No Excuses—7 Helps in Overcoming Temptation (1 Cor. 10)

[This article was originally posted on my Our Long View blog]

While this topic sounds a little heavy on self-effort, it actually is more of a response of love to the love which God has poured out into our hearts. However, following Christ doesn’t mean that the testing times of adverse circumstances go away. With that, we will continue to be tempted to take things into our own hands. Our current culture is biased towards a non-faith position—that God either doesn’t exist or that if he does he doesn’t reward those who seek him (contra Heb. 11:6). The Apostle Paul knew that the life of a follower of Jesus is one that requires us to not let our defenses down because temptation will come.  

The purpose of temptation is to cause us to be disqualified from the race entirely, or at the very least to prevent us from winning the reward by:

Dragging down, puffing up, wearing down, breaking up, putting out, working in, walking out, sucking in, sneaking around, racing through, getting by, laughing at, running away, leading astray, skimming through, sweeping under, exalting over, leaving behind,

& It comes near by . . . accommodating, accessing, accusing, back-biting, blaming, blaspheming, convincing, confusing, compromising, criticizing, deceiving, defiling, denying, depriving, desensitizing, devastating, dishonoring,

distracting, doubting, embittering, entangling, exhausting, fearing, killing time, lusting, minimizing, mocking, quitting, rationalizing, sensationalizing, satiating, seducing, slandering, self-destructing, slothfulness,

                                   . . . and a lot more ways if I really wanted to list them!

In 1 Corinthians 10, the concept of disqualification continues as Paul writes about those Israelites who were disqualified in the wilderness…

1 Corinthians 10:1-14

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,

that our fathers were all under the cloud,

                           and all passed through the sea,

                           and all were baptized into Moses

                                             in the cloud and

                                             in the                 sea, 

                          and all ate the same spiritual food, 

                          and all drank the same spiritual drink.

                        For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them,

                                                               and the Rock was Christ.

  Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased,  

                         for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

  Now these things took place                   as examples for us,

that we might not desire evil as they did. 

                Do not be idolaters 

                         as some of them were; as it is written, 

“The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 

       We must not indulge in sexual immorality 

                          as some of them did,

                                              and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 

       We must not put Christ to the test, 

                          as some of them did

                                              and were destroyed by serpents,

                      nor grumble, 

                          as some of them did

                                              and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 

Now these things happened

                                         to them as an example,

                                                  but they were written down for our instruction, 

                                                         on whom the end of the ages has come. 

   Therefore 

                  let anyone who thinks that he stands

                                     take heed lest he fall. 

                                   No temptation

     has overtaken you that is not common to man.

 but God is faithful,

and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,

                     but with the temptation

       he will also provide the way of escape,

                      that you may be able to endure it.

How Can We Be Victorious Over Temptation? A good place to start is to stop making excuses! Here are several Scriptural ingredients in the recipe for overcoming temptation successfully. Let's take a moment to examine them.

1) Learn from the mistakes of others (v.1-11)

• Avoid Their Idolatry—They worshipped other gods (v.7; Exodus 32:6).
• Avoid Their Immorality—They indulged in sexual immorality (v.8; Ex. 32; Num. 25:1-3 & Psalm 106 are similar but not the same).
• Avoid Their Ingratitude—They murmured or grumbled at the providence of God. It was an indictment of his character. (v.10; Num. 11, 14:2,29-37).

I find that Psalm 106 is a great Psalm of “National Confession” for all these sins in the wilderness as opposed to Exodus 32:21-24, which contains Aaron’s lamest excuse ever!  
   “So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ 
    So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”

 Excuse Dealt With…"I didn't know." Idolatry, sexual immorality, and grumbling are never OK, and we have been warned about them in advance.

In v. 12-13, we find quite a few other important excuse-busters…

    Therefore 

                  let anyone who thinks that he stands

                                     take heed lest he fall. 

                                   No temptation

     has overtaken you that is not common to man.

       God is faithful,

and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,

                     but with the temptation

       he will also provide the way of escape,

                      that you may be able to endure it.

