison lately doing drug counseling with almost unlimited opportunities for the gospel. More about that another time but it has left me with with less time to write – certainly to the delight of some. So I will often reference my brother John's blog The Gospel First.

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          Today we celebrate the legacy of a man of great stature, influence, and ability to polarize people years after his assassination. Oh, you don’t celebrate anything about MLK?  You demonize him as a Commie-loving, philandering, theological liberal, and await the unsealing of his FBI files to confirm your stance.  Or, maybe you venerate him as a saintly man with the highest of ideals and liberator of his people.  Will the real MLK please stand up?

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          A recent article on Christianity Today Online provides three responses to giving money to street people. In isolation each position appears reasonable with appropriate scriptural and evidentiary support sprinkled with anecdotes. Although many argue a position theoretically and have little or no real engagement with the homeless, this does not appear to the case with these writers. If I have to take sides – from Scripture, experience, and anecdotes – I would lean toward Ron Sider's position as most closely articulating a wise and biblical approach – "Don’t give money to the homeless!" It might be the response which resonates the most with many Christians until you understand the implications. There's something about sacrificial giving and simplicity in lifestyle that goes counter to I've-earned-it Christianized materialism. And many have no time for dribble about confronting injustice.

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Another great posting on the Gospel in Genesis by John Davis

"Today, because of the triumph of Jesus Christ over sin and death, through His body, the church, His kingdom is quietly being extended through the earth and people of all nations are joining together in worship of the Triune God.

Cities are not the only places where there is evidence of that happening, but in a unique way, city churches can become a microcosm of the multi-national, multi-ethnic, world-wide worship that God desires.

Cities churches offer a greater possibility for tasting the cosmopolitan worship of the New Creation, where people from every tongue and nation will join together in the worship of the living God."

          As much as I use the word I would have to say no. I recognize the confusion which exists over the word, a confusion that persists in spite of repeated attempts by many to define the term. I have found, no surprise here, that many who dislike the term missional and its implications also have deep-seated opposition to contextualization. In spite of that I find both terms helpful, not perfect, but needed in ecclesial environments where conservatism has reigned and most change is regarded with deep suspicion.

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I wasn't sure how to take it when a blogger used a recent article I wrote to demonstrate the difference between arguing like a conservative and arguing like a liberal. Me as an exemplification of liberal argumentation! Of course he wasn't calling me a liberal although I don't know if he would call me a conservative either (I don't generally call myself a conservative). Yet I must confess that when he described the liberal mindset I didn't see myself. For example he says that "the liberal mindset assumes that man has the ability to get better by altering his education or environment …." That’s funny if he thinks it has anything to do with me. Oh well, maybe he’s blogging like a conservative.

From thegospelfirst: Here in the City of Philadelphia, we are asking God to use the unlikely to bring about His purposes of reconciliation and restoration in this city. In some sense, my brother and I are a lot like both Joseph and his brothers. In being like his brothers, we know what it is to betray our upbringing, to reject the grace offered to us, and to cause brokenness in the lives of others. Yet, like Joseph, we know what grace is all about. We’ve experienced God’s sovereign and gracious hand in preserving us through our arrogant rebellion and forming us through the challenges of a life-time of ministry with all of its joys and its sorrows. more

          Tim Keller’s new book “Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just” is a must-read in the current debate about social justice and provides an added perspective for those who fear a drift, well-founded or not, toward the social gospel. In chapter one from Micah 6:8 where the prophet declares that God requires His people “to do justice and to love mercy,” Keller lays a foundation for “social justice” from a biblical perspective.

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Here's an excerpt from and link to my brother John's blog and his series on “The Gospel in Genesis and in the City.”

"Unfortunately, the church in cities has often reflected a disharmony similar to the family of Jacob. Often divided along racial and economic lines, the urban church fails to reach the nations around it because it is captured by its own jealousies and, consequently, is unattractive to those who look in from the outside. When the covenant family fails to display the grace which it has received in the gospel it loses its power to be a blessing to the nations."

Listen to these words. Is this not worship?  Is not God honored by His people who acknowledge that His grace is enough?  I long ago tired of the worship wars and of ministries established solely to oppose any music that veered from traditional forms or was associated with groups outside their boxes. I am convinced that many such ministries unwittingly rob God’s people of avenues of praise in which the Lord delights. The words to “This is Our God” by Hillsong never fail to move me to ponder the sufficiency of God’s marvelous grace and how desperately I need His grace.  Read the words but don’t listen to it if your definition of acceptable Christian music is really tight. Just read the words. And then maybe, just maybe click the YouTube link and let your heart be lifted in wonder and praise. Lift your voice. Lift your hands. Fall at His feet. This is my God. Is He yours?

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