Biblical Christianity from Peter DeHaan

I Want to Learn More (Visiting Church #28)

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 31, 2019

Sunday we visit another small church. I expect a traditional, liturgical service. The sanctuary is simple, filled with color and symbolism. Several lit candles mesmerize as incense fills the air.

A worshipful instrumental piece, courtesy of a CD, plays in the background.

The music stops and the opening liturgy begins. We hear the minister but don’t see him. He enters the sanctuary and performs a series of rituals, perhaps preparing the altar for worship.

His actions produce a mystical aura, both comforting and confusing.

52 Churches: A Yearlong Journey Encountering God, His Church, and Our Common Faith

Ornately attired, he wears a combination of what I suspect a priest and a rabbi might wear for their respective services. The liturgy progresses and we follow along in the Book of Services: The Celtic Episcopal Church.

One member has already prepared us for the liturgy. Now, each time the service jumps to a new section in the book, she slides up behind us, whispering the page numbers. We appreciate her assistance.

To start his message, the minister looks at the congregation for the first time. He smiles, suddenly affable. The service, once solemn, now becomes casual.

The sudden switch from the formal to informal confronts me with a contrast I can’t fully grasp.

His concise message lasts only ten minutes. Then we celebrate communion and with more liturgy, conclude the service in the original reserved manner. Without any singing, the meeting ends an hour after it started.

Although most foreign to me, this tiny church and their worship intrigues me. I want to learn the meaning behind their rituals, understand the history of their practices, and discover the rhythm of their liturgy.

It’s there but will take repeated exposure for me to grasp and then to embrace it.

Though they worship God much differently than is my normal my practice, it’s no less viable and offers valuable illumination. I want to learn more.

[Read about Church #27 and Church #29, start at the beginning of our journey, or learn more about Church #28.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, communion, community, fellowship, high church, liturgy

Bible Insights

Judgment and Punishment Will Come

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 29, 2019

God Doesn’t Give Empty Threats; He Will Do What He Says He Will Do

God has expectations for his people. The Old Testament of the Bible covers this. The first five books of the Bible, often called the Law of Moses, details God’s expectations.

He tells the people what to do and what not to do. If they obey, they’ll receive rewards and favor. If they disobey, they’ll face judgment and punishment.

Then we witness a recurring cycle in the Bible. The people turn from God and face difficulties. Then they turn back to him, and he embraces them.

We first see this cycle repeated in the book of Judges, and it carries forward throughout the rest of the Old Testament.

The prophets continue to address this. They call God’s people to turn toward him. If they don’t, judgment and punishment will follow. But the people don’t listen. Eventually God has had enough.

Their list of failures is long:

they worshiped other gods
they secretly did what they weren’t supposed to do
they built places of worship to other gods and burned incense to them
they made and worshiped idols
they didn’t trust God
they rejected God’s commands and covenant
they worshiped stars
they worshiped Baal
they sacrificed their children
they practiced divination
they sought omens (enchantments or magic spells)

Judgment and Punishment

After centuries of disobeying God and rejecting him, judgment and punishment finally falls on them. The Assyrians invade Israel and plunder the land. They exile most of the people.

The nation of Israel is no more. Only the tribe of Judah remains.

You’d think the people of Judah would see this and learn what will happen if they don’t give God their all. His warnings of judgment and punishment are for real. The prophets’ warnings aren’t empty words.

And for a while, the people of Judah do avoid God’s judgment and punishment. Yet they continue in the same cycle of turning from God and facing difficulties. Then repenting and embracing him—for a while.

Just as the prophets warned, judgment and punishment will come upon the people of Judah too. Babylon will conquer them and disperse them.

They’ll get a seventy-year timeout, scattered throughout the nation of Babylon. But then a remnant of the people will return, and they’ll get another chance.

Thank God for second chances. Thank God for delaying judgment and punishment to give us every opportunity to turn to him and put him first.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 2 Kings 17-19, and today’s post is on 2 Kings 17:7-20.]

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Tags disobedience, Law of Moses, prophets, punishment

Visiting Churches

More Youthful Worship (Visiting Church #27)

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 24, 2019

We arrive at church about ten minutes early, and after milling about for a while, we sit down.

A mostly youthful praise team assembles on the stage to worship God, which is a mere eight inches high; the low ceiling allows for little more. In addition to three who play guitar, there’s one on bass, a drummer, and two backup vocalists.

The lead vocalist is also one of the guitarists. They’re accomplished but without a showy polish. They play and sing with energy and are some of the best we’ve experienced.