2)    Be Watchful, Wise, and Humble (v.12)

       “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

This command to “take heed” (Greek blepo) means to be able to see; to perceive while looking. To both see and understand. When we think we are strong and secure, we tend to stop watching with vigilance. The Bible tells us to wise up and learn from others’ failures, humbling ourselves to the idea that we are fallible. We are told the attack is coming ahead of time so that we can be ready when it comes. The late Ron Mehl used to say, “You can’t prepare for a crisis in a crisis. It must be done ahead of time.” The Bible helps us in many ways, including warning us ahead of time and removing one of the most common excuses.

Excuse Dealt With …“I wasn’t ready!”

3)    Realize Your Case Is Neither Unique Nor Unbearable (v.13)

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man”

This phrase, "Except such as is common," is both humbling and encouraging. It is humbling because it tells us not to flatter ourselves by thinking that we are "special cases" who are suffering under some exceptionally irresistible temptation. We encounter nothing that is not a "common" temptation. The NIrV says, “You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are.” At the same time, we can, and should, be encouraged that others have faced and overcome what we may be facing right now. We are not alone in our fight, nor are we the sole focus of all the attention of the enemy.

Excuse Dealt With…"I’m an exception. No one's had to go through what I have."

4) In the Midst, Remember What Our God Is Like (v.13)

       "[but] God is faithful"

This simple phrase in the midst of this passage raises the shield of faith with the vitality of a champion! We are reminded that when faced with grave temptation, we must believe that God really does care about us! I am convinced that all temptation comes at this point, whether we believe that God is faithful or not. In the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus (as he had tempted Adam & Eve) to believe that God really didn't care or have his best interest at heart. Yet, Jesus clung fiercely to the truth that the Father is faithful, whether we can understand it all or not.

Excuses Dealt With… "God doesn’t care", or "God can't be trusted to provide what I really need."

5) Stop Enabling Your Failure and Start Seeking the Solution (v.13)

    “he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability…”

Tied to the concept of God’s faithfulness is the promise that no temptation will come upon us that will be beyond our ability (in Christ, by the Holy Spirit) to bear. We will certainly face that which is beyond our individual strength, but Jesus doesn’t leave us alone. At a later date, Paul would write to these same believers about his own experience while ministering in Asia Minor,

“For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” (2 Cor. 1:8-9)

Jesus will not allow us to face a situation where we will have to fail, for he desires not that we should fail the test, but has done everything so that we might pass.

Excuse Dealt With…“I couldn't help it.”

6) Start trusting in God’s provision for your needs

       “But with the temptation will also make the way of escape,”

"He will make a way! He will provide a way out": How can we deal with temptation successfully?  By using the "way out" that our faithful Lord provides.

Paul’s imagery is that of an army trapped in a rugged country, which manages to escape from an impossible situation through a mountain pass. I am reminded of the Exodus march as the Israelites were pursued down a wadi to the beach of the Red Sea. They were utterly trapped until God parted the Red Sea and enabled them to cross while destroying the pursuing army. Then in the wilderness, how many ways did he provide for his people? It is absolutely stunning to consider. So when we are at the breaking point, how many times has he sent us encouragement from his Word, kindness from a stranger or friend, a financial gift we were not expecting, healing from illness and injury, etc?

Just as Jesus, our example, was never in a situation where he was "forced to sin" by choosing the “lesser of two evils” we are never in such a situation…if we make timely use of "the way out" that God provides. We find that way out in the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word of God.

 Excuse Dealt With…“I couldn't escape it. It’s hopeless to try.”

7) Stand firm in Jesus’ Strength

"So you may be able to bear it  (Greek hupophérō = to stand up or bear up under it)":

This doesn't necessarily mean the removal of all tempting circumstances. While we need to use wisdom and avoid those situations that we know will cause temptation, what about those situations we cannot change? This verse teaches us that by making use of "the way out," we can be victorious by endurance and patience while still in the situation. The “way out” or “way of escape” mentioned doesn’t promise the removal of the circumstances; rather, God makes it possible for us to "stand up under it!" Think of Jesus' compassionate words in Matthew 11:28-30,

^“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 
and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

  Excuse Dealt With… "I can't take it anymore."

