Freedom from spiritual complacency

This article is an excerpt from Unburdened by Vance Pitman

Freedom from spiritual complacency Based on recent studies, people in today’s world spend more time sitting down than pretty much any other generation in human history. And it’s killing us. One study demonstrated that the more time we spend sitting each day, the higher the chance we’ll die an early death. According to those same studies, the best way to protect ourselves from the dangers of sitting is to get up and move.

By Vance Pitman F rom a spiritual standpoint, spending our lives in idleness as it relates to the mission of God is a harmful, deathlike blow to our joy, satisfaction and usefulness as followers of Jesus. Specifically, for Jesus followers in America, there’s a dangerous potential of limiting or even missing God’s invitation to join in His work around us—and ultimately His impact through us—because we’re too comfortable, too apathetic and too unwilling to share in His mission. Far too often, if we’re not intentionally pursuing Jesus, we find ourselves in a posture of spiritual complacency rather than missional urgency. All the while, the call of God is for us to actively join in what He’s doing both locally and globally.

The burden of complacency

Whenever we attempt to live the Christian life in our own strength rather than live out of the overflow of our relationship with God, we face a dangerous, sinful drift to prioritizing our needs, our plans, and our comforts over the needs of those around us. That’s what comes naturally to us in our own strength. But that isn’t who Jesus is.

Notice Jesus’ message to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see” (Revelation 3:15–18).

ing Jesus Christ—our Savior and Lord—say, “I will spit you out of My mouth.” And what was the reason for His disappointment with the Laodicean Christians? They were lukewarm. They embraced the gospel and received Jesus’ free gift of salvation, but then they lost sight of what it meant to faithfully follow Him.

They lost sight of the mission. They became spiritually complacent.

What does a lukewarm Christian look like today? We go through the motions. We know how to say and do all the right things, and we know the bad things we’re not supposed to do, but there’s

For many Jesus followers in America, achieving the American Dream has become a good way to be comfortable and maintain the status quo. However, it’s a bad foundation for our lives. It makes us lukewarm.

That ongoing struggle of building our comfortable, temporary empire rather than joining in the expansion of God’s glorious, eternal kingdom can become a self-inflicted burden.

The mission is the cure

What’s the cure for the burden of spiritual complacency? Our mission! Spiritual movement.

As we saw in the previous chapter, Jesus followers have a mission to do what Jesus said: “Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). Jesus said to “be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Faithful Jesus followers have no time to sit around in comfortable houses being lukewarm. We’ve been sent to share in the mission of Jesus and join in the advancement of His kingdom.

In September of 2001, Hope Church held its first public worship service. Those familiar with the world of church planting would call it “Launch Sunday.” From that day until now, God has been so good to us, and His invitation to my family to join in His activity of birthing this new church has been the greatest journey of my life. We’ve seen thousands of people come to faith in Jesus— yes, in Las Vegas. We currently have thousands of people connected in small groups and thousands gathering weekly for worship.

But early on, I had a conversation with my friend Rick Warren that caused a major shift in my thinking about the church. He said, “You measure a church’s strength not by its seating capacity but by its sending capacity.” As soon as I heard him say it, I wrapped my heart around it. Something about that statement resonated both within me and with whom I understood my God to be.

That conversation is one of the reasons our church has, from its beginning, had a major emphasis on “sending” people out to join in God’s mission. I believe God birthed our church to be a sending station for His activity both locally and globally. At Hope Church, we believe this so strongly that we emphasize sending in our membership process. In our dinner for new members, I always say, “If you join our church, we’re going to do everything we can to talk you into leaving.” People always laugh, but so far we’ve sent hundreds of our members to relocate and join in God’s mission of reaching Las Vegas, the West and the rest of the world.

Why is “sending” so important? Because being “sent” is who Jesus is.

Vance Pitman planted Hope Church in Las Vegas.

Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group (bakerpublishinggroup.com), copyright 2020, used by permission.

2020 NATIONAL REPLANT SUMMIT

Worship by Selah

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Ministry recommended

The Adopting & Fostering Home Lynette Ezell and Tera Melber (North American Mission Board)

As a former foster parent and now adoptive parent, I found “The Adopting & Fostering Home” podcast to be both informative, encouraging and 100% gospel-centered. As a busy working mom, I found the podcast length at under 30 minutes to be the perfect listen on the way to work after dropping my son off at school, while on the treadmill or making dinner. Hosts Lynette Ezell and Tera Melber encourage listeners who are already foster parents, adoptive parents, considering parents or those who are looking for ways to be a support to families.

They cover everything from walking through traumatic experiences, loving the biological parents of your foster or adopted child and what you should consider when thinking about fostering or adopting. As I listened to each episode, I felt like they had taken the time to consider all the seasons of life when it comes to hosting children in your home, including self-care (which I can personally relate to as a single foster-adoptive parent). I sometimes get so lost in walking through life with my child that I forget to take care of myself.

I would recommend this podcast to friends who are fostering or adopting, considering fostering or adoption as well as my friends who are not called to foster or adopt but are looking to rally around families that are. Beginning from episode one, I think we feel challenged to take a look at our lives and begin to ask God how He is calling us to be involved in foster care, adoption or supporting families, and then we must boldly take the first step. Give “The Adopting & Fostering Home” podcast a listen today!

Colleen Smith is an adoptive mom and missionary in Baltimore.