Worship God

We’re encouraged to worship God any way we wish, be it to dance, raise our arms, kneel, or even prostrate ourselves. For the second time in the last two weeks, a young child sings loudly and off-key but with unabashed enthusiasm.

I love it and hope no one ever squashes his zeal of singing to God.

The three-song set lasts for about thirty minutes. Although lyrically repetitious, it’s also a visual worship experience. Many dance, some in the aisle and a few in front of the stage.

Theirs is an exuberant expression of joy, which I vicariously experience.

One of the backup vocalist, perhaps in middle school, jumps and dances with abandon as she sings, full of energy and passion and joy.

With an occasional arm raised heavenward and an effervescent smile of delight, she often looks up as she praises God.

It’s as if she sees Jesus and is smiling at him. Her angelic face ushers me into the presence of God. It’s a beautiful thing.

Following this is a time of testimony, prayer, and then preaching. The service ends and we head home, remembering this group of amazing young people who showed us how to worship God in spirit and in truth ( John 4:24).

[Read about Church #26 and Church #28, start at the beginning of our journey, or learn more about Church #27.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, laity led service, worship, youth

Christian Living

The Truth about Seminary

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 23, 2019

Seminary Doesn’t Prepare People for Ministry; It Merely Meets Manmade Expectations

I know many people who have gone to seminary. And I have friends who are going to seminary. I encourage them, pray for them, and once even helped pay the tuition.

I respect those who have gone to seminary and graduated. But here’s the truth about seminary.

Yet for most ministry-minded people seminary is a waste of time. Truly.

Seminary Is Man’s Idea

Attending seminary is a human concept. Nowhere in the Bible is there a command to pursue advanced education in order to minister to others.

Jesus doesn’t say, “Before you go into the world, spend three years in advanced studies,” he just says, “Go.”

We made up the seminary part because it seemed like a good thing to do, but it isn’t God’s idea.

Seminary Isn’t Required

None of the disciples, apostles, or elders went to seminary or received any sort of special religious training (Acts 4:13). The only one requirement is that they had spent time with Jesus. Yep, that’s it.

The one essential qualification to ministry in the New Testament is having spent time with Jesus (Acts 1:21). Paul barely qualifies because, as one too late, he lacks one-on-one time with Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:8-9), but…

Seminary Knowledge Confuses People

Paul is the closest example in the New Testament to having a seminary degree. However, this detracts rather than helps. After Paul talks to Felix, the governor exclaims, “Your great learning is driving you insane,” (Acts 26:24, NIV).

Yet Felix is an outsider. What do insiders think? Peter, the church’s first leader, writes this about Paul: “His letters contain some things that are hard to understand,” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV).

At best, advanced learning creates a gulf between ministers and other people.

Seminary Doesn’t Help

I read that ministers who haven’t been to seminary are happier in their jobs than ministers with religion degrees. Furthermore non-seminary ministers are deemed more successful in ministry than their diploma-toting peers.

So it seems seminary prepares ministers who will not be as happy or as successful.

Seminary Delays Ministry

I’ve had my heart broken too many times by people who say, “God has called me to full time ministry—so I’m going to seminary.” The first part excites me. The second part vexes my soul. If God calls you to full time ministry, then obey him and go.

Don’t waste three years to get more schooling that doesn’t really matter, because…

Seminary Trains the Wrong Things

Seminary does little to draw students into a closer, personal relationship with Jesus, help them connect with God through prayer, or partner with the Holy Spirit. And it doesn’t focus on the essential people skills needed to lead a congregation.

The one thing seminary is good for is to prepare people to teach at the college level. A seminary graduate possesses the academic credentials universities require.

Of course to actually teach seminary requires a PhD, but an MDiv does give great credentials to teach at a Bible college.

Seminary Wastes Money

While a few seminaries are free, most cost money to attend. Spending money on something that isn’t commanded or required by God, delays ministry, and prepares for the wrong things is foolish and an example of poor stewardship.

Instead invest that money in kingdom-facing initiatives that will actually do some good.

The Truth about Seminary

The one thing seminary does accomplish is that it fulfills the expectation of people that their clergy have endured the rigors of advanced education. Indeed, in some religious circles a seminary degree is a necessary document to gain entrance.

Yet this manmade requirement does little to equip ministers with the skills needed to do their jobs well.

