Coming Soon: Transcending Vision

 

I may be posting a little less often in the coming weeks. At the moment I'm working hard on various finishing touches to my upcoming book, Transcending Vision: Christian Theology in an Age of Empiricism, with a Foreword by Dr. Ernest Musekiwa. 

 

I've written books before, but I'm more excited about this project than most. I believe that when someone like me writes for God's glory, well, God is glorified.

Below is the Table of Contents as it stands now:

 

 

Foreword by Dr. Ernest Musekiwa

 

Preface                                                           

Introduction

 

 

I. Outlines of Christian Theology

 

1. Laying the Foundations: Axioms of Christian Theology

 

2. Theology Proper: Divine Attributes and the Trinity

 

3. Christology: Son of Man and Son of God

 

4. Soteriology: Many Called, Few Chosen

 

5. Eschatology: The Present and Future Kingdom

 

II. Instantiations of Christian Theology

 

6. And the Word Was God: A Study of John 1:1-18

 

7. Building on the Foundations: A Study of 1 Cor. 3:1-15

 

8. Theology at the Fringes: Miracles, Dreams and Visions

 

9. Theology beyond the Fringes: Heresies in History

 

10. The Human Condition and the Hope of the Gospel

 

Index 

             

White-Hot Faith and the Fruit of Discipleship



Last Sunday I met with some believers from…well, honestly I'm still not sure where they're from, at least in terms of identifiable church organizations or denominations. They appear to be part of what I can only describe as a "network of networks" – which as it happens is also how I would describe the structure of a biological organism. Right off the bat I was getting the sense that they had grasped part of what Paul meant by his analogy of "the body" to describe the church.

Mostly young folks (I turn fifty-four this month, so anyone under fifty is young), these people were gathering to do church in an apartment just outside Houston. I was frankly struck by their wide-open friendliness, their passion for discipleship founded on the Word, their boldness to preach the gospel, their vision for the nations, and most of all, their eagerness to partner with other churches for the cause of Christ. Tricia and I decided we would stay in contact with them, if for no other reason than to catch some of their fire and maintain connections beyond our own house church.

 

So what drives a church to such heights of zeal? I know from experience that this is not the sort of thing that can be maintained through sheer discipline, or the genius of leadership. Peer pressure and accountability may explain it in part, as might the courage and optimism of youth. But I suspect what's going on is deeper (and simpler) than all that. It's what Steve Addison calls "white-hot faith":

 

The disciples' transformation from a scattered band of defeated and despairing men into the leaders of a dynamic missionary movement was achieved through their shared experience of the risen Son and his Holy Spirit. The expansion of early Christianity was more than a social phenomenon or human enterprise.… A passionate faith is at the heart of every dynamic missionary movement. It is the greatest resource. Today, where Christianity is expanding rapidly in the developing world, it is often the only resource.[1] 

 

Another way to explain this is to say that most of us make Christian life and ministry far too complicated. Most of us seeking to make an impact for the gospel proceed with a fairly complex set of tools and skills: theological education, public speaking techniques, books and study aids, tracts and fliers, blogs and websites, etc. Valuable and useful as those things are, they cannot possibly substitute for being filled with faith and the Holy Spirit. We should recall here that the disciples were "uneducated men," unsophisticated and uncouth, whose only credentials were that "they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).

 

When I met for lunch to talk about all this with Rodger, the man who initially reached out to me, he told me that for him the important thing was "Abide, abide, abide." And of course Jesus did teach that abiding in Him would naturally (or supernaturally if you prefer) cause his followers to bear fruit (John 15:1-5). As we diligently seek Him, in prayer, in the Word, in worship and fellowship, we begin to take on His heart and His vision for the world. As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. And in His presence the Great Commission makes perfect sense.

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[1] Steve Addison, Movements That Change the World: Five Keys to Spreading the Gospel (Downers' Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 2009), p. 49-50.