So much more could be said about the way of escape that Christ provides, but I will close this post by simply listing three ways we can begin to recognize it. I will also include Bible references for you to use in your personal devotions on this subject.

• By Praying Regularly: The first ingredient in personally overcoming the temptations we face, and making use of the way of escape, is prayer. We need to be in constant relationship with our Deliverer, the One who is the "way of escape." We petition the Lord to lead us away from temptation. We can’t do it on our own, but when we bring it all to Jesus and ask for direction, he shows us the path to follow, transforms our hearts to want to follow it, and strengthens us to actually do it. Without the ongoing relationship and gratitude of prayer, we will most likely be found "easy pickings" by the temptations of pride and self-reliance. (Matthew 6:13; 26:41; Mark 14:38)
• By Knowing, Obeying, & Applying the Word of God: The way in which we come to the place where we can overcome in the midst of a wicked and evil generation is the way of the Word. We must diligently study, meditate, and search the Scriptures for God's loving answer and then obey what he says and trust in his promises. If we "hear and do" what the Word says, then we will not fall before the floodwaters of temptation, no matter how strong or how sudden its onset. It is the Spirit that gives the Scriptures life and power. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to quicken the Scriptures to our souls and illuminate the "way of escape" brighter than any green "Exit" sign ever appeared. Brother Yun, in The Heavenly Man, wrote, "You can never really know the Scriptures until you're willing to be changed by them." May we know the Word because we welcome the change Jesus brings! (Psalm 119:9; 1 John 2:14b; Matthew 7:24-25; James 1:25; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16)
• By Resisting the Devil: When we resist the devil, in the authority of Jesus Christ, then the devil must flee. Finally, in our struggle against temptation, we need to remember that temptation is not yet sin, and that instead of beating ourselves up because some ungodly thought crossed our minds, we need to immediately turn to resist the one who put that thought there — the enemy of our souls. We must resist the devil in the armor which God provides (Eph. 6), humbly submitting ourselves to God's care. It is important to know that for us to resist, we need to be on the lookout for the attacks that will come. It is much harder to prepare once you are in the midst of temptation. Let us be wise and prepare ourselves before temptation comes and live our lives watchfully. We only need to outlast the devil by a fraction of a second, and we will have won the victory.  (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-10; James 1:12)

And what is that crown called here in 1 Corinthians? An imperishable crown (v. 25), something far better than celery! 

Dead to Me, Alive to Christ (A SOAP Journal from 2 Timothy 2)

In addition to regular articles, I will once again be posting highlights of some simple SOAP journals that were produced during a regular gathering of pastors to journal, pray, and encourage one another. These are not exhaustively studied as they are generally the work of 20 minutes of reading, 20 minutes of writing, and 20 minutes of sharing with each other what we have written. These brief devotional journal posts will begin in the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus). Hopefully, they will be encouraging to the readers of this blog.

We used the simple SOAP acronym as a devotional guide... which stands for:

• Scripture—what verse or short section caught my attention today? 
• Observation—what can I briefly notice that the passage specifically says?
• Application—what will I do differently as a result of having read this today?
• Prayer—what will I ask the Triune God to do for, in, and through me today?

S = 2 Timothy 2:10-13

“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:

   if we have died with him, we will also live with him;

   if we endure, we will also reign with him;

   If we deny him, he also will deny us;

   if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

                        for he cannot deny himself. (2 Tim. 2:10-13)

O = Paul was fully committed to an objective that all who are elect might be saved. He personally manifested the focus of a combat soldier, the disciplined effort of a world-class athlete, and the patient endurance of a hard-working farmer. Paul was bound by chains, but God’s word was not bound by such things. In his defense, Paul quoted an early Christian hymn or creed (v.12-13). The key for him centered on the initial phrase, “If we have died with him.” Paul had not just postponed his own agenda for a season—he had died to it—so that he might live for the wonderful redemptive purpose of Christ! He firmly placed his hope in the promises, presence, and purposes of God in Christ Jesus! He did not mourn his own death, but embraced the resurrection life of Christ!

