Olympic Hero Jesse Owens' Remarkable Friendship

Jesse Owens won the gold medal for the long jump in the 1936 summer Olympics in Germany.⁣⁣ In the photo, the man saluting behind Owens is Lutz Long, a German who shared training tips with Owens and was the first to openly congratulate him after his final jump in full view of Adolf Hitler.

After the Olympics, the two kept in touch via mail. Below is Long's last letter to Owens while he was stationed with the German Army in North Africa during World War 2. Long was later killed in action during the allied invasion of Sicily in 1943.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

"I am here, Jesse, where it seems there is only the dry sand and the wet blood. I do not fear so much for myself, my friend Jesse, I fear for my woman who is home, and my young son Karl, who has never really known his father.⁣⁣ My heart tells me, if I be honest with you, that this is the last letter I shall ever write. If it is so, I ask you something. It is a something so very important to me. It is you go to Germany when this war done, someday find my Karl, and tell him about his father. Tell him, Jesse, what times were like when we not separated by war. I am saying—tell him how things can be between men on this earth.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ If you do this something for me, this thing that I need the most to know will be done, I do something for you, now. I tell you something I know you want to hear. And it is true.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ That hour in Berlin when I first spoke to you, when you had your knee upon the ground, I knew that you were in prayer.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Then I not know how I know. Now I do. I know it is never by chance that we come together. I come to you that hour in 1936 for purpose more than der Berliner Olympiade.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ And you, I believe, will read this letter, while it should not be possible to reach you ever, for purpose more even than our friendship.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I believe this shall come about because I think now that God will make it come about. This is what I have to tell you, Jesse.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I think I might believe in God.⁣⁣ And I pray to him that, even while it should not be possible for this to reach you ever, these words I write will still be read by you.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Your brother,⁣⁣ Luz"⁣⁣

Jesse found Lutz' son Karl in 1951. They became friends and Jesse was his best man when Karl got married! 

In a consumer-oriented society, such as ours, the default orientation for many church attenders, and even members, is to see the local church as a dispenser of religious goods and services. Without serious, sustained effort to have a more biblical approach people will naturally gravitate toward a view of the church that is influenced by a consumerist imagination. We could use four metaphors to help us understand these different conceptions of the church.

The Church as Cruise Liner

Some Christians see church as a cruise liner, offering Christian luxuries for the whole family, such as sports, entertainment, childcare services, and business networking. They show up at church asking only, “Can this church improve my religious quality of life? Does it have good family ministry facilities? Does the pastor preach funny, time-conscious messages that meet my felt needs? Do I like the music?”

The Church as Battleship

Other Christians believe their church is more like a battleship. The church is made for mission, and its success should be seen in how loudly and dramatically it fights the mission. This is certainly better than the “cruise liner”; however, it implies that it is the church institution that does most of the fighting. The role of the church members it to pay the pastors to find the targets and fire the guns each week as they gather to watch. They see the programs, services, and ministries of the church as the primary instruments of mission.

The Church as Aircraft Carrier

A third metaphor for the church is an aircraft carrier. Like battleships, aircraft carriers engage in battle, but not in the same way. Aircraft carriers equip planes to carry the battle elsewhere. . . . Churches that want to “prevail against the gates of hell” must learn to see themselves like aircraft carriers, not like battleships and certainly not like cruise liners. Members need to learn to share the gospel, without the help of the pastor, in the community, and start ministries and Bible studies—even churches—in places without them. Churches must become discipleship factories, “sending” agencies that equip their members to take the battle to the enemy.

The Church as Restaurant

But there’s one more metaphor I’d like to add to this list. It differs somewhat with the cruise liner mentality because the focus isn’t on the reason why you’d choose to belong to a particular church over another one, but on the reason why you might attend a variety of churches without ever committing to any of them. It’s when you see the church as a restaurant.

“My church” isn’t determined by where I have my membership or where I most belong. My church just happens to be my favorite of many different experiences, much like going out to eat. Our family has a favorite restaurant that is our “default” whenever we’re going to eat out. But we have lots of other restaurants that we enjoy from time to time. Sometimes we’re in the mood for steak. Other times, for chicken, American cuisine, or a Mexican restaurant, or a local dive. Church is like that, too. “Our church” is the one we attend most often, but it’s not the only one we like.

