{"id":840,"date":"2009-08-04T04:01:31","date_gmt":"2009-08-04T04:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html"},"modified":"2009-08-04T04:01:31","modified_gmt":"2009-08-04T04:01:31","slug":"scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html","title":{"rendered":"Scotty Smith, Laity Lodge, and the New Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"

At our recent Laity Lodge retreat we were pleased to have Scotty Smith<\/a> as our speaker. Scotty is the founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. After twenty years as Senior Pastor, he is now the Pastor for Preaching, Teaching, and Worship at CCC.
\nAt our retreat, Scotty addressed the topic: \u201cLiving Like Heaven is a Real Place: Finding Our Place in God\u2019s Big Story of Redemption and Restoration.\u201d He focused on the last two chapters of Revelation, setting these chapters in the context of the whole sweep of Scripture.
\nScotty enhanced his teaching by use of a painting that was created for Christ Community Church. \u201cGod\u2019s Story\u201d by David Arms is a marvelous visual representation of the whole biblical narrative, beginning with creation in Genesis 1 and ending with the new creation in Revelation 21-22. You can find out more about this painting<\/a> and its meaning on the Christ Community Church website.
\n
\nScotty used the vision of the new creation in Revelation 21-22 as a way of opening our minds to God\u2019s intentions, not just for the future, but also for the present. I was struck by many things Scotty said. I\u2019ll quote (or paraphrase) a few of them here:<\/p>\n

We need to emerge from our individualistic micro-narrative into the grand narrative of God.
\nIs there anything other than the sinner’s prayer? [Re: our praying \u201cthe sinner\u2019s prayer\u201d in conversion]
\nIf God was going to annihilate this creation, why did he call it good in the first place?
\nGod\u2019s first action in the new creation is to wipe away our tears.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This last observation wasn\u2019t just some touchy-feely invention. Scotty took it quite literally from Revelation 21:3-4. Here\u2019s the text:<\/p>\n

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
\n\u201cSee, the home of God is among mortals.
\nHe will dwell with them as their God;
\nthey will be his peoples,
\nand God himself will be with them;
\nhe will wipe every tear from their eyes.
\nDeath will be no more;
\nmourning and crying and pain will be no more,
\nfor the first things have passed away.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve known this passage from Revelation for over 40 years. I can almost quote it verbatim. So if you had asked me \u201cWhat\u2019s the first thing God does in the new creation?\u201d I could have answered \u201cHe will wipe every tear from their eyes.\u201d But, honestly, until Scotty pointed to that line, teaching it truthfully and illustrating it poignantly, I had never before considered the striking implications of this verse.
\nTomorrow I\u2019ll share some of those implications with you. Today, I want to thank Scotty Smith for his outstanding teaching, his tender pasturing, and his friendship. It was a blessing to have him at Laity Lodge, and I look forward to his next visit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At our recent Laity Lodge retreat we were pleased to have Scotty Smith as our speaker. Scotty is the founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. After twenty years as Senior Pastor, he is now the Pastor for Preaching, Teaching, and Worship at CCC. At our retreat, Scotty addressed the topic: \u201cLiving Like…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-laity-lodge"],"yoast_head":"\nScotty Smith, Laity Lodge, and the New Creation - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scotty Smith, Laity Lodge, and the New Creation - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At our recent Laity Lodge retreat we were pleased to have Scotty Smith as our speaker. Scotty is the founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. After twenty years as Senior Pastor, he is now the Pastor for Preaching, Teaching, and Worship at CCC. At our retreat, Scotty addressed the topic: \u201cLiving Like…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-08-04T04:01:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/smith-scotty-painting-5.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Scotty Smith, Laity Lodge, and the New Creation - Mark D. Roberts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Scotty Smith, Laity Lodge, and the New Creation - Mark D. Roberts","og_description":"At our recent Laity Lodge retreat we were pleased to have Scotty Smith as our speaker. Scotty is the founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. After twenty years as Senior Pastor, he is now the Pastor for Preaching, Teaching, and Worship at CCC. At our retreat, Scotty addressed the topic: \u201cLiving Like…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html","og_site_name":"Mark D. Roberts","article_published_time":"2009-08-04T04:01:31+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/smith-scotty-painting-5.jpg"}],"author":"Mark D. Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html","name":"Scotty Smith, Laity Lodge, and the New Creation - Mark D. Roberts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/smith-scotty-painting-5.jpg","datePublished":"2009-08-04T04:01:31+00:00","dateModified":"2009-08-04T04:01:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/smith-scotty-painting-5.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.markdroberts.com\/images\/smith-scotty-painting-5.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/08\/scotty-smith-laity-lodge-and-the-new-creation.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Scotty Smith, Laity Lodge, and the New Creation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. 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\/840","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=840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}