Hindrances to Discipleship: the World by Thomas A
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KNOWING . OING &DC S L EWI S I N S TITUTE Fall 2012 A Teaching Quarterly for Discipleship of Heart and Mind Hindrances to Discipleship: The World by Thomas A. Tarrants, III, D.Min. Director of Ministry, C.S. Lewis Institute n the previous issue of Knowing & Do- Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God. IN THIS ISSUE ing, we began a series on the three Their tragic revolt unleashed a cascade of major hindrances to following Jesus terrible effects on human life. We know the 2 Notes from I the President Christ: the world, the flesh, and the devil. story of how they forfeited God’s Spirit, be- by Kerry Knott In that issue, we focused on the devil, his came curved in on themselves, and lost the revolt against God, his resistance to God’s happiness of Eden. We also know that ev- 3 A Fellow’s Journey kingdom, and his schemes against believ- eryone born into the world since has inher- from Washington ers. In this issue we will seek to understand ited their corrupted, self-centered nature, a to Wycliffe the world system, its origin and nature, nature that is dead to God and enslaved in by Jeanne Thum and how the devil works through it to en- sin. It is this fallen nature that has shaped slave and destroy God’s people and thwart human societies, expressing our rebellion 4 The Spiritual His kingdom. against God on the corporate level. Discipline of The depths to which such societies can Meditation: What Is “the World”? descend are seen in God’s assessment of Reading Scripture the world that developed after the fall: “The with Isaac Ambrose What does the New Testament mean LORD saw that the wickedness of man was by Tom Schwanda by the word world? There are three Greek great in the earth, and that every intention words translated as “world.” Oikoumene of the thoughts of his heart was only evil 1 6 “Servant of the usually means the inhabited world, espe- continually” (Gen. 6:5). But even when so- Servants of God” cially the Greco-Roman world. Aeon means cieties do not fall to such levels of depravity, Monica an “age” and is sometimes also rendered at the most fundamental level fallen human by David B. “world.” But the most significant word used beings are alienated from the true God and Calhoun is kosmos, which originally meant “order or dominated by sin, the devil, and his min- arrangement” and can refer to the created ions. Thus, in a very real sense, “the world 8 C.S. Lewis on the order or to the inhabited world or to the represents the systematic expression of hu- Problem of Pain world in revolt against God, depending on man sin in human cultures.”2 by Jana Harmon context. It is this latter, more sinister, use With penetrating insight, Richard that we are especially concerned with here. Lovelace elaborates on this world system: 32 Resources In the Bible, the world in this negative sense represents the “stage of history” When world is used in a negative sense in upon which human life has been lived since Scripture, what is meant (continued on page 10) NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT by Kerry A. Knott President, C.S. Lewis Institute Dear Friends, ave you ever prayed, “Lord, I surrender everything to You. I am willing to be used by You in whatever way You see fit. Help me, through Your Holy Spirit, Hto be faithful to Your call”? In my experience, God is faithful to answer such a prayer when spoken with hon- esty and conviction. Dramatic life changes occur. Many people who have an intel- lectual commitment to Christ but have never surrendered their entire beings to Him find that “letting go” of their selfish desires opens the door to a richer understanding of God, one that can never be fulfilled by head knowledge alone. For regular Knowing & Doing readers, this is a message that comes through loud and clear. In this issue, Jeanne Thum, one of our Fellows, writes about her journey of faith and trust that led her to Papua New Guinea to serve with Wycliffe Bible Trans- lators. Jana Harmon, from C.S. Lewis Institute — Atlanta, writes about C.S. Lewis’s struggle to reconcile pain and suffering with a loving God, and how surrendering to God—even in the midst of something we don’t Lord, I surrender everything to understand—is the real path to meaning. You. I am willing to be used by Tom Tarrants continues his series on “The World, the Flesh, and Devil” with a powerful piece on the dangers of being captivated by You in whatever way You see the world. David Calhoun writes about how one