A = I think that this example of Paul is the only way I can effectively “endure with him.” I must stop trying to carry my stuff along with the necessary equipment, gifting, and provisions that Christ has graciously issued to me by the Holy Spirit. I don’t need the civilian stuff anymore. Who am I trying to please? Why am I doing what I am doing? Is it for myself or for the sake of the elect? Is it to please the One who enlisted me or to please myself and/or the culture around me? I need to be dead with him so that I might endure and not deny him in a futile effort to save myself…for those who seek to save their own life will lose it (See Matt. 16:24-26).

I am certainly imperfect in pursuing this purpose, and thus I am so glad that Jesus remains faithful even when I am weak and overwhelmed (v.13).

In this chapter, there are so many commands to obey—yet so much grace to strengthen me to complete the objective. Jesus Christ will not deny himself working in me!

P = Thank you, Lord, for such a high calling—

May I be strengthened to fulfill it by your grace today, pleasing to you!

May I “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace along with those who are pure in heart” (v. 22)! May I not sell out to culture’s demand that I fight for myself and my rights and desires, but rather, may I die to myself, so I can live with abandon for You!

What is "Affective Spirituality" anyway?

Photo by Emmanuel Phaeton on Unsplash

In the DMIN program that I previously directed, our various cohorts generally present an affective or heart-based approach to Christian Formation and Discipleship. Many people have had questions about this thing called "affective spirituality." 

No, we didn't spell it wrong. And despite Grammarly constantly flagging the word and suggesting "effective," we use this word intentionally. Let me explain why this is.

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

Western Christianity, taking seriously the mission of God, often focuses on effectiveness, measuring what we have accomplished quantitatively, asking questions such as — How many? How much? How long? Who best?

Yet the heart of God (manifested in Christ, revealed through the Word by the Spirit), from which his mission flows outward, is not centered on mere outward effectiveness or numerical expediency. Quite often, his plan is advanced counterintuitively. And refreshingly, in the Kingdom of Heaven, the end doesn’t justify the means.

Photo by Warren Wong
 on Unsplash

Contrary to conventional wisdom, God extends his redemptive mission using the most unlikely methods and unworthy messengers. He consistently chooses the youngest, the poorest, the exiled, and the culturally powerless. God delights to make his case through the humbled and transformed hearts of those whom the world might have labeled, marginalized, and dismissed as adulteresses (Tamar, Rahab, the Samaritan woman at the well), scandalized (Ruth, David, Mary Magdalene), "just women" (the first witnesses of Jesus' resurrection), as ignorant fishermen (several disciples), scoundrels (Jacob), even cheats and economic oppressors (Matthew/Levi). The Lord also transformed some of his most hostile enemies into great defenders of the faith (Naaman the Syrian, Nebuchadnezzar, and Saul of Tarsus), and he still does the same thing today. 

Our Triune God is more concerned about transforming our hearts by pouring his love into us by the Spirit (Rom. 5:5) than about how eloquent our sermon is, how much money we raise, or how many friends and followers we might have. Without what are our efforts ultimately judged to be ineffective, and our very person found to be empty?

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

The critique of our form of Christianity is not that we should do less, but that we should respond to his love more relationally than ever before. This critique is also found in the Book of Revelation, as Jesus wrote (via John) to the Ephesian church — a church committed to missional effectiveness and Stoic endurance in the face of opposition. Yet they failed to notice that they had missed something along the way.

“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev. 2:2-7 ESV, emphasis mine)

In the process of attempting to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20), we can put it before the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:36-40). Our efforts at discipleship can become externally focused through sin-management initiatives in hopes that it will eventually be smuggled inside our hearts, instead of internal transformation in response to God's love that naturally works its way outward in our lives, changing everything in its path. For Jesus said, 
     “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: 
             just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 
  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, 
                                                  if you have        love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) 

Our love testifies clearly to whom or what we serve.

What do you mean by Affective Theology?

In the remainder of this article, Dr. Ron Frost offers an answer to the questions about affective theology, or as he prefers to call it, “affective spirituality,” which was originally posted on Dr. Frost's Spreading Goodness blog.

He writes…

“What do you mean by ‘affective theology?’ I’d never heard of it before I met you.”

