From all of us here at Urbana Seminary…Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year! I hope that your Advent season has been excellent—with friends and family, safe travel, and most of all with remembering God’s gift of Himself in the person of Jesus.

I encourage you to prayerfully include Urbana Seminary in your Year End giving for 2011. Each year we rely on a significant proportion of donations coming in during December. Many of you have given generously this year, others yet plan to, and we are so thankful for each and every one of you. We know we couldn’t do it without you. God is always at work and it’s exciting to trace what He’s been doing and anticipate what lies ahead in the New Year. Reflecting back on 2011 brings to mind several signal moments. . .

• Outstanding accomplishments of alumni: planting a church that launched very successfully this year, coming home from a furlough in India after a fruitful first term abroad, daring work planting the church in a land closed to the Gospel, and many others working for the Kingdom of God.
• The first seminar on Bioethics jointly sponsored with Carle Hospital. This year’s focus was Anti-Aging Science.
• Significant progress in the process of accreditation for the school, with a deeply encouraging annual visit from a representative of the organization.
• The ongoing life of a school that prepares God’s people for serving Him.

Praise God! For all of this we are so thankful! As President, I’m so grateful to all those who serve Christ here at Urbana Seminary . . . to faculty—Dr. Joe Thomas, Dr. Todd Daly, our Lecturers, and Adjuncts—as well as to those who have tended the administrative side of the work—Ann, Carrie, Katie, Brent, Gee. And on behalf of all of us, we’re most grateful to you for your support and prayer and encouragement through 2011. Thank you!

Merry Christmas!
Ken Cuffey
President, Professor of Biblical Studies

written by Rick D. Williams

Anyone whose life work centers on education or ministry experiences the familiar rhythm of the annual cycle. Our years are marked in quarters and semesters, by “ordinary” time contrasted with the “strong” seasons of Lent, Easter, Advent, and Christmas. We are come once again to the major transition point in both our academic and liturgical calendars. Reflection often accompanies transition, and this particular turn has brought me to a fresh consideration of Advent through an exchange of images from Isaiah chapter 9 and John chapter 1.

Let’s begin with Isaiah 9:2: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned.” The starting point of all humanity—even the people of God to whom this is addressed–is darkness. We are born “blind” into a broken world over which a dark deception has been drawn. We are unable to “see” who we really are or even to understand why we are really here. As 1 Corinthians 13:12 recognizes, our perceptions of reality are but a dim reflection of how things really are. At its most basic level, our dark deception is this—that “we are on our own”; in fact, that “we are our own.”

But by God’s loving mercy glimmers of grace peek through the cracks. In this land of darkness, a light shines on dawn’s horizon. The nature of this light is poetically set forth in John 1: “Life was in Him,” we are told, and contrary to our lot, “that life was the light of men.” This one born in light “shines in the darkness,” with power even “the darkness did not overcome.” What is so brilliantly illuminated by this Life that is “the light of men?”

In this “child [who] will be born for us,” this “son [who] will be given to us,” Isaiah sees the full reason for His coming: “The government will be on His shoulders.” With his coming, the oppressive darkness of our self-deception—that we are in control—is lifted for those who desire to see. The awful consequences of humanity’s hubris is set right when we rightly acknowledge the Lordship of He who is named “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

Perhaps this is why lights play such an important role in this annual journey through Advent and Christmas. Our neighborhoods come alive with light (and, alas, so much more!). Our sanctuaries are illumined with brilliant candlelight. Our hearts are strangely lit by hope, whether we believe or not. All because, one day long ago, the Light “became flesh and took up residence” in our hearts, our sanctuaries, and even our neighborhoods.

Because He is Light, we are able to see through the darkness that blinds us. Because He is Lord, we are set free from the deception that we are. Because He was “born in the flesh,” we are “born of God.” No wonder these days we mark are so filled with wonder. Whether we count ourselves among “those who receive Him” or amidst those still “walking in darkness,” the Truth is that the Light has come. Let us rejoice and be glad.

*Scripture passages quoted are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.

by Michael Himik

Last week, I wrote there’s an elephant in the room when it comes to putting Jesus’s teaching into action in the West. Specifically, the elephant is this: God says that to love Him, we must love our neighbors. But loving our neighbors requires real community, and our culture has virtually obliterated real community. All too often, we have few, if any, deep and loving relationships outside of our own “nuclear family.”

So what, as Christians, should we do? It is highly unlikely, and not at all biblical, that God will exempt us from His word simply because our culture has made it difficult to follow His command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” It is more likely, and entirely biblical, that He expects us to change our culture, and to build real community in His name. But how?