faithful woman— fit. Help me, through Your Holy Monica, mother of Augustine of Hippo—changed history by her Spirit, to be faithful to Your call. faithfulness to God through constant prayer for and mentoring of her wayward son. Augustine’s story is a dramatic example of God’s amazing work of transformation. From a Puritan perspective, Tom Schwanda lays out the importance of balancing reading the Scriptures with meditating on the Scriptures. Today few of us take the time to do this. We pray that all the articles in this issue will encourage you and strengthen you in your walk with Christ. If you enjoy Knowing & Doing, I encourage you to check out our latest resource: Dis- cipleship as You Go. To minister to our growing number of followers through Facebook/ Twitter/email, we are providing weekly opportunities to grow through articles and au- dio/video messages. To subscribe, go to: www.cslewisinsitute/discipleship_as_you_go. Sincerely, Kerry A. Knott [email protected] Page 2 • KNOWING & DOING | Fall 2012 Fellows Feature FELLOWS FEATURE A Fellow’s Journey from Washington to Wycliffe by Jeanne Thum C.S. Lewis Institute Fellow If you could do any job, what would will just tie me over until . But into my it be?” asked Art Lindsley as part of thirties, God didn’t seem to be leading me “my vocational analysis as a C.S. Lewis anywhere, so I settled in. Institute Fellow in March, 2006. In 1997 I said yes when a friend asked “Well, the job I seem most suited for is me to help organize an event for “emerg- chief operating officer. The organization ing urban leaders,” folks in their twenties that I have always loved is Wycliffe Bible working in inner-city ministries. This in- Translators. The Bible has greatly impacted troduced me to some of the challenging my life, and I can’t imagine being a Chris- needs of my own locale. For a year I attend- tian without one in my native language. So ed and worked with a small dysfunctional Jeanne Thum has been serv- my dream job would be chief operating of- but sweet church in NE Washington that ing as Chief Financial Offi- cer in Papua New Guinea ficer of Wycliffe.” ministered to its surrounding community. with Wycliffe Bible Transla- Trying another method to draw out my Realizing the congregation wasn’t good for tors since 2007. Before that, preferences, Art asked, “If you were given a me long-term, I moved on to a church on she spent twenty years in the Washington, DC area serv- million dollars and could do anything, what Capitol Hill that had a vision to reach out ing in a variety of finance would you do?” to the neighborhood to their east and south. and administrative roles “Well, I like to work,” I replied. “I have no Going all out, I bought a house in a poor in international organiza- tions. She was a C.S. Lewis driving personal dreams. So I would seek section on eastern Capitol Hill and began Fellow from 2005-2007 and to be COO of Wycliffe. But then I wouldn’t to lead a Bible study for neighborhood high her group continues to meet have to raise my financial support!” I may school girls. During that time I also taught regularly. She looks forward to joining them in the fall as have exasperated Art a bit in the moment. a class on white privilege and race. she is home on furlough. But six years later, I can foresee that my “dream” could possibly become a reality— Professionally Languishing? without my intentionally seeking it out. Professionally, I tried for years to get a job Eager for Cross-Cultural Ministry with an urban ministry. I saw the potential benefits of my administrative and manage- I headed into missions work right after ment skills combined with my cross-cultur- college. Feeling drawn to the most challeng- al experience. But I got nowhere, not even ing unreached people, Muslims, I studied one job interview. I wondered if God was Arabic, took a Modern Islamic Thought listening, if He cared. I wanted His direc- class, and flew off to London to do outreach. tion. I wanted to “do good to those in need.” But after nine months overseas full of frus- Instead I had little vision for my work, tration over ineffective strategies, I came carrying out responsibilities I didn’t care home with my hopes dashed, the way for- much about. My challenges were mostly ward unclear. outside of work, where I kept taking cross- Having college friends in the Washing- cultural risks. ton, D.C., area, I moved there and found I thought about what people saw on my work with an international organization. résumé: administrative and finance expe- Throughout my twenties, I envisioned rience.