I want to be a worldly Christian. In the Christian community in which I was raised, saying that would have gotten me voted off the island. “Worldliness” was a bad thing. And you can find Bible verses to prove that point. The Apostle John told the early Christians that they ought not to “love the world or anything in the world” (1 Jn 2:15). Jesus himself warned His disciples that since they “do not belong to the world” they should not be surprised if “the world hates you” (Jn 15:19). In one of the most poignant asides in his epistles, Paul tells us that his friend Demas had “loved this world” and hence, “deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica” (2 Tim 4:10).

So yes, you can find condemnations of “worldliness” in the Bible, even from Jesus Himself. And when “the world” is referred to in that manner, it means the general patterns of life have become corrupted by our shared rebellion against the Living God. To love the world in that sense is to be attached to those things that are, from the perspective of Christ’s Kingdom, transitory and illusionary; it is also to adopt the values of the sinful social order.

But there are times in the Bible when “the world” is referred to with different meanings. In some places the word simply has to do with geography. For example, Jesus predicted that the “gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Mt. 24:l4). Here “the world” is a physical expanse, the territory containing the people of the earth – it is basically neutral, neither good nor bad.

But there are times when the word “world” actually has a very positive meaning, so much so that we should try very hard to love the world. Indeed, in this sense God Himself is a lover of the world, made clear in the simplest of all biblical summaries of the Gospel: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). The Greek word for world here is cosmos, referring to the “created order.” To be sure, this creation is presently distorted by sin and rebellion, but it is not unsalvageable. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (Jn 3:17). The creator God who judged His creation to be “very good” at its beginnings (Gen 1:31) has reaffirmed its fundamental worth by sending His Son to renew it.

Christians have obligations to the world in all three senses of the term: bad, neutral, and good. We are sent into the sinful order, not to conform to it, but to confront its rebellion. As Jesus prayed to the Father on behalf of His disciples: “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (Jn 17:15). Christians are called to penetrate the territory over which sin presently rules. We must bring the Gospel, in a territorial sense, to the ends of the earth so that all may hear the Good News. And we must identify with all that is good in the cosmos, the good creation.

To say that the Gospel is about God’s love for “the world” is to recognize that the Christian message extends beyond a mere concern for the individual; it has implications with the whole creation. Not that the message for individuals ceases to be important. Jesus Christ did indeed come to save sinners. But He also came to reclaim a larger creation that has suffered because of human’s sinfulness. The Gospel is God’s response to sin, and sin affects the whole of the world that God has made. The curse of sin is cosmic in scope.

For one thing, the sinful rebellion of Adam and Eve has, according to Genesis 3, ramifications for the non-human natural order. Although this is a matter that is shrouded in some mystery, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commands, a curse was introduced into the creation that apparently sent shock waves throughout the non-human realm: “cursed is the ground because of you…It will produce thorns and thistles for you” (Gen 3:17-18); and the Old Testament prophets view hostilities among the animals as a manifestation of sinfulness (Isa 11:6-7).

But there is another sense in which the curse of sin affects more than individual human beings: it also touches human institutions. Human greed, prejudice, selfishness, and pride – these attributes, which may well have their origins in the individual human heart, come to be woven into our institutional life, into the corporate patterns of human interaction. Institutions in turn perpetuate and reinforce these attributes in individuals.

This is clear from the phenomenon of racism. In the past, blacks in North America, South Africa, and other white-dominated societies were viewed as inferior human beings, even subhuman. Racist beliefs were consciously accepted and propagated by the white people. These beliefs were translated into action. Blacks were enslaved or were assigned to the most menial tasks. They were deprived of basic human rights. They were made the butt of demeaning jokes and stories. These conscious practices in turn became corporate embodiments with a “life of their own.” Racist attitudes were reflected in the legal system and in the labor market. The black community was systematically demoralized, constantly running up against stereotypes and prejudices.

It is no simple matter to change a situation of this sort. It is certainly not enough to say, as some Christians are fond of saying, that “changed hearts will change society.” Racial prejudice may well have begun in individual human hearts, but it comes to be institutionalized, codified. To correct things is to work at rewriting constitutions and labor codes. Self-images need to be repaired; communities have to be rebuilt.

Or think about the sex trade. If we managed to bring every individual prostitute in a given country to Christ, we would still have to deal with the economic realities of the situation. Where will they now get access to education and job training? What about those who manage and benefit from the “industry” of sexual trafficking? Changing individual hearts has to be coordinated with changes in the legal and economic structures.

These more “systemic” efforts are included in the biblical picture of redemption. When the prophets envision the fulfillment of God’s saving purposes, they portray a renewed creation: animals are at peace with one another and human beings; the earth yields abundant produce; the weapons of war are exchanged for instruments of harvest; people live together in faithful communities; justice, righteousness, and peace are the rule of the day.
When I say I want to be a worldly Christian, these are the things I have in mind. I want to nurture a “holy worldliness.” I want to be associated with a community of Christians who sense God’s call to be both witnesses to, and agents of, the full redemption that Christ came to accomplish. I want to be a part of a church that understands our identity as redemptive witnesses and equips men and women to be agents of God’s program of renewing His creation.