Friends, there is a biblical tool that can be used to build real community – a biblical tool that can build deep and loving relationships among God’s family and welcome others into that family. It is the agape feast practiced by the early church. You can call it a community feast if you like, because that is what these feasts build in God.

What is an agape feast?

Agape (pronounced “ah-gah-pey” or “ah-guh-pey”) is the New Testament Greek word for God’s love. An agape feast is how the early church celebrated God’s love. In fact, it is how the early church celebrated communion. When Jesus said to break bread and to drink “in remembrance of me,” early believers took Him at His word and came together over a shared meal where He was host.

During this shared meal, those following the Way “communed” not only with the Lord, but also with each other in the Lord. The Lord’s Supper was supper – an actual meal that knit the community of believers together in Christ’s love. The early church in Jerusalem even met and ate together daily:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)

For the early church, communion meant community. Moreover, all were welcome at Christ’s table. Agape feasts were an opportunity to live out Jesus’s command that

“when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” (Luke 14:13)

Those with food shared with those without. Those with wealth shared with those who had need. Those in possession of the gospel invited others to hear this good news. The fellowship of believers was real and deep in those days, and earthly distinctions were erased by the Cross.

Just as Jesus promised, when the church did this, it was blessed, “and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” When the church failed to do this, or did it in a way that promoted division rather than community, it was condemned (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).

Friends, let’s restore this practice of the early church and reap its blessings. There’s never been a better time for these community feasts – because today, everyone who comes to a community feast shows up in need. Some who come need the food. But all who come need the community.

Despite our material wealth, we are poor in community, poor in relationships, poor in true Christian fellowship. Let’s drop our idolatrous individualism and prideful privacy — and embrace this poverty. Let’s become “poor in spirit” and be blessed. Let’s recognize that others need us and that we need them. Let’s give a feast in Jesus’s name and invite all the poor, including ourselves, to come.

Jesus asks us to love our neighbor. We try, but in our honest moments, we raise our hands in frustration and cry out, “Lord, I don’t know even know my neighbor.” We have let our culture define the way we follow Jesus, rather than letting our walk with Jesus define our culture.  But it doesn’t have to be this way. Jesus gave us a way to build real community in Him.

————————————-

Michael Himick is one of the people working to make Sunday Action happen. He is a publisher, writer, and internet consultant.  You can register to attend a community feast right here in Champaign-Urbana at http://www.sundayaction.com. The next Sunday Action feast is December 18.

written by Michael Himick

Friends, last week, my good brother Dr. Jeff Hallett introduced a new ministry based in Champaign-Urbana called Sunday Action. This week, I’ve been given the opportunity to tell you about the goal of this new ministry. Next week, I hope to tell you more – specifically about Sunday Action agape feasts.

But let’s start at the beginning.

At base, the mission of Sunday Action is to help Christ-followers put the gospel commands of Jesus Christ into action. I think all of us realize, at one time or another, that we have a tendency, as Soren Kierkegaard said, to “believe that the Christian commandments (e.g., to love one’s neighbor as oneself) are intentionally a little too severe, like putting the clock half an hour ahead to make sure of not being late in the morning.”

But we also know, with the solidity of the Word itself, that Jesus really does expect us to put His teaching into practice. We know, absolutely know, that doing what pleases Jesus is an essential expression of our love for Him. Jesus says this throughout the gospels.

He said:  “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)

He said:  “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (John 14:21)

He said:  “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)

He said:  “He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:24)

He said:  “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31)

He said:  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

He said: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)

So, here’s what we at Sunday Action propose.

Let’s resolve to go on the greatest adventure of our lives. Let’s resolve to follow Jesus’s teaching more actively every week. He has done everything for us — forgiven every failure, given every grace. He has even promised us that when we step in faith toward Him, God the Father will direct and empower our steps through the Holy Spirit. God himself will enable and aid our obedience to God.

We’re resolved. Starting this Sunday at SundayAction.com, we’re going to examine the gospel commands of Jesus Christ one at a time, one week at a time. We’re going to tackle just one teaching a week, but with a firm and prayerful commitment to put that teaching into greater practice over the course of that week.

Some weeks may be easy. Others will be painful and require us to die to self. Regardless, each week, let’s commit to surrender more and more of ourselves to God’s will. Why wouldn’t we? Jesus, in perfect love, gave himself for us. He gave us life. If we love Him, why wouldn’t we truly give our lives to Him?

