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In Matthew 1, Jesus’ earthly father Joseph learned that his betrothed, Mary, was pregnant. You can imagine the absolute shock and sense of betrayal that Joseph must have felt. Matthew makes it clear that Joseph had been faithful in practicing physical restraint and that because he “did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19). Public exposure could have resulted in execution by stoning, which is still carried out in some countries in the Middle East today. This practice was based in a literal rendering of Scripture: If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the woman’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous in her Father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you (Deuteronomy 22:20-21).

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Carolyn and I enjoyed an early Thanksgiving dinner with family this past Sunday before heading to the mountains to celebrate Thanksgiving Day by decorating our cabin as we anticipate the beginning of Advent.

I believe the greatest miracle of all time was Jesus’ birth: God Almighty willingly choosing to become God incarnate, God in the flesh. The Lord of the Universe, as a vulnerable babe, entered into the struggles of humankind at a tumultuous time and in a nondescript place. The God of heaven “made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:7), and in so doing chose willingly to humble himself as a “down-to-earth” God.

Frankly, if God had chosen to be just “Our Father who art in heaven,” if we had never experienced God with skin on in the person of Jesus, then God might always have remained an ethereal concept. Encountering a God who looks and acts like Jesus is an entirely different proposition. In Jesus, we have the picture of a God who intentionally positions himself as a mere servant, identifying with the lowest of lows, the least, and the lost. As the Son of God, Jesus is the antithesis of the spoiled, prideful and cruelly powerful prince of Greek mythology or fairy-tale lore who willfully acts on personal whims for selfish gain. Instead Jesus, the down-to-earth God, demonstrates in the flesh and to the full the love, humility, obedience and sacrificial lifestyle that we as Jesus’ followers are in turn called to live out and embrace.

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Special guest blog by Sarah Rossetter, MD, a practicing physician who is currently working on her first book. Sarah lives in the greater Dayton area with her husband and children.

Monday night, my husband and I ripped our three sleeping babies from their beds and sprinted downstairs to the most interior room in our basement. The phones in our pockets screamed warnings to take cover immediately, and tornado sirens blared outside. We laid our children on the couch against the basement wall and then positioned ourselves where we could see through the windows of our walk-out area. Lightning blazed across the night sky every few moments in a strobe-light fashion. Thunder claps shook our home to its foundation over and over again as my dearest love and I quietly discussed the manner in which we planned to spread our bodies over our sleeping children should the support structures above us begin to give way.

While we were hunkered down, updates continuously rolled onto the screens of our phones detailing multiple tornado touch-downs and widespread destruction in the little towns around us. Panic clawed at my throat as I read that entire sections of the town where my parents live were being described as simply “gone.” My heart rate quickened and my chest tightened when multiple calls to my parents’ cell phones went unanswered.

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We are just days away from arguably the most heated and contentious mid-term elections in U.S. history. As I scrolled through the Apple newsfeed on my phone a few minutes ago, headlines ranged from “Trump escalates anti-immigrant attacks” and “Candidates in one competitive California district are enlisting veterans to deliver bitter, personal attacks,” to the chilling “Could America See Another Civil War?” And where is the Church showing up in the middle of all of this? A better question might be – is the Church of, for and founded by Jesus Christ actually showing up at all?

The people of God’s kingdom are meant to be the visible demonstration of heaven’s redemptive purpose on earth. Through this community of faith, God is creating a Kingdom culture that is markedly different from the political alliances of earthly kingdoms. Jesus’ selection of the original twelve apostles would have appeared to be an unlikely group for the cohesive start of a Kingdom movement. It was truly a unifying work of the Holy Spirit that brought to fruition the missional work of unity in the midst of such diverse political persuasions.

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with Karen Perry Smith, Lead Facilitator, Passionate Churches LLC & Senior Executive Director, Ginghamsburg Church

As Mike and I partner with churches through Passionate Churches LLC, one issue we frequently encounter is the lack of a defined discipleship pathway. Church leaders want to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, but they either aren’t sure how to do it – or they can’t clearly communicate about it. And it doesn’t help that discipleship within the U.S. in the 21^st century is a bit of a mystery. In an era when those who show up for worship once a month consider themselves to be regular attenders, it’s hard to know exactly how discipleship is supposed to happen. The challenge is magnified given that new worshipers are less likely than ever to have had  previous church experience.

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The mandate given by Jesus to his followers was to take his authority to proclaim the counterculture Kingdom of God, to teach and demonstrate Spirit-empowered living, and to heal the sick and oppressed. As I have traveled the past 14 months consulting with churches throughout Europe and the U.S., I am witnessing some fresh alternatives to the traditional approach of getting people into our weekend worship events. Here are three among many that are faithfully breaking out of the box and accomplishing Jesus’ mandate:

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One of the pressing questions that I am asked as I meet with young church leaders is about the importance of having a clear vision for the churches they are leading. Vision is the most critical single dynamic in leading people to God’s preferred future. People commit to following compelling visions, not church programs. People want to give themselves to a great purpose that gives their lives significance. Vision comes from leaders, not committees. Here are six dynamics of visionary leadership that I have observed and experienced in my 46 years of ministry:

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It has been almost a year since I transitioned out of local church ministry where I had served in some capacity for 45 years. The last 38 of those years had been as lead pastor at Ginghamsburg Church. Change is inevitable. I am writing this while preparing to organize a group meeting in our home this evening for the purpose of planning our 2019 fifty-year high school class reunion. Fifty years! How did I get to be 66 so soon?

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Your picture of God determines how you perceive yourself and others. Many of us have a picture of God other than the merciful Father who “demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Bad theology through the millennia has created images of cultural deities that support humanity’s worst characteristics.

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