There are, of course, many difficult questions involved in deciding just how we are to contribute to the renewal of the world. For example, the main campus of the seminary that I serve is situated very near to Hollywood, and we meet regularly with Christians who work in the entertainment industry. They struggle with big challenges. In a work environment that produces film, websites, TV comedies, and video games, how do we use our talents and opportunities to serve the cause of Christ’s Kingdom? Again, some difficult challenges. But we do at least know that we can’t simply be guided by “giving them what they want.” The woman who reads scripts at Disney Studios, who is also a part-time student at Fuller Seminary, wants to see her work as an exercise in Christian discernment.

What are the plots and portrayals of human life that depict a God-honoring human flourishing? How can we point people, without being overtly “religious,” to the ideals of self-sacrifice, faithfulness in relationships, and the concerns of justice and peace?

For some of us, the most we can hope for in the patterns of our daily lives are small acts of obedience to the cause of the Gospel: a question we raise in university class discussion, a kind word to a customer, influencing the way in which a corporate policy gets worded, a letter of sympathy to a grieving non-Christian friend. None of these things will automatically turn into an opportunity for inviting people to come to Christ. But they can still be important efforts to engage in a “holy worldliness.”

Dr Richard J Mouw is President and Professor of Christian Philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary, USA. He has been an editor of the Reformed Journal and has served on many editorial boards, including currently Books and Culture. He is the author of 17 books including Consulting the Faithful; The Smell of Sawdust: What Evangelicals Can Learn from Their Fundamentalist Heritage; He Shines in All That’s Fair: Culture and Common Grace; Wonderful Words of Life; Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport, and, with co-editor Eric Jacobsen, Traditions in Leadership. Check out his musings at www.netbloghost.com/mouw/.

The New International Version Bible has been referenced.

In Genesis 18:24, we read this challenge to Abraham and Sarah, a couple who were way past child bearing age, “Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”

Twenty five years earlier, God had promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation who in turn would bless the whole earth. God promised this old man that he would have so many descendants that they would be like the stars in sky and dust on the ground.

I think if any of us had been in Abraham and Sarah’s position at the time of that announcement, we would’ve reacted the same way. We would have laughed, too. Abraham was 75 and Sarah was around 65 then. That is the age most people are languishing in retirement homes or enjoying time with their grandchildren; not preparing for their firstborn!

The years went by and still no children so Sarah decided to help God out by having Abraham produce an heir with her maid Hagar. Then three strangers came along one day. Being a good host and practicing the whole idea of Middle Eastern hospitality, Abraham invited them to rest and laid out a spread for them. That Middle Eastern hospitality custom comes from the idea of never knowing when you might be visited by an angel or angels in disguise. And sure enough, they were bearers of good news. Abraham who at that time was 100 and Sarah, 90, were told that Sarah would be having a child!
Well, modern science has made the birth years longer today. A Romanian woman, Adriana Iliescu, gave birth at 66 and an English child psychiatrist, Patricia Rashbrook Farrant, gave birth at 62! What’s more, there is this 59-year-old American woman, Lauren Cohen, from New Jersey, who is recorded the oldest woman in the world to give birth to twins. But still at 90, the odds are against Sarah being pregnant and a first time mother. Maybe that is not totally impossible. After all, God is the Giver of Life and He can surely insert a new life into any living albeit aged creature. But I don’t think any couple above 50 today would contemplate asking God to do what He did for Sarah.

Fredrick Buechner in his book, Telling The Truth: The Gospel As Tragedy, Comedy and Fairy Tale, saw it this way: “They are laughing because with another part of themselves they know it would take a fool to believe it…They are laughing because if by some crazy chance it should just happen to come true, then they would really have something to laugh about.” We read the climax of this great event in these stirring words: “And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him” (Gen 21:1-2). It seems that God not only approved of their laughter, but probably joined in, for God gave instructions that this miracle baby was to be named Isaac which means “laughter.”

Interestingly, God reprised that with Elizabeth in Luke 1. We read that Zechariah and Elizabeth were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. However, Sarah and Elizabeth conceived through the biological way even though they were too old to have their eggs fertilized. But what about the really impossible?

The prophet Isaiah predicts a story that never grows old. It thrills us every year with its simplicity and yet great beauty: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa 7:14). Forward hundreds of years and the prophecy happened: “But when she saw him, Mary was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; the Lord God will give him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’” (Lk 1:29-34). It is interesting to note that the angel refers to Jesus as “Son of the Most High.” There are many names for God in the Bible. But the angel identifies Jesus, the coming Messiah, as the Son of El Elyon, the Most High God. This is a name of greatest power and glory. It is almost as if the angel is saying to Mary, “The God of anything-is-possible is speaking to you!” The conclusion to the angel’s message in Luke 1:37 is: “For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Virgins could conceive when the eggs divide but in medical history, only five such births were recorded and all of them, without exception, were female babies. The virgin conception and birth of Jesus is still one of a kind. For with God, nothing will be impossible – words of the very same import with those spoken by the Lord to Sarah – Is anything too hard for the Lord?

So can God do anything? A teacher once asked a Sunday School class, “Is there anything God cannot do?” One smart alec replied, “Yes. He can’t please everybody!” In fact, the Bible points out things that God cannot do. God cannot commit sin (Jam 1:3). God cannot lie (Tit 1:2). God cannot stop being God. God cannot do anything that is contrary to His Holy character. However, God can do anything that He determines to do. This is a true meaning of omnipotence – the ability to do anything that one sets out to do.

Leslie Weatherhead, in The Will of God, writes: “The omnipotence of God does not mean that by a sheer exhibition of His superior might God gets His own way. If He did, freedom would be an illusion and moral development would be made impossible. When we say, then, that God is omnipotent we do not mean that nothing can happen unless it is God’s will. We mean that nothing can happen which can finally defeat Him.”