Join us this Sunday at SundayAction.com. Following Jesus’s teaching more actively every week is our first goal. I hope to tell you about our second goal next week.

written by Dr. Jeffrey Hallett

Recently I have been convicted by the fact that I am a rich Christian, and generous, but I typically pay others to help the poor. Giving out of our abundance is something Jesus calls us to do, but how many of us actually know and love the needy, as Jesus did? When we speak to Him on Judgment Day, and He asks us what we have done is His name, what if He asks us to name one homeless person, or prisoner, or hungry person? What if we can’t? I have realized I am poor in community. I lack deep relationships with my Christian brothers and sisters.

Also I have been meditating a lot about communion. Certainly in the first century it was a real meal, not thimbles of juice and breadcrumbs. If you don’t think God honors real communion meals in a mighty way, read Acts 2:44-47. It describes rich and poor, believer and pre-believer, sharing in the name of Jesus. When the body of Christ held regular Agape Feasts, God added to their numbers daily.

Have you noticed how modern American Christians use the word “fellowship”? We use it as a verb, don’t we? Something we do with our friends from work or church, with little more commitment than sharing some chips and dip.

In the Bible the Greek word for fellowship, koinonia, is more often used as a noun. It means “close mutual relationship” and it is a gift of our salvation. It is this common sharing in the abundant Spirit-filled life that makes us the complete body of Christ. In this commonality described in Acts, the Christian family was sharing assets to alleviate needs out of love, not legalism. The congregation existed outside church walls and beyond Sunday mornings. Koinonia was, and is, the gift of our salvation that transforms us from individual consumers of the Gospel into corporate producers of the Gospel.

Have you noticed revival lately? I know if you care about what God cares about, you are sensitive to that sort of thing. If you are like me, you have prayed to be in a place where you can see conversions, and baptisms, and miracles, and changed lives, and you are seeing those prayers answered.

I’m really excited about a local ministry that already has its roots in our town ofChampaign-Urbana. This ministry is called Sunday Action. It is spearheaded by a gifted brother in Christ by the name of Michael Himick, who will contribute to the UTS blog next week. The concept of Sunday Action is simple and biblical: sit down with other Christians, and have a meal together, and invite those who need a meal to join the Christian Family. We are witnessing a local revival like that described in Acts. Just like in the early church, relationships formed over these meals are leading to love and generosity among Christ followers, and multiplying Christ followers. The materially poor are developing their assets alongside the wealthy. Many rich Christians, like myself, are realizing their relational poverty, and seeking to grasp this koinonia as a gift of their salvation! Please continue to pray for God’s work in your town!

After approximately 12 years of attempting to build a great church, Pastor Wilson (pseudonym – name available upon request) decided to turn in his resignation, due to his failed attempts concerning his pastorate.  Just prior to resigning, Wilson accepted a complementary invitation to a three and a half day Pastors’ Prayer Summit on the beautiful coast of the Pacific Northwest.  Wilson loved the coast and thought this would be a wonderful opportunity for him to walk the rugged beaches and write his letter of resignation.

During the first day of the prayer summit, while Pastor Wilson walked along the shore, and contemplated his resignation, a pang of guilt came over his conscience.  He had accepted this complementary scholarship for the summit, and over $100 worth of free books, and consequently felt he should at least attend one or two sessions before writing his resignation.  As Pastor Wilson sought the Lord during one of the sessions, he came to the startling realization that in his effort to develop his church, he had tried ‘everything except prayer.”

In light of this startling yet intriguing revelation, Wilson chose not to resign his pastorate. Instead, he would return to his people, and make prayer the “highest” priority in his own life, and in the lives of his congregation.  And yes, you have guessed the conclusion… This new paradigm led to more than a decade and a half of incredible growth and ministry, and it was the total commitment to prayer, not church growth strategies, that Pastor Wilson is convinced made the difference.

If you ask those in fulltime Christian ministry, if they are for prayer, you will almost always hear a resounding yes.  If you ask congregants, who have at least a touch of maturity under their belts, if they believe prayer is powerful, you will hear very few, if any, naysayers.  If the vast majority of layman and pastors (holding to a high view of Scripture) are for prayer, why does it appear that the preponderance of our people are only scratching the surface, when it comes to tapping into this awesome resource?

The work of the Strategic Prayer Initiative^TM has been acutely focused on aiding average American Christians to become seriously more effective in prayer and spiritual warfare.  Part of that effort has been to gather diagnostic survey information from over 3,000 believers on how well they say they are doing in various aspects, or practices, pertinent to the spiritual battle, prayer being the most prominent of these factors.  This analysis, typically done on Sunday mornings, has given us some strong indications of where these people feel they are.

Before we take a brief look at some of the survey results, let me pose what I believe to be a salient question.   If we believe that the fervent prayers of a righteous person can accomplish much, if we believe the prayer of faith can move a mountain, then why do such large numbers of American Christians tap this great resource so casually?