It’s a fair question. I first found the label in Heiko Oberman’s The Dawn of the Reformation, where he wrote of fourteenth-century Christians whose “suspicion of speculation” led them away from prior theological streams. They preferred “an affective theology in its place’’ that, while not being anti-intellectual, was more heart-based. It reflected Franciscan reforms and “a new longing for a comprehensive system of thought” (pp. 7-8). Older traditions were broken: reform was needed. Oberman viewed this impulse as a continuing element in later reforms.

In taking up this reform, I also prefer the term “spirituality” rather than the more generic “theology” because the former underscores the Spirit’s role in the Spirit-to-spirit bond of regeneration. And the church today still needs a more comprehensive system of thought that receives the Bible as the guiding Christian resource for sound faith and practice.

Affective Spirituality has three prominent features. A simple Biblicism for one. In John chapter eight, Jesus called on those who are “truly my disciples” to “abide in my word” by embracing the truth he offers to a capsized world. Second is the recognition that hearts, rather than the human will or volition, explain every action. This dismisses the Greek-Stoic anthropology that makes autonomous choice—the “free will”—a basis for human identity. Third, the reality of God’s Triune relational existence is central: we have been born of the Father, Son, and Spirit, who pours out his inherent love “in our hearts” by the Spirit. So that a transforming love for God and neighbor is active in all who know him.

Let me touch on each of these very briefly.

Photo by Allen Taylor on Unsplash

First, the Bible comes to us as God’s gift of self-disclosure. And our hearts must respond to him for faith to exist. I’ll offer my own story to illustrate this. I grew up in a Christian home with sound church training. But it was simply moral and creedal content, and that didn’t move me. By the time I reached my middle teen years, I was ready to leave it all behind. Yet at the same time, I wanted to hear from God! So I finally tried reading the Bible despite my skepticism. Then, in reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), the text came alive! I met Jesus there as a living voice speaking through the written words.

While conversion through immediate Bible reading isn’t normative, it is suggestive. Faith comes by hearing words about Christ, yet the same words can be barren for one reader and lively for another. And if we presume God—whose Spirit awakens the soul to “hear” the Scriptures in a life-giving way—isn’t being arbitrary, we’re left to locate the problem in “hard” and skeptical human hearts. And addressing that is another conversation!

Photo by Renee Fisher on Unsplash

Second, we need to recognize the heart as God’s locale for communing with us, where His Spirit lives after our conversion. But despite the huge weight of heart-focused references in the Bible, the default view of the soul in most churches is that love is an act of our will rather than a response of the heart.

Listen, for instance, to the unknown author of The Cloud of Unknowing—an influential fourteenth-century guide to spirituality: “Will is the faculty by which we choose good after it has been approved by reason, and by which we love God … and ultimately dwell in God” (Penguin, 138). It sounds lovely, but it’s not what the Bible actually teaches. The truth is that none of us seeks after God like that.

The Bible says the opposite: we only love God because he first loved us. So here’s a bold challenge: read the entire Bible through in just a few weeks and mark each reference to the heart and to the will. See where the real weight lands.

Third, we have the Trinity: God’s singular being with his three eternal distinctions. And his eternal loving communion is the basis for both creation and redemption. Yet we won’t have a sound grasp of these two actions if we haven’t explored the Bible’s Trinitarian roots.

In my own experience, it was the seventeenth-century Puritan Richard Sibbes who turned on the lights for me—his fascination with the Trinity as explained by the early Church Fathers and as applied in the relational insights of Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin was invaluable. Michael Reeve’s lively summary, Delighting in the Trinity—or, in the UK, The Good God—is a good starter for filling in this blind spot.

If we summarize the whole we have this: affective spirituality is a faith that arises in those who are assured by the Spirit’s personal witness to our hearts of God’s Scriptural promises: he loves us personally and he’s invested in transforming us into the likeness of the Son in order to share God’s love with us through all the ages to come. And as Jesus prayed in John 17, love among believers will show a skeptical world that God is alive and well.

Finally, if you aren’t there already, I encourage you to open your heart to Christ’s affective ambitions. He looks for those who have a heart like his own.

4. A Cupbearer is a Theological Investigator

From the role of a spiritual director, it is natural that the Cupbearer is also what I call a "Theological Investigator." 