God is really the God of the Impossible, whatever that is impossible for human beings to effect. The real question is why would God do anything that is impossible for us? When the odds are stacked against us, why would He intervene? I can think of a few reasons.

Firstly, He would like us to trust Him more than anything else in life.

More than talents, ambition, drive, material security – all the good stuff! When the angel told Mary that nothing is impossible with God, she believed him. In spite of her poverty, her humble station in life, the Jews’ oppression by the Roman government then, the fact that she was a virgin, Mary still believed that God could do exactly what He said He would do. One sure sign of spiritual maturity is the quiet confidence that God is in control, without the need to understand why He does what He does. Mary believed in God’s promise and she accepted God’s plan even though it was out of the box or in her case, womb!

Secondly, God wants to make a difference in our lives and it often requires the miraculous.

Do you ever notice that when God wants to do something big, He starts with something very small? And when He wants to do the miraculous, He starts with the impossible.

The disciples of Jesus thought He was in over His head that day when He set out to feed a multitude of 5,000 men and perhaps a greater number of women and children with only five loaves of bread and two fish. The disciples surely said to themselves, “It can’t be done! Impossible!”

Isn’t that true with us? There is always someone saying, “You can’t do it.” “You can’t change. You can’t make that marriage work. You can’t lead. You can’t do anything great.” Worse still, we say that to ourselves too: “It’s impossible! No point trying!” And because we listen to people and that voice inside us that says it can’t be done, we give up before even trying.

Some of us are struggling with addictions or have lost our way in life. We yearn to believe that there is more to life than constantly running like a hamster on a wheel. But do we believe that God has the answers for our life? “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Thirdly, God wants to accomplish His purposes through us and that often seems impossible for mere humans to do.

In the feeding of the multitudes, Jesus knew that His disciples had neither experience nor faith. What He knew was that no task undertaken at God’s command is impossible. If God tells us to go out and feed a hungry world, is that impossible? If Christ tells us to make disciples of all people, is that impossible? God is a God of miracles. God can take a lump of clay and transform it into a diamond. God can take the same lump of clay and fashion it into a living human being.

Here’s one caveat: Be careful what we ask!

Have you ever prayed for a miracle? Not a really big miracle like praying for a family member near death but something trivial for your own comfort or convenience. Well, I have often prayed for a good parking lot the instance I drive into a mall. Yes, honestly, we have all asked God to repeal the laws of gravity, undo the past, change weather patterns or something equally as absurd just for our convenience! Well, God is not our personal weather expert, career strategist, romance matchmaker or rectifier of our past mistakes.

God is God and Sovereign, not our butler in the sky. It is us who are to bring our lives into alignment with God’s will, not the other way around. And there are things much bigger than our needs and wants. Miracles are not designed for the trivial and the unnecessary. Yet miracles do occur because with God, nothing is impossible and, really, nothing is ever too tough for Him.

1. Buechner, Frederick. Telling The Truth: The Gospel As Tragedy, Comedy And Fairy Tale. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1977.
2. Pawson, David. Truth To Tell. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1977, p 63.
3. Weatherhead, Leslie. The Will of God. Nashville: The Abingdon Press, 1954, p 34.

Michael Tan is the Executive Vice-President of Eagles Communications. He likes to preach, write, play the guitar, and manage his staff!

“Do whatever makes you happy.”
“If it feels good, do it.”
“Follow your heart.”
Do these statements sound familiar to you? They should. We hear them on a regular basis. They are believed in varying degrees by friends, family, co-workers, and even people in our churches! It is the creed of the media and advertisers all across the planet. From sex to salvation, the popular message is, “Here it is. You can have it. Enjoy yourself and you will be happy.”
This mantra is the epitome of hedonism.

Hedonism

Hedonism is a secular philosophy that seeks pleasure to find happiness. It promotes a lifestyle that lives for the moment. “Give me my pleasure now because that is all I have to live for.” The idea is simple, easy to understand, and extremely appealing to human cravings.

The Greek philosopher Epicurus (341 B.C. – 270 B.C.) is most credited with the foundation of hedonism. His method sought simple pleasure in remote surroundings and self sustenance within communal style living in his pursuit of happiness. His thoughts and ideas continued after his death and provided the basis for Epicureanism which the Apostle Paul later encountered when he preached on Mars Hill in Athens (recorded in Acts 17:18). Although the embodiment of Epicurus’ philosophy may appear different in today’s world (as it also did during Paul’s time), his basic principle of thought is thriving. Pain and pleasure are considered to be the nature of humanity. Avoid pain and fear. Pursue pleasure. And in today’s vernacular, “If you think it makes you happy, do it.”

It is interesting to note that there are many books, religions, philosophies, and other resources that try to explain the reasons for suffering, but very few exist to explain the purpose of pleasure. Everyone wants to be happy and it seems God has given us a built-in desire for pleasure, so what does He say about it? The biblical view adds a much wider and critical context.

God on “pleasure”

Hedonism or “pleasure seeking” is as old as humanity itself. In the Garden of Eden it was Eve, the first woman who saw “…that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…” (Gen 3:6). The desire to please herself became more important than heeding the protective ordinances God had set in place. This is not only the basic tenant of hedonism, but is also the core principle of sin. It is a defiant disregard of God for the sake of pleasing oneself.

