The $20 Wedding

(Yes, I wore a tux...)

( I'm re-posting this, to keep it in play. Also, see THIS.)

In 45 years as a Jesus-follower and pastor I have officially performed one bazillion weddings. That is a lot of rehearsal dinners and wedding reception dinners.

1. I have done one bazillion weddings.
2. Therefore, I am overweight.

When I think of these weddings what I remember is not the food, but the people. The most beautiful weddings I have seen have to do with the marital couple, who they are, and what they can one day be. 

All the money in the world cannot cover over two clueless people. But a groom and bride who submit their lives to God and to the serving of the other shine like stars in this materialistic darkness of "happiness." I am thinking of some of them now. They loved, and still do. Their love influenced others, without trying to.

It's really about preparing for marriage and life together, not the wedding day. The more the former happens, the greater is that special day.

I present to you a wedding plan. Here are the costs, in my Monroe community.

• Wedding planner - $0. (I charge nothing for this advice.)
• Officiant - $0. (I charge nothing to officiate your wedding.)
• Building rental - $0. (We can have your wedding outdoors. We've had weddings in our backyard, on the river.)
• Groom's tuxedo - $0. (The groom wears nice clothing that can be worn again.)
• Bridal gown - $0. (The bride wears nice clothing that can be worn again.)
• Flowers - $0. (From your mother's garden.)
• Photographer - $0. (Because all your friends have phones.)
• Food - cost per plate - $0. (Your friends bring finger foods. That's what Linda and I did, and we had 350 people at our wedding.)
• Miscellaneous costs - $0.
• Marriage license in Monroe County - $20.
• Pen to sign marriage license - $0. (I will lend you mine.)

Total costs - $20

Stress - less.

Relationship - more.

I have done weddings like this. I remember them for the inner beauty of the couple and the presence of God.

See also:

"Is Simplicity the Newest Wedding Trend?"

"Does a Big Wedding Equal an Unhappy Marriage?" (Wall Street Journal)

LETTER TO MY CHURCH FAMILY - 2/17/20

GOOD MORNING REDEEMER FAMILY!

 

This is a big week for our Redeemer family. Please pray for these things - thank you!

 

First, I take Tuesday afternoons to pray (I usually pray between 2-4 hours). If you have a private prayer request for me please respond to this email. What a privilege it is to pray for you!

 

ALL-CHURCH SOCCER GAME: Kids and youth vs. adults. 6:30 PM. 

 

MIKE HUTCHINGS WEEKEND! This weekend will serve two purposes: 1) to equip you with ways to minister to people who suffer from trauma; and 2) to bring healing to all who suffer from trauma.

 

The Schedule:

Fri. 6:30-8:30 - Intro to Healing of Trauma and PTSD

Sat.10am-12:30 pm - PTSD Seminar Part 1

Sat. 6:30-8:30 pm - PTSD Seminar Part 2

Sunday 10:30-12:15 - Worship and Word w/ Dr. Michael Hutchings

6:30-8:30 pm - Activation Event.

Sunday evening will be an EMPOWERMENT SERVICE.

This is going to be very good!

Come, and bring friends who need healing!

 

REMEMBER: You can give online to Redeemer's General Fund by going HERE  - thank you!

 

Finally, I hope you are reading and gleaning from my 30 LETTERS ON DISCIPLESHIP. A letter a day! I usually write them the day before I send them. They are all available on my blog - johnpiippo.com. 

 

Redeemer is a praying, disciple-making church!

 

Love,

 

PJ

30 LETTERS TO MY CHURCH on DISCIPLESHIP - LETTER 22

LETTER 22 - A DISCIPLE IS A VESSEL FOR THE POWER OF GOD

Dear Redeemer Family:

I want you to know that a disciple of Jesus has access to His power to heal.

When I was a boy in Rockford, Illinois, we had a black and white TV. My father put an antenna on the roof of our house. It picked up three stations. Sometimes, when we wanted to watch a show and it was not coming in, dad would get the ladder, climb on the roof, and turn the antenna to get better reception. From inside the house we would yell things like, "No, that's worse!" Or, "There - that's good!"

One show mom and dad liked watching was Oral Roberts. Roberts was a Pentecostal preacher who claimed to have a gift of healing. Sometimes I watched with them. I can still hear the voice of Roberts as he commanded people to "Be healed!" It seemed like power shot through Roberts's fingers, and people said they felt it. And people cried as they were healed.