Call Before You Dig

While the label "theological investigator" may sound a bit like the infamous Spanish Inquisition, there is nothing to fear because it is outside of our organizational power structures. A better analogy for theological investigation would be the 811 locating services that are called to mark any underground utilities on your property before you do any digging. Such location work is done to prevent injuries and expensive repairs, as well as inconvenience for the neighbors when their service is interrupted because of your bad decision. 

How often do we take time to do such theological locating before we dig into the tasks at hand?

Praxis

The late Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, defined “praxis” as action and reflection working together in mutuality. If we sacrifice action, then our reflection is just so much “idle chatter” or wasted words (verbalism); similarly, if we sacrifice reflection [e.g., theology], then all we are doing is merely engaging in “activism.”^[1] The Cupbearer brings the theological reflection part of Freire’s praxis equation that is used to learn what the theological foundation and trajectory of a teaching, an attitude, or a missional action would be. Such an inquiry is not done didactically but dialogically, prompting the participant to follow the trail where it leads and to report their conclusions.

Praxis that honors our Trinitarian God and expresses itself in transformational care for people will not happen by accident, nor by merely shifting our methodologies, but through training current and future leaders in the church to understand the “Why?” behind it all.

Tim Keller has also developed something similar to this idea as theological vision… 

Theological vision is hard, but it is what pastors need. Urban pastors struggle to connect doctrinal foundations to ministry expression in a meaningful way. There is a tendency either to overcontextualize to the city (which usually leads to weakening or relativizing a church’s commitment to orthodoxy) or to undercontextualize (which leads to inward-facing churches that reach only certain kinds of people and fail to advance a movement of the gospel in the community). But we find that the quality of the theological vision often determines the vitality of the ministry, particularly in urban settings.[2]

Whiplash and Withdrawal

Because of a lack of theological reflection in their praxis equation, some churches continually switch the things they are doing, and the methodologies employed to do them, without articulating the underlying reasons for it. Thus, members are confused about what they should believe. Since they may never have been shown the beliefs behind their actions, when the actions or programs change, they conclude that the foundational beliefs have changed. Such uncertainty and unsettledness have led many formerly engaged volunteers to step back from regular ministry involvement. There is even a name for such people, “Dones.” While pastoral mistakes are not responsible for all such withdrawals, there needs to be a change to prevent further relational and missional damage to the body of Christ.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

The conventional wisdom states, “Measure twice, cut once.” In my case, as I mentioned in my previous post, it has more to do with printing than with cutting. Everyone who writes needs a proofreader or editor, for they are often unable to discern their own blind spots. 

As a professor, when reading my students’ papers, I find them filled with typos, grammatical errors, wrong words (those that spell-checkers don’t catch), and unfinished sentences (due to “cut & paste” editing). They would all benefit from a proofreader before turning in their work. I wouldn’t have to buy so many red pens! But as much as I can mark up a student’s paper or that of colleagues in my doctoral cohorts, I confess that I am no different. When I do my own writing, I rarely have anyone willing to proofread for me, and the work invariably ends up containing embarrassing errors. Life is no different. Paul David Tripp says it this way, “Perhaps every pastor needs to humbly recognize that because of the blinding power of remaining sin, self-examination is a community project.”[3] If a pastor is willing to seek biblical counsel and desires honest feedback, then the Cupbearers Initiative is for them!

One way that Christian leaders can better develop kingdom-minded disciples is by thinking, praying, and discussing the issues together before making missional decisions and acting on them. The church would benefit from taking a balanced form of Paulo Freire’s ideas of dialogue and praxis seriously and stopping doing “mission” without first considering the theological foundation for such actions. Inserting Freire’s concept of “praxis” into the culture of the Evangelical church means properly balancing “theological reflection” with “missional action.”

In my own church culture, churches are quite good at doing stuff, but not very good at knowing why they are doing it. Cupbearers should help you with this.

---

[1] Paulo Freire, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed." 30th Anniversary ed. Translated by Myra B. Ramos (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2000), 87.

[2] Timothy J. Keller, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), Kindle Locations 305-309.  

[3] Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling [Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition], 73.