Sinful indulgence occurs when we become “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Tim 3:4). When we seek our own pleasures apart from God, we become self centered, not God centered. Hedonism is unconditional selfishness. Christian faith calls for unconditional love, especially towards God. The two are completely contrary to one another. God makes it clear. No one can serve two masters” (Mat 6:24). Either you are “…serving various lusts and pleasures…” (Tit 3:3) or serving the living God.

The belief that God is nonexistent or not always present is one of the beliefs that open the door for pleasure seeking. The personal computer, for example, has provided a virtual safe-haven and accessibility for those seeking to satisfy their lusting desire for pornographic content. “No one will know” they say to themselves…as though God does not see what they do in the dark. If they believe there is no God, and “…If the dead do not rise, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!’” (1 Cor 15:32). Without the awareness of God’s presence, there remains no reason for restraint.

Wealth is one of the greatest promoters of pleasure seeking. The more affluent a society becomes, the more prevalent hedonism becomes. Where people can afford more leisure activities, pleasure becomes an affordable necessity rather than a luxury. More vacations, bigger cars, and more homes are considered marks of successful living rather than indulgence.

The Church is often entangled with the trap of preaching wealth without the Cross. The recent message often sounds like this, “Come to Jesus because He loves you and all your desires will be fulfilled.” It is an enticing message that has led to much disenchantment. One woman has told me that she had been “following Jesus for six years” and wanted to stop because her neighbor next door was still wealthier than she was! “Lady,” I said. “You have got the wrong Jesus!” If the Church becomes inward focused and pleasure seeking, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is forsaken and there is no more hope for the world.

The Christian must realize God is not opposed to material possessions, pleasure, or the enjoyment of life. It is best to consider them to be “additions” to a life built upon Christ. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Mt 6:33). God provides the proper grounds for ultimate pleasure when we live in the way He has created. Marriage, as an example, is God’s planned relationship and setting for sex. Have as much of it as you want, but God adds more. He adds to this the joy of having a family and the effect is a sense of love that multiplies. A life satisfied in God is beyond description.

I am not speaking of merely imitating or applying godly principles. Any fool can pretend to be righteous. Jesus said the proper way to have these things added to you was to “seek first the kingdom of God” and the only way to do that is to turn from sin and place your faith in Jesus Christ. Only Jesus connects us to God. You must be born again. Without being born again, without the new heart only Jesus can give, you will forever suffer with shame from the past. You will be a phony.

Jesus is bold. He does not run from trouble to seek pleasure or play religious games. He faces reality with all of its troubles and infuses His life giving breath of victory. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). This provides the balance. Jesus guarantees joy and victory in the midst of all difficulty. Not only in pleasure.

If we are not willing to bear criticism for the name of Christ, it is unlikely we will find pleasure in the additional blessings He wishes to give. We must risk our own reputation on the basis of Jesus’ reputation. Jesus comes first. In the face of a pleasure seeking world, the Christian must say, “I am His and He is mine.”

Reaching pleasure seeking people

Christians must be aware that they are not immune to sinful behavior and need to avoid such a trap (to be entangled with hedonism would make the Gospel powerless).

On the other hand, we must refuse to allow a generation of people to die in their sins. More than any pleasure, people need Jesus and the only way they will come to Christ is if someone just like you and I will stand up and tell them “Jesus saves.”
Remember: while people are seeking after pleasure, God is seeking after people.

If we love God, we will love what He loves. If we care about our co-workers or friends who are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,” we must be like Jesus and seek them.

Here are some helpful guidelines to help you share the saving knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ:

1. Be “Jesus seeking”
“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye” (Lk 6:42). While our friends and co-workers may be seeking pleasure, we need to ask ourselves what we are seeking. Are we also seeking pleasure or are we seeking Jesus?

Many times, our personal witness is tainted because our values seem to reflect those of the people we are trying to reach. If you are born again, then be born again; a new creation with a new heart through spiritual birth that follows and seeks after God. If you are seeking the same things others are seeking, then you may need to receive Jesus yourself!

The world will not tolerate pretenders.

What a Christian is seeking ought to be dramatically different than what hedonist people are seeking. The believer is called to be “Jesus centered” rather than living a “self centered” life. Jesus is in charge. Our personal appetites are not. The greatest joy and liberty is found in having Jesus on the throne of our lives. We serve Jesus, not ourselves.

Pleasure seeking often leads to immoral behavior. “Jesus-seeking” leads to Jesus.

2. Living includes repenting
Repentance does not only happen when a person receives Christ. It has a permanent place in the life of the believer. Wherever and whenever sin is discovered in our own lives, we should be repentant. So long as Jesus forgives our sin, we must take the opportunity to turn around, change our mind and “set it right” with God. We give up our own way in order to follow and live according to His way.

Love is part and parcel to the Christian life. It has been said, “they will know we are Christians by our love” and it is true. However, to the self centered hedonistic (pleasure seeking) mindset, acts of loving service may not be so obvious or appreciated. The individual is often too absorbed in themselves to see it.

Repentance brings about dramatic and often drastic change in the life of a believer. It requires humility and an openness of faith that presents powerful evidence to an unbelieving world.

Live a lifestyle that includes repentance. Make your faithfulness to Christ a serious matter.

3. Pray for salvation
One of the most effective witnessing tools is prayer. Do not just pray for 10-15 minutes as you fall asleep at night. Pray specific prayers that involve the heart and emotions. Mean it when you pray.

