What is it that you long for as a pastor, evangelist, or Christian leader?
What is it that you long for as a pastor, evangelist, or Christian leader?
My heart desires to see zealous followers of Jesus among all peoples. I would love for all believers to live out the abundant life (John 10:10) provided by Jesus as evidenced by the inner transformation (2 Cor. 5:17) made possible by the gospel (Acts 3:19; Joel 2:13) and the resultant good deeds that proceed from a life surrendered to Jesus (Heb. 13:16; James 2).
I long for a day when cultural Christianity will give way to a gospel-fluent Christian life as evidenced by both immersion and fluency in the gospel as the norm.
In 2017, Jeff Vanderstelt published a challenging book called Gospel Fluency, in which he wrote very practically about speaking the truths of Jesus into everyday life.
As simple as this appears, it is not an easy task for Christians to apply the gospel to their everyday lives. Jeff states that God wants us as believers to be able to translate the world around us and the world inside of us through the lens of the gospel—the truths of God revealed in the person and work of Jesus. “Gospel-fluent people think, feel, and perceive everything in light of what has been accomplished in the person and work of Jesus Christ” (Vanderstelt 2017).
Immersing Yourself in the Gospel
In 2007, my wife Lara and I accepted a call to Open Baptist Church in Gaborone, Botswana, where we served for four and a half years alongside a wonderful pastoral team.
This was an exciting time in our lives, yet we had much to learn.
Lara had grown up in one home her whole life and now in her second year of marriage was making a cross-cultural move to the beautiful (and hot) country of Botswana, far away from all she had known and from all our friends and family. ...
from Christianity Today Magazine https://ift.tt/2ty1DNG
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