We were Lutherans. I don't remember us ever hearing about things like healing and power. We did sing some hymns, like "All Hail the Power of Jesus Name," and my favorite, which was "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." I remember thinking that Martin Luther must have believed in a powerful God to write a song like that.

And then it happened. 

My grandmother was healed of cancer. 

She lived with us six months out of every year when we were growing up. When she was in her mid-80s, Grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer. She decided not to have it medically treated. 

The cancerous tumors in her breasts grew. My mother used to bathe her, and visually saw and physically felt the hard tumors growing.

Grandma knew she was going to die. She had lived a long life, and was ready to leave this world for a better one. She even bought the dress she wanted to be buried in.

When Grandma had spent what we assumed would be her last six months in our home, she went to live with my aunt and uncle in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. One day my aunt called. She told my mother that, while bathing Grandma, she noticed that the tumors did not appear to be there. My mother could not believe this, yet wanted to believe it. Mom traveled 400 miles to visually inspect Grandma and confirm it.

Grandma lived twelve more years. She bought three more dresses to be buried in. She died at age ninety-seven. 

What happened? How can we explain this? I, and my mother, concluded two things:

- Grandma once was cancer-filled, and then one day the cancer was gone.
- God healed Grandma.

In the book of Acts the disciples are told, by their Teacher, that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, they will be "clothed with power." And they were, as one can see from reading the book of Acts.

In Acts we have the original church. It's made of disciples of Christ. They have access to the power of God, just as Jesus promised. This is the prototypical church, the way church is meant to be. It is an assembly of empowered followers of Jesus who do the things he did.

The apostle Paul confessed he wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. Me too. I want to know this. I want you to know it, as well.

I have access to the power of Almighty God. I have this because I am a disciple. I have journals filled with examples. One of them is recorded in Lee Strobel's book The Case for Miracles, and in Craig Keener's monumental Miracles: The New Testament Evidence.

This morning, in our Sunday gathering, I saw the power of God in operation, as I prayed for some people to be emotionally healed.

Today is another power-filled day! I have access to supernatural power to heal, to deliver, to set captives free, to tear down dividing walls, and to save.

Love,

PJ


DECLARATIONS

I am a disciple of Christ, and have access to God's power.

I have experienced God's power many times.

I have seen God's power heal people.

My desire is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.

Because I have access to God's power, I can do all things through Christ who empowers me.

Jesus tells me I will do the things He has done.

30 LETTERS TO MY CHURCH on DISCIPLESHIP - LETTER 21

LETTER 21 – A DISCIPLE LIVES LIFE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Dear Redeemer Family,

I wish I was with you as I share this next part of being a disciple. For it would be better to be in your presence, than apart.

Linda and I love gathering with you on Sundays. To see you, to speak with many of you,

to hear your voices as we worship together – how beautiful this is to us!

Better is a Sunday morning in the house of the Lord than a thousand mornings elsewhere!

My Jesus-following life began in 1970, when I heard God tell me, “John, I love you.” Let me repeat: I heard this. It astonished me! I would never make something like this up. I felt God close to me, like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Good-bye, religion. Welcome, relationship.

This began what has become a love affair with God, in His presence. As one of Jesus’s disciples, He has made it clear to me that He is with me. And, that He will never abandon me. 

I understand “He is with me” to mean, I am in His presence. (How weird to have someone be with you, and not with you at the same time.)

My Teacher has taught me that all that is of value and worth is found in His presence.

Soon I will be seventy-one years old. I feel the things of this world dripping off me as my desire for His presence increases.

To know Him. In experience.

To experience God, knowing and searching me out.

The reason the psalmist declares “Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere” is because of the earth-shattering, loving, presence of God in the Temple.

I resonate with the plea of Moses in Exodus 33 – “Lord, if Your presence does not go with us, we’re not going!”

Me either.

This is the disciple’s distinctive: the presence of God.

My dear brothers and sisters, I want you to exist for His presence.

Love,

PJ

DECLARATIONS

I desire nothing more than to be in the Lord’s presence.

I sense God-with-me several times each day.

Because I dwell in God’s presence I am an empowered person.

Sometimes the presence of God overwhelms me.

I’m not making a move without being in His presence!

(You can read more on God's presence in my book Leading the Presence-Driven Church.)

30 LETTERS TO MY CHURCH on DISCIPLESHIP - LETTER 20

LETTER 20 - AN APPRENTICE TO JESUS SAYS "THANK YOU"

I have a habit of making a list of things I am thankful for. I put the list in my  pocket, and carry it with me. I pull it out and re-read it. As a disciple of Jesus, He has given me much to be thankful for!