What happens here is that church members migrate from one congregation to another, enjoying for a season the preaching and music here, sometimes coming back to their go-to congregation when they’re in the mood for something more familiar, or heading over to a third church for a mission trip. The result is sporadic attendance at any particular congregation.

When pastors notice that their church members have been absent for a while and they check up on them, they’re puzzled to discover that there isn’t a particular reason why these members have been more absent than present. The attenders are not mad, and they’ve not had a bad experience; they just see church attendance much as someone might see the choice between Firehouse Subs or Red Robin. It’s whatever they’re in the mood for that Sunday, or during that season of life.

This mentality is more common in areas of the Bible Belt than in other parts of the country. It’s largely contained to areas where there are many churches of various sizes and styles, yet still with an evangelical ethos. The mindset is not as common in places where there are only one or two similar churches.

The problem with viewing the church as a restaurant is that it amplifies the cruise liner mentality in that the service is all directed one-way. The attender pays with time or money and expects a religious service. This is consumerist, not missional. But the bigger challenge is that the person isn’t even committed to the cruise. In the case of the restaurant, there’s not enough commitment to even keep people attending week after week, making it hard for the consumerist mindset to be challenged at all.

Thirteen Marks of Genuine Revival

Scott Christensen, a pastor and notable Bible scholar, has shared the following history about revivals:

From my study of past revivals in church history, here are 13 marks of genuine revival:

1. Revival is an extraordinary move of the Spirit upon significant numbers of people who are dead in their sins (unbelievers) or apathetic in their walk as believers and marked by worldliness. The extraordinary move of the Spirit results in extraordinary spiritual transformation.

2. Revival cannot be induced by human means. It results from a special outpouring of sovereign grace upon those whom God chooses. However, it is often preceded by persistent seasons of prayer and always includes the faithful proclamation of the gospel attended by unusual boldness and power.

3. Revival usually starts in churches or other places where Christians are normally gathered, but then often spreads to the unbelieving populace as they are attracted to the unusual things taking place in those venues.

4. The bold preaching of the gospel leads to deep conviction of sin. Sins that were thought to be no big deal, suddenly appear very wicked. It is not uncommon to see people under such conviction to be visibly shaken and brought to humble tears.

5. Those under conviction of sin often experience a sense of God’s wrath in such as a way as they wonder why he has not already consigned them to the fires of hell.

6. This leads to broken-hearted contrition and humble pleading before God in open confessions of sin and repentance.

7. Subsequently, Christ and his work on the cross become extraordinarily precious as one experiences the sense of God’s forgiveness and pardon. Often tears of terror turn to tears of unspeakable joy.

8. Suddenly, the worship of God and prayer are no longer dead duties but pure delight.

9. There is a deep hunger for the word of God as though one would starve without consuming it constantly. The word comes alive in ways it never did before. Again, there is no drudgery in reading, rather there is eagerness to devour it with pure delight.

10. There is an extraordinary sense of God’s presence that brings wonder and excitement, a sort of foretaste of eternal glory that no one wants to end.

11. The concern for the lost becomes acute. Those who experience the fires of revival are not indifferent to the lost. They see the true and desperate condition of lost souls and desire their conversion.

12. Those who experience the fires of revival, especially in churches or other gatherings of believers, experience a deep renewal of love for one another that flows from the sense of God’s love. Broken relationships are repaired. Confession and forgiveness are freely exchanged and there is an eagerness to meet one another’s needs.

13. Revival brings about a reformation of morals in the lives of Christians and even the communities in which revivals occur. Sin and idolatry are dispensed with. Believers gain a fervency for holy living that has a lasting impact on individuals, as well as entire churches and communities.

Scott graduated from The Master’s Seminary in 2001 with his Master of Divinity degree. He pastored Summit Lake Community Church in southwestern Colorado for 16 years before beginning ministry as the associate pastor at Kerrville Bible Church, Texas in 2019. Scott’s published works include What about Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God’s Sovereignty (P&R 2016) and What about Evil? God’s Glory Magnified in a World Ruined by Sin (P&R 2020).

 

The Fellowship of the Unashamed -- Is This for You?