In looking at some of the data, our research shows that 16.6% spend about 30 minutes or more in fully focused prayer on a typical day (somewhat like Mark 1:35, i.e. not multi-tasking).  Eighty-three percent spend 10 or less minutes daily in fully focused prayer, 56.7% spend five minutes a day or less, and 30.6% spend two minutes a day or less.

When you ask these people to tell you if they are satisfied or not with their current prayer lives, 80.2% will say no, yet 95.7% believe “that God wants all of His true followers to have a good prayer life.”

When we asked people to self-rate their current prayer lives, 25.7% said their prayer lives were good or mature, while 46% said fair, and 28% said their prayer lives were poor.

However, one of the most helpful pieces of data shows both the serious need, as well as the incredible untapped potential.  When asked how much of their entire life as a Christian they have actually had a good prayer life, 52.3% said only a small portion of their Christian life, or never.  In other words, half of our warriors are firing blanks from one of their most important weapons!

In conclusion, the Scriptures are replete with admonitions about the power and importance of prayer, and our nation (& world) are abounding in problems and moral crisis.  If Jesus was right that the prayer of faith could cause a mountain to be cast into the sea, it makes one wonder what might be possible, if the church could actually be mobilized in fervent, righteous, and strategic prayer…

by Mike Jebb

John 1:15 John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”

If John the Baptist was like Elijah, and Jesus is the one who comes after him but who surpasses him, then that makes Jesus like Elisha. The ministries of Elijah and Elisha very much foreshadow the ministries of John and Jesus. Elijah is a terror inspiring preacher of judgment to come, he announces a drought on the land, he calls down fire from heaven, and when he runs from Jezebel the text says that he goes and hides not in a cave, but in the cave, which many believe is a reference to the cave on Mt. Sinai where Moses received the law. Elijah is, like John the Baptist, a preacher of the law unto repentance. But then Elisha comes and he surpasses Elijah; he receives a double portion of his Spirit. And where did this transfer of the mantle take place? On the banks of the Jordan River, just where John is standing when he points his disciples to Jesus.

Hot off the presses, Hebrew scholar Bruce Waltke has an article in September’s Tabletalk about parallels between Elisha and Jesus. Both are itinerant miracle workers. Both receive the Spirit on the other side of the Jordan. Both cleanse lepers and heal the sick and raise dead sons and restore them to their mothers. Both miraculously feed the hungry by multiplying loaves of bread. As Elisha makes a lost ax head float, so Jesus walks on water and lifts Peter up as he is sinking. Both have a covetous disciple (Gehazi and Judas). Both minister to the Gentiles. And when Elisha dies, we read in 2 Kings 13:20-21 that “they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.” Clearly a foreshadowing of the life-giving tomb of Jesus, of the resurrection that all who go to their graves in Christ will experience.

Elijah is a bad news preacher of the law, but clearly Elisha is a minister of the gospel. He brings good news of new life and healing. Elijah and Elisha make for a great contrast between law and gospel. And that law/gospel distinction is clearly on John’s mind as he writes for he continues in verse 16-17 “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

I don’t like people telling me how to pray. So I don’t want to tell anyone else how to pray. But I’ll describe some practices that have been helpful to me lately and perhaps they will be helpful to someone else.

When I pray, I almost always make use of the psalms. It gives me a prayer vocabulary, and it helps me to listen to the word of God first and then pray in response. When my mind starts to wander I can bring it back by just reading the next verse.

The word “trust” is so common in the book of Psalms that perhaps it is not much of an overstatement (I have the spiritual gift of overstatement) to say that “trust” is almost a synonym for prayer.

“Trust in Him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him”
-Psalm 62:8

Lately, instead of saying to God “I pray for my family, I pray for my ministry…” I’ve been saying, “Father, I trust you with my family, I trust you with my ministry…” And I’ve been enjoying longer silences in prayer as I try to be still and know that He is God.

The Psalms are full of images that help us understand what it means to trust in Him. We take refuge in him, we find shelter in Him, we hide under the shadow of His wings, He is our rock, our fortress, our deliverer, our shield, etc. One image that helped me last month is found in Psalm 37:5

“Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in Him and He will act

The Hebrew word for commit is galal and it means to roll away. After a long hike with a heavy backpack, I roll it off of my shoulders onto the ground as I sit down to rest. So there have been some burdens I have carried too long and need to roll off of my shoulders and onto the Lord. That image helped me to trust in Him one memorable day this summer. If only I could trust him like that every day!

Finally, here is all of Psalm 13. Look at how trust changes everything.