Jesus cares about the small day-to-day details of our lives, but we must remember that He did not die on the Cross just for us to meet an attractive person, pass an exam, or to score the next great business deal. God Himself sacrificed everything on the cross to provide for our salvation; so that we could be rescued from sin. Knowing and being loved by God is the grandest privilege and honor we can ever have.

When we pray for the salvation of others, something marvelous begins to happen. Our hearts become like God’s heart. We want what God wants.

Whoever you are praying for, let them know you are praying for their salvation. Whenever possible, pray along with them for their salvation. If they have a health condition, pray for their health and their salvation. Above all other things, make salvation the priority of prayer.

4. Same message
The principle rule for telling others about Christ is “telling” others about Christ! Open your mouth and let the Holy Spirit fill it with the right things to say.

No one has all of the answers to all of sin’s objections, but we do not need to. We have been entrusted with a message and I have personally seen how the Holy Spirit successfully uses it over and over again.

Regardless of the situation or the sin, the same message fits all. “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1Tim 1:15) Jesus has come, suffered, and died on the cross on account of our sins. He was punished in our place with our punishment. He was raised from the dead by the power of God and now rules over all. The message is always sin, repentance, and faith in Christ. Jesus is the message. Only Jesus can forgive all sin and give eternal life. “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Rom 10:13).

Again, the message of salvation is a message that confronts sin, commands repentance, and requires faith in the work of the cross of Jesus Christ. Gospel truth does not change because someone is enjoying themselves or otherwise.

Be assured. There is a great advantage to reaching a “pleasure seeking” world and it is this: They are “seeking.” Although they may be searching for happiness through pleasure, they are not finding it. There is no peace, no contentment apart from the forgiveness, and life only Jesus Christ of Nazareth can provide.

Jason Betler is evangelist and founder of the The Nations Hope (NationsHope.org). He is a passionate gospel-preacher to Asia and believes in equipping the Church to do the work of an evangelist. Jason is based in Singapore where he resides with his wife and family. More about Jason on: Twitter.com/jasonbetler

The good news is, we do not have to spend much money to communicate a thought, a campaign or an event to a relatively large amount of people. The not so good news is there are hundreds and thousands of thoughts, campaigns, and events communicated to everyone, everyday. Noisy suddenly seems to be an understatement.

So how then should a church approach social media? I would suggest that we approach it as A Person and with A Plan.

Entering Social Media as A Person

The essence of social media is relationships and according to DDB’s definition of social media, word of mouth information should be coming out from a mouth that belongs to a person that we can all relate to. People relate better to a living being rather than an organization. So if a church wants to enter social media, it would be best that we enter as a person. And what defines a person? I would think it is his or her personality. As for a church, what would be its corporate personality?

I believe that every church of God is unique. It is unique in the way it looks and in the way it expresses it-self.

So if your church were to be a person, how would that person look like? How would he or she express him or herself? How does your church look like within and how does your church look like beyond? How would your church be expressed within its walls, within the body of Christ and beyond? These are questions that a church should answer before entering social media and continue to answer at different seasons of its social media life.

Noise creates distortion. I think we should all know by now that our posts on social media websites can potentially be distorted by just a comment after. Our posts will always be at the mercy of the next comment. So to minimize all of that potential distortion, let the church’s corporate personality be clear and consistent.

Split personality is the last thing we want to see our church having on social media. It can cause miscommunications that lead to potential misunderstandings. Trust me, you do not want misunderstandings on social media, because they get amplified, thanks to technology. The common cause for split personality is inconsistency.

Churches need to decide how they want to express themselves through social media and stick to it! Expressions that need to be defined and applied consistently include the design they adopt and the vocabulary that is used to communicate online via social media. More importantly, a dedicated team must be organized in managing the church’s social media, and they must be thoroughly trained and disciplined in the type of expressions that the church wants to communicate with. Without a basic knowledge and discipline in effectively using the selected types of expressions that the church has decided to adopt, the team might express information in their own individual style. And different styles of expression will cause the church to have split personalities.

Entering Social Media with A Plan

As mentioned earlier, noise creates distortion. Unfortunately, we cannot minimize noise on social media. Unless everyone stops expressing himself or herself online, there will be noise. However, we can turn the noise into buzz. We can direct the noise to become buzz that is beneficial to the church and its initiatives. That is possible with a plan.

Companies and organizations pay hundreds and thousands of dollars engaging professionals and experts to generate positive buzz for their products and campaigns on social media. Although the plans can defer in creativity and are determined by budgets, the fundamentals are the same. Most of the social media plans involve two elements: listening and engaging.

Here is one of the interesting truths that I have discovered about social media, it is not what you say it is, it is what they say it is. What the source thinks about his or her post matters little to the people beyond, it is what the others think about it that matters more. To create positive buzz, the church needs to have a plan that is able to capture, understand, and leverage on data of various behaviors from various types of social media. And with it create content that is easy for people to engage with, identify with, and hopefully pass on to their circle of friends.

Since social media is all about word of mouth, the content created has to be word of mouth friendly and word of mouth worthy.

So, have a plan to create content that is easy to identify and compelling enough to pass on. Also, have a plan to manage the frequency of the posts. Do not kill yourself by allowing people to expect a new post every day – twice a week is a decent amount to sustain buzz.