When Paul wrote "I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." (Rom 1:16), he took an unyielding, unequivocal stand for the Gospel and became a marked man by ungodly people. But Paul knew the power of the gospel  because  it radically transformed him and it also bring a fallen world from sin and death to victory and eternal life in Christ.. If you've been touched by the power of this gospel, you have no excuse to be ashamed and every reason for hope and joy. Because in Him you have your true identity, legacy and destiny. Life out now who you really are in Christ Jesus.

Dr. Robert Morehead tells the story a young man from Rwanda who was forced by his tribe in 1980 to renounce Christ or face death. He refused to renounce Christ, and he was murdered on the spot. The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room: Can you make this kind of commitment for the Gospel of Christ and become a member of the Fellowship of the Unashamed?

"I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

"I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

"My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

"I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.

"And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.." (Romans 1:16)."

These "No Matter What the Cost" disciples of Jesus Christ are the ones who consider the cost of God's call on their lives and then with perfect freedom and with a clear understanding that this road will be very difficult - overwhelming at times - they choose to answer by saying, ’Here am I Lord! Send me’ (Isaiah 6:8)

The Fellowship of the Unashamed are also the ones who like Paul in Phillippians 3:5-11 boldly proclaimed:

"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."

Dave Brown, WACMM Director and Pastor-at-Large

Why Am I Still Struggling Against the Same Sins?

If you, as a disciple of Jesus, find yourself, five or ten or even fifty years after you started following Jesus, still weak in the same areas of life, still struggling with lust or anger or greed or hatred, then welcome to
the Club of Discipleship, commonly known as The Church.

No, we are not here to excuse one another. But we are here to introduce ourselves, week after week, with the likes of: “Hi, my name is Chad and I’m a sinner.”

I’ve struggled with (name-your-weakness). I have good days and bad days. Sometimes I have days from hell, where I think the devil must have me in a chokehold. Other days, I seem to do well. But even then, there’s always the nagging temptations, the subtle allurements. 

If I find myself outwardly abstaining from this or that wrongdoing, all too often that’s where my heart dwells or my mind daydreams. What’s even more maddening is that when I do well and think I’m making some strong progress, I begin to feel proud of myself and—bam!—all of a sudden now my soul is flexing its muscles of arrogance and self-righteousness.

Good God, it’s frustrating. It drives me nuts. I can’t escape from my own worst enemy—myself.”

Welcome to discipleship. Welcome to the Christian life. Welcome to Jacob’s life.

And welcome, too, to the Jesus who responds to each of us by saying, “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” (Matt. 11:28-30).

One of the things we will learn from our Savior is that he did not call us to become witnesses to a complete life transformation in which we are now better than other people. Rather, he called us into a living relationship with himself and the Father through the power of the Spirit in which our true identities are now completely secure in Jesus.

Even when we fail? Yes. Even when we sin that same sin again? Yes. Will he continue to call us to repentance? Yes. Will he continue to discipline us as a father does his child? Also, yes.

Every disciple of Jesus wishes for freedom from sin in this life. But we are in this life; thus, we are still at war with ourselves, at war with the sinful nature that doesn’t tuck its tail between its legs and flee when we become Christians. It declares war.

But Jesus has won and, in him, we too have won. In fact, in him, we are more than conquerors. We are beloved. And Christ’s consistent grace over time proves that he is never going to change from being the Friend and Forgiver of Sinners.

(An excerpt from Limping with God: Jacob and the Old Testament Guide to Messy Discipleship by  Chad Bird) 

 

 

“Live Your Truth”: How Hedonism Leads to Chaos

“You shall be like God, knowing good and evil,” the serpent told Eve. Our contemporary culture loves to give us similar advice. Who can be sure what God really said? Better to choose your own identity, express your own personality, construct your own social media profile. Decide what’s right for you, what brings you happiness, peace of mind, security—a sense of flourishing. No one can judge you. “You will not ‘surely die.’” Such warnings are just the toxic voice of external authority trying to suppress your own inner voice. You be you. Live your truth.

This advice is not only wrong but cruel. No one speaks of “my truth” and “your truth” when it comes to matters of fact. We accept authority and objectivity on such matters. It would be cruel—even criminal malpractice—if one’s physician distorted or denied the evidence for a life-threatening diagnosis because it was considered toxic or disempowering to the patient. But the problem is that most people in our culture—and judging by surveys, many of us Christians—do not live as if the claims of Christ are matters of fact rather than simply personal value judgments. The heart is where my truth comes from. Consequently, my truth is that I am a decent person, deserving of good things in life, and I have every right to be deeply frustrated when those good things don’t come my way. There is nothing more offensive to our pampered Western selves than to be told, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).

Hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure above all, does not have to be expressed merely in grotesque antinomianism. It is motivating us whenever we think that the chief end of humans is to be happy. Even secular studies like The Trouble with Passion (University of California Press, 2021) by sociologist Erin Cech demonstrate the downside of the follow-your-passion message, showing that the pursuit of happiness as an end in itself leads inevitably to depression, anxiety, and anger.

The truth is that our hearts, as Augustine famously said, were made for rest in God. He is the only one worthy of our passion, and when we rest in him, he gives us callings to serve our neighbors, where we find genuine purpose and meaning—and yes, pleasure.

Our own “truth” leads to delusion, conflict, and despair in this life and destruction in the next. What we really need is the truth. We need the One who said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Let’s live as if we really believe that it is the truth that sets us free.

by Michael Horton (Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetic at Westminster Seminary)

Men's Ministry is Every Sunday Morning

If you do a Google search looking for help to do men’s ministry, you’ll find the preponderant emphasis is on pragmatism – doing stuff that works, that gets results. Like many churches, ministries to men have adopted and relied upon business and marketing tips, techniques, strategies, methodologies, and programs to attract and retain men rather than to teach, prepare, and equip men in the gospel for their life purpose and role.

I’m not trying to disparage or dismiss biblically grounded programs that can help build a culture of discipleship and manly servanthood, but they should align with and reinforce what is proclaimed on Sunday mornings.

What concerns me is that many churches and their ministries to men overlook the core discipleship program the New Testament prescribes: the corporate worship gathering. In fact, few churches see their men’s ministries as an extension and derivative of the Sunday assembly.

Sunday worship service is more fundamental to Christian growth than any grafted-on program. The Sunday gathering is the primary tutor and discipler of a local congregation, particularly its men because of what it proclaims and the pattern it sets.

The “gathering” is what gives fuel to anything else we do. It is the launching point. It must be prioritized that way. And if the gathering is done right, it makes far more than attenders.

We gather on Sundays to worship God and to be grown by Him through His Word—His life-creating, life-maintaining, life-sanctifying Word (John 1:3-4; Heb. 1:1; John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16). Scripture regulates the service as it is read, sung, and preached (1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:1–3), we proclaim its truths (Col. 3:16), pray its hopes (Eph. 6:18), visualize its message through the sacraments (1 Cor. 11:26; 10:21); and learn to see and savor Christ.

A Sunday morning gathering isn’t a production or show. It’s not marked by entertainment, pageantry or sophistry. There is but an audience of One – the only true God worthy of our praise, trust and allegiance. It is the place where we are served the most important, nourishing meal of the week.

In other words, the corporate worship gathering prepares and equips us to be ambassadors of God’s Kingdom called, empowered to disciple, evangelize and love one another. Other gatherings within the church during the week supplement and deepen what we hear, say, and do on Sundays.

Discipling flows from the pastors to the people from Sunday to every other day of the week. Every discipling conversation, every Bible study, every counseling appointment, and every evening of family worship echoes the Word as its taught and modeled on Sundays. This is the basic shape of biblical ministry: the church gathers and then scatters; the saints rest and then work; the pastors preach and then the people present, portray and protect the gospel. One discipling event leads to and orders the rest.

Prioritize the Sunday gathering. Read Scripture there knowing that God uses it to save souls and sustain faith, and model what ought to be done when they leave the building at home. Do multiple readings. Read whole chapters. Recite Scripture corporately.

Pray in your gathering. Pray knowing it increases our trust in God and intimacy with him. Pray with and for one another: praising God, confessing sin, pleading for the lost, lifting-up neighboring churches, and interceding for our brothers and sisters by name.

And preach. Preach knowing God speaks through His Word to raise the dead, stir the idle, encourage the weak, feed the hungry, and mend the wounded. Exposition of Scripture will leave us better equipped to teach one another.  Interpret Scripture with Scripture.

How does a church begin to make disciples? Through its corporate gathering. While the gathering isn’t sufficient to bring believers to full maturity in Christ, it’s the engine that drives all those other good, God-besotted efforts.

Adapted from Foolproof Discipling From Corporate Worship By John Sarver