Gospel

Who’s Your One Family Devotional (North American Mission Board, 2019)

Anyone with children today understands the challenge of raising them with gospel values at the forefront. Everything works against our efforts—from the media, to schools, to the supersonic speed of contemporary life. As you and your spouse work together to nurture the spiritual development of your family, one of the most important yet difficult areas to address is their participation in God’s mission.

The North American Mission Board’s Who’s Your One Family Devotional is a great way to begin this conversation in your home. The free, four-week study leads each family member to choose a non-Christian they can pray for and share the gospel with in upcoming weeks. Then the devotional leads families through four stories from the Gospels: Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), The Woman at the Well (John 4:1-30; 39-42), Nicodemus (John 3:1-21) and The Royal Official (John 4:46-54). Each lesson includes biblical insights to help a parent get familiar with the passage, discussion questions, potential action steps and suggestions to guide your prayer time. Typically, you should be able to complete the devotionals in less than 30 minutes (depending on the age of your children).

What makes this devotional unique is its focus on mobilizing your family to tell others about Jesus. It’s specifically designed to help your family work together as you share Christ’s love with your one. Every Christian parent who longs to see Christ formed in their children should download this resource and begin using it immediately. It’s an ideal tool to help your family pursue God’s mission together.

Tobin Perry is a freelance writer.

Leading

Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul Lance Witt (Baker Books, 2011)

Amid all the attention placed upon the nuts and bolts of leading well in ministry, another conversation needs to be had—a conversation on the intangible aspects of pastoral leadership.

Pastor Lance Witt, founder of Replenish Ministries, is often called “a pastor’s pastor.” He starts that conversation for pastors in his book, Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul. The power in Replenish is that Witt isn’t just penning another “Woe is me” treatment of pastoral ministry. He offers solutions that drive hurting pastors away from the pressures of what he calls “The Idolatry of Leadership,” pointing them back to practical and biblical ways of caring for their own souls.

Replenish helps pastors deconstruct and redefine what success in ministry should look and feel like, apart from the unrealistic expectations our current church culture places on their shoulders. Instead of glorifying the grind, Witt celebrates pastoral self-care and elevates it to the top of the pastor’s priority list where it belongs.

It’s a must-read for pastors in a place of burnout as well as those who want to prevent falling into the snare of trying to lead with a sick soul.

NAMB president Kevin Ezell is leading an online discussion, chapter by chapter, of Replenish on his weekly podcast, “Quick Takes with Kevin.” Find it online at namb.net/Podcast.

Mission

Leveling the Church: Multiplying Your Ministry by Giving It Away Micah Fries and Jeremy Maxfield (Moody Publishers, 2020)

What if someone told you the way to become a better, more effective pastor was to do less? Micah Fries, senior pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and his discipleship pastor, Jeremy Maxfield, say if that approach to pastoral ministry isn’t your reality, it should be.

In many American churches, pastors are expected to be the resident spiritual superhero. Micah says failure was written all over his first stint as a senior pastor because that was his idea of leadership success, too.

“The biblical plan for church leadership is to develop a culture of multiplication: to not only see people come to faith, but also help them grow into maturity.” he writes. “A large part of that maturity is learning how to minister to others. This ministry leads them to becoming more like Christ … Unfortunately, many of us have developed a pattern ... that perpetuates this myth of heroic individualism in ministry. Scripture seems to indicate that church leaders are not called primarily to do ministry themselves as much as they are called to prepare and deploy the church to do ministry.”

Of course, this isn’t a way to excuse pastors from doing the work of sharing the gospel and making disciples themselves. But Leveling the Church shifts pastoral leadership to a more healthy, cooperative paradigm.

The first half of the book provides biblical theory, while the other half, biblical praxis that, if taken to heart, can add years to a pastor’s life and ministry while expanding the discipling impact of the congregation he leads.

Leaving the Bible belt

By Mary Elliff

We left Arkansas in 2015 with two children under the age of two. We left family and friends to start Roots Community Church in a city of gray, rainy days. We became one of the 4% of evangelical Christians in Seattle, Washington. We

left with great joy and anticipation. We knew God was calling us to Seattle. And we were terrified, too.

“I am not qualified,” I told God. He reminded me Moses stuttered; Joseph was a slave; Peter and Andrew didn’t have a clue what fishing for men meant at first. But God used them anyway.

The Emerald City immediately felt like home. Early in our move, I had a conversation with a typicallooking mom at a park as our kids played.

“I was raised in a commune,” she said. “We were close; we took public baths and everyone raised the kids. My enlightenment came when I saw Mother Earth hovering over a giant drop of dew.”

I realized sharing Christ in this city—with such an astonishing variety of people—was going to take thought and intentionality.

After some months, I felt more comfortable talking about my faith, but it was frustrating that no one had accepted Christ. It felt like failure when people would say, “That’s fine for you, but it’s not what I believe.” I realized I couldn’t make anyone accept Jesus. God does that work, and it is not my job to force people to call upon His name. It is my job to obey Him, and it’s my delight to show the world the dazzling beauty of His reality.

When I doubt my ability, I remember this calling has nothing to do with our talents and everything to do with the power of God. He is choosing to use us here as His vessels, because it pleases Him and is accomplishing His purposes.

As our roots grow deeper into this overcast city, we hope Jesus keeps opening doors and pouring His glory into the heart of Seattle’s hardness.

Mary Elliff and her husband are planting Roots Community Church in Seattle.

E A C H Y E A R 20,000+ young people age out of foster care. MORE OF THEM WILL go to prison than college. NOW WHAT?

EVERY CHURCH ON MISSION