If God actually tells you to go to seminary, then go. Otherwise just start serving him and leave the advanced education to the academics. Jesus is all you need. And that’s the truth about seminary,

Read more about the book of Acts in Tongues of Fire: 40 Devotional Insights for Today’s Church from the Book of Acts, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Tags minister, seminary, soul

Bible Insights

Elisha Goes All in to Follow Elijah

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 22, 2019

Elisha’s Total Commitment to Follow Elijah Leaves No Option to Go Back

After Elijah has a meltdown of sorts, God reassures him that he is not alone and gives him several things to do. One of those tasks is to anoint his successor, Elisha.

Elijah finds Elisha plowing in a field. It’s a group effort, with twelve teams of oxen each pulling a plow. As the twelfth team, Elisha takes up the rear.

This suggests he and his team are the least capable. Perhaps Elisha lacks experience, or his oxen aren’t that strong.

If he had other teams behind him and he went slow, that would slow them down too. That’s why he’s last.

Just as King David was the youngest of his brothers (1 Samuel 16:10-13), Elisha is the least of the teams plowing. Yet in both cases God picks the least.

Can I Say Goodbye First?

When Elijah taps Elisha, Elisha expresses interest, but he asks permission to say “Goodbye” first. Although Jesus will later criticize this type of response (Luke 9:61-62), Elijah does not.

But Elisha does more than just say goodbye. He throws himself a celebration party of sorts. How does he do this?

Elisha kills his team of oxen. Then he breaks up their yoke and his plowing equipment to build a fire. He roasts the meat and feeds the people. Once everyone has eaten, Elisha leaves to follow Elijah.

No Turning Back

When Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John, they leave their boats and follow him. But they don’t destroy their boats.

In fact, they still use their boats after becoming Jesus’s disciples. And after Jesus dies, these disciples return for a time to fishing.

Since their boats are still available, they have a backup plan. But Elisha doesn’t have a fallback option. When he decides to follow Elijah, he kills his oxen and destroys his equipment.

He has no work to return to if things don’t work out with Elijah and the call to become a prophet. He has no opportunity to go back. He’s committed. He’s all in.

And isn’t that what God wants of us? He wants us committed to him, to go all in, and with no option to return to what we left behind.

With Jesus, there should be no turning back.

[Read through the Bible this year. Today’s reading is 1 Kings 17-19 and today’s post is on 1 Kings 19:19-21.]

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Tags Elijah, Elisha, follow Jesus

Christian Living

Do You See Visions from God?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 20, 2019

Once Reserved for Prophets, Now All People Can Have Visions from God

A friend asked me about hearing from God and of visions from God. I often think about hearing from the Holy Spirit, but I infrequently consider visions, even though visions are one way that God communicates with us.

Visions in the Bible

Mentions of visions occur thirty-six times in the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament. The first time is when God tells his people that he will reveal himself to his prophets through visions, that he will speak to them in dreams (Numbers 12:6).

The book of Ezekiel records the most visions, followed by Daniel. And the bulk of Revelation is one epic vision.

I suspect the most well-known verse about visions is when God says he will pour out his Spirit on all people. Then there will be prophecies, dreams, and “young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28). Notice that Joel says all people will receive God’s Spirit.

The fulfillment of this happens at the first Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).

Hearing from God in the Bible

Interestingly, the phrase “the Lord said” and variations thereof occur over 400 times in the Bible, ten times more often than visions. This suggests it’s more likely we’ll hear words from God than we’ll see visions.

Receiving Visions from God

I hear from God often, usually whenever I ask and sometimes when I don’t. My requests to hear him often start out like young Samuel, “Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). Then God puts his words into my mind.

It’s up to me to discern which of those words came from God and which emerged from my own imagination. With practice, it becomes easier to separate the two.

Though I have had visions from God, they aren’t often. As far as I recall, I’ve never asked for a vision. They just show up. Usually they occur when I’m asleep and sometimes as I enter or leave sleep: a semi-conscious state, a trance.

The book of Acts notes that both Peter (Acts 10:10) and Paul (Acts 22:17) fell into a trance and God spoke to them through a vision.

For me a vision from God seems much like a dream. It’s up to me to discern which came from God and which came from myself. Again, with practice it becomes easier to know the difference.

Hearing from God and especially seeing visions from God happen more frequently when I fast and even more so as I pray and listen to God during a fast. That’s when he speaks to me, mostly through words and occasionally through visions.

Of course, I don’t need to fast to hear from God, I merely need to listen.

And where did my thoughts for this post come from? They came during a fast. I was praying and listening to God. I asked him if he had anything to tell me about visions that I could share with my friend. Then I heard from the Holy Spirit. This post is the result.

Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Tags fasting, hear God, Holy Spirit, prayer, Visions

Visiting Churches

Spiritual Boldness (Visiting Church #26)

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 17, 2019

We know nothing about this minority church besides their name, location, and service time. When the service begins, words are displayed overhead while we sing along with recorded music.

Many people raise their arms in praise to God.

The worship occurs organically, so naturally that I don’t realize there isn’t a song leader.

As we sing, people shake tambourines with vigor, underscoring key words and phrases in the songs. This accentuates our worship. Involving the crowd transitions them from audience to participants.

We witness a baby dedication. The pastor’s prayer is passionate as he proclaims protection and favor over the child. He doesn’t say this as a request, but as a declaration. I appreciate his spiritual boldness.

Throughout the service, the minister continues to pronounce blessings. We see it next in celebrating October birthdays, with each celebrant receiving his or her own blessing.

We extend our hands, nodding and voicing affirmation, as the minister places his hand on the head of each one and prays.

After the message, the service ends with another blessing, powerfully proclaimed on us and our schools, work, city, and county. As we leave, the minister thanks us for visiting, invites us back, and asks where we live.

He’s dismayed to learn we live across the county line, an area his blessings didn’t cover. I assure him we’re not offended, but he takes our hands, proclaiming abundance and prosperity for where we live.

His message has given me much to think about; his bold prayers, an example to follow; and their worship of God, an inspiration.

[Read about Church #25 and Church #27, start at the beginning of our journey, or learn more about Church #26.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, Holy Spirit, spirituality

Bible Insights

The Four Parts of the Great Commission

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 15, 2019
5 Comments on The Four Parts of the Great Commission

Explore Jesus’s Parting Words

A few weeks ago we looked at Jesus’s final instructions as found in each of the Bible’s four biographies of him. Melding these together, we came up with three steps.

First is to follow Jesus, second is to wait for Holy Spirit power, and three is to go and tell others.

Looking specifically at Matthews record of Jesus’s words in Matthew 28:19-20, we have the passage many people call the Great Commission. In this we have four action verbs.

Go: Step One of the Great Commission

Jesus tells his disciples they are to go. This is the opposite of stay. But staying is exactly what they do. They stay in Jerusalem—as initially commanded—waiting for the Holy Spirit. But once the Holy Spirit shows up, they continue to stay.

It isn’t until a wave of persecution sweeps through the church in Jerusalem that Jesus’s followers scatter. Finally, this forces them to go, as Jesus instructed.

Matthew doesn’t record where they are to go, other than everywhere. Luke, however, gives more details in the beginning of his writing in the book of Acts (Acts 1:8).

There Jesus says that under Holy Spirit power he wants his followers to tell others about him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the rest of the world. (Again, notice that being filled with the Holy Spirit proceeds the going phase.)

From these four locations we can interpret four areas of ministry. Jerusalem, which is where we live; Judea, which is our own people group; Samaria represents other people who live nearby; and the ends of the earth mean everyone else.

Make Disciples: Step Two of the Great Commission

As Jesus’s followers go on their missionary journeys, they are to make disciples. He doesn’t say to make converts, though the implied prerequisite for discipleship is following Jesus. Instead he says to make disciples.

Conversion is a onetime effort. We make the decision to follow Jesus in an instant, but discipleship takes a lifetime. Too often the focus today is getting people to say “yes” to Jesus.

Evangelists track their number of salvation decisions, but they seldom talk about the difficult follow-up work of making disciples.

In fact, they often convert people and then leave, with no discipleship work whatsoever—abandoning their converts and letting them flounder.

Since Jesus doesn’t talk about conversion—even though it’s implied in making disciples—we can wisely surmise that Jesus cares much more about disciples than decisions.

Baptize: Step Three of the Great Commission

For our third action word we read baptize. This is phase one of making disciples. Notice that baptism doesn’t come before the instruction to make disciples, but after it.

It’s the first aspect of making disciples, not a prerequisite for discipleship.

Some people, however, place baptism ahead of discipleship, often stopping at baptism and never making any effort to disciple the people they baptize. This brings us to the fourth word in the Great Commission.

Teach: Step Four of the Great Commission

The fourth action step in the Great Commission is to teach. Like the word baptize, teach is part of making disciples.

It’s phase two of the discipleship process. And though baptism is a onetime action, teaching is ongoing. Teaching is the long-term effort of making disciples.

There are other aspects of teaching, which Jesus doesn’t detail in this passage, but we can infer from his actions we read about in the Bible. After teaching comes application, in which the disciples go out and do the things they learned about.