Having said that much about social media and how the church should approach it, I would also like to stress this: social media is just one of the many communication tools that the church can adopt to engage its congregation and society better. A good tool, but nevertheless, still one of many. My point is this, do not fit your church image into social media, but fit social media into your entire communications strategy.

The essence and dynamics of social media may be different from other communication media forms, but the fundamentals are the same. It all starts with a clear identity; every communication channel just extends from it. So if your church identity is fuzzy, the chances of miscommunication are very high. Not just in social media, but in every other media. Therefore, if the church desires to approach any media to expand its influence, the identity has to be clear.

A clear identity usually involves answering these three questions – Who are you, What do you do, and Why does it matter?

In the context of the church, the first question would be asking for the name of the church, the second would be the type of church. The third question defines the values and uniqueness of the church.

Most churches answer the first two questions quite easily; very few can answer the third one adequately. Even if they do, it is not expressed consistently throughout their modes of communication.

Social media is phenomenal but its fundamentals are basic, and the basics are amplified. When the church enters social media, who the church is, what the church does, and what does the church stand for, will be amplified.

How should the church approach social media? Let us approach it as a person with a clear identity and a plan to listen and know who we are talking to, a plan to engage the people in a way that is consistent, relevant, and sincere.

After graduating from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Film & Media Studies in Singapore, Xavier fell in love with design while preparing a piece of advertisement for one of his film projects. Soon after, he started a creative agency that specializes in Graphic Design. After seven years, Xavier has served an array of clients from MNCs and SMEs to nonprofit organizations in the areas of Communication, Branding & Design. He is now an independent Communications & Brand Consultant and is currently incubating a few businesses.

Xavier is married and hopes to produce and direct films and sappy love dramas!

To be sure, this claim was not an invention of Jesus’ followers even if some of us have through the centuries been quite dogmatic, intolerant, and even offensively intractable about it. Of course, it does not help when we insist that it was Jesus Himself who declared it. John 14:6 clearly spells it out when Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Does it then make Jesus out to be the arrogant one and get us off the hook?

This claim certainly rankles people like no other. It is a stumbling block to faith for many people and especially so for a postmodern mindset which proclaims that reality is whatever the individual imagines it to be. That means the individual should determine what is “true.” There is therefore no such thing as an objective, authoritative truth that governs or applies to humanity universally. Also, no educated and sophisticated person could hold such a view in today’s pluralistic culture. Let us review objections to this claim.

It is Arrogant

The first objection is that such a claim is arrogant, narrow minded, and offensive. An exclusive claim may appear to be such but is not necessarily so. Suppose you claim to have broken the fastest record for the 100 meters sprint. The claim to be the fastest man ever is in itself neither arrogant nor humble. Those categories are irrelevant: the only appropriate question is whether the claim is true. Assuming that it is, you can of course be boasting about it. So the question is whether Jesus who made this claim was saying it arrogantly and knocking off all competition or was He stating a fact with all humility, compassion, and sincere intention to help humanity find the way back to God.

It must be asserted that as Christians, we believe that Jesus was telling the truth when He said it. And we believe He did not say it out of arrogance. But we must also assert that making exclusive claims for our faith in an arrogant spirit is incompatible with the attitude of Christ and should not be condoned. We should focus on the veracity and validity of all such claims.

It is Not True

So the second objection understandingly concerns the truthfulness of the claim. How can Christians possibly make this claim about Jesus because there are many ways to God? Surely God is big and magnanimous enough to allow many ways, paths, and roads that will ultimately lead to knowledge of the Divine. All religions may be basically the same in that they all teach us to be good, to be moral, and to be religious but do they all lead to God? If they do not, then it matters which one we follow. The analogy that all roads lead up to the mountaintop are not valid. Some roads lead in circles without a destination. Some roads may lead downwards away from the apex. In fact, all religions are not the same regarding the divine. Some are monotheistic whilst others are pantheistic or polytheistic or atheistic. It is therefore impossible to harmonize all religions, not just between Christianity and all the others.

People are also religious for all sorts of reasons, not all of them having to do with knowing or loving God. This is true of Christianity as much as of any other religion. One should not assume, then, that anyone who is involved in religion seeks to know God or wants to be in heaven for that matter. It is naïve to think that all religions have equal claims on the truth.

However, the uniqueness of Christianity is the uniqueness of Christ. Other religious founders and leaders are really proclaiming to this effect: “Follow me and I’ll show you how to find truth.” However, Jesus says, “I am the truth.” Others may also say, “Follow me and I’ll show you the way to salvation.” But Jesus says, “I am the way to eternal life.” Still others may also say, “Follow me and I’ll show you what is true.” On the other hand, Jesus says, “I am the truth.” And while other religious leaders can offer wise sayings and helpful insights, only Jesus Christ – because He is the perfect Son of God – is qualified to offer Himself as payment for our wrongdoing and provide the way for sinners to be reconciled with their Creator God. In fact, no other religious leader even pretended to be able to do that.

Jesus Christ is God reaching out to us. That is the fundamental difference between the Christian faith and other religions. Jesus taught the opposite of what other religions teach. He said nobody can do anything to merit heaven. Jesus as the only way to God is not about a superior truth but about what is necessary for salvation. Jesus as the only way is not arrogance. In fact, it is purest humility that God should reach out and down to us in the person of His Son. It also makes perfect sense that He would provide a path for us to follow in finding Him since all our well intentioned efforts still fall short of both God’s standard and even our own satisfaction. It is also congruous that God with whom nothing is impossible would tell us about that path in a manner that is awesome, awe inspiring, and unparallel – by sending Jesus Christ to enter human history.