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

(by Todd Daly)

Medical darling one day, death threats the next. What began as Kaiser Permanent’s triumphant story of Nadya Suleman’s eight ‘healthy’ newborns has quickly disintegrated into a dystopian nightmare when it was discovered that Nadya was already a single mother of six living on food stamps, seeking a book deal, and that her striking resemblance to Angelina Jolie was no accident.

Equally interesting are the statements of moral outrage and incredulity leveled at everyone involved—Nadya, her mother, and the fertility specialists at Kaiser. Certainly, there’s plenty of blame to go around. Other criticisms appeal to principles of utility or rely on a basic cost-benefit calculus—“Is this something Ms. Suleman could afford, given that she can’t even support the children she has?” More substantive critiques transcend appeals to procedural norms and consequences, appealing to issues of character (e.g. wisdom, or prudence) or to human nature itself in asserting that a woman’s body is not designed to ‘carry a litter.’ While all of these criticisms express some degree of moral outrage, one senses a particular level of frustration for a general lack of an established norm from which we might say something more substantial. For instance, pro-life advocates find themselves praising Ms. Suleman for rejecting selective termination of some embryos while at the same time criticizing her for irresponsible behavior. It also appears that some level of frustration may be discerned from what is not being said—that bearing children ought to be subject to familial, emotional, and financial requirements. But this kind of social engineering is too much for us to stomach.

I believe that part of the frustration over Ms. Suleman’s actions stems from our lack of a common good, for which we share a portion of the blame. That is, we are inheriting the fruit of a liberal democracy which protects and celebrates individual autonomy and self-realization, coupled with ‘consumable’ technology which allows us to increasingly realize desires that transcend biological limitations, bereft of any metanarrative or defining story which might otherwise call such exercises into question. Actually, we are following a story of sorts, but one which has left just enough ground on which to do little more than stand and point our finger at another. This story is the myth of freedom, the myth that we are autonomous rational subjects free to pursue our own vision of happiness and fulfillment so long as our rights do not infringe upon another’s. We’re getting what we asked for. And in the absence of any recognized common good, we are left with cost-benefit analyses, discussions over procedural guidelines, and appeals to the very human nature we so eagerly desire to transcend through technology.

After all, who are we to call Ms. Suleman’s vision of the good into question, so long as the care of her fourteen children do not infringe upon our own pursuit of the good, so long as our tax dollars go elsewhere? Who would be so bold as to say that Ms. Suleman should never have returned to the fertility center in her mental/emotional/familial/financial situation? “Who am I to say that six is the limit?” asked IVF specialist Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg. Who would be so bold to appeal to religious traditions which might assert that Ms. Suleman should not have pursed children at all as a single woman with no husband?

We can be thankful that those dogmatic, culturally insensitive statements have been banished from the public square, rightly condemned as discriminatory and an affront to both our collective rationality and autonomy. After all, judgments stemming from such religious strictures are unfairly restrictive, and call our unencumbered pursuit of fulfillment into question. Yet, are we not simply inheriting the fruit of an ethic which demands nothing more than we respect the rights of others to pursue their own happiness—in this case eight more newborns—so long as ours is not threatened? Is there no place left to say something tremendously unpopular, to suggest that it was unwise for Ms. Suleman to pursue having any children outside the context of marriage in the first place (as at least one criterion for consideration), confessing that this judgment stems from a particular understanding of the ‘common good’ derived from the Christian Scriptures, which often runs deeply contrary to the metanarrative of the individual pursuit of fulfillment centered around consumption? Though this kind of speech has been largely banished from the public square (and Christians both celebrate and mourn this), it still exists in some communities of faith. And if indeed, as Stanley Hauerwas has argued, the church is a social ethic, then it would seem that here we might find an environment where assumptions regarding the choice, means and number of children to have are challenged with the same fervency with which such newborns are celebrated—irrespective of the means by which they have come to be (admittedly, Scripture is often read in ways that actually foreclose such preliminary considerations).

That the celebration of these new lives is so significantly overshadowed by death threats and diatribes against Nadya in a collective ‘hand-washing’ of responsibility is tragic, but is hardly surprising given the metanarrative we have so readily and uncritically bought in to. It is truly tragic because the children are the real casualties here. But unlike many of the scurrilous, vitriolic comments leveled by rights-respecting citizens who want to ensure that their tax dollars are never put toward supporting this misguided mother and her newborns, the church ought to be the one place where all of our assumptions are critiqued by the community of faith, by brothers and sisters significantly shaped by the wisdom discerned in Scripture, which certainly includes the truth that “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Luke 18:16b).