We see this when Jesus’s disciples baptize others (John 4:1-2), heal others (Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7), and point others to Jesus (Luke 10:1).

In these last two instances, they must go. This takes us full circle, implying that the final step of discipleship is to go and repeat the process.

From Jesus’s charge in the Great Commission, he wants his followers to go everywhere, make disciples, baptize, and teach them.

How does this apply to us today?

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Matthew 26-28, and today’s post is on Matthew 28:19-20.]

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Tags baptism, disciples, Great Commission, heal, missionary, teachers

Christian Living

What Does Baptize Mean? Where Did Baptism Come From?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 13, 2019

In Baptism, We Turn from Sin, Follow Jesus, and Receive the Holy Spirit

Another concept that only appears in the New Testament is baptize and baptism. Baptize occurs fifty times, and its counterpart baptism appears twenty-one times.

These two words often show up in the Bible’s four biographies of Jesus and especially in the book of Acts, as well as a few times in Paul’s letters and once in Peter’s.

Some Bible scholars attempt to connect New Testament baptism with the ceremonial washings of the Old Testament. But this comes across as a weak explanation.

We first see these words in John’s ministry, when they pop up out of nowhere.

The Bible gives no historical understanding for the basis of baptism. And it doesn’t explain the significance of the practice. However, the people act as though they comprehend what baptism is.

We get the best clue about the origin of baptism when Jesus poses a question to his detractors. He asks them if John’s baptism came from heaven or was of human origin.

The chief priests and elders discuss the question. Knowing that either answer will be problematic for them, they tell Jesus they don’t know (Matthew 21:25).

The Bible gives us three forms of baptism:

John’s Baptism

John, who we call John the Baptist—because he baptized people—precedes Jesus in ministry. He points the people to Jesus and preaches a message of repentance (Matthew 3:6, Mark 1:5, Luke 7:29-30, Acts 19:4).

We can think of repentance as to stop doing wrong, to make a U-turn from our errors (our sins).

Jesus’s Baptism

John paves the way for Jesus and for his baptism. John says that Jesus will baptize people with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, and Luke 3:16).

However, we get a sense of an intermediate step where Jesus’s disciples baptize people who believe in him and are committed to following him John 4:1-2.

It’s a baptism of salvation (Mark 16:16). Holy Spirit baptism doesn’t occur until after Jesus dies, resurrects, and returns to heaven.

Holy Spirit Baptism

Before Jesus leaves the earth, he tells his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit that Papa promised to send them (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, and Acts 2:38).

This completes what John had foretold, that Jesus will baptize with Holy Spirit fire.

Today’s Baptism

Today our baptism can include all three aspects of these New Testament baptisms: turning from sin, following Jesus, and receiving the Holy Spirit.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Tags baptism, Holy Spirit, John the Baptist, repent

Visiting Churches

Who Needs a Church Building? (Visiting Church #25)

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date October 10, 2019

The church for this Sunday meets in a school, just like church #16. They don’t have their own church building. Their service time is later than most, starting at eleven, likely to allow time for setup.

We arrive at the school and see a temporary church sign by the road, confirming we’re at the right place. However, once we park, there’s no indication of which door to enter.

After making a wrong assumption, someone redirects us to the right entrance.

Inside is a team of greeters; they are most welcoming, taking time for conversation with us. People are milling about and many interact with us. Eventually someone announces, “We’re about ready to begin,” and we move to find our seats.

A couple we know invites us to sit with them. This is a welcoming gesture. Despite knowing people at the majority of the two dozen churches we’ve visited, having someone ask us to sit with them is a first.

Though we’re used to sitting alone as we visit churches and don’t need this hospitable act to put us at ease, a typical visitor would likely find it most comforting.

After the service’s official conclusion, there’s time to hang out. We linger and talk. Eventually things are dismantled and stowed, returning the facility for use as a school on Monday.

They’re fortunate to have a place to store their gear on site, eliminating the need to haul it away each week.

Even so, there is much to do, and despite many hands helping, it takes some time to complete.

Though renting space to have church at a school requires extra effort on Sunday, they save the expense of a mortgage and hassle of church building maintenance. This allows for more investment in community outreach and engagement.

[Read about Church #24 and Church #26, start at the beginning of our journey, or learn more about Church #25.]

My wife and I visited a different Christian Church every Sunday for a year. This is our story. Get your copy of 52 Churches today, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags 52 Churches, churches meeting in schools