Haiti Team

Will you join us in prayer for our mission trip to Haiti?

Next Monday morning at 3:00 AM thirteen men and women will be leaving the Parkland to spend a week in Haiti. Why? Growing Hope for Haiti and The Fuller Center for Housing has partnered together to build a community in Leogane. This is a community near the epicenter that was destroyed by the January 12th earthquake.

We will be helping to build this community and we will be providing a Vacation Bible School to a nearby tent city. Did you know that there is a possibility that we will reach 865 children ages 0-14?


Will you pray for us? Will you pray that we can work hard, stay safe, and help spread the Gospel? Will you pray for us individually? We are:

1. Jackie Adams
   
2. Jonathan Barnes
   
3. Mark Burlison
   
4. Ben Durbin
   
5. Michael Goldsmith
   
6. Stephanie Hedrick
   
7. Matt Helms
   
8. Melissa McDonough
   
9. Jeromy McDowell
   
10. Zack Mills
    
11. Jake Whitener
    
12. Justin Yount
    
13. Renee Jean

Colossians 4:2,3a -Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare
the mystery of Christ

Pride & Gospel Humility

Here is a copy of the note I gave to our dads on Father's Day at The Bridge.

Dad’s,

God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way as to strip us of pride and leave us without any grounds for boasting in ourselves. This is actually a wonderful mercy from God, for pride is at the root of all our sin. … So, to experience deliverance from sin, we must be delivered from the pride that produces it. Thankfully, the gospel is engineered to accomplish this deliverance.

Preaching the gospel to yourself each day mounts a powerful assault against your pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates your pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of your God, the gravity of your sins, and the crucifixion of God’s own Son in your place.

The gracious love of God, which is lavished on you because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell we deserve.


-Pastor Ben

In short: We don't graduate from the gospel.

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." - 1 Corinthians 1:18

Preach the Gospel to yourself daily. Why? It brings a proper view of who we are and who He is.

Without Christ I was on the precipice of hell. Without Christ we were all the worst, wickedest, and most undeserving people who ever lived. The worst of the worst. But in Christ we go from worst to first. We receive an “other worldly” gift that we do not deserve, and were absolutely helpless in ever earning.

True Gospel Humility should cause:

• Daily amazement at what has happened to you
  
• Daily gratitude for what has happened for you
  
• Joyful awareness that your greatest problem in life has been resolved.
  
• Overwhelmed by hope because you now know that no problem is too big for God.
  
• Sobered awareness of what you were: amazed awareness of God’s mercy.
  
• Serving others becomes a first thought, as it pertains to behavior.
  
• Hope, joy, care, encouragement, gratitude, and kindness are the characteristics of lives.
  
• Tearfulness is a normal response as you think of Christ and what he did for you.
  
• Gospel-centered-motivations shape what you do.
  
• Radically transformed from the inside out.
  
• Uninhibited in your transparency with others.

Missional Ministry Matrix Part 1: Christology

I stumbled across this matrix while reading "Confessions of a Reformission Rev." by Mark Driscoll. I liked it so I decided to work out some of the answers for our church community as missionaries in St. Francois County (The Bridge). Today's blog deals with "Christology."

1) Who is Jesus, what has He accomplished, and what has He sent us to do?

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ (Who) to live our life, die our death and rise again triumphantly to bring forgiven sinners together by the Holy Spirit (What) to live as his Kingdom people under his gracious reign (Our mission becomes His mission).

Being a missional Christian is simply following the way of Jesus. Jesus Christ was the first and greatest missionary. The Bible tells us that He came from heaven to earth to die for a lost and dying world.

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - Philippians 2:6-8

This is the good news (Gospel)! The focus of the gospel is not on the inadequacy of me (though we are born dead, condemned, depraved, corrupt, perverse, and sinful), but rather on the glory of God.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:9-11

The gospel is what makes us right with God and it is also what frees us to delight in God. Grace extends down to us! God became flesh and dwelt among us (1 Timothy 3:16, John 1)!


The following scriptures reveal how the mission of God was fulfilled through Jesus Christ and how we are called join Him on mission in our culture.

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work." John 4:34

"I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." John 5:30

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." John 6:38

"I know Him; because I am from Him, and He sent Me." John 7:29

"And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." John 8:29

"We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work." John 9:4

And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him who sent Me. And he who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me." John 12:44-45

"For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak." John 12:49

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me." John 13:20

"And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." John 17:3

"For the words which Thou gave Me I have given to them; and they received them, and truly understood that I came forth from Thee, and they believed that Thou didst send Me." John 17:8

"As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." John 17:18

Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you." John 20:21

This mission of The Bridge is one of joining God on His mission. We are to be disciples of Jesus who make more disciples.

We didn’t make it up.

Jesus left his disciples with two big assignments: make disciples of all nations, and be my witnesses in your city, in your region, and “to the end of the earth” (Mt. 28:19; Acts 1:8). So, we teach people to believe it, grow it, and send it (the gospel). All for God’s glory to spread in our context!