I was first taught thankfulness by my parents. They trained me to say the words, "Thank you." 

Whenever I received a gift, my mother would make me write a thank you note to the giver. Thank you, mom, for doing this.

My parents had thankful hearts. I remember my mother telling me how, when a little girl, she once received an orange from her parents as a Christmas gift. That was it! Her family was poor. She treasured the gift, and was thankful.

Whenever someone helped my dad by lending him a tool, or working on a project, I could see gratitude on his face, and in the way he talked about the people who helped him. Dad lent tools out to many people. At his funeral, I addressed the people and said, "If any of you has some of my father's tools, please return them."

The attitude of a disciple is one of gratitude.

I could never understand the ingratitude of nine of the ten lepers in Luke 17.  They see Jesus, and call from a distance because they are unclean, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" The Greek word for 'pity' is eleison, like "Kyrie eleison" - "Lord, have mercy!" "Bend down to our level and rescue us!"

He does. Jesus heals them. And then, nine of them just walk away, without saying even a simply "Thanks for the healing."  

Then we read:

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him...  

And here is the shocker - he was a Samaritan.

When I wake in the morning, get out of bed, walk down the stairs, prepare breakfast, I find myself, in my mind, and sometimes whispering quietly, these words: "Thank you." Jesus rescued me and became my lifetime Mentor. Thank you!

To Linda and I, one of our Christian heroes is Dallas Willard. Even though we never met him, he is a mentor to us. Not just with his words, but with his life.

We both read Gary Moon's excellent book on Willard. Gary Black, one of Dallas's close friends, was with Dallas when he died. Moon writes:

"Then, as Gary [Black] describes, “in a voice clearer than I had heard in days, he leaned his head back slightly and with his eyes closed said, ‘Thank you.’” Gary did not feel that Dallas was talking to him, but to another presence that Dallas seemed to sense in the room."  (Moon, Becoming Dallas Willard, p. 240)

Thank You Jesus.

I bless you with a renewed heart of gratitude.

Love,

PJ


DECLARATIONS

I am going through this day with a heart overflowing with thankfulness.

My constant attitude is one of gratitude to God.

I remember what God has done for me and given me.

I am thankful for knowing Jesus, my Lord and my Savior!

I have lists of things to thank God for.

The words "Thank you" are never far from my lips.

I throw myself at the feet of Jesus, and praise Him, with thanksgiving!

30 LETTERS TO MY CHURCH on DISCIPLESHIP - LETTER 19

LETTER 19 - A disciple follows Jesus as their Lord.

Dear Redeemer Family:

It's Valentine's Day!

There is a old song called "Love and Marriage." The song says they "go together like a horse and carriage." Now that's old!

The song also says, "You can't have one without the other." That's not true. You can love people you are not married to, right? Otherwise, you don't love me, and I don't love you.

Now, think of "Lord and Savior," in relation to Jesus. Can you have one without the other? The answer is: No. You cannot have Jesus as Savior, but not have Jesus as Lord.

Thankfully, when I was a new Jesus-follower I had spiritual mentors who showed me the meaning of Savior, and the meaning of Lord, and that I can't have one without the other.

"Savior" represents what Christ has done for me. When it comes to Jesus as my Savior, I have done nothing. He paid it all; I paid nothing. 

"Lord" represents what I do for Him. Here, I lay my entire self before Christ as a living sacrifice.

It's the Lordship of Jesus that is about discipleship. I position Jesus as Lord of my life, and Lord of all.

"Jesus is Lord" demands my everything. "Jesus is Savior" does not.

A disciple is someone who has been rescued by Jesus (Savior), and confesses and follows Him (Lord).

"Jesus as Savior" requires a one-time decision. "Jesus as Lord" requires a lifetime of obedience.

Jesus as Lord describes the position He holds in our lives, whereas Jesus as Savior describes the work He's done for us.

Every so often, somebody will say something like, “You know, when I was a child I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and that settled whether I was going to heaven or hell, and now I have made Him my Lord.”

I am sorry. If He is not my Lord, then He is not my Savior. I don't pick and choose what I want about Jesus. Lordship is not something optional, like extra sauce on a pizza. 

I am a disciple of Jesus. Therefore, I follow Jesus as my Lord. But why would I do this? Because, as A. W. Tozer said, "When God lays His hand on a person, they are never the same again."

That's me. I was born again. I have never been the same since! Following what Paul wrote in Romans 10:10, my saving declaration was "Jesus is Lord!" 

