Answers in Genesis

/in /by

answers in genesis

God’s gospel originates in and expresses the wondrous perfections of the eternal, triune God.

1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

In an earlier post I highlighted some “Questions in Genesis.”  In this post I want to think briefly about the rich “Answers in Genesis” that these two chapters present to gospel people. Rather than debating the mechanics of creation, I wish to affirm that these chapters provide us with deep, rich insights into the character and plans of our God. Many of these ideas are summarized in Article One of our EFCC Statement of Faith (which I have quoted above).

Genesis 1-2 reminds us that our God is Creator – and creative! Time and again in these chapters we see that the creation is good – very good, indeed!  It is good because our God is good – He is holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing! If you have read any of the ancient stories about the Greek, Canaanite, or Roman gods, you cannot but be amazed at the goodness of our God (as introduced to us in Genesis 1-2). He isn’t malevolent, capricious, or immoral, or any of the things we see from the ancient pagan gods. He has good plans for His creation. He is goodness, through and through! His rule is benevolent. He invites Adam and Eve to join Him in a “tending” of the creation meant for its flourishing, not for His own personal abuse. He is sovereign over it – He is king, but He is a loving, wise king who revels in the beauty of what He has made and invites humanity to join Him in its flourishing.

We see that our God is a “loving unity of equally divine persons.”  He declares, “Let us make man in our image!”  Loving unity is such a central feature of His nature that He declares that it is “not good” for Adam to be alone – and He creates a perfect counterpart so that Adam and Eve can experience the same loving unity. The beauty of God’s plan for male and female reflects the loving heart of an infinitely perfect, relational God. Genesis shows us God’s plan of shalom – loving and flourishing community for His creation and for humanity, the pinnacle of His creation. Genesis 3 of course shows how sin and rebellion destroy so much of this beauty, and yet, we see throughout the Word that “God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.”  The first two chapters of Genesis remind us that our God is essentially a God of lovingkindness whose plan for creation and for male and female is beautiful and fulfilling.  All human substitutes for His plan may seem good and satisfying in the short run – but in the end fall short of the beautiful plan God had for creation, creature, and community.

Even the Fall of Genesis 3 cannot destroy the dignity of humans (the image of God in us), nor the beauty of creation. We do well to anchor our vision of God, creation, sex, marriage, calling, vocation, and community in this beautiful passage that introduces our God and His plan for His creation!

Bill Taylor
EFCC Executive Director

A Reading List for Everyone?

/in /by

A Reading List

Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out. Ecc. 12: 11-12

A great book is very helpful. But how many helpful books can one possibly find or read? Every year scads of books get published. Some are good. Some are incredibly helpful. But we can get lost in a sea of books.

Someone recently encouraged me to put together a list of Christian non-fiction books that every Christian should read. What an impossible task. Think about all the languages that would need translations. So the person refined the challenge. Could I form a list that could be read by every English reading adult Christian in the western world? Still too broad, but I began to think about it.

My first thought was, I don’t want to minimize Bible reading.

Reading books must not replace our Bible reading! The Bible is so much more than any book. But only reading the Bible without listening to other Christian perspectives about the Bible, leads to misinterpreting the Bible. We can’t help it; we are trapped by our biases. We need the help of others in doing theology. Authors provide some of that help.

Then, I began to form some criteria to help me put together a book list. Here is what I came up with:

  1. A book I have personally read. I can’t recommend it otherwise. I still have a significant pool to pick from. Over my ministry years I have read well over 1500 books.
  2. The book would need to be easy to read. So, sadly, no classics with antiquated language. It should have few large and hard-to-define words. Likely aimed at a high school reading level.
  3. The theological concepts need to be accessible to all. Although there are deep theological treasure troves which some people enjoy, those kinds of books are beyond this list.
  4. It must contain applicable topics for all Christians. It would need to have a universal appeal.
  5. It should cover basics or subjects close to or leading to them.
  6. It needs to be a short list. Not all are avid readers and avoiding the sea of books is crucial.
  7. Written from a gracious Neo-fundamentalism need not apply.

I looked back over the lists of books that I have read. Yes, I kept track of every Christian book I have read since I started ministry. I know I’m weird! Forgive me.

Here’s Neil’s Reading List for Any Christian (with qualifiers understood) that I came up with based on the above listed criteria:

  1. With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God – Skye Jethani
    This could be reread several times over. It’s that important! Skye explores 4 ways of relating to God that are essentially attempts to control Him. He then shifts to focus on what Life With God really is and how we can cultivate it.
  1. Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew About the Bible – Michael Bird
    This little volume has more tools for good solid Biblical interpretation than several Bible College texts books I have seen. Michael’s simple yet profound work helps readers get a handle on what the Bible is and how to handle it well.