Why? God is a sending Father. He desires to send the church back into the world. We will not be a “holy huddle.” We will be a community that seeks to be salt and light in the world.

Why once more? The church is mission. Yes, the church gathers as people being called out (ekklesia) of the world. But the church is at the same time being sent out (apostolos) into the world. We will be a church community that gathers and scatters for the glory of God.

Current reading list

It has been a while since I updated my current reading list. It is shorter but here it goes! You'll notice that I have been studying church staff/teams.

• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Lencioni


• Staff Your Church for Growth by McIntosh


• Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church by Driscoll


• Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument -- not a book but worth your time.


• 1 Corinthians - at least once a week

I honestly do not think I have ever read a Christian book that is as raw, funny, and real as Confessions of a Reformission Rev. You'll either love it or hate it. I love it. I'm looking forward to reading "The Radical Reformission" next.

Jacob and Kate

I had the privilege of officiating a wedding yesterday at Vance Vineyards and Winery in Fredericktown for Jacob Musgrove and Kate Hennrich. All I could think about while officiating the wedding was one Sunday last January. On January 24th, 2010 we baptized Jacob as he publicly professed his faith in Jesus.

Jacob's baptism is about ten minutes and forty-five seconds in. Listen to his response. Glory to God forever!

(embedded video - facebook viewers may need to visit benjamindurbin.com to watch it)



If you are interested in having a full wedding script from their ceremony last night, you can download it here.

When is a generalization about a group racist?

I had this question posed to me yesterday. I couldn't come up with a great answer but John Piper did! Below is an excerpt from an article on racism, stereotypes, and generalizations. Check out the whole article here.

When is a generalization about a group racist? I am using the word racist as something sinful, and the following answers move toward a definition. The following uses of generalization would be wrong (racist):

• When you want a person to fit a negative generalization that you have formed about a group (even if the generalization statistically is true).
• When you assume that a statistically true negative generalization is true of a particular person in the face of individual evidence to the contrary.
• When you treat all the members of a group as if all must be characterized by a negative generalization.
• When you speak disparagingly of an entire group on the basis of a negative generalization without any regard for those in the group who don’t fit the generalization. Or: When you speak negatively of a group based on a generalization without giving any evidence that you acknowledge and appreciate the exceptions. (I assume that Jesus’ generalizations about the Pharisees [Matthew 23] and Paul’s generalization about the Cretans [Titus 1:12] are not sinful because they did have such regard and did appreciate the exceptions.)

Implication for Christians: While realizing that life is not livable without generalizations, be careful not to let your pride lead you to use statistical generalizations in unloving ways.

Pastors are poor repenters. Ironic isn't it? The men who call people to geniune repentance weekly, often fail to deeply repent themselves.

This week I had some of my personal property violated. In my anger, I formed generalizations that led to racist thoughts and complete bitterness. This wasn't towards a people group of a different ethnicity. No, it was towards a people group that are near the low end of the social and economic scale often by their own choice and actions. They need discipline, yes. And yes, I must protect my family, friends, and flock as well.

But....

They don't need me to be racist. That is sin. I don't want to be bitter. I don't want to dishonor God or the gospel. I repent and trust the gospel. They need me to speak the gospel, live the gospel, and keep the gospel at the center of my heart and actions.

The formula of a successful church

Watch this video and give me your honest reactions. '
(Facebook viewers need to visit benjamindurbin.com)

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Here are mine.

I'm afraid that the deconstruction in the video is true. We have the most important opportunity in the world every Sunday. I pray that we don't waste it being consumer driven rather than gospel driven. It is also a gut check to make sure we don't follow routine and trendiness rather than the triune God in our celebrations.

How does The Bridge rate in regards to simply following this formula?

I would of said it was more true of us in year 1 and 2. Now, we plod through scripture making the Gospel the centerpiece of all that we do. The gospel is elevated as the rock star. All of our elements proclaim the gospel and challenge people to move not consume.

We definitely aren't as trendy as we once were, but we do get to spend at least six months in 1 Corinthians soon! :-) We have made it a focused effort for scripture to be elevated to a place of prominence over any of our teachers.

Now, I do believe that there are still abuses in non-contemporary or non-relevant churches.

On the other end of the spectrum, you still have churches stuck in different eras. Often instead of following the Triune God, they would rather follow the good old days. You can find abuses on both sides of the fence.

This video could be shot with hymns, special singing, and old fashioned preaching with three piece suits and still pull out the same reaction in me.

What questions does this video force us to ask?

1. Who are we pleasing? God or man?
2. Who are we following? Our own plans and strategy, or the living and triune God?
3. Are we comfortable and set it something that worked once? Or are we being led by the spirit in faith?
4. What are we growing? Consumers or Gospel-Driven people?
5. What are we imaging? Radical disciples of Jesus? Or man-made systems and strategies?
6. Have we over-contextualized? Have we under-contextualized?
7. Is Jesus the hero of our church? The hero of our leadership? The hero of our celebrations?
   

These are the things I think about all of the time. These are the reactions I had to the video.

If you want to see a video that I believe is in contrast to this one, CLICK HERE.