The Lordship of Christ is the end-game of life. God exalted Christ, and gave Him the name above all names: Jesus. Before Jesus, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess... what? That Jesus Christ is Savior? No. That JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! (Philippians 2:9-11)

As disciples of Christ, I want you to get this right. Position your lives under the Lordship of Jesus.

Love,

PJ


DECLARATIONS

Jesus, You are my Lord and my God!

I am one of Your followers.

To follow You as Lord has changed my life.

Today is another adventure of following You.

Where you lead me today, I will follow.

Since You touched me and rescued me, I have never been the same again!

Where There Is Life, Build Structure

(I'm re-posting this, with some edits, for a pastor-colleague who read my book and has been dialoguing with me about this. What do you think?)

In the movie "Field of Dreams" an Iowa corn farmer, as he is walking in a field, hears a voice whisper, "If you build it, he will come." "He" meant, the farmer's father.

The corn farmer obeys the voice. He builds a baseball field. Then, as the voice promised, the farmer's deceased father came, emerging out of rows of tall corn. Then, in a scene that brought tears to many men's eyes, the farmer and his father put on baseball gloves and played catch. 

I liked the movie. Some Christian leaders applied it to building a church. They latched on to the phrase If you build it, He will come. This time, "He" meant "God."

While this works in the movie, I don't see it working in churches. In fact, I think it's an application that moves us in the wrong direction.

Here's why.

1. Structure does not, in itself, bring life. I have seen and been part of "church programs" that burned people and pastors out. I don't think we need to spend our time sitting in meetings thinking up programs, in the hope that they will be life-giving, and then spend money and time organizing and administrating those programs with the expectation that God will inhabit them. 

To me it's like this. If God says, "A baby is coming," we then prepare a room for the baby to inhabit. But preparing a room for a baby does not in itself mean a baby is coming. Instead, we organize around promise and fulfillment. God has sent new life! We change things to host it.

2. Unless God builds the house, we labor in vain. This is not about physical structures. 

Here God's counsel in 1 Corinthians is instructive. 

God, through Paul (who functioned as a chief engineer, or contractor), laid a foundation for "church." That foundation was: Christ crucified. 

Then, God sent spiritual subcontractors to build on that foundation. The superstructure is made of people. Paul uses "Temple" language to describe it (precious stones, jewels, etc., things that adorned Solomon's Temple). 

Instead of being a physical Temple, we are told that this new Temple is made of people. "Don't you know that you are a temple of the Holy Spirit?" 

God is a Builder, and is constructing a people in whom he will inhabit by his Spirit.

3. Where there is life, build structure. Years ago, God told several of us at Redeemer that we were to assist the Kingdom-building in Bangkok through a ministry called  NightLight International. We heard the call, were deeply moved, and began to organize and administrate. Our corporate experience was bursting with fire and life! To include the organizing and administrating. We didn't have to work at "fund-raising." God was moving people's hearts, and their bank accounts. 

There was Spirit-given life. We tended it. That's where administration comes in.

On "administration": "The gift of administration is mentioned in I Corinthians 12:28. Administration means to govern, pilot, direct or steer. It was used to describe a person that would steer a ship. A person with the gift of administration is a good strategic thinker, organized, has supervisory skills and manages people and projects well. When directions are set by leadership, this person can help accomplish the job efficiently." (From here.)

The church needs gifted administrators! But, again, administration does not bring God's presence.

What shall church leaders do? Here's our strategy.

1. Life is given by God. 

2. Stay connected to God. 

3. Abide in Jesus and you will bear much fruit. 

4. As the fruit comes, build structure - organize and administrate - in response to the life God is pouring out.

When God builds something it's only for the purpose of Himself coming and taking up residence. 

When He comes, He will build it.

30 LETTERS TO MY CHURCH on DISCIPLESHIP - LETTER 18

LETTER 18 - A DISCIPLES LEAVES EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS

Dear Church Family,

I've been a disciple of Jesus for fifty years. Jesus has taught me many things! One thing I have learned is this:

I'm not really one of Jesus' followers if I do not give everything up for His cause.

This is not over-the-top Christianity for fanatics. This is mere Christianity. Jesus Himself taught this, in Luke 14:33.

The Message translation says it this way.

“Simply put, if you’re not willing to take 

what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, 

and kiss it good-bye, 

you can’t be my disciple."

Linda and I have always believed that all we have, and all our time, and all our selves belong to Jesus. We are stewards of what we have and what we are. God owns us, and distributes His provision through us, His disciples.