It does matter which path we follow if we want to be saved. Jesus came to answer the fundamental question of the human heart: “What must I do to be saved?” He did not come to be a founder of a world religion, to be a philosopher or a supernatural miracle worker. If He did, He failed in all these departments. The Christian religion cannot boast of the most adherents amongst the other major religions. Jesus did not solve the philosophical puzzles of the ages. And He only healed some people and largely left the rest of humanity as prone to sickness as ever. He, however, came to heal our souls and to save us from our sins. The Apostle Peter is quoted as saying “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Paul, probably the one who spearheaded the spread of Christianity to the rest of the world, also wrote, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus…you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). In the area of salvation, Jesus is indeed the only one who saves! We would be acting in a narrow minded way if we insist that our way is the only way if there really were many ways to God.

It is Unfair

The third objection to the claim that Jesus is the only way to God comes from our sense of fairness and justice. God should be fair. In other words, if Jesus is the only Savior, it would be unfair to those who had never heard or will never hear about Him.

What about those who have never heard about Jesus in the first place? How are they to be saved? In the Old Testament, there are many, such as Abraham, who are described as being in intimate relationship with God, and who are regarded as righteous and presumably will be in heaven. Yet, since they lived before the time of Jesus, they had no chance to believe in Jesus and become Christians through faith and repentance. So why are people like Abraham counted as among the saved? Because they responded trustingly to whatever they knew about God, however little it might be. Does that mean that Jesus was unnecessary for them? Not at all. Christianity contends that, in the death of Jesus, God chose to absorb the effects of sin and to go on loving us. If Abraham had a relationship with God, it was because God forgave his wrongdoing, and God’s forgiveness is always linked to the death of Jesus – even though it would not happen in history for two thousand years after Abraham’s time! The significance of Jesus’ death is in this sense “trans-historical” – it works backwards in time as well as forwards.

If we were to ask Abraham if he believed in Jesus as his Savior, he would probably not be able to say “yes.” However, Abraham already did say “yes” to Christ implicitly as the pre incarnate Logos who has revealed Himself to Abraham.

Nobody will be excluded from heaven solely because he or she has lacked some information. Anyone could seek God, could repent of his sins, and could obscurely believe in and accept the God he knew partially and obscurely. And this person could be saved – or not, if he refused to seek, repent, and believe. God has given enough light, enough opportunity, and enough free will to make everyone responsible before Him. God is unscrupulously fair and He judges justly. He judges according to the knowledge each one has, not according to a knowledge they do not have. In the end, the reason people will be denied salvation is because they have told God their entire life that they can live just fine without Him. In response, God says, “Based on your own decision to live separately from Me, you will now spend eternity apart from Me.” God will not violate our will – and that is only fair.

Saying It Well

In fact, everybody has a moral standard written on their hearts by God and everybody is guilty of violating that standard. That is why our conscience bothers us when we do something wrong. Everybody also has enough information from observing the world to know that God exists, but people have suppressed that and rejected Him anyway – for which we rightfully deserve eternal separation from Him. But we also know from the Bible that those who sincerely seek God will find Him.

In spite of the acknowledged irreconcilable differences, we can engage in meaningful dialog and friendship with people of other religions. Strong convictions should lead to a greater measure of patience, respect, and compassion, not less.

Who says Jesus is the only way? Well, He did and He authenticated that claim by His life, ministry, death, and resurrection. This and all other claims Jesus ever made are open for investigation. He never made any claims lightly nor can we uphold them thoughtlessly.

Perhaps the best way to affirm the reality that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life is not just by words and argumentation but also by the way we live – as people who have been saved.

Michael Tan is the Executive Vice-President of Eagles Communications. He likes to preach, write, play the guitar, and manage his staff!

Leadership Is Hard

Leadership is one of the hardest things to do. It is a multi-dimensional function.

You see, when most people think of leadership, they often think of downward leadership (leading subordinates for whom they are responsible). This is sometimes difficult for a complexity of reasons. Yet that is not the whole terrain of leadership. A leader often has to exercise upward leadership as well (i.e., leading seniors as the leadership task might require). If the seniors are kind to you, it is easier. Otherwise, it can be rather challenging.

As difficult as it may be to lead either downward or upward, nothing really prepares the leader for the immense difficulty of exercising peer leadership (i.e., leading one’s co-equals, perceived or otherwise). This is often much more difficult because of a common defiant attitude among peers: “Who do you think you are to lead us?”

Unless the organizational culture (how we do things here) and the organizational climate (how do we feel about the way we do things here) foster healthy peer leadership, to lead one’s peers can be an ongoing nightmare. The key to overcoming that is to define clear leadership roles, determine clear decision making processes and develop strong leadership credibility.

But this is not our present focus. I want to deal with something much harder. Something that would help us in the multi dimensional landscape of leadership. There is yet a final frontier. The hardest challenge in leadership is not peer leadership, as challenging as that may be. There is a much harder leadership terrain.

The Hardest Thing of All

In essence, the most difficult leadership task of all is to lead inward – the daunting task of personal leadership. And the consequence is most significant.

In the January 2002 edition of Charisma Magazine, there was an attention grabbing editorial. It sought to explain why Charisma Magazine would no longer feature Christian celebrities on its cover. With touching honesty, the editor wrote:

This magazine has had its share of Christian celebrities on its covers: Pastors of mega churches, award-winning musicians, bestselling authors, you name it. We all love famous people – perhaps because we envy their success, or maybe because we are just curious whether they have flaws.