We could probably end the list right there if we wanted. They are the top tier. But that’s too short a list. So, I added a few more, in no particular order:

  1. Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness – Michael Card
    This is a beautifully written book on the Hebrew word Hesed and what it reveals to us about the character of God.
  1. Who is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus – John Ortberg
    A wonderful look at who Jesus is and the impact he has had on our world.
  1. Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith – Larry Osborne
    This volume is a prophetic corrective. It too is one of those books that could be reread several times as a healthy reminder of the need to not become overzealous about other’s lives.
  1. Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense – N.T. Wright
    I almost didn’t include this book because it is a slightly more difficult read than the rest of the list. But a book like this, or C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, probably needs to be on this list and this reads slightly easier than Lewis.
  1. The Listening Life: Embracing Attentiveness in a World of Distraction – Adam McHugh
    This volume is much needed in our current cultural climate. The art of listening needs to be recultivated, as a discipleship and hospitality practice. Adam has all kinds of good advice on how that can happen.

That’s it! That’s the whole list. There were many great books that I wish I could have included. But of the writing of books there is no end. So based on all my criteria, it ultimately boiled down to these 7 books.

What is your list? I suspect that you would have different books on your list, based on your reading history. I would love to hear your list.

Neil Bassignthwaighte
EFCC National Mission Director & Interim Prayer Catalyst

The Church and its Mission to the Nations

/in /by

church and its mission to the nations

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:8, NASB)

Through the agency of the Holy Spirit, the New Testament Church came into being as an evangelizing, teaching, worshipping, and serving fellowship of the people of God. The Church takes up the destiny of the true Israel and becomes the missionary people of the kingdom of God. The Church is an essential part of the plan of God for the salvation of the nations. She is sent into the world in the power of the Spirit to bring the nations to faith and obedience (Romans 16:26).

However, the early Church was slow in bringing the Gospel to the nations in the beginning. Having received the Commission from the Lord already on several occasions, the disciples did not rush out to evangelize the nations. Only when persecution scattered the believers throughout Judea and Samaria did they begin preaching in the regions (Acts 8:1, 4). They first confined their witness to the Jews, but later on, in the Book of Acts, we see the mission to the Gentiles started and finally carried out and made central in their lives and ministry.

About the priestly calling of Israel in Exodus 19: 3-6, Peter has a new understanding that Christians are now the ones who are to perform the priestly calling, to be the ones standing in the gap between God and the nations (I Peter 2:9 ff.).

The Book of Acts provides the history of the earliest out-workings of the Church’s obedience to the missionary command to make disciples of all nations. The Apostle Paul is the well-known and greatest apostle to the Gentile nations. Aside from the Lord, he is the best example of someone who had a heart for the nations.

About Israel’s mandate for mission, Paul attempted to bring back God’s original plan, e.g., for the Jews to bring the blessing of salvation to the Gentile nations. However, the Jews rejected Christ and the Gentile Church.

We also see that in Acts 17:26-27, Paul taught that God had directed the times and places of the people groups or the nations in such a way that they would seek God and find Him. Paul had a clear understanding of God’s heart and His plan to bless all the nations of the world by the blessing of salvation. His Epistles were written in the context of mission. His ambition was to preach the Gospel to places where Christ was not known or to the unreached peoples and nations who are the objects of God’s concern (Romans 15:18-23). Paul considered a people group or nation reached when a church is already planted among them, churches which are self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating. After he had planted churches from Jerusalem to Illyricum, he was ready to move on to the unreached areas.

An important aspect in mission that Paul understood is the connection between the Church and Abraham. 

What is the link? In Galatians 3, Paul first repeats how Abraham was justified by faith and then continues: “so you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham” and who, therefore, “are blessed with Abraham who had faith” (v.6-9). What then is the blessing with which all the nations were blessed (v. 8)? In a word, it is the blessing of salvation. We were under the curse of the Law, but Christ has redeemed us from it by becoming a curse in our place, in order “that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (v.10-14). Christ bore our curse that we might inherit Abraham’s blessing, the blessing of justification (v. 8) and the indwelling Holy Spirit (v. 14). Paul sums it up in the last verse of the chapter (v. 29): “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

Paul explains that we, the Church, are Abraham’s descendants by faith. God blessed us with the blessing of salvation so that we can be a blessing to other nations or people groups as well. God’s promise to bless the nations can only be made through Abraham’s descendants, the Church. If by faith we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s spiritual children and have the responsibility to reach all the nations of the world.