Have we been perfect at giving up everything for His cause? No. Do we believe this is what our Teacher expects of us? Yes. Have we given up plans for His purposes? Yes.

In 1975, when Linda and I lived in Joliet, Illinois, a band called The Second Chapter of Acts was scheduled to give a concert in our area. I knew the concert promoter. He asked me to do a thirty-minute set before the Second Chapter came on stage.

I was excited! Many of my friends came to support me. I arrived at the concert venue early to get set up. My friend, the concert promoter, greeted me with a not-so-happy face. He said, "The band's leader, Buck Herring, has requested that no one play before they come on." 

This was disappointing. So, I kissed it good-bye.

Linda and I loved watching the Second Chapter that night! Their songs, and harmonies, were amazing. Matthew Ward's voice was ridiculously beautiful.

Then, Buck Herring spoke. He talked about the cost of following Jesus. He gave an altar call, unlike most I had heard. He said, "If you are not willing to give up everything for Jesus, then do not come forward. Jesus is looking for followers tonight, not attenders or spectators."

I remember thinking that this was not real seeker-friendly. I was wrong. Many came forward. Here were people looking for a great cause to spend their lives on. They found it, in the cause of Christ.

Is there anyone out there who will give their life, their being, their stuff, their time, their abilities, completely to Jesus as Lord of all?

All to Jesus, a disciple surrenders, right?

Love,

PJ

DECLARATIONS

I am giving everything I have for the sake of the Call.

I am turning my stuff over to Jesus, for His distribution.

As a disciple of Jesus I have discovered the art of letting things go.

My time belongs to Jesus.

All to Jesus, I gladly surrender.

All to Jesus, I freely give.

I surrender all.

30 LETTERS TO MY CHURCH on DISCIPLESHIP - LETTER 17

LETTER 17 - A DISCIPLE EXPERIENCES UNION IN CHRIST

Dear Church Family,

I am a disciple in the School of Jesus. He has taught me many things. He has told me, "John, go deeper."

I am still learning about the depth of living united to Christ.

When I became a follower of Jesus I became fascinated with words. Perhaps it was because I began studying harder and longer and deeper than I had before. Maybe because I changed my college major to philosophy, which is "the love of wisdom," and wisdom gets expressed in words. I even wrote a song called "Words." To top it off, my doctoral dissertation was on metaphor theory.

I felt called, by Jesus, to study words. Jesus told me, "John, I am the Word."  

As a new believer, I was drawn to something called the philosophy of language. How do words successfully refer to reality? What is the meaning of "literal" language? Why does figurative language speak so powerfully to people? Why did Jesus speak in parables?

And why, why, is the most important word in the letters of Paul the tiny, two-letter preposition 'in'?

In. 

'In' is a container metaphor. I am now in my home office. Which means I share whatever is now transpiring in my home office.

'In' is a participatory metaphor. Such as, I am in a marriage. I am a co-participant in a lifelong, covenantal union with my wife Linda.

As my Teacher, Jesus teaches me about 'in'. Gary Moon writes:

"According to [Lewis] Smedes, Paul’s writings are driven by one consuming theme. One hundred sixty-four times Paul makes reference either to our being “in Christ” or to Christ’s being “in” us. Apparently, the apostle believed there was something even more important and transforming than the moral teachings of Jesus. It was the great mystery revealed. It was the present possibility of entering into union with Christ—the center and condition of authentic human existence." (Moon, Apprenticeship with Jesus: Learning to Live Like the Master, pp. 44-45)

To be a disciple of Christ you do not have to study words as intensively as I have. But an apprentice to Jesus will be instructed about the importance and greatness of living in Christ.

You are in Christ! You share in things that are now transpiring with the trinitarian being of God.

Moon writes:

"I don’t believe the transforming power of Christ is present with us now because he once said, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” but because the living Christ can love my neighbor through me by being in me. The difference here can be as vast as the chasm that separates reading a prayer about God from experiencing prayer with God." (pp. 45-46; emphasis mine) 

This is big.

I bless you with experiencing the reality of union with Him!

Love,

PJ



DECLARATIONS

I experience Christ living in me. 

Christ, the hope of glory, is in me! (Col. 1:27)

I can do all things in Christ. (Phil. 4:13)

In Christ I have been brought to fullness. (Colossians 2:9)

I am united with the Lord, therefore I am one with Him in spirit. (1 Cor. 6:17)

I am a temple, and the Holy Spirit indwells me. (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

I do not live under condemnation, for I am in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

Jesus, I want a total transfusion of your life into my life!