In the end, these flawed celebrities often disappoint us. Ten of the ministry leaders we featured on the covers of Charisma in the 1980s eventually endured embarrassing scandals. And two of the six mega churches we featured 16 years ago in a series called “Outstanding Churches of America” disbanded because of moral failures.

What seems to glitter with success today may not stand the heat of God’s refining fire tomorrow. What grabs the spotlight usually turns out to be a distracting sideshow.

Quite right. For what it does is to highlight the hardest leadership task of all. For if I am not able to lead myself, how can I effectively lead others (since leadership has a great deal to do with modeling and mentoring)?

Leading Oneself

Dee Hock, leadership thinker and author of books on chaordic organizations and leadership made a stunning statement: “Leaders should spend fifty percent of their time leading themselves.”

Leading oneself is the hardest thing to do. That takes due diligence.

Perhaps that is why the Apostle Paul’s view on leadership is quite different from that which has come out of slick North American leadership rhetoric for many decades. In the world’s leadership rhetoric, vision, and vision casting are buzz words. So are words like execution, goal setting, benchmarking, creativity, core values, and vital contributions.

There is nothing wrong with such leadership rhetoric per se. The only thing is that they are performance driven. They miss the heart of leading from the inside out. They miss the call to character and perseverance – to lead with due diligence from an inner compass. I am thankful that current leadership literature is steering back to this true north of leadership.

Paul’s Insight to Leadership

Paul’s take on leadership is quietly striking. One of the key verses in the New Testament on leadership is found in Romans 12:8 – “…he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness” (emphasis mine).

Why lead with “diligence?” Why not say “lead with conviction?”
Or, lead with vision?…Why diligence?
Why not lead with courage?…Why diligence?

What does “diligence” mean? Hardworking-ness. The answer then is quite obvious. In order to persevere in conviction, courage, creativity, compassion, and character (and whatever else!) we need diligence. Leadership without diligence is a contradiction of terms. Leaders need to work hard to stay true in conviction, courage, creativity, compassion, and character. That is the essence of personal leadership!

Some might say, if we need diligence for leadership, would it not be true that we need diligence in all things? Sure, leadership is hard work – but so are other ministries. Surely it would be right to say:

Counseling is hard work. Do it with diligence.
Teaching is hard work. Do it with diligence.
Community service is hard work. Do it with diligence.

So why is leadership singled out as something to be done with “diligence?”

First, I do not think that Paul is reserving the quality of “diligence” for leadership alone. Nonetheless, what I am saying is that when Paul thinks of leadership, one word comes to his mind – “diligence!” Why?

And herein lies the difference between leadership and any other ministry in the Kingdom of God. You can just go through the motions in preaching (not what we should do but if we do) and still have a good sermon; you can go through the motions in counseling and still have a good counseling process.

BUT you cannot go through the motions in leadership and still get good leadership! Going through the motions is bad leadership. The key thing is this – “diligence” presupposes a steadfast commitment to resist the status quo and to press on ahead regardless. Diligence does not settle – it presses on and moves on faithfully.

Good leadership has to hold fast to a God given vision, resist the status quo and diligently move on to new ventures, new initiatives, and claim new grounds for the Kingdom of God! Here is precisely the point. Diligent leadership refuses to just go through the motions. And yet, it must be seen that the greatest move from the status quo is in leading oneself. So often, we stop at the status quo in personal leadership!

Song of Solomon 1:6 states something worth our keen attention: “… They made me caretaker of the vineyards, but I have not taken care of my own vineyard.” A modern applicational rendering of that might be: “They made me responsible to lead others but in all the running around, I have not been diligent in managing, stewarding, and leading myself.” How then can we effectively lead others?

How then can we lead from the inside out? What is the key to personal leadership? Determine a steady compass!

Steering by the Compass Above

Herein lies a paradox: To lead from the inward, we must look upward. To God. And I know no better place to start than through Word and Prayer. No magic formula. Just the basics. Prayer and the Word are the true compass for life and ministry.

The Prairie Overcomer once published this story about a boat with two compasses. Before the days of modern satellite navigation, a man boarded a boat to cross the Atlantic. Walking on the boat, he noticed that the boat was equipped with two compasses. One was fixed to the deck where the man at the helm in the wheelhouse could see it. The other compass was fastened up on top of one of the masts. Regularly, a sailor would be seen climbing up to inspect it.

The passenger asked the captain, “Why do you have two compasses?”

“This is an iron vessel,” replied the captain, “and the compass on the deck is often affected by its surroundings. But such is not the case with the compass at the masthead; that one is above the influence. We steer by the compass above.”

As Christian leaders, we too should steer by the compass above. That we might lead accordingly. From upward to inward to outward. That is the true movement of effective personal leadership for life and ministry!

Rev Edmund Chan is the Senior Pastor of Covenant Evangelical Free Church, Singapore. He is an esteemed teacher of the Word, with a widely recognized gift of making complex things simple. His insightful biblical teachings have made him a sought after speaker in many major cities. A mentor to key Christian leaders, Edmund also serves on the advisory councils of several Christian organizations.

Rev Edmund Chan, speaker at the Eagles Leadership Conference July 2011. Visit www.leadership.com.sg for more details.

The New American Standard Bible has been referenced.