Ike Agawin
EFCC International Mission Director

A Puzzle Worth Your Time

/in /by

leadership banner

For us who are part of God’s family, and even for many who are not yet there, Jesus has always been, and will be, our model, our mentor, the one we follow. The life and teachings of Jesus are our foundation – our “go to” – when it comes to figuring out how to live well as a child of God. But there are times in the life of Jesus when it can be difficult to understand what his life means for us, what the message is for us.

This Easter I revisited one such passage – the fascinating story of the healing of Lazarus as found in John 11. There is so much in that story, but I admit that I have often puzzled at Jesus’ response to a sick friend. He doesn’t rush to his side, instead he waits until He knows that Lazarus has died. And then he finally arrives at the place where families and friends are grieving, outside of the tomb where the body of Lazarus has now lain for 4 days – long enough that the perfumes and spices have worn off. And what does Jesus do? He stops and he weeps. Now, while I appreciate the model of joining friends in grief, my question has always been why Jesus would not immediately bring life back into Lazarus’s body. He knew he could. He knew he would. And in so doing, he would put a stopper in the flow of grief of his dear friends. Why not stop their grief as quickly as possible?

I am pretty sure I do not yet have a definitive answer to that question, but through reflection several things have been impressed upon me. Certainly, I have been reminded that I must keep learning the lesson that my timing is not God’s timing. Rushing to the solution is not always the best thing to do. I have also been learning the importance of joining friends in grief without having to talk, or explain, or rationalize. Both of those are important for me to come to terms with.

Above all though, it seems that there is a key lesson that rooted in Jesus actions, his delay, his weeping, his wisdom. That is this: for God, it is about relationship above all. Jesus wants us to know that he understands our pain and he hurts with us. He wants us to know that he joins us. He wants us to know that our relationship with him isn’t simply about the solutions he brings, it is about the bond we have. His person should be more important to me than his plan. His presence in my life should be more important than the solution I am hoping for.

So, in no matter what your role may be, whether you are a leader in formal ministry, or a new member of the family of God, keep following the model of Jesus – love people well, join them in struggles, and make the relationship more important than any resolution. But most importantly, as you follow Jesus, as you meet with Jesus, don’t ever forget that he wants to know you, he wants to join you, he does understand your journey, and nothing is more important to him than a relationship with you. It can be hard to believe that when you compare who we are with who he is as creator of universe and giver of life. And yet that is the truth we find in His Word. And maybe it is a truth you needed to hear today as you journey through whatever this life is giving you right now. I say to you all, revel in his Word where you find such truth, and revel in the place you have in the heart of God. That is a mystery bigger than any others, a puzzle bigger and better than Jesus’ timing with Lazarus. Bask in that one for a while!

Terry Kaufman
EFCC Leadership Catalyst

Ukraine Update: Relief Efforts in Action

/in , /by
Fellowship
Food outreach
Food outreach in action
Baptism with Pastor Yuri
Sunday service in Donetsk

Thank you so much for your prayers and generous giving to the EFCC Benevolence Fund! Your prayers and financial help have made a big difference in many people’s lives in Ukraine. We praise God and thank all of you that over $177,000 has been donated to the EFCC Benevolence Emergency Relief Funds for Ukraine.

I have the opportunity to share a story about some of the ways the fund is being used to meet people’s basic needs in Ukraine. Here is a report and photos (see above) from one of our national staff in Ukraine, Pastor Yuri. He is the pastor of Kramatorsk Evangelical Free Church. He had this to share:

Hello, I am a pastor of a small church in Ukraine. The war has been very hard on people in our city and the congregation. We are located in the Donetsk region, which Russia is currently trying to take over. On a typical Sunday, we used to have 30 people attending our small church. Many people fled when the war started, knowing Russia would tartget our area. I felt the Lord calling me to stay and serve the eople. My wife and I made the difficult decision to send her and our children out of Ukraine while I remained in the area. Businesses are closed, people are without jobs and the grocery stores are empty. With help from the EFCC Benevolence Fund, we could buy groceries such as oil and bread for people who could no longer provide for themselves. Our church began to overflow, and we started to have baptisms weekly. A couple of weeks ago, our service grew from 30 to 178 people. Praise God! I appreciate your support. Our food outreach has been incredible in our city. Thanks to the EFCC Benevolence Fund.

This is one of the many stories of how God is using the Benevolence Funds in Ukraine. In some instances, the Benevolence Fund is being used to simply put groceries on someone’s table who can’t provide for themselves anymore. In another instance, gas is provided so that the family can flee the invading army. We have also seen bedding, mattresses, diapers, medicine, and tickets purchased to help refugees travel toward Western Europe.

Thank you for helping us to make a difference to those who need it in practical ways.

Ike Agawin
International Mission Director