Words & Music

“Words and music did for me what solid, even rigorous, religious argument could never do—they introduced me to God, not belief in God, more an experiential sense of GOD. Over art, literature, girls, my mates, the way in to my spirit was a combination of words and music. As a result, the Book of Psalms always felt open to me and led me to the poetry of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, the book of John...My religion could not be fiction, but it had to transcend facts. It could be mystical, but not mythical.”

— Bono

Common Grace and 28 Reasons to Love Taipei

Recently an article appeared on Facebook called "28 Reasons to Love Taipei." Here were a few of them (a couple of them were a little risque so I won't include them):

1. Family Mart, 7-Eleven have everything.
2. Taipei has the coolest cafes.
3. Eslite is the only 24-hour bookstore.
4. Karaoke is a 24/7 sport.
5. Before every election it looks like this (you'll have to see the picture).
6. Shrimping is 24/7.
7. You won't recognize 50% of the things at your local market.
8. Beef noodle soup is Taipei's official religion.
9. Youghe has the best breakfast.
10. Taipei is the Chinese pop/indie music capital.
11. Always somewhere there is a music festival.
12. Yangmingshan is a bus a ride away.
13. The garbage trucks sing to you.
14. The Metro
15. The night markets
16. If it's too cold you can go to Kenting on a cartoon decorated bullet train.
17. Taipei 101 has the best Chinese New Year fireworks
18. Most of all -- it's the people. 

What do all of these things have in common? The answer is they are evidences of common grace. You say, "What is that?" To paraphrase Scott Kauffman, it just means that God gives immense grace to all of His creatures, that He is interested in not only saving individual souls, but of restoring his creation which will come when the kingdom of Jesus comes in its fullness. It means that God is the author of beauty and can be found in some way in almost every person, or situation. And wherever they are found they should be used to point others and ourselves to Jesus. In New York City, some Christians started a magazine that focused on "signs of life in music, film and culture". It's called Paste Magazine. It has received all kinds of secular awards because its creators love the culture and want to point people to "the good, the true and the beautiful" and ultimately to the One who is the source of all that is good, and true and beautiful.

Why is this so important? On the one hand it creates bonds with all kinds of people. You can also simply be grateful and let these signs of grace point you to Christ. It can help you work with people who haven't come to faith in Christ for the common good. It can help you appreciate all kinds of people while not in any way compromising the uniqueness of Christ. And as Kauffmann has said it can make you "less afraid of the non-Christianity outside you and more concerned for the non-Christianity inside you." Common grace doesn't save you. Only the cross can do that, but common grace is the gift he gives to all people.

Disciples Who Disciple Others: The Hardest and Yet Most Important Task

We had around ten guys who came on Wednesday night for the Bible study on II Timothy. Second Timothy is where Paul writes to Timothy who is like a son to him. Paul is in prison and knows that he will probably not get out and will likely die. It exudes the warmth for which Paul is so well known. He loves Timothy and seeks to encourage and disciple him so that Timothy can continue his work after his death.  It's a classic picture of what we all need to be doing--becoming disciples who disciple others.

But how do you do that? Pastor Jason and I have been wrestling with this question for many months. We want to do what we talked about the last two weeks from Ephesians:  to equip you to do the work of ministry.  Here are a couple of ideas that we are trying to better grasp. On the one hand, everyone needs a basic understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ and the content of the Christian faith. Without that, you are like a house without a foundation--as soon as the first typhoon of life comes you are a goner (like many of the trees we just lost in the storm). You also need practical skills like how to read the Bible and pray, how to present the gospel, how to memorize Scripture, how to share your testimony.  Some of us got that through our training with the Navigators, but we've noticed that it is often neglected in many discipleship tracks. We are seeking to draw on this resource plus others and then to contextualize them to our situation here. It's been hard work, but we think we are closer to sharing some of those resources with you.

But here is something simple that you can consider doing. Find someone else and just begin reading the Bible together. How about five weeks on II Timothy which is the best book on mentoring in the Bible?  That's long enough to get the main thrust of II Timothy, but not so long that you will be overwhelmed. We can give you some simple Bible studies that you can use.  Read the Bible in advance and come prepared to talk about what the passage says, means and how it applies to your life.  Then share your life one on one with each other.  You say, I can't do that.  I'm not qualified? If you are a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit in you. Remind yourself of everything we have been learning in Ephesians about who you are in Christ and the power available to you. When you have questions you can't answer, talk to us (not that we know everything by any means), but we should be able to help. You may find that after weeks it's been such a good experience you will want to continue.

I'm pretty sure I can tell you what will happen.  You will become more dependent on the Lord and thus pray more because you will feel a sense of responsibility for someone else.  You will repent more and grow in holiness because someone is looking to you for encouragement and direction. You will find that when you step out even when you lack confidence that God will be there to give you strength. You will receive from the other person as much as you give. Jesus shows up when you do these kind of things!  In short, you may find yourself growing more in Christ than any time in your life. Come and talk to us and we will help you get started.  What would the church be like if all of us aspired to follow in the footsteps of Paul to find a Timothy?