{"id":815,"date":"2009-07-07T04:01:18","date_gmt":"2009-07-07T04:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/07\/missional-and-formational-in-john-15-part-2.html"},"modified":"2009-07-07T04:01:18","modified_gmt":"2009-07-07T04:01:18","slug":"missional-and-formational-in-john-15-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/07\/missional-and-formational-in-john-15-part-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Missional and Formational in John 15, Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 9 of series: Missional and Formational?
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nYesterday I began to offer some thoughts on the intersection of missional and formational in John 15. Here, Jesus says that he is the vine and we are the branches. We will bear much fruit (i.e. fulfill our mission) if we remain in him (i.e. be formed through relationship with him). In the process of remaining in Jesus as a branch, his Father, the Heavenly Gardener, prunes us so that we might bear more fruit. I mentioned yesterday that this pruning process, however necessary it might be, is not one of my favorites. It usually involves losing something that one values greatly, and this is never much fun.
\nPerhaps the most obvious example of recent pruning in my life came a couple of years ago, when God was pruning away my ministry at Irvine Presbyterian Church. Leaving this dear church was one of the most painful experiences I\u2019ve had in ministry, though it was pain saturated by love. I felt strongly that God was calling me to Laity Lodge, even though I wasn\u2019t quite sure all of what he would do with me in this new ministry.
\nOne of my major concerns was that God was cutting off my preaching and teaching ministry with a congregation. Not only did I enjoy communicating God\u2019s Word to people on a regular basis, but I also believed this was a responsible use of the gifts God had given me. At Laity Lodge I\u2019d have some opportunity to teach and preach, but not like I had at Irvine Pres. It was hard for this part of my ministry to be pruned. (Photo below: The congregation at Irvine on my last Sunday as pastor. Yes, I did take this photo in the worship service. You can get away with things like this on your last day.)
\n
\nWithin a few months of my working at Laity Lodge, an unexpected opportunity opened up with one of our sister ministries, The High Calling of Our Daily Work<\/em> (www.thehighcalling.org<\/a>). This web-based ministry had been running a daily devotional, based on a series published by Eugene Peterson. Not only could people view the Daily Reflections on the website, but also they could have it sent to their email inbox each day. But the High Calling was getting to the end of Peterson\u2019s material, having gone through the whole Bible in five years. In conversations with the producers of The High Calling<\/em>, it seemed good for me to try my hand at the so-called Daily Reflections. Though I felt nervous following Eugene Peterson, I did my best. The response from readers was positive, so I took this on as an ongoing project. (I predict it will take me at least ten years to go through the whole Bible.)
\nThough writing the Daily Reflections isn\u2019t exactly the same as preaching, it is fundamentally similar. In both media I take the Scripture, study a passage, interpret it for people, connect it to their lives, and, through prayer, help them to grow in their relationship with God. At Irvine Presbyterian Church I was able to do this for about 650 people, for twenty-five minutes once a week. Now, through The High Calling<\/em>, I\u2019m able to provide reflections for about 7,500 people every day. Ironically, if you add up the words in a weeks\u2019 worth of Reflections, you come out with almost the same number of words as in an average sermon. And I spend about as much time each week on the Reflections as I did on sermon writing. (Photo: The location of my Daily Reflections on The High Calling<\/em> website.)
\nOf course I do miss the personal dimension of preaching, being able to look into the eyes of my congregation as speak with them. But I get a steady flow of email notes from those who receive my Reflections. I am beginning to feel about my readers much as I felt about my congregation at Irvine. Plus, I\u2019m getting to know many of my readers personally when they join retreats at Laity Lodge. Moreover, some of those who receive my Daily Reflections write to tell me that they pass them on to friends and relatives. I\u2019ve heard from some pastors who circulate them to their church staff members. I share this with you not to brag, but to let you know how God is blessing this new opportunity to share his Word with people.
\nSo, I am now able to impact many more people for the kingdom than I did while Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. Numbers aren\u2019t everything, of course. And there is nothing quite like being a pastor (though I don\u2019t miss some parts of the job, let me tell you). But God has pruned me in the past two years so that I might bear more fruit for his kingdom.
\nPlus, it goes without saying that my effectiveness in writing the Daily Reflections is entirely related to how much I am abiding in Christ and letting his words abide in me. If I skip on the formational elements of this ministry, I will soon be writing empty Reflections that will not help people grow in Christ. Abiding in him means everything if I\u2019m going to be an effective devotional writer, just as if I’m going to be an effective preacher.
\nWhat I\u2019ve experienced in being pruned by God, and what I\u2019m experiencing through studying, meditating upon, praying, and wrestling with his Word as I write the Daily Refletions, are parts of God\u2019s forming me for his mission. I have been and am being formed so that I might be more fruitful for the sake of the kingdom. And I am more fruitful for the sake of the kingdom because I have submitted, however unhappily at times, to God\u2019s pruning in my life.
\nIn this example of pruning I have not talked about the extent to which my formation and my mission is not mine<\/em> at all, but rather part of a corporate experience and ministry. I\u2019ll share more thoughts about this in light of another passage in John\u2019s Gospel. Stay tuned for the next post in this series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 9 of series: Missional and Formational? Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series Yesterday I began to offer some thoughts on the intersection of missional and formational in John 15. Here, Jesus says that he is the vine and we are the branches. We will bear much fruit (i.e. fulfill our mission)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-missional-and-formational"],"yoast_head":"\nMissional and Formational in John 15, Part 2 - Mark D. 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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}